DAA to offer airline incentives in 2009

The Irish Times reports that the Dublin Airport Authority are to offer airlines an incentive scheme for launching new routes in 2009. The paper quotes a figure of €450,000 in marketing support over two year period for launching long haul routes and €100,000 for launching European routes. The scheme also incorporates steep discounts on passenger handling charges over a three year period. Year one sees a 100% discount on the current figure of €7.50 per passenger, 50% in year two and 25% in year three.

Expansion of the EU in recent years has seen growth in passenger numbers at Dublin coming from the newer markets rather than the mature UK and near Europe routes. The current economic downturn will have seen the newer markets suffer most and so the focus will be on these routes. The DAA will also be anxious to exploit the possibility of routes to Asia, especially China. Figures quoted earlier this year would indicate that passenger numbers from Ireland to the main Chinese gateways of Beijing and Shanghai are of a sufficient level to warrant a direct service. However the possibility of Aer Lingus launching on routes such as this would be slim thus relying on a Chinese airline to introduce a service.

Aer Lingus have apparently responded to the effect that their summer 2009 schedule is cut in concrete but that they would look at the scheme for winter 2009. Ryanair have responded by saying that they are unlikely to avail of the scheme since Dublin Airport is "high cost and uncompetitive".

N643GA delivered to Israeli MoD

The rush to invoice before year end certainly kicked in over the Christmas period at Shannon. Starting with the Spicejet B737 on Christmas Day there have been a number of other aircraft, notably biz jets ferried through the airport in recent days. 

Sunday saw the arrival in darkness of Gulfstream 550 CAEW 'Eitam' (White tailed sea eagle in Hebrew) N643GA, msn 5143 on delivery to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The CAEW (Conformal Airborne Early Warning) variant was first delivered to Israel in 2006, along with the SEMA (Special Electronic Mission Aircraft) version, both of which were developed by Gulfstream for the Israeli MoD.

The CAEW variant is delivered as a shell with the systems fit out being undertaken by IAI's Elta subsidiary in Tel Aviv who install the multi sensor AEW hardware incorporating phased array antennae mounted on the fuselage which give 360 degree coverage.

The development by Gulfstream of the CAEW necessitated several upgrades of the base aircraft.

To accommodate the extra payload imposed by the Elta systems, the aircraft's zero fuel weight was increased by using a Mid Wing Fuel Ejector Pump which pumps fuel from the inboard section of the wing to the outer fuel cells, thereby reducing the wing loads at the fuselage.

A fully 'loaded' CAEW aircraft places significant electrical loads on the aircraft's systems so two additional generators were added, one to each of the engines with the result that the aircraft delivers 3 times the electrical power of a standard G550.

A byproduct of all the electronics is heat so a liquid cooled air conditioning system has been added.

The first two CAEW aircraft were delivered by Elta to the IMoD in February and May of this year and one aircraft, serial 569 appeared at Farnborough 2008 as part of the company's presence at the show.

The initial order from the IMoD was for four aircraft serials 514, 537, 544 and 569 which joined three Shavit ('Comet' in Hebrew) aircraft 676, 679 and 684 in the 122 Nachshon Squadron. Since then another aircraft serial 532 was delivered to Israel in December 2007.

The first aircraft to be ferried through Shannon, N637GA (serial 537) passed through in September 2006. N914GA (serial 514) passed through in March 2007. Two examples were delivered through Edinburgh, N944GA (serial 544) in May 2007 and N969GA (serial 569) in July 2007.

In 2007, the Singapore Air Force announced an order with IAI for four G550 CAEW aircraft, the first of which was to be delivered in late 2008.

N643GA departed Shannon this morning at 9.00 am and is pictured above rotating off R06.

For more pictures of this morning's departure see N643GA pictures

Saudi transits at Shannon

The Christmas season has seen a  number of Saudi transits through Shannon. Christmas Day saw BBJ HZ-102 and Gulfstream 4 HZ-103 whilst today saw Challenger HZ-AFA2, BBJ HZ-102 back again and Gulfstream 4 HZ-AFY operating flight SVA 7576. Pictured is Gulfstream 4 HZ-AFY, msn 1166 arriving from Tozeur Nefta (DTTZ) in Tunisia.

Omni International N558AX

Omni Air International's latest fleet addition B757-23N, N558AX, msn 27971 visited Shannon this morning as RCH 826. Although the aircraft was registered to Omni in November as N558AX it had flown up to this morning using the hex code of it's previous identity. This morning's flight was the first noted arrival in Shannon using the correct hex code of A71D39. As with the other B757 aircraft in the Omni fleet, the numerical portion of the registration add up to 18. Pictured is N558AX taxiing up Delta 2 on arrival. 

VT-SGD Spicejet Delivery

Spice is associated with Christmas and for once we weren't disappointed ! It was also third time lucky for VT-SGD when it arrived from Gander on Christmas morning, having cancelled two delivery attempts earlier in the week. The aircraft is a B737-9GJER msn 34961, hex code 8004D9 which arrived at 09:40 on Christmas morning. It remained parked on Taxiway 11 until it departed this morning at 10:09 for the next stop in Turkey. Unusually, it carried flight number SEJ438 on it's transponder on the leg from Gander to Shannon. Outbound this morning it carried the registration as flight number. Pictured above VT-SGD displays the additional length of the 900 series 737 on departure off R06.

Season's Greetings and a Happy New Year 2009

Season's Greeting and a Happy New Year for 2009 to all readers and their families who have taken the time to stop by and read the Blog since it started in August 2008.

Gerry McCready

Ennis

Christmas 2008

 

Virgin 33 postscript

More details of Saturday's Virgin 33 diversion to Shannon have come to light. Sir Richard Branson's daughter Holly, 26 and a qualified doctor was at the centre of the emergency, administering assistance to the passenger who had suffered a heart attack during the flight. The passenger, Paul Norbury, 47 fell ill shortly after the aircraft took off. The decision was made to divert to Shannon due to his worsening situation. Holly was travelling to Antigua to spend Christmas on Necker, the Branson family private island. Also on board the flight was Formula 1 boss, Eddie Jordan.

State airport separation defered until 2011

The Minsiter for Transport, Noel Dempsey today announced that the separation of the three state airports in to autonomous authorities would not now take place until 2011.

The Minister said that "Having considered the business plans submitted by the boards of the three airport authorities (Dublin, Cork and Shannon) I have accepted their view that it would be best to defer the separation of the three airports (under State Airports Act) until 2011 given the current very difficult aviation market.

Discussions are taking place between the chairpersons of the three airport authorities to ensure that appropriate governance arrangements are in place in the period before eventual separation. The aim is to put in place structures that will allow Cork and Shannon airports to be operated under a commercial mandate at local level while ensuring appropriate safeguards for accountability to the DAA.

