Shannon boosted by new service to Paris

A new era began for Shannon Airport today as the first City Jet service to Paris took off.

Local business and tourism authorities hope the flights can help restore international connectivity to the Mid West since last year’s decision by Aer Lingus to transfer its Heathrow routes to Belfast.

Shannon Airport Director Martin Moroney said businesses have warmly welcomed the new service.

“This is a major coup for our airport, so soon after the loss of the Shannon-Heathrow service, and all the indications are extremely positive for the service.

“The majority of passengers booked are business passengers and this fits perfectly with the City Jet model.

“The response from the business community to this service has been extremely positive from the off. We are now looking forward to growing the service and building on our relationship with our new partners City Jet/Air France.”

City Jet, an Air France/KLM subsidiary, will fly twice daily services, providing potential links to 248 non-stop destinations from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) chairman Pat Shanahan said the body will work to ensure the service grows and becomes a real success at Shannon.

“City Jet is a member of the world’s largest airline, Air France/KLM and is also part of the Skyteam global alliance which will guarantee connectivity to every key international market there is.”

The last Aer Lingus flight to Heathrow left Shannon last month when more than 50 direct jobs were lost by the departure of the service to Belfast.

An average of 300,000 passengers a year travelled on the route, which has been in service for more than 50 years.

The unexpected Aer Lingus announcement last August to axe the service caused outrage from the business community in the Mid-West. The privatised airline said switching its hub to Belfast was a commercial decision and irreversible.

Shannon Airport will be hit by a second blow when compulsory stopovers for some transatlantic flights are due to be completely phased out by April under the Open Skies agreement.

The Atlantic Connectivity Alliance, formed by industrialists and local politicians in the region, vowed to continue its campaign to ensure the future viability of the airport.

Passenger numbers at Shannon reached 3.62 million in 2007, slightly down on the 2006 total of 3.63 million.

The airport saw double-digit passenger growth of 37 per cent and 10 per cent respectively in 2005 and 2006.

CityJet currently flies from Dublin to Paris Charles De Gaulle seven times a day.

Based in Swords, Co Dublin, the carrier employs 720 staff and carried 1.6 million passengers last year.