Spam from Aer Lingus?

lostinsuperfunk

Has anyone else who has recently booked with aerlingus.com received annoying emails or text messages offering hotel rooms, car hire, flights to the US etc.? As far as I remember I never opted in to any such mailing list, although I may have left some sneaky little box unchecked somewhere on the site. And I'm pretty certain I didn't opt into any text message alerts.
The emails purport to come from "aerlingus .com" (sic) but on closer inspection they are from "twelvehorses.com" or "12hs.com". At first I thought these guys were just mass-mailing spammers who somehow guessed I might have booked a flight with Aer Lingus, but on their website they claim to have several corporate clients and are based in Dublin, so maybe Aer Lingus have outsourced their marketing to these muppets? They proudly offer "next generation email and web-based marketing solutions". Does anyone know anything about this, and how to opt out of it, if it is possible?
I've witnessed the long, slow decline of Aer Lingus over the last few years, but even Ryanair don't spam their customers or send them useless crap.

BrianD

It's a bit over the top to refer to electronic communications from a company that you have done business with as 'spam'.

There are two possible reasons to why you are getting these messages a) you ticked a box to receive perhaps inadvertantly or b) Aer Lingus have made a genuine mistake/technical glitch in sending it you. There's a good chance that you signed up yourself albeit unintentionally.

In either case, the Aer Lingus e-mails (which I receive myself) give you adequate opportunity to opt out of future mailings. Twelve horses are a third party service provider that sends out the e-mails on Aer Lingus's behalf - pretty standard stuff in the marketing industry and its not important. Incidentally, these third party suppliers are covered under the Data Protection Act. If you read the e-mail you will find the unsubscribe information at the bottom "To unsubscribe, click here"

I would hardly call the offers "useless crap" as you said that you booked a flight to the USA recently therefore information on car hire and hotel rooms would be relevant to you.

All in all, it would be highly unfair and irresponsible of you to refer to these communications from Aer Lingus, a company that you do business with, as spam. Direct marketing is a useful sales tool and I would be disappointed if Aer Lingus were not using it. Ryanair have a mailing list - in fact I think they even charge to receive SMS updates.

No, I am not employed by Aer Lingus or 12 Horses before you ask.

SeanW

I have the same problem, Aer Lingus and their spammer frontmen sending me useless drivel occasionally. At no time did I request this and to my knowledge, their opt out system does not work.

lostinsuperfunk

BrianD, if I inadvertently opted to receive these emails then it is certainly unfair of me to call them spam. However, I normally check that I'm not opting in to any mailings, even by default, and I never saw any indication of this on Aer Lingus' booking site. So, if the emails really do come from someone acting on their behalf, it's a bit sneaky (or I'm not as smart as I like to think I am ).
The messages look kind of "spammy". The text of the hyperlinks says "Aer Lingus" but the links redirect you to a twelvehorses page. The from address is <aerlingus@aerlingus.com.r.12hs.com> and the reply-to address is <aerlingus@bdodnor.pgwtel.r.12hs.com>. These mails are not from Aer Lingus! It all looks very underhand and suspicious and amateurish. There is an unsubscribe link which directs you to a 12horses site. I don't trust 12horses enough to start feeding them more information. If Aer Lingus have engaged these guys to do their marketing they should think again, because it is damaging what is left of their brand.
I disagree - I do consider such messages 'useless crap'. If I wanted a hotel or a flight to the USA I would go looking for one. As a customer of Aer Lingus I don't want direct marketing. I am disappointed that they ARE using it.

Victor

I got one of these when I booked a flight for someone and I was fairly sure I had not selected the option (I'm fairly sure it is opt-in, not opt-out).

Of course Aer Lingus are insisting on an e-mail address for all on-line bookings, one wonders if at the behest of [strike]the Americans[/strike] security.

BrianD

lostinsuperfunk wrote:

BrianD, if I inadvertently opted to receive these emails then it is certainly unfair of me to call them spam. However, I normally check that I'm not opting in to any mailings, even by default, and I never saw any indication of this on Aer Lingus' booking site. So, if the emails really do come from someone acting on their behalf, it's a bit sneaky (or I'm not as smart as I like to think I am ).
The messages look kind of "spammy". The text of the hyperlinks says "Aer Lingus" but the links redirect you to a twelvehorses page. The from address is <aerlingus@aerlingus.com.r.12hs.com> and the reply-to address is <aerlingus@bdodnor.pgwtel.r.12hs.com>. These mails are not from Aer Lingus! It all looks very underhand and suspicious and amateurish. There is an unsubscribe link which directs you to a 12horses site. I don't trust 12horses enough to start feeding them more information. If Aer Lingus have engaged these guys to do their marketing they should think again, because it is damaging what is left of their brand.
I disagree - I do consider such messages 'useless crap'. If I wanted a hotel or a flight to the USA I would go looking for one. As a customer of Aer Lingus I don't want direct marketing. I am disappointed that they ARE using it.

You are making a conspiracy out of nothing!!! Very few companies do their own direct e-mailing campaugning, they all farm it out to service providers who do it on their behalf. All perfectly normal stuff. I can't see how engaging 12 horses is damaging their brand at all!!! Kind of "spammy"? What's that supposed to mean?!? The mails are well designed and to the point and communicate offers of relevance and a hotel or hire car in the states after you booked a flight to the states is extremely relevant. You don't have to avail of the offer.