I believe that this decision will provide an opportunity to the newly appointed Chairman of the CAA, Gerry Walsh to work with his board and management to ensure that Cork Airport can realise the potential provided on foot of the very substantial investment in the airport in recent years. Likewise, Shannon Airport will need this period to successfully implement the recently signed Ireland-US Pre-Clearance Agreement and to build on the potential of the soon-to-be restored Shannon-Heathrow route. ”

Aer Lingus opens defense of Ryanair bid

Aer Lingus today set out it's stall with regard to the proposed offer from Ryanair. In a letter to shareholders, the Aer Lingus Chairman, Colm Barrington said that the Ryanair offer undervalued the Aer Lingus brand, the airline's financial position and it's strong growth prospects. "Ryanair claims that Aer Lingus needs Ryanair to survive and to continue to grow. This is emphatically not the case. Aer Lingus has grown strongly in the face of direct and aggressive competition from Ryanair for over 20 years. Ryanair seeks to gain opportunity and value from what Aer Lingus has created," the chairman said. Barrington also pointed out the fact Aer Lingus has grown capacity by 30% since it floated on the stock exchange in 2006 and also has one of the largest cash reserves in the airline industry.

Shannon - Heathrow route reinstated

In a widely welcomed announcement today, Aer Lingus has announced that the Shannon - Heathow route will be reinstated from the end of March 2009. The decision follows the recent agreements with staff to opt for alternative cost saving measures including work practice changes and new work agreements at Shannon, Cork and Dublin. These changes combined with a new deal on charges from the Shannon Airport Authority, and the recent reduction in the price of fuel, have made the resumption of the service a reality. Commenting on the development, Dermot Mannion, Chief Executive of Aer Lingus said, "We are very pleased to be in a position to recommence the Shannon Heathrow service and I want to acknowledge the huge contribution of our staff and Shannon Airport Authority, in making this a reality." Welcoming the announcement, Pat Shanahan, Chairman, Shannon Airport Authority said, "This is a very positive development for Shannon airport, our customer base and the entire region. We are delighted that Aer Lingus has made the decision to recommence its short haul services, demonstrating its commitment to Shannon. The Shannon Heathrow link will result in increased passenger traffic through the airport and we look forward to other short haul opportunities that may arise from Shannon in the future." From April next, two weekday services will operate. The morning flight will depart LHR at 06:40, arriving in SNN at 08:00 and departing Shannon again at 08.45. The evening flight will depart LHR at 19:10, arriving in SNN at 20:30 and departing for LHR again at 21:10. At the weekend, Saturday has the morning only service and Sunday has the evening only service. Welcoming today's news, Fine Gael Deputy Spokesman on Foreign Affairs and TD for Clare, Pat Breen said that "While today’s news is a huge boost to this region, particularly in the current economic climate the reality is that this service should never have been withdrawn in the first place. This was a profitable route carrying over 360,000 passengers annually, 60,000 of which were American tourists back tracking into this region. Nothing has changed to convince me that this decision was made for anything other than politically expedient reasons and it could have been avoided if the political will was there to do so."

VIR 33 diverts to Shannon

Today's VIR 33 routing EGKK-TAPA, Gatwick to St John's V.C. Bird in Antigua diverted into Shannon on a medical emergency. The aircraft landed at 11:34 on R24 and departed again at 13:47. Pictured above G-VROY lands on 24 as waiting emergency vehicles wait to give chase, no doubt due to the overweight landing.

New Irish Citation on delivery

A new Citation 525A Citation Jet was delivered to Shannon this evening. The aircraft registered EI-ECR, msn 525A-0438 has hex code 4CA72E. The aircraft will be hangared with Signature until the end of January so don't expect it to visit an airport near you in the immediate future.

Recent visitors

Shannon had a visit today from a Sky Express B737-53C, msn 24825, registered VP-BET. The aircraft is a 1990 build machine and was last registered to Cirrus Airlines as D-ACIN before joing the Bermudan register in October of this year. The hex code is 43BE8D. VP-BET is pictured about to touch down on R24 as darkness gathers.

Ryanair deliveries

Ryanair received two new B737-8AS aircraft today. EI-DYT is msn 33634, hex code 4CA6A8 and arrived in Dublin just after 4pm. EI-DYV is msn 37512, hex code 4CA6A9 and arrived after 4.30pm.

Recent visitors

Shannon had an unusual visitor in the shape of USAF C32 00-9001 over Thursday night / Friday. The aircraft a Boeing 757-23A(ER) is msn 25494 and has been operated by the USAF since November 2000. 00-9001 is a reasonably uncommon visitor in this part of the world and is operated on behalf of the US Foreign Emergency Support Team, part of the Department of Homeland Security. Seen in the picture above, the aircraft taxis for departure off R24 on Friday afternoon.

Recent visitors

Wednesday of this week saw the departure of Alitalia B767-3Q8ER EI-CRO, msn 29383. The aircraft has been with the Italian airline since it was delivered new in 1999. 'CRO arrived in Shannon on Friday last on lease handback to ILFC and was still in full colours when it departed Shannon for Bangor, pictured above.

Aer Lingus to open Gatwick hub

Aer Lingus are to invest £100m in setting up a new base at London's Gatwick Airport. The move which will involve basing four A320 airport will also create 120 jobs at the airport. From March next year the airline will serve Malaga, Vienna, Nice, Munich, Faro, Zurich, Dublin and Knock from the London airport. Aer Lingus plan to have 8 aircraft based there by the end of the first year's operation.

It is expected that an announcement on Shannon - Heathrow is expected in the coming days with some speculation that two services per day, one morning, one evening will be reinstated. With low load factors on the Belfast International - Heathrow route and demand dropping significantly on Dublin - Heathrow it is likely that both Belfast and Dublin will lose one slot each to accommodate the Shannon route. Dermot Mannion recently stated that short haul services from Shannon were likely following the acceptance by the SIPTU and IMPACT trades unions of the cost reduction program at the airline. In order to make a twice per day rotation viable on the Shannon - Heathrow route it is likely that a mid day service to a second airport may be included.

CSO Transport report 2007

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today published it's report in to transport in Ireland in 2007. The report covers, trains, planes and automobiles. In the aviation section the report lists passenger statistics in the familiar terms as reported by the regional and state airports. There is nothing new in these numbers as they are widely reported. What is interesting is the listing of the top destinations by airport by passenger numbers. Dublin's top 3 are Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. Cork's top 3 are Heathrow, Stansted and Amsterdam and interestingly Shannon is the only airport with a US destination in it's top 3 of Heathrow, Stansted and New York which also highlights the starkness of Aer Lingus' decision to shift the Heathrow slots from Shannon.

Unglamorous freight statistics are not normally reported in the press since airports tend to be like shopping malls where footfall is all that counts. Nevertheless the freight figures for 2007 make interesting reading.

For the calendar year 2007, Dublin handled 111,025 tonnes, Cork 5,545 tonnes and Shannon 27,008 tonnes. The national / international split is given as 11%/89% for Dublin, 27%/73% for Cork,  and 63%/46% for Shannon. The Shannon split is probably a reflection of the fact that the UPS, DHL and Fedex flights lay over in Shannon during the day , routing through Dublin on the inbound / outbound legs. 

