SRT workers offer to take paycut to save company

Workers in SR Technics at Dublin airport have offered to take a cut in pay if it helps in the effort with a proposed management buy out which would save upwards of 960 jobs.

Siptu Branch Secretary Pat Ward has indicated that the intervention of the Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and the IDA (Industrial Development Authority) would be required to help with the plan. The union have estimated that €25m in state aid would be required to assist with capital investment and to subsidise rent of hangar space.

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Strike threat lifted

The threat of a strike which would have closed the three state airports this Thursday was lifted yesterday afternoon by union Siptu. Following a three hour meeting yesterday afternoon, the union decided to call off the action and enter into talks at the Labour relations commission today, Tuesday. In it's statement the union said that it had accepted the invitation to talks at the LRC in relation to the payment of increments in pay of workers at the three airports. The Dublin Airport Authority welcomed the decision but said it was disappointed that the union had waited until 4pm yesterday afternoon given that it (the DAA) had accepted the invitation on Friday last. 

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Last call for scrapping tax

Ryanair have made a last call on the Irish government to scrap the tourist tax which is to be implemented from the end of March. In it's request the airline point out that the Belgian and Dutch governments saw the wisdom of scrapping the tax to avoid causing damage to their tourist industries at a time when tourism is in decline. By way of contrast the UK and Irish governments are the only two governments to persist with the idea of a travel tax. The airline goes on to say that from March 30, 'visitors are being screwed twice over by the Government and the Government airport monopoly on departure' through having to pay the €10 tourist tax and a €15 departure fee.

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Ryanair add 3 more Italian bases

Ryanair have announced the creation of three new bases at Alghero, Cagliari and Bologna, bringing to 7 the total number of bases in Italy. A total of 67 international and domestic routes will be served from the three airports - Alghero (27), Bologna (19) and Cagliari (21) which will help to boost the airline's share of the Italian market to 17m passengers this year. The Italian market is now approaching 25% Ryanair's total passenger load.

As a result of this latest announcement, two aircraft will be based at each of the three airports.

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New Hawker 900XP EI-JJJ delivered to Shannon.

Private Sky, formerly known as Airlink Airways have taken delivery of a new Hawker 900XP. The aircraft is registered EI-JJJ, msn HA-0085 and arrived in a foggy Shannon this morning on it's delivery from Gander. The aircraft wears hex code 4CA787. Unusually, EI-JJJ used the registration as callsign rather than the usual 'Highflyer' callsign for the ferry flight. Pictured above EI-JJJ in it's all black livery taxis in on 'Alpha' to the Signature Flight Support hangar.

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SR Technics can't afford to increase offer

With just one week to go before the first 600 workers lose their jobs at SR Technics, the company has told the Labour Court that it cannot afford to increase the value of the redundancy package or plug the €26m hole in the company pension fund. The company told the Labour Court today that the standalone position of SRT Ireland is extremely weak after losing 37% of it's revenue stream last year. It is costing €2m per week to keep the Dublin facility open and with not enough work to fund the expenditure.

The company also warned that without the goodwill of the SRT Group the company will be liquidated which would result in statutory only redundancy being paid.

Workers at the company are furious that the Swiss based management have refused to increase the offer or plug the pension shortfall.

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B737 EI-EDL arrives for painting at Shannon

And still they come ! This afternoon saw the arrival in Shannon of another ex Sterling machine in the shape of B737-8BK EI-EDL, a registration applied after the demise of the Danish carrier late last year. The aircraft had been stored in Southend following the collapse of Sterling. Pictured above EI-EDL(msn 33018) lands on R24 wearing the last but one colour scheme with Sterling.dk titles rather than the billboard titles worn when the airline folded. And yes... it does have a rudder, even if it is painted white in preparation for the complete Norwegian shuttle scheme which will be applied at Lufthansa Paint.

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VH-SZF arrives in Shannon

The second and last SkyAirWorld Embraer 145 registered VH-SZF arrived in Shannon this afternoon after a long ferry flight from Australia. The aircraft was flown to Shannon for handback to GECAS following the demise of SkyAirWorld just before St. Patrick's Day.

Pictured above VH-SZF, msn 145.408 arrives from Milan Linate late this afternoon. It's routing brought it through Ophira (Egypt), Athens and Milan. The next leg will see it depart for Alverca in Portugal.

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Ryanair appoint new route development head

Ryanair has appointed Ken O'Toole as head of route development to succeed Bernard Berger who announced his departure from the airline earlier this month.

Mr. O'Toole, an accountant, joined the airline in 2006 as yield manager. Since 2008 he has had responsibility for the German, Dutch and Scandinavian markets.

In his new role he will be responsible for the continued development of the Ryanair route network, fleet allocation and commercial relationships with airports.

Ryanair advertised the position of head of legal affairs in the press last week, a position to be vacated by the impending departure of Jim Callaghan who is leaving to take up a position with Etihad.

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Aer Lingus to enter discussion with Airbus

Aer Lingus pulled forward the date of it's April board meeting to Friday of last week in the wake of the recent poor share price performance and the continuing threat to it's cash pile which is dwindling at an alarming rate. The board sanctioned the airline's management to open discussions with Airbus with a view to either deferring deliveries on 4 long haul aircraft on order or to swap the order value for short haul aircraft. The airline's long haul services are under pressure and are understood to have been losing money for the past two years. 

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E190 nr 4 as I-ADJN delivered to Air Dolimiti

Air Dolimiti took delivery of the fourth of five Embraer 190 aircraft to be delivered this year when I-ADJN passed through Shannon this morning. Making a brief visit lasting less than an hour, I-ADJN continued on to Villafranca in Italy. The aircraft is msn  190.000270 and has hex code 3003AE.

