Munster's mighty reds and hordes of Limerick rugby fans contributed to the best weekend ever for Aer Arann, according to a statement from the West of Ireland company.

The second-time Heineken European Cup Champions flew to Cardiff on a special Aer Arann charter plane in the run up to the teams clash with Toulouse, whilst record numbers of Munster supports also travelled with the airline.

The Munster 'hordes' travelled in unprecedented numbers and Aer Arann is reported its charter flights from Shannon, Cork and Dublin, to Cardiff were full to capacity.

Not only were the direct flights fully booked, but the Munster supporters, determined to see their team in action against the French side, also travelled with Aer Arann to cities as far north as Leeds, over 200-miles from the home of the Cardiff Millennium Stadium for the much anticipated clash.

"Aer Arann provides charter services to away games for the Heineken Cup, Magners League, Barclays Premiership and UEFA Champions League throughout the year. By flying with Aer Arann, the Munster team were able travel to Cardiff with no distractions so that they could focus on the match," Aer Arann's Commercial Director, Fergal Barry said.

"Flying the Munster supporters, combined with the UK bank holiday weekend, resulted in Aer Arann having its best weekend ever. We carried almost 6,000 passengers alone on Friday," Mr Barry said. Aer Arann is one of the fastest growing regional airlines in the world with a turnover in excess of €100m per annum and passenger numbers in excess of 1.15m for 2007.

The airline currently operates over 600 flights per week across 40 routes in Ireland, the UK and France, and it announced expansion into Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Malaga and Faro in January 2008. The company employs over 400 staff and the company took delivery of the first of 10 new ATR 72-500 series aircraft on this Tuesday, May 29, 2007 in a deal worth a cool $180m, which is worth more than €114m using current exchange rates.

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