O'Leary and Mannion address Joint Committee

The CEO of Ryanair, Michael O'Leary and the Chief Executive of Aer Lingus, Dermot Mannion were in front of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport this morning to discuss the Ryanair bid for the former state carrier.

Michael O'Leary reaffirmed his earlier commitment of handing control of the Heathrow slots to Government in the event of a successful bid and also said that the current Aer Lingus management structure would remain in place. Ryanair also forecast that passenger numbers in Aer Lingus would grow to 18m in five years.

Aer Lingus were told at the meeting that unless the Shannon - Heathrow slots were reestablished that there would be considerable support among TDs for Ryanair's bid, adding that there was considerable anger still present in the mid west as a result of the pull out.

Meanwhile in the Dail this afternoon, the Fine Gael deputy spokesman on Foreign Affairs and TD for Clare, Pat Breen was ruled out of order by the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker) when he tried to raise the importance of reinstating the Heathrow slots at Shannon. Recalling the fact that Element Six in Shannon had recently cited the loss of the Heathrow slots as being a direct contributory factor in the company's decision to lay off 150 employees, Deputy Breen said that "The reinstatement of a Shannon Heathrow Service is essential" if the region is to face up to the economic challenges which it now faces.

Business group won't back Ryanair bid

The Air Transport Users Group of Chambers Ireland won't back the Ryanair bid for Aer Lingus. The business group's spokesman, Sean Murphy, speaking on the RTE Radio program "Morning Ireland" said that while the two airlines had a proven track record of reducing travel costs the situation might be different in the event of a merger. He also said that a merger would lead to a situation whereby the combined airline would constitute a monopoly of buying power at the three state airports.

DAA looking for €20m saving in 2009

The Dublin airport Authority (DAA) are looking for an additional €20m in savings for 2009. The company which employees 2,700 in the three state airports and an additional 500 in Aer Rianta International says that the savings are required as a result of a forecast drop in passenger numbers at Dublin, Cork and Shannon next year. Speaking on the RTE Radio 1 program, "Morning Ireland", the DAA Director of Communications, Vincent Wall said that all avenues were being explored including voluntary redundancies. Whilst admitting that the second runway was required at Dublin in order to reach the forecast passenger load of 35m, he intimated that the construction of the runway could be delayed for two or three years. 

New Control Tower for Dublin

Dublin airport is to get a new control tower which is expected to be operational by 2012 when the second runway and new terminal are operational. The IAA design team is currently working on the plans which will be submitted to Fingal County Council for approval early in the new year.

In contrast to the existing structure at 32m tall, the new 80m (to floor of basket) structure won't be a record breaker - Kuala Lumpur is one of the tallest at 130m, but it will be comparable to the new control tower in Heathrow which is 87m tall.

In addition, a 700 to 800 square metre base building is included in the plan. Thales will again be supplying the 'plant and equipment' to make it all work as the IAA have stated that they are happy to work with the French company in spite of last summers failures at Dublin.

Consumer Watchdog says passengers are entitled to refund

The Consumers Association of Ireland (CAI) says that intending passengers who have not yet flown with Aer Lingus and who paid a fuel surcharge are entitled to a refund. When the airline announced on Friday last that it would no longer add a fuel surcharge to tickets booked from December 12, it also announced that passengers who had already booked but not flown would not be entitled to a refund. The CAI however says that this contradicts the airline's own terms and conditions of travel which state that a refund is repayable. The organisation is urging passengers to submit their claims for a refund and complain to the CAI in the event that they are unsuccessful.

Ryanair welcome court decision

The European Court of First Instance today dismissed a case taken by the EU Commission, claiming that Ryanair's relationship with Charleroi amounted to state aid or subsidy. It has taken 4 years for the case to draw to a conclusion. As a result of today's judgement, the EU Commissions 'Airport Guideline' which was based on it's 2004 decision in relation to Charleroi, is declared null and void.

Welcoming the decision, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said that " Charleroi airport has been the model for how small regional and secondary airports around Europe can transform themselves from unused airfields into growing profitable international airports, which are providing regional growth, new jobs, lower fares, competition and choice for millions of European consumers." He also called on the " .. EU Commission to drop their other State Aid cases against similar regional and secondary airports (Alghero, Aarhus, Bratislava, Frankfurt Hahn, Hamburg Lubeck, Pau, Berlin Schonefeld and Tampere), most of which have been brought to the Commission by larger competitor airports who are trying to block competition and lower fares."

From an used facility in 2001, Charleroi has now grown to be an airport handling over 2m passengers per year and is now being used by airlines other than Ryanair. Had Ryanair lost the case, it could have faced repaying €4.5m in incentives to the Belgian government.

Aer Arann pass on ATR

Skyliner reports that ATR 72-212A msn 822 will not now become EI-RER with Aer Arann. The aircraft was delivered ex Toulouse yesterday as SE-MDB of Golden Air.

IAA issue traffic staistics for November

The Irish Aviation Authority have warned that 2009 will be a challenging year for the organisation following a large dip in traffic during November 2008.

Overflights of Irish airspace were down 7.1% for the month over November 2007 at 22,385.

Terminal movements at the three state airports are well down for the month with Cork suffering the biggest loss. Movements at Cork for November were down 20.1% over the same month in 2007 at 4,295. Dublin was down 9% over the same month last year at 15,165. Shannon was likewise down 9% at 3,155 compared to 3,467 for November 2007.

Shanwick Radio handled 5.8% fewer flights for the month, YoY at 30,370.

In light of current market conditions, the IAA has proposed a number of measures designed to control costs and keep overheads down. This package is currently under consideration by the Unions. The authority also notes that in the UK, NATS also noted a similar pattern for the month of November.

Fly LAL to resume Dublin flights

Lithuanian low cost carrier Fly LAL have confirmed that they will resume flights from Dublin to the Baltic resort of Palanga starting April next. Flights will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

CAA provisional traffic figure for November

The UK CAA today published it's provisional traffic figures for the month of November.

On DUB-LHR, a total of 138,230 passengers were carried on the route which is a 12% Year on Year (YoY) reduction for the eleventh month. Year to date traffic on the DUB-LHR is down 8% or just over 146,ooo passengers for the two airlines concerned Aer Lingus and BMI.

DUB-LGW is up 7% YoY for the month at 86,271 and YTD is up 24% on 2007. DUB-STN is down 11% for November, YoY at 63,644 which represents a YTD figure of 5% lower than 2007.

In Cork, the CRK-LHR route had it's first YoY decline for the year with passenger figures down 5% YoY at 36,259. YTD the route is still 11% ahead of last year.

CRK-LGW is as it has been all year - virtually unchanged over 2007. In November a total of 9,692 passengers used the route, up 2.8% YoY for the month. CRK-STN however was down 10% for the month YoY at 21,277. YTD the route is running 3% behind last year.