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EI-DUC / EI-DUD arrive in Shannon for lease hand back

Two B757 aircraft which had been operated by Russian airline Kras Air have found their way to Shannon in preparation for their next life. The two aircraft concerned are EI-DUD, msn 26249 which arrived on Thursday last and EI-DUC msn 26248 which arrived yesterday. Both aircraft were originally prepped for life with Air Union in Dublin so are no stranger to Irish soil. Pictured above EI-DUC arrives on R06 on Saturday afternoon. 

D-AHIE becomes HK-4623

Former Sterling B737-73S msn 29081 which had been registered D-AHIE has become HK-4623 for it's new operator Aires Colombia. The aircraft arrived in Shannon on March 10 in Sterling colours but with the Aires colour scheme on the rudder. The aircraft emerged from the Lufthansa Paint facility on March 16 without a registration and had remained so until it appeared yesterday from the Shannon Aerospace hangar now wearing the Colombian registration. A second Sterling B737 is currently being painted at Lufthansa Paint, also destined for Aires. Pictured above HK-4623 is seen outside the Shannon Aerospace hangars this afternoon.

Aer Lingus reinstate Heathrow route as CityJet increase capacity

Aer Lingus reintroduced the Heathrow - Shannon slot tonight after a break of just over 14 months. Tonight's flight EIN 387 was operated by A320 EI-DES which arrived at 19.27z. The 'new' Heathrow - Shannon services operate twice daily on weekdays with a morning only service on Saturday and an evening only service on Sunday.

Meanwhile it was case of getting the retaliation in first at CityJet who got the jump on Aer Lingus when they increased capacity on the Paris - Shannon route on Saturday evening. From last night the twice daily Paris - Shannon flights will be operated by RJ85 aircraft. Last evening 's service was operated by RJ85 EI-RJU. CityJet have also revamped their schedule with a very early 5.40 am departure from Shannon utilizing an aircraft which now overnights in Shannon. It had been a criticism of the CityJet service that connecting with services in Paris had been compromised with the late morning arrival of the Shannon originating flight.

Whilst connectivity from Shannon is now better than it has ever been, there must surely be excess capacity with the combined London and Paris services and a soft market. It remains to be seen who will blink first.

TF-JXG declares Mayday, returns to Shannon

Primera B737-7Q8 msn 28210 departed Shannon after a maintenance check late last night but returned shortly afterwards with the number 1 engine shut down. The aircraft had been on a check with Air Atlanta since March 12 when it arrived from Chateauroux in France as TF-NBA. Last night's flight was positioning out empty with a crew of three on board. 

The aircraft departed Shannon on Saturday night at 23.39z as flight number JXX 9701, but approximately 30 miles southwest of Dublin and in the climb the crew requested a return to Shannon with an engine shut down due to a 'loss of oil'. The crew subsequently declared 'Mayday' and the aircraft continued in the descent towards the Ennis NDB to lose height before turning in for finals on Runway 24.

The aircraft landed at 00.22z with the full airport fire and rescue service in attendance. TF-JXG taxied off the runway at 'Alpha' and made it's own way back to the Air Atlanta hangar. For the record TF-JXG retains the same hex code as it's previous identity TF-NBA - 4CC47B.

Pictured above TF-JXG sits outside the Air Atlanta hangar this afternoon, none the worse for it's midnight excursion.

Strike threat doesn't have official sanction

Union Siptu's president Jack O'Connor has been forced to release a statement to the effect that an 8 hour strike at the country's three state airports planned for April 2 has not been sanctioned by the union. The statement came after the Dublin airport branch of the union served strike notice on the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) even though the threat of a national strike was lifted yesterday.

The national strike had been threatened as a result of the refusal of some employers to pay national wage agreement increases agreed last autumn. It had been agreed employers who had either paid the increase or who were willing to negotiate with the unions would remain unaffected by the strike. Siptu workers at Dublin had claimed that the DAA had refused to pay increments due whereas the DAA said that it had paused the payment of increments pending the outcome of a cost improvement program. The DAA further stated that it was willing to enter negotiations on the increments concerned, calling on Siptu to call off the strike and enter talks at the Labour Relations Commission. Siptu said this evening that it had received the request and would consider the invitation on Monday.

New airbridges for Dublin's T2

Chicago based JBT Corporation announced today that it had been awarded a contract by the Dublin Airport Authority to supply nineteen airbridges for Dublin's T2. The project when completed will allow aircraft types from regional jets up to A340/B747-400 to be handled at the new terminal. Nearly half the air bridges will be configured to 'Multiple Aircraft Ramp System' (MARS) which allows for two airbridges to service a wide body or two narrow body aircraft at the same gate. The value of the contract is not stated in the press release.

Tailwind in a tailspin ?

The pilot consortium Tailwind which was set up to fight the first Ryanair takeover bid is in disarray according to reports in the Irish Independent following the resignation of four of the seven member management team. Citing concerns about the way in which the company is being run, three of the four advised their resignations earlier this month but decided not to publicise the news as the company is currently attempting to refinance with the aid of Permanent TSB Bank. The consortium membership amounts to over 500  pilots each of whom has invested on average €30,000. As of this week the company has realised  a paper loss of €20m as a result of the fall in the Aer Lingus share price. The refinancing scheme with Permanent TSB was due for completion this week with the money to be drawn down by March 26. There were fears at senior management level within Tailwind that should the deal fail that the company's original backer Bank of Scotland might pull the plug. Market sources however indicated that foreclosure might not happen given the depressed state of the Aer Lingus share price at present. 

