Walsh refuses to raise five-year slot vow

Would-be Aer Lingus takeover boss Willie Walsh flatly refused to extend guarantees on routes between Dublin, Cork and Shannon to London beyond five years, if his bid for the airline is successful.

Giving evidence to the Oireachtas transport committee, the head of International Aviation Group (IAG) insisted the proposed €1.36bn buyout would be the best way forward for Aer Lingus.

Mr Walsh said concern about keeping the Irish-Heathrow slots open was “completely misplaced” as the supposed sell-off value of the routes had been greatly exaggerated.

The former Aer Lingus chief said the five-year guarantee for the routes would be “cast iron” and “legally binding”, and more than the airline had at the moment. “I’m not prepared to go beyond five years. Don’t believe, that because I make a proposal, I am ready to increase it,” Mr Walsh told Oireachtas members.

Mr Walsh also said he wanted to reverse the dramatic decline in general passenger traffic through Cork Airport, saying it would be achieved by using the resources of the large international group which includes British Airways and Iberia.

Mr Walsh pledged to continue to operate the current number of flights to Heathrow from Cork and Shannon as the routes made money.

“Not only are those routes profitable in isolation, the value of the transfer traffic that we provide to one and other is extremely valuable as well, so there is no reason for anybody to be concerned about the operation of those routes because they are profitable in isolation and they have significant additional value because of transfer traffic.”

He said he was surprised to see a decline in traffic at Cork Airport when there had been an increase in Cork-Heathrow.

“We will be looking very carefully at Cork to see if the loss of traffic can be recaptured,” Mr Walsh said.

Pressed by Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer on how Cork can be boosted, Mr Walsh said economies of scale would kick in after a takeover.

“What it does is make Aer Lingus more efficient, and makes the possibilities for Aer Lingus operating routes more attractive and potentially more viable. We want to grow the business, we don’t want to buy a business and shrink it,” he said.

Cork Chamber welcomed Mr Walsh’s commitment to retain Cork’s connectivity to Heathrow, but said it would like more specifics on what IAG could deliver for future connectivity from Cork to Dublin and additional connectivity to Europe.

The IAG chief also insisted transatlantic flights would not be shifted from Shannon to Dublin after any takeover.

Mr Walsh pledged routes between Cork to Amsterdam and Paris would be safe.

The IAG chief said that a takeover of Aer Lingus would not mean higher fares for passengers.

“The idea that anybody would have a monopoly with Michael O’Leary and Ryanair on your doorstep is nonsense,” Mr Walsh said.

The IAG chief said job losses would not be as big as unions were predicting after a takeover.