In Shannon, the LGW route has an extra service over last year which makes comparisons difficult. Traffic on the route performed marginally better than for the other months of the year with a higher multiple over last year's figures. SNN-STN was 18% higher YoY for the month at 25,460 passengers which matches the YTD figure of 18% higher than last year. This is again against a backdrop of an extra service on the route.

In Belfast, the BFS-LHR route carried 20,347 passengers against Shannon's figure of 22,727 for the same month last year. The Belfast figure represents a 49% load factor for the month based on number of days x number of flights per day x number of seats per aircraft. Using the same criteria, Aer Lingus YTD load factor on BFS-LHR is 53% which represents a monthly loss of just under 7,000 passengers for each of the eleven months of service in 2008 over last year.

Ryanair outlines offer

Ryanair today sent it's offer to shareholders in an attempt to gain the remaining 70% shareholding outside it's control. The offer price of Euro 1.40 per share is nearly 30% higher than the quoted price. The offer is open to acceptance until January 5 2009. Commenting on the offer, Aer Lingus said that there was nothing new in today's document. Colm Barrington, Chairman of Aer Lingus said that it "contained the usual stream of invective, spin and misrepresentation that we expect from the people at Ryanair.", a statement which may prove not be the smartest career move. 'It is a desperate last effort to create an airline monopoly in Ireland, and is clearly not in the interests of Aer Lingus shareholders and the travelling public,' Mr Barrington said. 'Aer Lingus is and will continue to be a strong independent airline. Ryanair clearly needs Aer Lingus but we do not need Ryanair,' he concluded. Pictured - Could Aer Lingus and Shannon figure in Ryanair's transatlantic ambitions ?

Shannon runway blocked after tyre burst

Shannon's runway 24/06 was out of operation today for just over 1 hour at lunchtime following a tyre burst incident. The aircraft concerned was an Omni Air International Dc10 N621Ax operating as RCH 759 which landed at approximately 12:53. The aircraft pictured above got stuck at the intersection of Taxiway Alpha and the runway. Attempts to move the aircraft with the tyre in the deflated condition were to no avail and the decision was made to change the tyre in situ.

Several aircraft took up a holding pattern in the DERAG hold, eventually taking the decision to divert due fuel considerations. Ryanair flight 1Rs diverted to Cork as did Citation X N84EA, using call sign 'Jetspeed 94'. The Citation returned to Shannon once the runway reopened at approximately 14:10.

The 'Why ME?' award of the week must go to the crew of BMI 40Y, the Birmingham - Knock flight operated by B737 G-OGBD which had diverted into Shannon earlier due to the weather conditions in Knock and which eventually got out of Shannon just before 15:00.

Mannion predicts Ryanair bid will fail

The megaphone dialogue between Aer Lingus and Ryanair on the future of the former state airline continues apace. Speaking on the 'This Week' radio program on RTE Radio 1 on Sunday, Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion predicted that the Ryanair bid for his airline would fail. He said that the airline is not for sale and there was unity between the board, management and staff at the airline on the issue. He also predicted that he would remain as chief executive of the company for the foreseeable future. Mr Mannion also said that the future of long haul services out of Shannon had been secured and that the airline was reviewing the Shannon - Heathrow route. The decision on this has probably already been made since the Aer Lingus website is only offering three flights per day (out of four available slots) each way between Belfast and Heathrow next summer. Meanwhile... Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport on Thursday morning to explain how Ryanair will maintain competition in the marketplace and to discuss the impact on regional airports and airlines in the event of Ryanair taking over Aer Lingus. "The committee sees regional airports and the need for regional airlines such as Aer Arann to continue as critically important and a key component in the successful implementation of Government regional policy,” chairman of the committee, Frank Fahey, said. “While there was much opposition to Ryanair’s previous attempt to take over Aer Lingus, it is important that the proposal should be carefully considered and both parties are given the opportunity to present their respective cases. This meeting will afford members of the committee the opportunity to examine the Ryanair bid in detail.” And... Denis O'Brien, ESAT Telecom founder and owner of Caribbean cell phone operator Digicel has cast his hat in the ring. The Sunday Independent newspaper reports that Mr. O'Brien told a meeting of NCB Wealth Management that he does not want to see the two airlines under one owner, not only because of the monopoly implications but also because he is not a fan of the Ryanair method of operation. But should dislike of a management style really be grounds for blocking what may make economic sense ? Mr. O'Brien is no stranger to boardroom ego battles having rubbed the O'Reilly family up the wrong way in his recent attempt to gain control of Independent News and Media. He also involved himself in the first failed Ryanair attempt to buy Aer Lingus by building up a 2.5% shareholding in the former state carrier.

Air Sea Recue - postscript

Saturday morning saw the departure from Shannon of the two Pave Hawk HH60G helicopters involved in Wednesday's air sea rescue. The pair 88-26109 and 89-26205 departed under the 'Jolly 11' call sign, flying VFR back to their base at Lakenheath in the UK.

The drama had begun on Wednesday evening last when the two helicopters were dispatched from their base to collect an injured crewman on a Panamanian registered cargo ship, 200 miles off the southwest coast and outside range of the Coastguard Sikorskys.

In all, 4 aircraft from the USAF were involved - 88-26109 (Rescue 109), 89-2605 (Rescue 212), Lockheed MC-130P 69-5828 (Rescue 5828) based at Mildenhall along with KC135 63-8025 using the "Quid" radio callsign. The RAF also supplied a Nimrod from Kinloss.

The helicopters were initially expected to land at Cork but the weather intervened with the airfield going out of limits shortly after lunch. It was then expected that the helicopters would recover to Shannon following their rendezvous with the ship.

The Nimrod returned to Kinloss around 20.00 after the crewman was winched aboard. The Pave Hawk choppers then headed for Shannon where light mist was starting to form from 19.00 onwards. The Hercules made it to Shannon first, loitering in the DERAG hold until both helicopters landed safely on the R06 end at approximately 22.20.

Rescue 5828 landed at 22.30 to drop off maintenance personnel for the helicopters before departing again for Mildenhall.

CAT 2 was in operation at Shannon for most of Thursday with a cloud base that never got much above 300ft. At times the control tower was clearly visible with the basket hidden in cloud ! The helicopters were scheduled to return to their base at Lakenheath at 16.30 and 16.40 as Jolly 12 and Jolly 13.

Jolly 12 ground taxied to the threshold of Runway 24 and made a CAT 2 departure pretty much on schedule, disappearing into the cloud almost immediately. Jolly 13 held at the entrance to the Delta 1 taxiway with a follow me vehicle while a departing Ryanair taxied to the CAT 2 holding point of R24. A landing Ryanair then reported a bird strike which took some minutes to clear in the gloom, no doubt compounded by the low visibility conditions. At this stage Jolly 12 had climbed to his IFR cruise of FL 70 and was reporting problems with his icing equipment which eventually forced the crew to decide that a return to Shannon was the best option. Both helicopters positioned to their parking position on Taxiway 11 to allow rectification of the icing problem.