D-AILI joins Lufthansa Italia fleet

Airbus A319-114 registered D-AILI has joined the Lufthansa Italia fleet. The aircraft had been with Shannon Aerospace since March 18 for a maintenance check. During this time the aircraft received the additional 'Italia' titles. The aircraft was also renamed 'Roma' with these titles being added over the rearmost passenger windows. Pictured above DLH 8951 back tracks R24 from Shannon Aerospace for departure to Milan.

EI-EDP about to enter service

Airbus A320 EI-EDP of Aer Lingus positioned from Shannon to Dublin this afternoon as the EIN 993. The aircraft, msn 3781 is expected to enter service with Aer Lingus in the next day or two.

Irish Aircraft Register

In a welcome move the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) have updated the Irish Civil aircraft register as of March 23. In an even more welcome move the register is now available in Excel and with hex codes added !

The register can be downloaded at http://www.iaa.ie/index.jsp?p=93&n=99

Airports face closure on April 2

The three state airports of Dublin, Shannon and cork face closure on Thursday next after union Siptu served strike notice today. The Dublin Airport Authority said this evening that the union had served the mandatory 7 days notice citing non payment of wage increases negotiated under the national wage agreement last autumn.

Earlier this week a national strike which was to have taken place next Monday was called off when the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) called the unions to meet for new discussions on a new social partnership deal.

The terms of today's strike notice are identical to those of the national day of strike which was called off.

The DAA has written to Siptu saying that terms relating to a national pay agreement should be dealt with in the framework of a social partnership deal while increments outside of the framework should be dealt with under the umbrella of the Labour Relations Commission.

Former CEO loses case against Ryanair

A Polish court has dismissed a case taken by a former CEO of the country's national airline LOT in which the executive claimed that he had suffered damage through the use of his image in a Ryanair advertisement. Mr. Marek Mazur enjoyed a tenure of just 38 days at the helm of LOT in 2007. The Ryanair advertisement asked the question why the airline lost it's CEO after 38 days? The ad carried a picture of Mr. Mazur replying that he couldn't compete with Ryanair's fares.

The court determined that Mr. Mazur failed to demonstrate that his reputation had in fact been damaged as a result of the advertisement. It also found that as a CEO of the airline he was a public figure and as such his image enjoyed a reduced level of protection. M. Mazur was ordered to pay Ryanair's costs. 

EI-EBP delivered to Ryanair

Ryanair accepted it's latest B737 on Wednesday. EI-EBP arrived in Dublin shortly after 9am, March 25th. The aircraft is msn 37531 and carrieds hex code 4CA739.

Irish company charged with shippping parts to Iran

In a federal court, the US Justice Department has charged an Irish company with procuring aircraft parts and exporting them to Iran. The charges which were read in court on Tuesday relate to transactions dating back to 2005. The company concerned is Sligo based Mac Aviation which it is alleged, accepted purchase orders from Iranian companies for aircraft engines and parts, procured the parts and shipped the consignments through third parties in Malayasia before ending up in Iran. The indictments contain a total of 19 charges relating to violating US law, making false statements and faking documents against three individuals, namely 72 year old Tom Guinn, owner of Mac Aviation, his son Sean McGuinn, the company's sales director and Sean Byrne the commercial manager. In one incident the company is alleged to have purchased $4.27m worth of helicopter engines from Rolls Royce in Indiana and told RR that the parts were not intended for military use. The Justice Department contend however that these parts were intended for an Iranian company under the control of the military.

The charges come one week after a 55 year old Iranian man was charged in a San Fransisco court with attempting to procure helicopter engines and military grade surveillance cameras for shipment to Iran. If convicted he faces up to 65 years in prison.

New Sales Area Manager at Shannon Aerospace

Shannon Aerospace have announced the appointment of Malcolm Chandler as Sales Area Manager with responsibility for customers in France, Ireland and the UK along with banking and leasing companies worldwide.

Prior to joining Shannon Aerospace in January, Mr. Chandler worked with Marshall Aerospace and ATC Lasham.

Change to booking system

Ryanair announced today that it's ticket booking system has been modified in line with EU directives on 'box ticking'. When booking tickets, optional travel insurance had previously been preselected requiring passengers to 'un-tick' the box if they did not wish to purchase. In future it will be necessary to 'tick' the box to purchase. As yet the airline has not advised an effectivity date for the change.

Ryanair add two EMA routes

Ryanair have announced two new routes from East Midlands. Commencing July the airline will serve Palma and Reus three times weekly, bringing to 34 the number of routes served from East Midlands.

Aer Lingus pulls forward board meeting

The Sunday Business Post reports that the Aer Lingus April board meeting is to be pulled forward to this week as the company attempts to come to terms with the adverse reaction of institutional investors to the current share price. Following the announcement of the 2008 financial results which saw losses touching €120m and the failure of the Ryanair €1.40 per share bid, Aer Lingus' share price has taken somewhat of a hammering in the markets. Last Friday the shares closed at €0.59.

Aer Lingus cash pile of €650m has come under pressure of late and is forecast to shrink to €400m this year. As a result the Business Post reports that the airline is considering scaling back on capital expenditure this year, including deferring aircraft deliveries. 

Callaghan for Etihad

It was recently announced that Jim Callaghan, head of regulatory and legal affairs at Ryanair was departing for pastures new after 9 years with the airline. It now appears that Mr. Callaghan is joining Etihad Airways as General Counsel and executive vice president legal.

