BA remains committed to Trans Atlantic premium service

British Airways said today that it remains committed to it's all premium class flight from London City to New York, in spite of the recent downturn in business travel. British Airways has seen a collapse in first and business class travel in recent months. The new service which will stop at Shannon on the westbound leg will be operated by A318 aircraft with 32 lie flat seat - beds. Passengers will also avail of full customs and border patrol clearance at Shannon and enter the US as domestic passengers. When the service commences later this year there will be two services per day, Monday to Friday with one on Sunday but none on Saturday when LCY is closed. BA has said that it is disappointed with the uptake by business travellers for it's London Gatwick - New York service which will end on October 25 next.

VLM name to disappear in favour of CityJet

From January next the VLM name will disappear in favour of CityJet. The move comes as the Blegian regional operator VLM becomes integrated into Air France-KLM. Both CityJet and VLM will maintain separate AOC's (Air Operators Certificates) and operate independently of each other. Commercially though the travelling public will see just one entity.

Ryanair wins injunction against screenscraper

Hamburg Court in Germany has upheld a decision from  a lower court which granted Ryanair an injunction against Vtours which had been selling Ryanair flights at inflated prices. The Higher Hamburg Court has now found that scraping Ryanair's web site to sell flights at higher fares is illegal in Germany. 

Ryanair allows cost comparison web sites to access it's timetable and pricing information for an annual fee of €100 which is donated to charity. 

Ryanair signs proxy over to Minister for Transport

Ryanair said today that it was disappointed that the Board of Aer Lingus has written to shareholders urging rejection of the two Ryanair proposals on directors' fees to be voted on at the Aer Lingus AGM next Friday.

The latest rejection by the Aer Lingus Board of the proposal proves once again that it is being run by government and the unions, according to Ryanair which now sees itself, the largest shareholder with no influence whatsoever. It says that it does not expect directors to work for nothing but it does believe that it's proposed fees are fair and reasonable given the limited time served by the directors and the fact that the current Board has presided over an 80% collapse in the Aer Lingus share price.

Ryanair says that it has now accepted the reality of the situation and has signed it's proxy for next Friday's AGM over to Noel Dempsey, the Minister for Transport, a move which effectively gives the Minister the final say in passing or rejecting the two Ryanair proposals due to the size of combined vote.

German Air force 45+53 diverts to Shannon

German Air Force Tornado IDS serial 45+53, call sign 'RETRO 52' diverted into Shannon yesterday evening after suffering an in flight engine shut down. The aircraft was one of a group of four aircraft being ferried eastbound across the North Atlantic. A second aircraft call sign 'RETRO 51' acted as shepherd until 45+53 was on the ground at Shannon but didn't land, instead carrying on towards Germany. The two remaining aircraft were noted passing through northern England and Holland with call sign 'RETRO 53'  displaying hex code 3F96C4. Neither 'RETRO 51' or 'RETRO 52' displayed a transponder code. Pictured above, 45+53 is seen parked on Taxiway 11 awaiting the imminent arrival of some spares. 45+53 is operated by Jagdbombergeschwader 33 based at Büchel.

OY-MRG delivered to Cimber Sterling

Cimber Sterling has taken delivery of B737-7L9 registered OY-MRG. The aircraft, msn 28010 was built in 1999 and delivered to Maersk as OY-MRG and subsequently transferred to the new Sterling Airlines when Sterling European and Maersk merged in 2005.  

Sterling Airlines folded in October 2008 and in December last, Cimber announced that it had purchased the Sterling name and slots with the intention of relaunching the airline as a separate business.  OY-MRG was ferried to Shannon on March 18 this year and was painted in the Cimber Sterling retro scheme at the Lufthansa paint hangar. Pictured above, OY-MRG is seen parked on taxiway 7 last Saturday morning. The aircraft was flown Shannon - Copenhagen this morning using the registration as flight number.

Aer Lingus urges 'No' vote

Aer Lingus has written to shareholders in the company urging them to vote against the resolutions being tabled by Ryanair at the Aer Lingus AGM on June 5. Ryanair has stated that it wants to have three resolutions on, namely :

1. That the Chairman's remuneration be reduced from €175,000 per annum to €35,000 per annum.

2. That the remuneration for non executive directors be reduced from €45,000 per annum to €17,500.

3. That resignation bonuses for the airline's executives be subject to shareholder approval at a general meeting.

Aer Lingus has agreed to allow items 1 and 2 be put to a vote but says that approving item 3 would require a change to the company's articles of association and has therefore ruled it out off the agenda.