On Saturday morning, December 13, both departed Shannon, just after 09.00.

AAIU report into damage to EI-IAN

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport has issued it's report into the incident to the Irish Parachute Clubs Pilatus PC-6 EI-IAN on May 4 2008 at Clonbullogue. The accident occurred when the aircraft was on final approach to the airfield following a parachute drop. On short finals the aircraft sank below the normal visual profile. The pilot applied power to attempt recovery but the action was proven to be insufficient to prevent the aircraft striking a boundary hedge to the airfield. A fence post sticking out of the hedge caused substantial damage to the underside of the aircraft. The aircraft landed normally and there were no injuries to the pilot, sole occupant. The report states that the probable cause of the accident was the loss of height and that it is possible that the aircraft experienced turbulence from the airfield hangar due to prevailing wind speed and direction at the time of the accident. No recommendations are made as a result of the report.

CityJet and VLM to swap routes

The first evidence of a clean up in the route structures of VLM and CityJet following the takeover of the Dutch airline by Air France-KLM will happen in January when CityJet commence service on the LCY-AMS route. The route was previously served by VLM who will replace CityJet on the Eindhoven - London route. The changes take place from January 5 next.

CityJet diverts to Stansted

CityJet RJ85 EI-RJH operating flight AFR 5011 from Dublin to Paris DeGaulle diverted to Stansted on Tuesday last, December 9 due to a fuel system indication malfunction. The aircraft was south of Heathrow when the problem developed. The aircraft routed north between London City and Heathrow to Luton before turning for Stansted where a landing was made on runway 05. Hopes of a quick fix were dashed after two hours when the passengers were disembarked and transferred via LCY and LHR to their destination. The aircraft re-entered service later on Tuesday.

Aer Lingus remove fuel surcharge

Aer Lingus today announced that it was removing fuel charges on long haul flights booked from today as result of lower and more stable oil prices in recent months. The airline's chief executive Dermot Mannion said that the decision to completely remove the fuel surcharge was good news for customers. Passengers who have already booked tickets for future travel will not be refunded the surcharge they paid at the time of booking.

Ryanair broke Stock Exchange rules says watchdog

The Irish Take Over Panel, the watchdog which oversees takeover deals has said that Ryanair broke Stock Exchange rules when it gave commitments to the government (a shareholder in Aer Lingus). The recent commitments announced by Ryanair, including handing over control of the Heathrow slots to the government broke Stock Exchange rules as the commitments were deemed to be an arrangement exclusive to one shareholder only and not extended to all shareholders. The panel has now prohibited Ryanair from offering these promises as part of the offer for Aer Lingus - but then maybe Ryanair knew that already ?

Aer Lingus looking for white knight

Aer Lingus Chairman Colm Barrington went on RTE Radio this morning to accuse Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary of misrepresenting the performance of Aer Lingus. Mr. Barrington took exception to the comments made by Michael O'Leary that Aer Lingus have been cutting back on aircraft and routes. Colm Barrington's comments on radio follow an interview in yesterday's Irish Times in which he stated that Aer Lingus were looking for a "friendly investor". On the "Morning Ireland" program today he went on to say that he wanted to make sure "Michael O'Leary and Ryanair are not in a position to keep harassing us." Air France-KLM has been tipped as a rival bidder for Aer Lingus but so far that telephone call hasn't been made. Meanwhile an online poll in the Irish Times asking the question if Aer Lingus have a realistic chance of finding a white knight who will take 51% of the airline has produced a resounding 'No' vote with 67% in the 'Nay' camp. But is there really such a thing as a "friendly investor" ?

Ryanair deliveries end Seattle drought.

The drought of Ryanair deliveries is finally over following the IAM strike and the strip nut problem. Two new frames arrived in Dublin today. EI-DYR, msn 35713 (hex code 4CA6A6) and EI-DYS, msn 35714 (hex code 4CA6A7) arrived over lunchtime.

Rap on the knuckles for Paddy Power

Bookmakers Paddy Power have received a rap on the knuckles from the British Advertising Standards Authority after the bookie ran a full page ad in the press offering odds on which airline will go bust next. Under the headline "Booked a flight ? Don't sweat, insure with Paddy Power" odds were being offered ranging from 3/1 for FlyGlobespan and 4/1 for Spanair all the way up to BA and Ryanair at 100/1. 

The ASA received a complaint claiming that the ad denigrated the airlines concerned, implying that they might go into administration. In their defence, Paddy Power argued that they were bowing to customer demands and had been asked for odds after several high profile airline failures. They also claimed that a £200 maximum bet per customer would also make it difficult for customers to manipulate the markets perception of a particular airline. The ASA upheld the complaint however on the basis that the ad suggested that the named airlines, especially those with the shortest odds might go into administration and that this unfairly discredited the airlines concerned.

Aviance workers vote to accept job saving proposal

150 Aviance employees at Dublin airport have voted to accept a survival package involving a 15% pay cut in order to save their jobs. The rescue package was first proposed by SITPU follwoing the cpmapnies announcement on Tuesday that they would be ceasing operations at Dublin airport from March 2009.

Under the deal sick pay, holiday entitlements and pension arrangements of the 150 employees will not be affected.

Recent arrival

There has been a noticeable drop in aircraft movements through the country's airports of late, due not only to the seasonal winter drop in traffic but also due to the recession which we have talked ourselves into. Combine that with dull winter weather and the net result is precious few photo opportunities of late. Even the seemingly mundane can cause a stir of late ! Today was no exception to that rule when former Futura B737-86N N977RY msn 32740 arrived in Shannon for attention with Air Atlanta Aero Engineering. The aircraft arrived from Dublin just before lunchtime, wearing Futura tail colours and Primera titles.

DAA split could be deferred for up to 3 years

RTE News this evening said that informed sources had told them that the final separation of the three state airports may be deferred for up to three years due to the crisis in the aviation sector. The idea of splitting the then airport operator Aer Rianta into three separate entities was first proposed by the Minister for Transport at the time, Seamus Brennan back in 2003. The following year, Aer Rianta was replaced by three separate airport Authorities for Dublin, Cork and Shannon. Political and union pressure led to a partial back down by the government which allowed the Dublin Authority to retain ownership of the assets of the other state airports. The initial plan also ran into trouble when the DAA resisted the governments plan to allow the SAA and CAA start life debt free with Dublin carrying the combined debt of the three airports. Cork had just completed a new terminal and the DAA refused to carry the total debt. A compromise was worked out whereby Cork assume 113 million of the 200 million cost for the new terminal with the DAA taking the balance. The DoT now say that they will announce before the end of the year if they are going to proceed with the plan as originally envisaged.

