West will pay a high price for loss of Heathrow link

IF the announcement by Aer Lingus that it is ending its Shannon-Heathrow service from next year is genuine, and is not a dangerous and cynical negotiation ploy on behalf of the national carrier, then the consequences for the Shannon region and the entire west of Ireland will be devastating.

Having worked for 17 years in the airline and airline technology industry, I know how things are done behind the scenes.

All airline booking systems — whether internet, travel agency or airline in-house — are driven by the same basic concepts. What shows up as a route from A to B is built using a series of rules involving primarily three simple criteria — direct flights (the highest priority factor), connecting points, and the amount of time spent at the connection point.