Rugby fever has touched down at Belfast City Airport with the arrival of Aer Lingus’ brand new aircraft celebrating their partnership with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).

The plane, which is currently in service on Aer Lingus’ short haul network to the UK and continental Europe, took a break from it’s regular schedule to make a flying visit to Belfast from Thursday 22nd until Saturday 24th October, where it was welcomed onto the tarmac by Aer Lingus staff and guests.

The distinctive Airbus A320, which has been named “The Green Spirit’, bears a special livery to mark Aer Lingus’ partnership with the IRFU and features Ulster Rugby and Ireland star Tommy Bowe, alongside fellow ambassadors Conor Murray, Rob Kearney and Robbie Henshaw.

The new three year deal sees the airline become the Official Airline Partner to the IRFU, supporting the Irish rugby team by flying players, management and support staff around Europe as they compete in the RBS Six Nations championships and other major international tournaments.

There is also be a treat in store for guests travelling on Aer Lingus transatlantic services, as the four rugby ambassadors star in the ‘Chronicles of Keith’, a humorous animation video shown on every flight.

Andrea Hunter, Business Development Manager for Aer Lingus in Northern Ireland said: “We are proud to support the IRFU and we’re delighted that we were able to bring the ‘Green Spirit’ aircraft to Belfast. Everywhere the ‘Green Spirit’ planes land people stop to take photographs and our Aer Lingus guests are sharing their photos on social media using the hashtag #GreenSpirit. I know there were a lot of rugby fans excited to see it arrive here for the first time.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to show our support for the team and it’s also part of our wider plans to develop the Aer Lingus brand. As part of our new brand repositioning which launched this Spring, ‘Smarts Flies Aer Lingus’, we recently launched a new and improved website, giving smart flyers a website experience that better reflects the new Aer Lingus brand.’

“We’re continually working to improve our offering so we conducted a signifianct amount of research into our guests’ needs and our own performance to ensure we continually develop our brand offering. The end result is a significantly enhanced travel expereince that is now more efficient and personalised, with the same great fares and service, so it’s the only choice for smart flyers.”