In urging a 'No' vote, Aer Lingus says that the Chairman and non executive directors undertook a voluntary 20% drop in fees earlier this year. It also states that directors' workload and responsibility have increased since the 2006 IPO, thereby justifying the increase which occurred in the interim.

In the event of non attendance at the AGM, Aer Lingus has asked shareholders to appoint the Chairman, who will be voting against the proposal, to act as their proxy.

In proposing the amendments last week, Ryanair stated that it's Chairman received no fee whatsoever for his non executive role in the running of the LCC.

Simtech to build Aviation Centre of Excellence

Dublin based Simtech yesterday announced it's plans to build Ireland's first Aviation Centre of Excellence near Dublin Airport. The company which currently employs 24 people provides flight simulator training for a number of airline and corporate customers including Aer Arann, Tiger Airways, Kenya Airways, Westair and Private Sky. The multi million euro investment is expected to create an additional 16 jobs at the company which will site the facility at Dublin Airport Logistics Park. 

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen was on hand for the announcement and tree planting ceremony, pictured above in the copyright picture by Mark Dwyer.

EI-EWR returns to Dublin

Aer Lingus Airbus A330-202, msn 330 registered EI-EWR departed Dublin for Filton on Tuesday May 12 last to be painted white in preparation for lessor return. On Saturday last, May 23 the aircraft arrived back in Dublin as a 'white tail' where it was pictured above in the copyright picture by Michael Kelly.

The aircraft re-entered service with Aer Lingus today, operating flight EIN 123, Dublin to Chicago O'Hare. It is believed the aircraft is being operated on a 'per hour' basis until the next lease is put in place.

Seaplanes at Fermanagh

On Sunday last, May 24 the first ever seaplane event to take place on the island of Ireland took place on Lough Erne in Co. Fermanagh. Lough Erne has a long tradition of seaplanes and was used during World War II as a base for Catalinas and Sunderland flying boats as they patrolled the North Atlantic. Aircraft from Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands participated in the event at Share Holiday Village.

Pictured above in the copyright pictures by Ken Meegan are :

At top - EI-COY, William Floods pristine Piper J.3C Cub special, msn 22519 which was built in 1946.

At middle - G-TAFC, The Amphibious Flying Clubs Maule M-7 Super Rocket, msn 23062C.

At bottom - PH-DUK, Wings over Hollands, Cessna 185 Skywagon, msn 185.0046 built in 1961.

Other participants at the event were G-CCCW Pereira Osprey 2, G-DRAM Cessna FR172 Rocket and G-ESSL Cessna 182R.

TNT halt Shannon flights ?

It would appear that TNT express have ceased operating out of Shannon airport. There has been no nightly Shannon - Liege flight since Monday last May 18. The Dutch freight and mail service provider seems to have been particularly badly hit by the economic downturn and recently announced a worse than expected profit for Q1 of this year. The company recently announced that it was closing it's aircraft maintenance facility at Stansted airport with the loss of 90 jobs. Aircraft maintenance for the European fleet is to be relocated to Liege in Belgium by the end of this year. Last year the company dropped Cork off the shared Shannon-Cork air route. This year has already seen several changes to aircraft capacity on the Shannon route but it would now appear that the nightly service has finally been dropped.

Pictured above in the copyright picture by Michael Kelly taken last month, TNT A300 EC-HVZ, msn 227, a frequent visitor to Ireland, is seen in storage at Mojave in the California desert where more TNT aircraft are expected in the not too distant future.

Ryanair to add 800 jobs in expansions at Birmingham, Malta

Ryanair has indicated that it will create upwards of 700 jobs at Birmingham airport in the UK  midlands by almost doubling it's passenger numbers in the next year. The airline's sales and marketing manager Laszlo Tamas said the positions would be created if the airline meets it's target of 1.65m passengers through Birmingham next year, a figure that represents an 81% increase on this year's target. 

Ryanair opened it's Birmingham base last year at an investment of £356m and currently serves 32 routes from the airport.

The airline is also in discussions with the government of Malta with a view to setting up a base there later this year if an agreement can be reached. The plan would see two aircraft based on the island year round, adding twelve new routes and employing a staff of 100. At present, Ryanair handle 600,000 passengers per annum at Malta, where the airport charges are three times higher than the European average according to the airline's director of route development Ken O'Toole. In order for the base to happen a pricing deal needs to be worked out which will resolve the issue of passenger charges.