Ryanair lose landmark court case in Sweden

Ryanair have been ordered by a Swedish court to compensate a couple from Nykoping for costs they incurred in travlling home after their Ryanair flight was cancelled at the last minute. The couple had been told that their return flight was being cancelled shortly before they left Brussels for home. Not being in a position to wait several days for the next available flight, the couple decided to make their own way home by car, taxi and train. Ryanair had agreed to refund their ticket fares but had refused to compensate them for the costs incurred in getting home on the basis that the decision was voluntary on the part of the passengers concerned. Sewedn's consumer Ombudsman decided to take a case on behalf of the couple, filing for damages of 4,790 kr. The court found against Ryanair for failing to live up to it's obligations under the European passenger rights laws but limited damages to 2,325 kr and ordered each party to pay it's own costs. The case is thought to be the first to determine the extent of passenger rights and the limits of airline responsibilities under European law

Aer Lingus breached fuel guidelines

The Sunday Business Post reports that as a result of an investigation by the Revenue Commissioners, Aer Lingus has admitted the 'inadvertent' use of duty exempt fuels in some of it's service vehicles. The Revenue Commissioners are believed to have targeted a number of airlines in their investigations. The airline admitted that it had received a "number of summonses" following the investigation which revealed the use of duty exempt fuel in certain vehicles, adding that procedures had been tightened to ensure that duty exempt and duty paid fuels could not be mixed in future.

EI-CRL returns off lease

Alitalia B767-343ER registered EI-CRL has returned to the US at the end of it's lease to Alitalia. The aircraft is msn 30008 and arrived in Shannon late last night from Rome Fiumicino, departing this morning for Greensboro NC. The aircraft was originally delivered to Alitalia in March 1999, obviously on a ten year lease, routing through Shannon on that occasion. Pictured above EI-CRL departs off R06 this morning.

Ryanair's 200th 737

The question may have crossed a few minds in recent days if Ryanair's 200th B737 had any special decals to celebrate the event. Pictured above in the copyright picture by Michael Kelly the answer is very obviously "no". Nonetheless EI-EBO makes a fine study in spring sunshine on finals to Runway 10 at Dublin at the end of it's delivery flight from Seattle. The speed with which Ryanair are accepting aircraft at present poses the question does the airline order an alphabet at a time ?

Former SkyAirWorld Emb 145 VH-SZH arrives in Shannon

Former SkyAirWorld Embraer ERJ-145MP registered VH-SZH arrived in Shannon at lunchtime today. The aircraft is msn 145441 and departed northern Australia at the same time as it's larger sister ships last weekend following the demise of SkyAirWorld. The aircraft followed a different routing and arrived in Shannon at lunchtime today via Dubai - Damascus - Papola Casale (Italy) and Rome Fuimicino. The aircraft differs from the Embraer 190 aircraft in that it has a full colour scheme including titles. None of the E190 aircraft appear to have carried titles whilst they were operated by SkyAirWorld. Pictured above VH-SZH positions onto Taxiway 11 after it's arrival.

OY-MRG arrives in Shannon for maintenance

In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of Futura and Sterling the aircraft operated by both airlines went into hibernation around Europe but as the start of the 2009 IT season approaches there has been a flurry of activity in recent weeks with the MRO providers at Shannon going through a particularly busy patch. This morning saw the arrival of former Sterling B737-7L9 msn 28010, registered OY-MRG. The aircraft was originally delivered to Maersk in 1999 and stayed with them until the merger with Sterling in 2005. Sterling ceased ops on October 29 last. Pictured above OY-MRG, in full Sterling colours arrives in Shannon from Ulemiste airport in Tallinn, Estonia.  The aircraft positioned to the Air Atlanta hangar on arrival.

Also this morning, Primera B737-7Q8 msn 28210 which is another former Sterling machine emerged from the Air Atlanta hangar wearing registration TF-JXG.

Tailwind Pilot's group to address loan security

The Irish Independent reports that the pilot's group Tailwind Nominees which holds a 1.8% shareholding in Aer Lingus has been forced into discussions centered on security for the loans by the groups backers Bank of Scotland (Ireland).

In the aftermath of the Aer Lingus 2008 year results issued two weeks ago, the share price plunged 26% which puts Tailwind in the position of staring at a paper loss approaching €20m. The discussions with BoS are understood to centre on security for the loans which are secured on the shares themselves and the pilot's salaries.

Tailwind Nominees was formed as an investment vehicle for Aer Lingus pilots during the first Ryanair attempted takeover in 2006. The group bought over 6.14m aer Lingus shares at €2.90 per share.  At close of business today the shares were trading at €0.60.

Unions meet with SR Technics and IDA

Management at SR Technics' Dublin facility have outlined the timeline of job losses at the facility. After a meeting this afternoon, workers were told that 600 workers would be made redundant on April 3. By mid April a further 100 workers would leave with the balance of 400 going at the end of August.

Earlier today, union SIPTU met with the IDA (Industrial Development Authority) to discuss rescue plans for the company. According to the union, a total of 30 expressions of interest had been received by the IDA which has asked each party to submit a detailed business plan outlining employment prospects and financial projections. 

The union also discussed with the IDA the matter of the €26m shortfall in the company's pension plan and what workers see as an inadequate redundancy payment. The IDA responded to the effect that these matters were outside it's remit.

This afternoon a lengthy meeting was held between SR Technics and the unions which failed to find a resolution to the issue of the pension shortfall which the company is refusing to fund. Both parties agreed to refer the matter to the LRC (Labour Relations Commission) which will meet with both sides on Tuesday next.

Ryanair take delivery of 200th B737

Ryanair took delivery today of B737-8AS EI-EBN, msn 35003, hex code 4CA737 and EI-EBO, msn 35004, hex code 4CA738.  EI-EBO has the distinction of being the airline's 200th 800 series aircraft.

IAA issues statement regarding fees

In an obvious reply to Ryanair's contention that a 12% increase in ATC fees to be implemented this summer is a contributory factor in the airline's proposed reduction in Dublin base capacity, the IAA has issued a statement to clarify it's position.

