Aer Lingus and JetBlue confirm industry-first partnership

Aer Lingus, Ireland's low-cost, low-fares airline and its US counterpart low-fare, high-frills JetBlue Airways Corporation have officially announced their industry-first strategic partnership will come into effect on April 3, 2008.

The innovative partnership will enable Irish and U.S. customers to book a single low fare reservation between Ireland and more than 40 continental U.S. destinations, connecting through JetBlue's home base at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

The partnership is made possible by a sophisticated, easy-to-use booking process which will be live on aerlingus.com from April 3, 2008 for travel by the end of April. Customers booking through jetblue.com will be quickly transferred with one click to aerlingus.com to complete their booking.

Upon arrival to JFK and after customs clearance, Aer Lingus customers connecting to a domestic JetBlue flight can conveniently check-in and drop their bags at Aer Lingus' transfer desk in the arrivals lobby at Terminal 4. Once complete, customers can travel via the AirTrain to JetBlue's Terminal 6 for their domestic connection. Customers travelling from the U.S. to Ireland will be able to check their bags at their JetBlue domestic departure point and will pick them up again in Dublin or Shannon.

Commenting, Dermot Mannion, Aer Lingus CEO, said, "With a strong customer base, brand strength and position in the U.S. market, JetBlue is a natural partner for Aer Lingus. We are proud to be pioneering the model of linking low fare networks and offering Aer Lingus customers the ability to easily connect across the US through JetBlue's Terminal 6 at JFK. The partnership will also expose millions of US passengers to the Aer Lingus website and brand and further consolidate aerlingus.com as the premier way to book flights to Ireland from North America."

"Our partnership with Aer Lingus is a perfect fit with our brand and culture, and we are thrilled to extend our route network to a vibrant new stream of customers from Ireland," said Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue Airways.

Mr. Barger added, "On JetBlue, Customers enjoy their vacation beginning with the JetBlue Experience - free, live TV at every seat, complimentary brand name snacks and comfy leather seats with the most legroom of any other airline in coach. And did I mention our award-winning customer service?"

Domestic service will be operated by JetBlue's fleet of Airbus A320 and EMBRAER E190 aircraft. Both aircraft feature comfy leather seats equipped with personal seatback TVs that offer JetBlue's signature in-flight entertainment: 36 channels of free, live DIRECTV programming.

The airline's EMBRAER 190 aircraft also offer more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio; its A320 fleet is currently being retrofitted to provide the same service. On flights longer than two hours, a selection of first-run movies and bonus features from FOX InFlight is also available.

JetBlue's new Irish customers will have convenient connections to more than 40 destinations via New York/JFK, including: Austin, TX; Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, NY; Burlington, VT; Denver, CO; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Las Vegas, NV; New Orleans, LA; San Diego, CA; and Seattle, WA.