David Dilger appointed Chairman of DAA

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) today welcomed the decision by the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey to appoint David Dilger as Chairman of the company. Gary McGann the previous Chairman of the DAA resigned in March.

"David Dilger is a business leader of the highest calibre", said DAA Chief Executive Declan Collier in welcoming Mr. Dilger to the position.

Ryanair condemned the decision of the government "to replace one failed (Anglo Irish) bank director, Gary McGann as Chairman of the DAA airport monopoly, with another failed bank director, David Dilger who has been a Director of Bank of Ireland PLC since 2003." The airline went on to say that the appointment was totally inappropriate and "confirms that the "golden circle" of failed bank directors is alive and well and still being appointed to Boards of semi state companies by this clueless government."

Ryanair's Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said that “The fact that Mr Dilger was a participant in the near bankrupting of Bank of Ireland necessitating its bail out by the Government makes him one of the golden circle of “Banksters” who should be unfit to be Chairman of a semi-state company, even one as badly run as the DAA airport monopoly.

Viking invasion for Heineken Cup Final

One could have have been forgiven for thinking that the vikings were re-invading Dublin over the weekend due to the volume of Scandinavian aircraft at the airport. On this occasion however the invasion was that of Leinster rugby fans travelling to Scotland for the Heineken Cup Final with Leicester. Some of the more interesting visitors hired in for the airlift are seen above in the copyright pictures by Ken Meegan. 

At top is McDonnell Douglas MD87 (msn 49403) SE-RBA in the colours of Danish Air Transport.

In the middle is Avro RJ-85 (msn E2233) OY-RCE of Faeroe Islands operator Atlantic Airways.

At bottom is Boeing 737-3Y0 (msn 24464) OY-JTB of Danish operator Jet Time. This aircraft is no stranger to Ireland having spent a considerable time at Shannon Aerospace when it was registered RP-C4010 with Philippine Airlines.

EI-EFD delivered to Ryanair

Ryanair's latest B737-8AS was delivered to Dublin on Saturday morning. The aircraft is registered EI-EFD, msn 35011 carries hex code 4CA75F and is pictured above in the copyright picture by Ken Meegan arriving at Dublin from Seattle via Keflavik.

Former CityJet EI-DJJ joins FAB

Former CityJet BAe 146-200 msn E2040 EI-DJJ has joined Bolivian military operator TAM as FAB 103. The aircraft was built in 1985 and delivered to CityJet in May 2005. 

On May 13, Bolivian President Morales was present in LaPaz for the official arrival of the aircraft which is configured for 92 passengers and 6 crew. An impressive T33 escort was assembled for the arrival and can be seen in the picture link :FAB103

With thanks to Antoin Daltun

6Y-JMD carries out test flight

Air Jamaica Airbus A321-211 msn 666, registered 6Y-JMD carried out a test flight at Shannon today in the colours of Turkish operator Turkuaz. The aircraft arrived in Shannon on March 16 last, prior lessor return. In the interim the aircraft was painted in the colours of Turkuaz and received the once over at Shannon Aerospace. Two weeks ago the aircraft made a brief appearance in Turkish registration TC-TCE before the Jamaican registration was stickered on top.

Pictured above, 6Y-JMD, lines up on R24 this afternoon as AJM 8051.

Happy Hooligans arrive in Shannon

Three Gates Learjet C-21 aircraft of the 119th Wing, North Dakota Air National Guard arrived in Shannon late Thursday en route south west Asia. The aircraft 84-0124, 84-0064 and 84-0114 used the NODAK (NOrth DAKota) callsign. The aircraft departed Hector International Airport at Fargo, ND on Wednesday. This is the first time that the North Dakota ANG have deployed to SW Asia in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The 119th Wing (Happy Hooligans) began flying the Learjet C-21 when they lost their F-16 Fighting Falcons in January 2007. Pictured above arriving in near darkness at Shannon are 84-0064, 'NODAK 12' top, in the colours of the ND ANG and bottom, 84-0124, 'NODAK 52' in the colours of Connecticut ANG 'Flying Yankees'.

The Hooligans departed Shannon for Prague this Friday afternoon on the next leg of their eastward trek.

EI-EFE joins Ryanair fleet

Wednesday May 20 saw the arrival of the latest Ryanair B737-8AS. Pictured above in the copyright picture by Ken Meegan, EI-EFE, msn 37533, hex code 4CA760 is seen on arrival in Dublin on it's delivery flight from Seattle.

