Aer Lingus boosted by new flight agreement

AER LINGUS plans to turn Dublin Airport into a major European hub for flights to and from the US on foot of the Open Skies agreement signed by EU transport ministers yesterday.

The airline will add three routes to its current four to the US this September and October and plans to add several more next year.

Open Skies, which sees the end of the mandatory Shannon stopover for half of all flights into Ireland, could also give the western gateway a new lease of life and create potential business for Cork and Knock airports.

Transport Minister Martin Cullen said the deal was exactly what Ireland and Aer Lingus needed and should result in a big increase in tourists to the country.

“This is a very significant day for us. It should strengthen an independent Aer Lingus and double the number of visitors into Ireland over the next few years,” he said in Brussels where he signed the agreement.

For the first time ever, European airlines will be able to fly from any EU airport to any US airport. Until now, the US dictated where they could fly to and restricted national airlines to flying from their home base.

Currently, Aer Lingus flies to New York JFK, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles. In September they will add flights to Washington four times a week, followed in October by San Francisco four times a week and Orlando three times a week.

Tickets will go on sale immediately for the new routes, Aer Lingus said yesterday. Chief executive Dermot Mannion said: “Aer Lingus has waited a long time to be able to fully exploit the potential to grow long-haul traffic between Ireland and the US.”

Ireland has a major advantage over other EU countries, with full pre-flight clearance at both Dublin and Shannon airports due to come on stream shortly.

Mr Cullen said many passengers will be very pleased to avail of these facilities and be able to simply pick up their cases and get into a taxi when they land in the US, rather than joining long queues there for clearance.

An Aer Lingus spokesperson said they hoped to use their extensive short-haul flights from all over Europe to bring US-bound passengers into Dublin and fly them from there to many destinations.

The phase-out of the Shannon stopover will begin immediately, with just one-in-four flights through Ireland stopping there. It will be phased out completely by October 2008.

Mr Cullen said that with pre-flight clearance facilities coming on stream in Shannon before Dublin, and increased flights by US airlines into Ireland, there was huge potential for Shannon.

He urged workers at Shannon to accept the cost-cutting package as it was crucial for the airport to have the right cost base for future development.

Tourism Ireland chief executive Paul O’Toole said the new deal offered great scope to Ireland.

He said they would work with the Shannon Airport Authority, Shannon Development and the tourism industry to promote the Western seaboard and ensure the region maximises its share of the new business potential presented by Open Skies.

However, there was some criticism of the deal. European airlines will not be able to airport-hop in the US, picking up and dropping off local passengers, which US airlines can do in Europe.

The US has also refused to allow European or any foreign ownership of their airlines beyond 25% of the shares.