" The IAA's Terminal ATC charges are independently set by the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR). The determination is made on a five year basis and regularly reviewed.  All Airline customers at Dublin Airport etc. had an opportunity to make submissions on the determination.  The five year determination was made by the CAR in March 2007 and published on the CAR website under reference CP4/2007.  The rates for the five years to 2012 were advised to the IAA as part of that process and some assumptions upon which the determination is made are also reviewed periodically by CAR.

The Authority continues " The IAA has always followed the independent determination of the Commission for Aviation Regulation.  The IAA, in common with other regulated entities, makes submissions to the CAR concerning each five year pricing cycle and we did this in 2007 and this was published", adding  "Any operators decision to expand or restrict its activities must be viewed in the broader economic climate where airlines worldwide are reducing capacity and taking aircraft out of service."

At least the IAA and Ryanair are now on the same hymn sheet in that both consider that the buck stops with the Regulator !

Ryanair to base another aircraft at Charleroi

Ryanair announced to day that it would bring it's fleet strength at it's Charleroi base to eight aircraft when it bases another frame there from June. Five new routes will be added as a result of the move. The new destinations will be Brindisi, La Rochelle, Palma, Santiago and Turin. Frequency will be increased on routes to Fez, Manchester, Riga and Marseille.

The airline estimate that it's passenger numbers at Charleroi will grow to exceed 3 million per annum as a result of today's announcement.

Ryanair announce 7 new routes from Memmingen

Ryanair announced today that from next month it was starting seven new routes from Memmingen in Germany. The new routes will link the Bavarian airport with Alghero, Alicante, Girona, Reus, Dublin, Stansted and Pisa.

Memmingen is located 100km west of Munich and was the home of the German Air Force 34th Fighter Wing from 1959 to 2003. At 633m AMSL the airport is Germany's highest commercial airport and has one runway 06/24 which is just under 3km long. The only other operator at the airport which is operated by a consortium of local businesses is TuiFly.

UK CAA traffic figures for February

The UK CAA has published traffic figures for February 2009.

The key Ireland - London area airports all show strong Year on Year decline in numbers for the month, even allowing for the fact that 2008 was a leap year with one extra day's traffic.

From Dublin, Gatwick traffic was up 1% YoY at 79,835. Heathrow and Stansted both showed strong negative trends with LHR down 17% to just over 121,000 passengers and Stansted down 18% to just over 57,000. In total, Dublin's traffic to the 'Big 4' London area airports was down 12% .

At Cork, Gatwick traffic was almost identical YoY, down 2% to 8,460. Heathrow and Stansted again showed strong adverse trends with LHR down 12% to 32,773 and Stansted down a similar 11% to 19,514. In total, Cork's London traffic was down 10.3% for the month.

Shannon has fared the best of the three state airports with Gatwick traffic up 26% YoY at 15,704 and Stansted growing 3% YoY to 26,342. Luton however showed a 20% reduction to 4,404. In total, Shannon's London area traffic grew 6.9% to 46,450 passengers.

Cork and Shannon may be losing some passengers to Kerry with both it's London routes to Luton and Stansted showing a 22% YoY growth over 2008 to 3,039 and 9,817 passengers respectively.

In Belfast, City Airport continues to decline on the key LHR route with numbers dropping 7% YoY to 38,149. At Belfast International, Aer Lingus figures have shown a 4% drop YoY to 16,771 which represents a load factor in the order of 57%, bearing in mind that February 2008 was the airlines first full month of service on the route.

EI-EBM delivered to Ryanair

Ryanair took delivery of the latest B737 today. EI-EBM, msn 35002 and hex code 4CA736 arrived from Seattle shortly after 11.00 am using the familiar flight number RYR 800M. Pictured above in the copyright picture by Michael Kelly, EI-EBM flares gently for landing in Dublin at the end of it's ferry flight from the east coast of the US.

VH-SXO and VH-SXK arrive in Shannon

To paraphrase the song, "It's a long, long way from Cairns to here". And so it was that on St. Patrick's Day two Embraer 190 aircraft which had been operated by Brisbane based SkyAirWorld arrived in Shannon having left the north coast of Australia at the weekend. The aircraft in question are VH-SXO, pictured at top and VH-SXK, pictured at bottom and were repossessed by leasing company GECAS.

SkyAirWorld went into receivership on Friday last owing AUS$40m and leaving 140 staff with little chance of getting their entitlements. The collapse of the airline has left government officials in Australia in a rather embarrassing position since the airline was awarded the equivalent of a PSO route as recently as January to provide services between mainland Australia and the Christmas and Cocos Islands. The services were due to commence in early April.

SkyAirWorld began operations in May 2007 with a route to the Solomon Islands. At the time of the collapse the airline's fleet consisted of two Embraer 190, one Embraer 170 and two Embraer 145 aircraft. The Embraer 170 was painted in a spectacular Solomon Airlines colour scheme.

SkyAirWorld had signed an agreement at the end of last year to lease an aircraft to Timor Air with flights due to commence between Darwin and Dili and also entered an agreement with Lion Air of Indonesia which would have established a joint venture airline which would have allowed Lion Air enter the Australian domestic market and serve routes between Australia and Indonesia.

The two aircraft which arrived in Shannon are VH-SXK, msn 19000154 which was delivered exactly a year ago on March 16 and VH-SXO, msn 19000231 which was delivered on December 5 last.

Ryanair pilots agree to 12 month pay freeze

Ryanair confirmed today that it's pilots had agreed to a 12 month pay freeze as an alternative to a 10 percent cut in salary. The airline had originally sought a pay cut in line with the reductions accepted by senior management but the pilots have now agreed the freeze along with enhanced productivity savings.