EI-SFA, EI-SFC join Irish Register

The first Cessna Mustangs on the Irish register arrived in Shannon late Thursday night en route to their operator, Iti Air Taxi based in Rome. The aircraft are EI-SFA, msn 510-0144 (hex code 4CA79E) and EI-SFC, msn 510-0196 (hex code 4CA7A0). Pictured above EI-SFA, top and EI-SFC are seen arriving in near darkness and rain at 20.36 utc and 20.40 utc respectively. Expected to layover in Shannon on Friday the aircraft made early morning departures just after 7.00 utc.

Ryanair propose cut in Aer Lingus directors' fees

Ryanair confirmed Thursday that it had written to all of Aer Lingus' shareholders including the Minister for Transport and ESOT, the Aer Lingus Share Option Trust seeking their support for three resolutions which Ryanair hope to raise at the Aer Lingus AGM on June 5 next. 

Ryanair believes that in the light of Aer Lingus poor performance of late that the airline cannot condone the payment of excessive non executive fees, a sum which amounted to €700,000 in 2008.

The low cost carrier points out that it's Chairman receives no fee whatsoever for his role whereas Colm Barrington, as Chairman of Aer Lingus receives €200,000 per annum and that the €45,000 per annum paid to other NEDs including President of Union ICTU, David Beggs, is €13,000 per annum above the average Irish annual wage.

It does appear that NED fees at Aer Lingus have ballooned in recent years. The Chairman's fee was just €35,000 in 2006, a year in which other directors' fees were €17,000.

The Ryanair proposals to be voted on at the AGM are that :

1. The Chairman's fee be reduce to it's 2006 level.

2. The other NED's annual fees be reduced to their 2006 level.

3. That the multi million euro resignation bonus paid to the airline's previous Chief Executive, Dermot Mannion and agreed with 5 other senior executives not be repeated without the prior approval of Aer Lingus shareholders in a general meeting.

The third point is one which attracted the wrath of the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey and David Begg, President of ICTU when it became knowledge.

Aer Lingus have agreed to items 1 and 2 being put to the AGM on June 5 but have refused to allow item 3, a move which Ryanair claims is an 'attempt to deny shareholders openness and transparency'. In agreeing to items 1 and 2 being added to the agenda for the AGM, Aer Lingus said that the fees paid to the Chairman for year ended December 31 last ammounted to €175,000 and those of the other non executive directors were set at €45,000. It further added that the Chairman and NEDs had agreed to a voluntary 20% reduction in fees for 2009.

Interestingly, the Government as a shareholder in Aer Lingus will have to vote on the resolutions. 

Ryanair have also said that it will use the opportunity of the AGM to question the Aer Lingus Chairman, Colm Barrington on the progress of his campaign announced on December 11 to find a 'friendly investor to take a majority stake in the airline'.

Aer Lingus board appointment

Aer Lingus today announced the appointment of Mr. Leslie Buckley as  a non executive director of the Board. He has been nominated to the position by the Minister for Finance. Mr. Buckley is a close associate of Denis O'Brien, being a founding director of Esat Telecom, Esat Digifone in Ireland and also of Digicell in the Caribbean and Central America, all of which were the brainchild of Denis O'Brien. He is also a director of Independent News and Media where Denis O'Brien holds in excess of 20% of the company's stock. 

Denis O'Brien was a vociferous opponent of Ryanair's first attempted takeover of Aer Lingus and built up a 2.27% shareholding in the airline in an attempt to thwart Ryanair's bid. 

Is Denis O'Brien the 'friendly' investor that Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington has spoken of trying to attract to take a shareholding in the airline ? 

YL-LCY arrives in Shannon for paint

Former Aer Lingus B767-3Y0ER EI-CAL, msn 24952 made it back to Shannon this evening. Delivered to Aer Lingus in March 1991, the aircraft has been around the block a few times since serving with Air Aruba, TWA, Air Canada and SAS among others. 

What arrived tonight was a bit of a cocktail - an aircraft in basic Virgin Nigeria colours with Kabo Air titles in a Latvian registration - YL-LCY - operated by Smartlynx with an American crew ! The aircraft is to be painted for it's next life with SBA formerly known as Santa Barbara Airlines. Pictured above, flight number ART 105 prepares to touchdown on R24. 

A6-DLM visits Dublin

Dublin had an overnight 'big iron' biz jet visitor in the shape of the Abu Dhabi Amiri flight's A320-232 registered A6-DLM. The aircraft is 2005 vintage with msn 2403 and was delivered to the Amiri Flight in October 2008, having previously served as VP-CMS with National Air Services of Saudi Arabia and as ZK-OJJ with Air New Zealand. Pictured above in the copyright picture by Michael Kelly, A6-DLM departs Dublin just after lunchtime today. 