AEA report into lost bags and punctuality

Ryanair today welcomed the report by the Association of European Airlines (AEA) on baggage delivery performance and punctuality statistics for it's member airlines for the period April to October 2008. Ryanair pointed out that British Airways and BMI lost 19 and 25 bags per thousand compared to their own figure of 0.4 bags. In terms of punctuality, BA at 73% within 15 minutes of scheduled and BMI at 77% within 15 minutes of scheduled lag behind Ryanair's figure of 88%. AEA reports are compiled from the voluntarily submitted statistics of it's members. This report covering the summer 2008 period was compiled from the submissions of 30 of the 35 member airlines. Ryanair is not a member of the AEA. Aer Lingus is a member of the AEA but chose not to submit statistics.

Rescue off Southwest coast

Edit - Updated at 11.55 pm

A rescue got underway this afternoon off the southwest coast to rescue an injured crew member on a cargo ship. Both the USAF And RAF are involved in the rescue which began shortly after lunch today. A USAF MC-130P, 69-5828 'Rescue 5828' based at Mildenhall, positioned overhead Cork to the vessel. This aircraft first visited Shannon in 1979.

Two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters were also involved in the search, 88-26109 callsign 'Rescue 109' and 89-26205 callsign 'Rescue 212'. A Nimrod using the usual callsign 'Rescue 51' provided top cover for the operation, returning to Kinloss in the course of the evening.

Ryanair confirm Fuerteventura pull out

Ryanair today confirmed that the airline would be ceasing all services to and from Fuerteventura effective January 31 2009. The airline had previously threatened to end services to the Canary Island unless the local tourism group AEI honoured the commercial agreement that it had entered into with Ryanair to promote the island. Effective January 31, a total of 23 services on nine international routes will cease, including one flight per week from Shannon and two per week from Dublin. Since Ryanair started to serve the island, passenger numbers had grown to over 250,000 per annum from a base of a few thousand. Ryanair have also confirmed that legal action will continue against AEI and it's members.

United Travel

The Commission for Aviation Regulation today issued a further statement in relation to the current status of United Travel. The Commission confirms that Manorcastle Ltd trading as United Travel applied for a new tour operator's licence on December 1. In examining that application, the Commission sought additional information and supporting documentation from Manorcastle Ltd/United Travel to enable the application to be processed. Based on the information received to date, the commission says that very serious questions remain as to the ability of Manorcastle Ltd/United Travel to fulfil its contractual obligations for overseas travel adding that the position remains, therefore, that Manorcastle Ltd/United Travel is not currently licensed to trade as a Tour Operator. The Commission reiterates its view that, under these circumstances, Manorcastle Ltd should wind up the business in an orderly fashion and refund its customers.

Airline complaints for Q1 / Q2 2008

The Commission for Aviation Regulation yesterday published it's Report on Passenger Rights complaints for the first two quarters of the 2008. In total, 86 complaints were received which were deemed valid under EU regulation 261/2007. In addition to this number the commission received a further 86 complaints relating to flights which originated in another EU member state other than Ireland. The vast majority (65) of complaints related to flight cancellations with long delay, greater than two hours (12), denied boarding (3), downgrading (1) and other (6) making up the balance. Not all complaints have been resolved yet but of those that have, airlines have made refunds or paid compensation in 44% cases but have escaped liability in 34% by claiming extraordinary circumstances such as extreme weather conditions. Not surprisingly, of the complaints relating to flights originating at Irish airports, Dublin tops the list with 58 complaints. Dublin does however perform better on a per passenger basis than Cork (11), Shannon (8), Knock (3) and Galway (3). Of the complaints at Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Galway, Ryanair had 19 complaints or 3.11 complaints per million passengers. Aer Lingus had 21 complaints or 4.35 complaints per million passengers.

150 jobs to be lost as Aviance quit Dublin

Aviance, the ground handling and maintenance provider have announced that they will be shutting their operation at Dublin airport effective end of March 2009. The company said that it had recently carried out a full review of it's operations and found that the "cost base and customer profile could not be sustained with the Dublin business model". Last week the company advised it's employees and SIPTU of it's intentions. Following discussions between the union and senior Aviance management it was decided that SIPTU would present a business plan in an effort to secure continuity of the company's presence ta Dublin Airport. This afternoon SIPTU’s Civil Aviation Sectoral Organiser Dermot O’Loughlin confirmed that, “Aviance has advised us that it is giving active consideration to our survival proposals and a decision will be made in the next 24 hours. We are hopeful that this episode will have a successful outcome for all the workers at the company”.

Mannion rules out Ryanair merger

Speaking on RTE radio today, Aer Lingus CEO Dermot Mannion said that the recently brokered deal with SIPTU and IMPACT unions will save the company fifty million euro and will see 200 staff leave the airline without being replaced. The airline will however continue to be a significant employer with 3,500 employees. Mr. Mannion also predicted that the cost saving program would make Aer Lingus more competitive and that there was no need for a merger with Ryanair.

Ryanair welcome CAA price cap at Stansted

Ryanair today issued a cautious welcome to the decision by the UK CAA to adopt the passenger service charge price cap as recommended by the Competition Commission. Ryanair had high praise indeed for the CC whom it said had performed "Trojan work in reviewing the abusive practices of the BAA and disallowed huge amounts of wasteful expenditure." The proposed cost cap will run for five years. The cost per passenger in years one and two will be set at £6.34 and at £6.65 for the years 2013/014. It is hoped that the measure will encourage competition among the big three London airports. The CAA is also putting in place what it calls a "financial incentive scheme" ( or fine ) to ensure that Stansted Airport does not fail in it's obligation to provide good service to the travelling public. Under the terms of the scheme the Airport will be liable to rebate the airlines up to 7% of it's total passenger revenue should it fail to meet the required standard in areas such as security queuing, baggage reclaim, presentability of the airport and in services to the airlines such as available power and serviced stands. A similar scheme is currently in operation at both Heathrow and Gatwick and has seen the BAA pay rebates of £7.9m in the first seven months of this year. Whilst welcoming today's news, Ryanair reckons that the measures do not go far enough as only the breakup of BAA will introduce true competition into the market.

Fleet departure

Ryanair B737-8AS EI-CSM, msn 29926 was due to position Prestwick - Norwich today for painting prior to delivery to Romanian Low cost Carrier Blue Air.

IMPACT back proposal

IMPACT trade union members at Aer Lingus have backed the proposal that their colleagues in SIPTU signed up to last week. Whilst the motion to effectively allow Aer Lingus to buy out existing contracts with cabin crew in favour of reduced terms of employment has been approved the result is not a landslide with 59% in favour and 41% against. The airline's CEO Dermot Mannion said that the decision would keep the Shannon base open and allow the airline to "look at opportunities for short haul growth from Shannon."