EI-EDS positions to Dublin

Airbus A320-214 EI-EDS, msn 3755 positioned to Dublin this afternoon. Operating as the EIN 993, the aircraft was making it's first appearance in Dublin following it's delivery to Shannon on February 13 and subsequent painting at the Lufthansa Paint facility.

Claret Capital involved in SRT bid

The Irish Times reports today that senior management at SR Technics in Dublin are believed to have joined up with private equity group Claret Capital to make a bid for some of the business at Dublin airport.

SRT's management are believed to be working on a plan which would save approximately 500 of the 1,100 jobs when the operation at Dublin ariport is shut by the Swiss parent in the coming months. Last week the team are believed to have approached Claret Capital who have been advising on a bid which would see SR Technics invest capital in the project - a sum equivalent to the redundancy payment of those concerned. An equity injection from Claret Capital hasn't been ruled out. Claret are 25% owned by the family of Senator Fergal Quinn and are behind JetBird, the proposed Very Light Jet (VLJ) taxi operator which intends commencing business out of Cologne later this year.

Both the IDA and Enterprise Ireland are understood to have hired an external consultant to evaluate upwards of 16 proposals received to date for parts of the SRT business.

DAA puts a hold on Capex projects

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has pulled almost €350m in capital expenditure programs from it's investment program over the next five years. Projects which have been placed on the long finger pending an economic revival include the second runway, an engine test bay and additional aircraft parking places. 

Projects which are to go ahead include a new multi storey car park for 1,700 cars, costing €40m and a €4m taxi holding area with capacity for 450 cars, including rest facilities for drivers. Repair of the exisiting runway surface which was laid in the 1980's will also take place and taxiways dating back 40 years will also be rejuvenated.

Aer Lingus warned by police

Aer Lingus' battle with easyJet for Gatwick passengers took to the streets of London over the weekend. Aer Lingus had organised the "999 nudes" parade on it's Facebook and Twitter web sites to highlight the £9.99 fares from it's new base which is to open shortly at Gatwick.

Aer Lingus claim that 2,000 people applied for the 999 (semi nude) places which promised a pair of free tickets from Gatwick in exchange for participation in the parade. easyJet for it's part claimed that 300 people including 50 cabin crew turned out for what it describes as a "new low in publicity stunts". 

The police had warned Aer Lingus that participants must not appear completely nude at the event.

Meanwhile, around the corner and making sure that they didn't miss out, Ryanair promised to unveil a "lovely leggy leprechaun"  outside Covent Garden tube station to hand out free tickets.

Ryanair announced further cuts at Dublin

Ryanair today announced a further round of service cuts to be implemented in Dublin this July. The airline says that the latest reductions are in response to the ongoing traffic decline resulting from the implementation of the €10 travel tax and the decision by the Aviation Regulator to allow the IAA (Irish Aviation Authority) increase ATC charges by 12% this summer.

The latest reductions which will see the end of services from Dublin to Basel, Oporto, Doncaster and Teeside will also see reductions on 8 other routes.

In conjunction with previously announced reductions, today's cuts will see 5 less based aircraft at Dublin this summer and 20% less rotations, down to less than 600 from more than 700. The airline forecast the total job losses at Dublin will now reach 250. 

Announcing today's cuts Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary said “This latest 12% increase in Government owned ATC charges at Dublin Airport is another nail in the coffin of Irish tourism.  These increases have been rubber-stamped yet again by Ireland’s useless Aviation Regulator, Cathal Guiomard, proving again how useless he is and that he should be sacked. How can any regulator approve a 12% increase in ATC charges in a year when inflation will be negative? This is impossible to justify."

JetBird pushes startup date out to autumn

VLJ (Very Light Jet) taxi operator JetBird has pushed it's start date from April out to August or September of this year. The company say that the delay has absolutely nothing to do with the current financial crises and is related purely to the fact that it will have only one aircraft on it's books come April. As a result the company has taken a view that it is more desirable to launch in August or September of this year with 3 or 4 aircraft and add one Phenom frame every couple of months until it reaches the 53 firm orders that it has placed with Embraer. Including options, JetBird has 100 Phenom on order.

It was announced today that the family of Senator Fergal Quinn have taken a 25% shareholding in Claret Capital, the private equity firm which owns JetBird. The Quinn family have invested in several Claret Capital projects including JetBird and Blue Ocean wireless since they sold their supermarket chain for 450m several years ago.

Domhnall Slattery, Claret's founder will now cede control of his majority shareholding as a result of the Quinn family's investment.

SR Technics workers march to Dublin City Centre

Workers at SR Technics marched through the centre of Dublin today to the offices of the European Commission to highlight ongoing concerns related to the closure of the Dublin based MRO provider. Martin Territt, director of the commission's Dublin office met with the workers and committed to highlighting their concerns in Brussels. The workers are concerned at a deficit in the company's pension plan and the inadequacy of the redundancy payment scheme. The workers also highlighted what they say is misinformation relating to the viability and profitability of the Dublin operation emanating from SRT's Zurich headquarters.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin asked the Irish ambassador to Saudi Arabia to intervene in the affair yesterday. Minister Martin asked that the matter of the workers concerns be raised with SRT's largest shareholder in Dubai.

G-TTOB delivered to BA at LHR

Former easyJet and GB Airways Airbus A320-232, msn 1687 has been delivered to British Airways at Heathrow. The aircraft arrived in Shannon on December 9 last and has been receiving treatment at Shannon Aerospace since. As part of the lease hand back the aircraft was painted in full BA colours. Shortly after lunch today the aircraft departed Shannon for Heathrow as the BAW 9259.

