Aer Lingus scoops Airline of the Year at the iSPY Awards

The iSPY (International Sales Person of Year) awards were announced in London last Friday. Aer Lingus scooped the prestigious accolade of "Airline of the Year", against strong competition from twenty-four airlines from around the world. The awards recognise all aspects of cabin crew's contribution towards in-flight sales.

Claire Sutton, Dublin based Cabin Crew member won outright under the category "Selling with Emotional Intelligence" award for UK and Ireland. Aer Lingus Belfast based Cabin Crew Member, Karen Nicholl, was highly commended in both the "Product Merchandising" and "Selling with emotional intelligence" categories.

Aer Lingus also won the "Dragon's Den" contest, based on the popular television show, which asked cabin crew to conceptualise successful new in-flight products. Aer Lingus' entry "My First Flight", was awarded first place, the concept was to help children remember their first flight, designed by Aer Lingus cabin crew members, Niamh O Leary - Cork base, Claire Sutton - Dublin base and Karen Nicholl - Belfast base. A small donation from future sales will go to the Smile Train charity.

Dermot Mannion, Aer Lingus CEO, paid tribute to the 1600 Aer Lingus cabin crew who represent the airline with professionalism and dedication.

These awards are highly contested within the in-flight sales sector, with twenty-four airlines taking part in the competition including Jet2.com, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates.