Irish national carrier Aer Lingus has unveiled its latest rugby-inspired livery commemorating the Irish national men’s rugby team. The airline has repainted one of its Airbus A320s in a ‘Green Spirit’ color scheme as the team currently battles it out in the ongoing Six Nations international rugby tournament.
In collaboration with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the carrier selected one of its 30-strong fleet of Airbus A320-200s for the special paint job, which features images of Irish players Robbie Henshaw, Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and Tadhg Furlong. The livery also sports a rugby ball featuring a shamrock on the tail, along with a decal announcing the carrier as the ‘Official Airline of the Irish Rugby Team’.
The aircraft, which is registered as EI-DEG and carries the name ‘St. Fachtna’, first entered service with the airline in September 2004. Having been repainted with the new color scheme in Shannon Airport (SNN), the aircraft subsequently flew from there to its home base in Dublin (DU) on February 28, 2024, and has since flown rotations to Amsterdam (AMS) and Lyon (LYS).
With the unveiling of the new livery, speculation is mounting that the aircraft will be used to transport the Irish national side to London for the team’s final game of the 2024 Six Nations Championship, to be played against England on March 9, 2024. The match will take place at the England team’s home stadium at Twickenham, which happens to be located directly under the final approach path for London-Heathrow Airport (LHR).
The Ireland team remain the tournament favorites, having won all three of their games in the 2024 Championship so far, which runs from February 3, 2024, until March 17, 2024. Other teams competing in the tournament are England, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy.
Aer Lingus has been a keen supporter of the Emerald Isle’s national rugby team for many years, having first unveiled a team-inspired livery on another of its A320s, EI-DEO, back in 2015, in advance of that year’s Rugby World Cup tournament held in England. A second A320, EI-DEI, has also been acting as a flying billboard for the team, having featured the Irish rugby color scheme since October 2015.
As part of its collaboration with the IRFU, Aer Lingus has embarked on several rugby-related initiatives over the years in its capacity as the team’s official airline. Not only has the carrier flown the team to various overseas matches, but it has also offered fans the chance to be involved in a range of activities involving the Irish national rugby side, such as ticket promotions and giveaways.