EI-EDP test flies after painting

New Aer Lingus A320 EI-EDP, msn 3781 made it's first flight since arriving in Shannon on February 16 last. The aircraft which arrived all white from Toulouse was subsequently painted by Lufthansa Paint and has been hangared since. Pictured above EIN 990 lines up on R24 for departure.

G-TTOD test flies in Eurofly colours

Former easyJet A320 G-TTOD, msn 1723 made a test flight from Shannon today in full Eurofly colours. The aircraft along with sister ship G-TTOC (which has been reregistered I-EEZN) are due for delivery to the Italian carrier shortly. G-TTOD was first noted in Eurofly colours earlier this week in the Shannon aerospace paint bay. Pictured above, EZY 8030 lines up on R24 for departure.

TF-NBA makes return visit

This morning saw the return of one Shannon Aerospace's longest serving residents from last summer. Boeing 737-7QB, msn 28210,  registered TF-NBA arrived from Chateauroux in France where the aircraft had been painted in full Primera colours. The aircraft spent several months in Shannon last summer when it arrived back off lease to Air Mauitanie with whom it had been registered EI-DZD. During it's sojourn with Shannon Aerospace the aircraft was painted in full Sterling colours with the intention of going on the Danish register as OY-MRS. The demise of Sterling ensured that the deal never happened with the aircraft eventually departing Shannon registered TF-NBA. On arrival this morning the aircraft positioned to the Air Atlanta hangar.

Brainstorming your customers

Refusing to definitively kill off the 'will they won't they' story of toilet doors, Ryanair today announced a competition to find the most wacky ancillary revenue idea. A prize of €1,000 is being offered for the best idea selected after the closing date of March 30. The airline claims that following the outbreak of the toilet story it has been inundated with suggestions for revenue earning ideas including :

·        Charging for toilet paper – with O’Leary’s face on it,

·        Charging €2.50 to read the safety cards,

·        Charging €1 to use oxygen masks,

·        Charging €25 to use the emergency exit,

·        Charging €50 for bikini clad Cabin Crew.

Ryanair condemn EU proposal on slot waiver

Ryanair today condemned the decision by the European Commission to waive the 'use it or lose it' rule in relation to slot times at slot regulated airports. Under the proposal, airlines will no longer be obliged to operate on a slot controlled route in order to retain the slot. Ryanair contend that the new practice is protectionist and that it allows airlines to effectively lock competitors out of an airport by refusing to give up unused slots. Ryanair's growth has to some extent depended on the airline picking up unused slots at regulated airports. The airline's Deputy CEO Michael Cawley said "This is bad for aviation, airports and, above all, consumers as it reverses Europe back to its old regulated ways in aviation when inefficient, monopolistic, state run airlines blocked more efficient operators from competing on a level playing field."  

Ryanair check in plan to result in job losses

Ryanair's decision to abolish the traditional airport check-in desks will result in approximately 50 job losses at Dublin airport and a drop in revenue from desk rental of approximately €250,000 to the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). Ryanair currently employ in the region of 100 check in staff at Dublin. An airline spokesman has indicated that the move to web based check in will result in a headcount reduction of more than 50%. The staff affected will be free to 'apply for Ryanair vacancies abroad', since Ryanair is currently not recruiting in Ireland.

The check-in function is outsourced at both Shannon and Cork airports where a pro-rata reduction in headcount is envisaged. 

Norwegian Air Shuttle's LN-NOP emerges from paint shop

Boeing 737-86N msn 32655 emerged from the Lufthansa paint hangar in Shannon today as LN-NOP. The aircraft is ex Futura and arrived in Shannon from Budapest on Tuesday last, March 5 as EI-ECL. As with other NAX aircraft painted by LAPS the artistic tail decals will be applied on handover.       LN-NOP is due to be ferried to Oslo Gardermoen tonight, with a departure scheduled just before midnight.

Aer Lingus post loss for '08, issue profit warning

Aer Lingus has recorded a pre tax loss of almost €120m for 2008 compared a pre tax profit of almost €125m a year earlier. Taking out the one off restructuring costs incurred during the year, pre tax profits fell by 84%to just over €21m. 

For fiscal 2008, revenue grew by 5.6% to €1,357m. Passenger numbers grew by 7.5% to just over 10 million which gave a load factor of 72.8% down from 75.4% a year earlier. Short haul capacity grew by 13.6% while long haul capacity grew by 13%.

For the year ahead the airline said that it would not meet previous guidance on profit due to lower fares, softer cargo loads and the worsening Irish economy.

Following the release of the results, Shares in the airline fell by as much as 39 percent, the single biggest daily slump in value since the IPO in September 2006. At their lowest point, shares in airline were trading at 48 cents. So far this year the airline's value has fallen by 60%, cutting it's market valuation to just €320m.

As a result of today's profit warning, Ryanair, the largest investor in Aer Lingus has indicated that it intends to lodge a formal complaint with the Dublin and London stock exchanges, the Takeover Panel and the Financial Regulator about 'misleading' advice given by Aer Lingus in relation to profit forecasts.

"Today’s results from Aer Lingus prove conclusively that the chairman Colm Barrington, board and management of Aer Lingus misled shareholders and the Stock Exchange in their Defence Document of just 10 weeks ago. Shareholders are entitled to ask why there is no mention in today’s results about restoring or improving shareholder value," said Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary.

"It would appear that the board and management of Aer Lingus care more about lining their own pockets with excessive and unjustified director fees and multi-million euro resignation bonuses for failed management than they do about growing Aer Lingus, delivering profitability or shareholder value, " he added.

US VP Biden stops in Shannon

US Vice President Joe Biden made a stopoff in Shannon this evening on his return home after addressing a NATO meeting in Brussels. "Air Force 2" operated by C32 serial 99-0003 arrived at Shannon shortly after 7.00pm, departing again at 8.30pm.