Words from O'Leary

Addressing the Shannon Chamber of Commerce lunch on Thursday last, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said that Ryanair's proposed take over of Aer Lingus is the "best opportunity to guarantee long term competition" between Aer Lingus and his airline. He suggested that if the Ryanair proposal fails to succeed then Aer Lingus' future will be as a "peripheral loss making airline that is going to stumble along from crisis to crisis." Should the proposal succeed, Mr. O'Leary has vowed to sack the board of Aer Lingus. He has offered Aer Lingus Chairman Colm Barrington a seat on the Ryanair board but he has made it clear that he has no need of any of the other Aer Lingus directors. "They'll all be gone. If you look at the board of Aer Lingus, with a number of notable exceptions, the rest are like the board of bloody FAS (Irish State training agency). They're all Bertie's pals or political appointees or trade union representatives." Summing up in the usual O'Leary colourful style, he says that the board should be "taken out and shot".

Ryanair schedule disrupted at Stansted

Ryanair cancelled in excess of 50 flights this morning from Stansted Airport when a group of environmental protesters called "Plane Stupid" breached airport security at approximately 03.00 am and occupied a secure area close to the runway for approximately 2 hours. The group, numbering 50 caused serious flight disruption before the runway was reopened at 08.10 am. Ryanair called the action "unacceptable" and told intending passengers to go home and rebook flights, warning travellers that the airline would have difficulty coping with the domino effect of this morning's action.

Efforts begin to save Heathrow slots

Northern Ireland's Junior Minister Jeffrey Donaldson is to seek a meeting with the Irish Government to lobby for the retention of the Aer Lingus Belfast - Heathrow slots, should Ryanair's bid for Aer Lingus be successful. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Donaldson said “Certainly having worked hard to attract Aer Lingus to Belfast we would certainly not want to give those slots away again and we will be talking to the Irish Government — who were supportive of the Aer Lingus move in the first place — we would encourage them not to withdraw the slots.” A spokesman for Belfast International Airport said : "This is standard mischief making from Ryanair. The comments made are abit rich coming from an airline that is threatening to take out a significant number of services from Shannon itself. This situation is entirely hypothetical anyway."

Aer Lingus traffic statistics for November

Today, Aer Lingus released the traffic statistics for November 2008 . Total passengers carried for the month were 741k, down 3.6% Year on Year ( YoY) on the same month in 2007. Short haul was down 1.2% but longhaul was down a massive 17.2%, even though capacity was only 10.8% lower. On the all important load factor figures, short haul was flat at 71.8% YoY but long haul was down 8.1% to 72.9% for the month. Year to date, load factor is down 4% at 74.8%. The company has also released it's punctuality figures for November which exhibited the best performance of the year so far. For the month, 83% left on time with 97% departing within 1 hour of scheduled departure.

Unions spurn Ryanair advance

Following the rejection by Aer Lingus of the takeover offer by Ryanair, both SIPTU which represents ground staff and IMPACT which represents cabin crew have rejected Ryanair's latest takeover offer. Niall Shanahan, communications officer with IMPACT said that the Ryanair corporate culture is anathema to their members. To date, Aer Lingus has rejected the Ryanair offer on the basis that it undervalues the business and the unions have responded that they already have recognition at the airline so yesterday's Ryanair offer of union recognition doesn't propose anything that they don't already have. The key to the success or failure of the latest bid will probably hinge on how the government react to a formal proposal from Ryanair which will be on the table in the next two weeks. This time lag gives ample opportunity for the government to sound out Brussels' reaction, which could well change this time round given the current state of the worldwide airline business. Ryanair may well have seen the government shareholding as the easier of the two ( government / employee ) to swing in their favour and given the current state of the Irish economy who would bet against them ?

Ryanair sweeten the offer

Ryanair tonight sweetened the offer for Aer Lingus by offering the government complete control over the Aer Lingus Heathrow slots, promising to restore the Shannon - Heathrow route and respect the trade union recognition in place at Aer Lingus. Earlier in the week, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey had said that one of the government's roles as a shareholder in Aer Lingus was to prevent a hostile takeover. The government has also been concerned that Ryanair would dispose of the Heathrow slots in the event of a takeover. Tonight, Ryanair countered those fears by stating that they would change Aer Lingus' articles of association to give a legally binding guarantee that the Heathrow slots could not be sold, transferred, leased or switched to another airport without written approval of the Irish government.

Flybe to drop Norwich - Dublin

Flybe announced today that they would be dropping the Norwich-Dublin route in March 2009, blaming the economic climate for the decision. The decision is part of a wider decision by the airline to downgrade their presence at Norwich where they have 45 employees ( 21 cabin crew, 20 flight deck and 4 engineers ). The airline will no longer have aircraft based at the airport and will operate Norwich services in reverse, for example - Edinburgh - Norwich - Edinburgh.

Slot refusal causes CSA withdrawal

CSA Czech Airlines today announced a " temporary reduction of flights to Dublin" for summer 2009 due to the refusal of "Dublin Airport" to grant the airline's requested early morning slots for departures from the Irish capital. As a result, CSA stated that services on the route would be reduced to a minimum to facilitate Czech customers with a Friday Prague departure and a Sunday return flight from Dublin.

The last weekday services to be operated on the route will be January 13 from Prague and January 14 from Dublin although the airline does not rule out the possibility of returning to the route at some time in the future. In the meantime though, the capacity being released from Dublin is being used for additional services on Manchester - Prague and Copenhagen - Prague.

Pictured - The CSA colours will become a rare sight in Dublin in the coming months. OK-DGL, picture courtesy CSA.

Lapland flights cancelled

The Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) today refused to renew the Tour Operators Licence of United Travel and has called on the company to wind down it's business and refund it's customers. United Travel had taken bookings from 1,100 people hoping to travel on the traditional pre Christmas charters to Finland. Con Murphy of United Travel appeared on Joe Duffy's Liveline program on RTE Radio 1 yesterday, begging the CAR to issue him with a licence. The Commissioner for Aviation Regulation Cathal Guiomard also appeared on the program and announced that as early as October he had informed United Travel that it's licence would not be renewed, adding that "I don't want to be the Grinch who has several customers in Lapland on Christmas Eve and no aircraft to get them home". Today the CAR urged customers to contact United Travel to enquire as to the status of any money paid over to date and also as to how the company intended to make refunds or put alternative arrangements in place.

Ryanair press ahead with offer for Aer lingus

Just two days after Ryanair announced their latest bid for the remainder of Aer Lingus, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary met with Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey for 40 minutes at Leinster House. Following the immediate rejection by Aer Lingus of the latest offer, Michael O'Leary said that he would ignore the wishes of the board and that he would urge the government to consider the merger. Strict stock market rules governing mergers and takeovers preclude Minister Dempsey from making comment on the matter but the fact that a meeting took place so soon after the latest offer was announced would give credence to the idea that the government is giving serious consideration to the proposal.

Aer Arann announce new Blackpool route

Just days after Ryanair announced that they were ceasing to serve Blackpool after the airport operator announced the introduction of a £10 passenger service charge, Aer Arann have stepped in to fill the void. Commencing January 5 2009, Aer Arann will commence a five times weekly service between Dublin and Blackpool.

