As dawn raider says "Aer Lingus attracts fierce loyalty from the Irish public"
You're damn right it does. Anyone with a memory that extends back before the current boom will remember Aer Lingus pretty much the same way a lot of people remember Guinness's back in the good old days. These were the golden companies. These were the best big companies in Ireland to work in bar none with good conditions and great pensions. Also the products were pretty excellent too! However in the case of Aer Lingus people did overlook the fact that a flight from Ireland to the UK was overpriced by a factor of about 4 until real competition arrived in the form of Ryanair. Otherwise the experience was positive, very positive. So many times I flew home after yet another goddamn awful business trip in America or Europe and when I saw a big green Aer Lingus Boeing sitting at the gate I just felt I was home already. And in a sense I was, it was a real slice in Ireland. Friendly cabin crew with a sense of humour and time to talk to the passengers. So that is the image so many people in Ireland still have of Aer Lingus. All the great company conditions and passenger service are nearly all gone now from Aer Lingus and it never existed in Ryanair in the first place. And if somehow MOL takes over it will be finally gone forever. But that is where the loyalty comes from - memory.