Finally, if you don't want direct marketing - opt out. If you still get it contact Aer Lingus and if you have no joy, contact the Data Commissioner. It's not beyond the possibility that AL (and their provider) have made a c**k up and sending mails to people opted out and I'm sure as a compant tey would address that if brought to their attention. Do all that before coming on here to criticise a company for perfectly legitimate and professional marketing practices.

Victor wrote:

I got one of these when I booked a flight for someone and I was fairly sure I had not selected the option (I'm fairly sure it is opt-in, not opt-out).

By law, all mailing lists have to be "opt in" rather than "opt out" and I believe the AL one is as well. Howeve, there are a number of boxes on the AL booking form you have to tick so it's quite easy to tick it inadvertantly.

lostinsuperfunk

Kind of "spammy"? What's that supposed to mean?!? The mails are well designed and to the point and communicate offers of relevance and a hotel or hire car in the states after you booked a flight to the states is extremely relevant.

They are not well designed, they are sloppy and amateurish. The hyperlink text contains one thing, but the links redirect you to something else. Standard spammer practice. There is a formatting error in the sender name. The from and reply-to addresses do not match. I booked a flight to the UK, they offered me (among other things) a flight to the US. Why would I want both, apart from being someone who is now known to travel on planes occasionally?

... opt out. If you still get it contact Aer Lingus

Have you ever tried to contact Aer Lingus for anything other than a booking? It's virtually impossible. There are no email addresses on their site. It can take ages to get through on the phone and when you do the chances are that the person at the other end can't help you.

It's not beyond the possibility that AL (and their provider) have made a c**k up and sending mails to people opted out and I'm sure as a compant tey would address that if brought to their attention. Do all that before coming on here

I'll take your advice and contact 12horses, but I don't see why I should have to. I have no relationship with them, and I don't trust them.

lostinsuperfunk

Unsubscribed via 12horses. I'll post again in a couple of weeks if I don't receive any further communications.

Calina

Victor wrote:

I got one of these when I booked a flight for someone and I was fairly sure I had not selected the option (I'm fairly sure it is opt-in, not opt-out).

Of course Aer Lingus are insisting on an e-mail address for all on-line bookings, one wonders if at the behest of [strike]the Americans[/strike] security.

Victor,

there's a very simple reason that Aer Lingus require an email address. How else are they to send you an e-ticket so that you can travel? The only email I have ever received off them has generally included a ticket.

Ryanair require an email address for the same reason.

Victor

Calina wrote:

there's a very simple reason that Aer Lingus require an email address. How else are they to send you an e-ticket so that you can travel? The only email I have ever received off them has generally included a ticket.

But it gives me the same information (in different order) on the confirmation screen, with the T&Cs added.

Admittedly the e-mail is a useful back-up.

Zeppie

I agree totally, have made many bookings with aerlingus.com and have yet to recieve an email with the 12Horses link.

Have looked on the site and can confirm that people purchasing tickets on the website are required to check the box shud they not want to receive any emails (We would like to send you occasional emails about our services, including our best online deals. If you would rather not receive this information then please tick this box.) ....Perhaps in your haste to book this was overlooked.

Giving a email address for online bookings is now standard practice with airlines. Most would require this information especially for E-Ticket or Tickeless bookings.

Mayb calling the aerlingus.com helpdesk would be an idea....I mean it sounds to me like thats what they are there for. Am sure they could give information regarding these emails since they were received after making a booking online. Could just be worth a shot eh!

BrianD

lostinsuperfunk wrote:

They are not well designed, they are sloppy and amateurish. The hyperlink text contains one thing, but the links redirect you to something else. Standard spammer practice. There is a formatting error in the sender name. The from and reply-to addresses do not match. I booked a flight to the UK, they offered me (among other things) a flight to the US. Why would I want both, apart from being someone who is now known to travel on planes occasionally?

Have you ever tried to contact Aer Lingus for anything other than a booking? It's virtually impossible. There are no email addresses on their site. It can take ages to get through on the phone and when you do the chances are that the person at the other end can't help you.

I'll take your advice and contact 12horses, but I don't see why I should have to. I have no relationship with them, and I don't trust them.

Let us know ehen you come out of the bunker. I don't think I have read so much cospiratorial bunkum in a long time!!

However, I must correct two errors I have made in previous postings on this thread. Firstly, it ins not law that a company must ask consumers to "opt in" for future mailings etc. It is best practice. Secondly, I was mistaken in the belief that AL operate an "opt in" mechanism - they operate an "opt out" approach. Clearly it would be best practice if the used an "opt in" mechanism.

aindriu80

SeanW wrote: »

I have the same problem, Aer Lingus and their spammer frontmen sending me useless drivel occasionally. At no time did I request this and to my knowledge, their opt out system does not work.

Sorry to bring up an old thread but its one of the first on the list from Google.

I tried unsubscribing from aer lingus emails but the unsubscribe link doesn't work. Their site is running though. Clearly they haven't fix it in a long time.

BuffyBot

Contact them then, instead of resurrecting a decade out of date thread