PETER BOND,
Sir, - I am a first-generation Irish-American. My wife, my daughter and I recently made our first trip to Ireland after a wedding in Italy.
We arrived at Rome airport on the afternoon of May 30th to be advised by a well-hidden Aer Lingus desk that Aer Lingus was on strike and we were on our own for getting to Dublin. Through the help of British Airways we were able to get to Heathrow. The flight personnel on British Airways and the Aer Lingus representative at the arrivals area of Heathrow assured us that we would be sent on to Dublin or put up at a hotel. However, the Aer Lingus personnel at the departure desk said no, they would not get us on a flight to Dublin that day or in the near future and they would not provide any accommodation in the meantime.
We then obtained a very expensive hotel room in the Heathrow Airport area, finally arriving there around midnight. We went back to the airport around 5am and with the wonderful help of BMI personnel were able to get standby seats to Dublin.
At no time during this ordeal were we helped or given any encouragement or sympathy by Aer Lingus. Rather, the attitude of all Aer Lingus personnel was: "tough. You're on your own, we're not going to help you".
Returning to Italy again on Aer Lingus, I was assigned a seat next to a seat which had no cushion - literally just springs - and the armrest of my seat had the plastic ripped out and was only bare metal.
This plane made an emergency landing in Paris because of mechanical problems (not a surprise considering the state of the interior of the plane). We were stuck at De Gaulle Airport (no information from Aer Lingus) for four hours before being put on another plane, barely making our connecting flight to the US.
The friendliness and helpful nature of the Irish people was noted by everyone I had talked to who had visited Ireland prior to our visit. Our experience with the Irish people reinforced this.
Unfortunately, our first and most memorable experience of Ireland will be the horrible experience with personnel from Aer Lingus. The attitude and the slipshod manner in which the airline is run, casts exceptional discredit on the country. I am informing all tourist bureaux here and in Ireland of our experience.
I am beginning correspondence with Aer Lingus to obtain reimbursement for unused tickets and the cost of our hotel room. I imagine this will end up in dissatisfaction, but I will persevere. - Yours, etc.,
PETER BOND, Oakland, California, USA.