Aer Arann in talks with airport board over introduction of new route

DISCUSSIONS are at an advanced stage between Aer Arann and the board of the South East Regional Airport (Waterford) on the introduction of a daily Waterford-Manchester service.

The prospect of the route being added to the existing Waterford-Luton route emerged at an Waterford Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast in association with the Irish Examiner yesterday, which was addressed by Aer Arann managing director Pádraig Ó Ceidigh.

The airline began the Waterford-Luton service last June and almost 17,000 passengers had travelled on the route by the end of last month a load factor of just under 70%.

It is also now examining the possibility of a service linking Waterford and the south-east with an airport in Brittany, though this is unlikely to come on stream for some time. Additional routes to Birmingham and either Glasgow or Edinburgh are also possibilities down the line, as is a second daily service to and from Luton.

Mr Ó Ceidigh said the airline's annual turnover when he acquired a controlling interest in 1994 was €317,500 compared to a forecast turnover in 2004 of €80m today. He also revealed he had set a turnover target for the current year of 18m when preparing business projections in 2000.

"The key to any business success is to build a team of the right people with the right attitude. You can create, shape and change the skills people have, but their attitude must be right from the start."

The former solicitor and teacher also said their commercial vision ought not to be static. "You must keep challenging yourself and your business. The goals you set must also keep changing. One of the things that helps keep Aer Arann vibrant and expanding is the constant growth in new directions." Asked by Waterford Wedgwood chief executive Redmond O'Donoghue whether a Waterford-Dublin service could be introduced, Mr Ó Ceidigh said internal flights would be "very difficult" to sustain without Public Service Obligation (PSO) status and he remained to be convinced that a Waterford-Dublin service would be economically viable.

Mr Ó Ceidigh concluded by saying that Aer Arann was "very strongly committed" to working all the way with the people to continue to grow passenger numbers through the regional airport.

"I see no reason why Aer Arann and the people of Waterford and the south-east can't combine to provide and support thousands of seats each week out of the airport to a variety of destinations." Chamber president Bobby O'Keeffe welcomed the upbeat message delivered by Mr Ó Ceidigh.