Ryanair traffic figures for November

Ryanair today published their traffic figures for November 2008. Passengers carried, at 4.32m represented an 11% increase over the same month last year. Load factor was up 1% to 79% for the month. In the 12 months ended November 30 2008 the airline carried 57.3m passengers with a load factor of 81%.

SIPTU vote to accept Aer Lingus deal

SIPTU members in Aer Lingus, representing ground handling staff have voted to accept the deal worked out last month whereby the airline will effectively buy out the contracts of it's employees who will return to work on reduced conditions. The agreement will now see a greatly reduced number of redundancies at the airline.

Recent visitors

Some recent visitors to Shannon.... On Sunday November 30 the airport had a visitor in the shape of Israel Aircraft Industries IAI-1125 Astra registered N916CG. The aircraft is a 1990 vintage machine with msn 045 and is certainly eye catching with this black, grey and gold colour scheme. Registered to Wilson and Associates of Delaware LLC, N916CG stopped off for fuel en route Gander. Over the weekend Shannon had a visit of an Isle of Man registered visitor, registered Citation Jet CJ2 M-WMWM. IoM registered aircraft appear to frequent some of the countries other airports more so than Shannon where the 'M' prefix still has the exotic feel to it. M-WMWM is registered to Standard Aviation UK and arrived on Friday evening before departing on Sunday morning.

The last visitor of note, also on Sunday was Boeing 767-231ER, msn 22569 N606TW which is registered to the Boeing Company. The aircraft is currently being operated by the Italian Air Force for crew training as part of their 767 tanker program and made a fuel stop at Shannon before departing for Palm Beach. This is the second time that the aircraft has worn the registration N606TW as it had a stint as OM-NSH with Slovak airlines before being impounded in Birmingham. It then went onto the Brazilian register as PR-BRV with Brasil Rodo Aero until March of this year when it was acquired by Boeing. The aircraft is no stranger to Irish soil having spent many months in front of the then FLS hangars in Dublin at the end of 2000 / first half of 2001 in it's 'original' 606TW registration.

Ryanair mount second hostile bid for Aer Lingus

Today saw Ryanair launch a hostile bid for the balance of the Aer Lingus shares which are currently outside it's control. Today's offer at €1.40 per share is valued at €748m and represents a 25% increase over Friday's close but is still 50% less than the value of the first hostile bid in 2006.

Ryanair is currently Aer Lingus' single biggest shareholder with the Irish Government retaining a 25.1% stake holding.

Speaking in Dublin today Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said that this time round the bid stands a better chance of success than the original bid in 2006. He also said that Ryanair hasn't changed a plan to develop a trans Atlantic service but at the moment that plan is going nowhere and is separate from the plan to acquire Aer Lingus.

In response to the bid, Aer Lingus said that it would respond in due course, adding that shareholders are "strongly urged to take no action".

Speaking on RTE Radio, Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey T.D. said that the Government would retain it's shareholding in Aer Lingus for "strategic reasons", including protection of the Heathrow slots and to "prevent hostile bids".

When is redundancy redundancy ?

RTE reports that the Government has yet to rule if the proposed contract restructuring plan at Aer Lingus is eligible for rebate of redundancy payments. Uncertainty exists as to whether or not the plan whereby employees can accept a severance package and return to work on a reduced contract is classified as redundancy. If it is deemed to be redundancy then Aer Lingus are entitled to a rebate on a significant portion of the payment and employees have a lower tax liability on their severance package. Three years ago Irish Ferries received a €4m rebate after making 500 employees redundant.

The question then remains - does a rebate constitute state aid to the airline and would it get past the EU ?

Recent visitors

An interesting visitor to Shannon today was US Navy C37 serial 166376 msn 5041. The aircraft has visited Shannon several times in recent weeks but this was the first time to visit in daylight. Pictured above 'Navy 100' flares for touchdown on R24. 

The second interesting visitor today was an ex Sterling B737-5L9 msn 24778. While with Sterling the aircraft was registered OY-MAA but is now registered N494ST to Orix Aircraft. It's routing today was Aalborg - Shannon - Bangor - Goodyear. Seen in the picture above N494ST commences take off roll on R24.

DAA to cut staff bonuses

RTE news reports that the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is to cut the annual bonuses of staff due to need for financial savings. The DAA state that bonuses are discretionary whilst acknowledging that in recent years  a bonus has been paid to all staff. This year the full bonus will be paid to full time permanent employees only with part time workers receiving pro rata payments. A total of approximately 500 staff in Dublin, Cork and Shannon will be affected. Last year's bonus amounted to €1,500 per employee.

SIPTU have said that part time employees will ballot for strike action to achieve a bonus equal to that of full time employees but that there is no immediate risk of flight disruption.

Aer Arann base to soften blow of job cuts

The creation a new base in the Isle of Man to serve the airline's new service to London City will help soften the jobs cut at Aer Arann. The new base will require 30 cockpit and cabin crew to be based on the island and will limit the proposed job cuts announced in early November to 70 as opposed to the original figure of 100.

In line with the announced concentration on high performer routes the airline is cutting three routes from January 12, namely Cork - Prestwick, Galway to Amsterdam via Waterford and Kerry - Manchester.

IMPACT Trade Union reach agreement with Aer Lingus

The IMPACT trade union which represents cabin crew at Aer Lingus have reached agreement with Aer Lingus which will save the airline's Shannon crew base and see the retention of Irish cabin crew on Transatlantic services. The agreement sees a substantial reduction in the number of proposed redundancies but comes at the cost of new productivity agreements, deferred pay increases and some job reductions.

Union officials said the deal contained a lot of sacrifice for cabin crew, but reduced the number of proposed job cuts including the retention of the Shannon base. If accepted the deal includes:

• Retention of Irish-based cabin crew and a slimmed-down Shannon base

• The deferral of pay increases under the Towards 2016 pay deal until July 2010

• The deferral of pay increments for two years

• New pay scales for new entrants. However pay scales remain unaltered for the first five years to protect new entrants

• Increased productivity measures, which will lead to a reduction of 94 jobs through the company’s voluntary redundancy programme.

The company had originally planned to cut 420 cabin crew and replace almost all Irish-based long-haul crew with US-based staff. Under this deal, job losses are reduced to 94, plus a separate reduction of 60, which is due to schedule changes out of Shannon airport.

The deal will be put to a ballot of cabin crew over the next two weeks.

Ryanair stop services to Newquay

Ryanair today condemned in their words the “Keystone Cops” of Cornwall County Council, and the RAF at Newquay, who notified Ryanair last night at 19.40 hrs that Newquay Airport would close in just four days time (on November 30), until at least December 19. It appears that this closure has been caused by the failure of Cornwall County Council to take over the airfield navigation services from the RAF St Magwan on the November 30 next as previously agreed.

Cornwall County Council now expects to be able to reopen the airport on December 19, although there is no guarantee or certainty that this date will be achieved. As a result, Ryanair has taken the decision to cancel all flights to and from the airport, effective December 1.