Aer Lingus was founded by the Irish Government in April 1936 to provide air services to and from Ireland. Aer Lingus' low-cost, low fares model is centred on maintaining low unit cost, offering one way fares, maintaining effective fleet utilisation, and developing the Aer Lingus brand.

Aer Lingus operates operates over 80 routes to and from the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, and a long haul network to six destinations in the United States.