5N-MJN delivered to Arik

Arik Wings of Nigeria have taken delivery of a B737-86N registered 5N-MJN. The aircraft is msn 35638 and arrived in Shannon this morning as flight number ARA 800 on it's ferry flight direct from Boeing Field. The aircraft is named Eddington and carries hex code 0640C2. Pictured above, 5N-MJN was initially parked on R13-31 on arrival before being towed to Stand 39.

Air Jamaica 6Y-JME at Shannon Aerospace

Eastbound transatlantic maintenance visitors are unusual in this part of the world so the arrival of Air Jamaica A321-211 registered 6Y-JME at Shannon today is certainly a noteworthy event. Arriving this morning AJM 6003 is pictured above arriving from Licenciado Benito Juarez International in Mexico via Gander.

D-AHIE arrives in Shannon for paint

Hamburg International B737-73S (msn 29081) registered D-AHIE arrived in Shannon this morning for painting. The aircraft was originally destined to go Sterling as OY-MRT last year but the demise of the Danish carrier meant that the deal never materialised. The aircraft will be painted for Aires Colombia at Lufthansa Paint Shannon. On arrival from Brussels it was noted that the aircraft's rudder had already been painted in Aires colours prior to balancing. Pictured above D-AHIE prepares to land on R24.

IAA publish traffic statistics for February 2009

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) today published it's traffic figures for February 2009.

Overflights for Febraury 2009 were down 4.8% YoY on February 2008 at 20,837.

Airport terminal movements for the month of February at the three state airports look like :

Dublin down 15.6% at 12,897.

Shannon down 6.5% at 2,234. 

Cork down 26.8% at 1,902.

The year to date, end of February figures for commercial movements look like

Dublin down 12.1%

Shannon down 8.1%

Cork down 23.5%

Ryanair's Callaghan to quit in April

Just one day after route development chief Bernard Berger announced his intention to quit the airline, Ryanair's head of legal affairs Jim Callaghan informed the airline of his intended departure at the end of April. Mr. Callaghan is understood to be leaving for a position with a long haul airline outside of Europe. He will remain with Ryanair up to the end of April to facilitate the transfer of his workload.

During his tenure with Ryanair, Mr. Callaghan has led several high profile cases including the Charleroi debacle and the Aer Lingus bids.

Ryanair announce 100% web check in from October

Ryanair today announced a three phase program which will lead to 100% web based in passenger check in from October 1 2009.

Phase 1 : From March 19 2009 web based check in will be extended to non EU citizens, passengers with checked in baggage and passengers with reduced mobility.

Phase 2 : From May 1 2009 all new bookings will be required to use web based check in with the phase out of traditional airport check desks beginning. To dissuade passengers from availing of airport check in, the fee for the use of such services will double to €20 or £20 per person per flight at the time of booking.

Phase 3 : From October 1, airport check in desks will no longer exist. Passengers will be required to check in on line and those with baggage will be required to bring their bags to a drop desk. From this date, unaccompanied passengers under the age of 16 will no longer be eligible to travel and passports / national identity cards will be the only acceptable form of identification.

IAA publish traffic figures for January

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has published the traffic figures for January 2009.

En route overflights for the month declined by 4.6% Year on Year at 21,181 with North Atlantic HF traffic down a similar 5%.

At the three state airports, terminal movements at Dublin were down 10% YoY at 15,322. Shannon was down 12.4% at 2,919 while Cork was down 15.6% YoY at 3,703.

Commercial air transport movements at the state airports were Dublin down 8.8% YoY, Shannon down 9.5% YoY and Cork down 20.3% YoY.

Recession bites at order books

Just how deep the current recession is hitting aircraft manufacturers can be seen from Boeing's order books for this year.

In the week ending March 3 the manufacturer booked just three commercial aircraft orders. Year to date the company has taken 22 orders compared to 190 for the same period in 2008. Of the 22 YTD, 13 are from Ryanair, 5 from Southwest and one from Alaska Airlines.

Ryanair call for urgent action at Dublin airport

As the deadline of April 1st approaches for the implementation of the €10 travel tax Ryanair's calls to the Irish government to scrap the plan are reaching crescendo point.  The latest call comes as the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) issued the February traffic figures for Dublin airport which show a 12% YoY decline for the month. In February 2009, 1.4m passengers passed through the airport, some 200,000 less than in the same period last year.

The airline further called for a 30% reduction in the airport passenger handling fee and for the Commissioner for Aviation Regulation Cathal Guiomard to step down.

In the UK the airline made a similar call on the government to scrap the £10 passenger tax, claiming that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has failed passengers interests in favour of the airports by rubber stamping inflation busting price increases at London's airports. 

Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary said that “Harry Bush and his friends in the CAA wouldn’t recognise a passenger if he jumped up and bit them. Having proven to be an inept and incompetent regulator, the CAA should now be removed from regulation altogether and allow competing airports to deliver the improved facilities and lower costs where Harry Bush and the CAA have repeatedly failed”.

O'Leary admits publicity stunt

Just one day after insisting that the airline was serious about making passengers pay for the use of aircraft toilets, Ryanair's Michael O'Leary admitted at a tourism conference in Malahide that the whole incident was a publicity stunt.

“Boeing can put people on the moon, design fighter aircraft and smart bombs, but they can’t design a bloody mechanism to go on doors that will accept coins,” he admitted, which would indicate that there had at least been a discussion between the airline and the Seattle based aircraft manufacturer.

O'Leary further indicated that European law requires that free access to toilets be provided where food and drink are served. Sounds very like a case of "If all else fails - turn it into a publicity stunt".