N704X diverts to Shannon

Today's Delta Airlines flight DAL 155 from Manchester to New York JFK diverted into Shannon when a passenger suffered an flight heart attack. The flight operated by B757-200 N704X arrived at the airport at 12:31 utc where it was met by a doctor and ambulance. CPR had been applied to the passenger when he lost consciousness as a result of the cardiac arrest. The aircraft departed Shannon again at 15.11 utc.

UK Ireland FAB plan published

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and UK NATS, the air navigation service providers for their respective airspace today published a three year plan for the management of the UK-Ireland Functional Airspace Block (FAB). 

Under the Single European Sky initiative, the UK-Irish FAB was established ten months ago and today's report is the culmination of the consultative process which took place between both agencies and their respective civil and military customers on either side of the Irish Sea.

The report lists 30 initiatives which it is hoped will deliver annual cost savings of €12m by 2013, rising to €40m per annum by 2018, originating from reduced fuel burn, reduced CO2 emissions and shorter aircraft routings.

Among one of the early successes of the FAB is the implementation of the P600 Irish Sea Airspace change which came into effect on May 7. The change improves the alignment of the airspace adjoining Southwest Scotland, Northern Ireland and Dublin and is designed to improve domestic traffic and North Atlantic transit traffic by delivering more direct routing's.

Of the 30 improvements covered by the plan, 15 will be rolled out in 2009 including :

• Improvements to the Oceanic / Domestic interface for UK and Irish traffic.
• Removal of ATS routes from Shannon Upper airspace to allow direct routing and flight planning from entry point to exit planning into UK airspace delivering fuel uptake and route distance savings for North Atlantic traffic.
• The creation of so called 'straight line' routes across Irish and UK airspace and into Europe for eastbound trans Atlantic traffic during quiet night time periods.

The UK-Irish FAB is the first FAB to come into operation in Europe. It should be noted that the agreement does not make any changes to sovereign airspace nor does it change any regulatory or safety roles in either country. 

C253 marks 70th anniversary

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the first aircraft to land at what is now Shannon Airport. In the months leading up to the Second World War the Irish government tasked the Air Corps to find a suitable site in the western half of the country which would be suitable for monitoring naval movements off the Irish coast. On May 18, 1939  an Avro Anson Mark I of the Air Corps was dispatched from Baldonnel on a reconnaissance mission and  landed on the 1,400 yd long x 400 yd wide grass strip which was still under construction at the airport where work had started in October 1936.

To commemorate the event, Air Corps Casa CN235 serial 253 landed on Shannon's R24 this afternoon at the precise time of the original landing, 13.20 utc.

There is some confusion surrounding the exact time of the 1939 landing. Valerie Sweeney in her book 'Shannon  Airport' quotes the 'Clare Champion' of the day reporting the arrival as taking place at 1.27 pm. 

Pictured above C253 is seen on finals to R24 in light rain.

Condor's D-ABUD diverts to Shannon

Today's Condor flight CFG 248, routing Frankfurt - Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic diverted into Shannon this evening with an unruly passenger. The flight operated by B767-330ER, D-ABUD,  msn 26983 touched down on R24 at 17.20z with a fuel load of 28 tonnes. Prior to arrival the aircraft had spent approximately 30 minutes in the Ennis hold burning fuel in preparation for landing. The flight departed the airport again at approximately 19.00z. Pictured above, D-ABUD is seen on finals to R24 where it was met by airport fire and rescue vehicles, a precaution in the event of an aircraft dumping fuel.

5N-BGR visits Shannon

Aircraft from sub Saharan Africa are rare in this part of the world with biz jets from that region being even rarer, so the visit by Nigerian Learjet 45 5N-BGR was certainly a visit of note. 5N-BGR is owned by Aero Contractors of Nigeria and arrived in Shannon late last night. The visit to Shannon is presumably in connection with the visit of the company's B737 5N-BIZ which is currently being worked on by Shannon Aerospace. Pictured above 5N-BGR is seen in the light aircraft park shortly before it's departure at noon today.

EI-EFC delivered to Ryanair

Ryanair's latest B737 arrived in Dublin this evening on delivery from Boeing Field. The aircraft in question is EI-EFC, msn 35015, hex code 4CA75E. Pictured above in the copyright photograph by Michael Kelly, EI-EFC is about to touch down on R28 at the end of it's delivery flight, in uncharacteristic showery weather.

UK CAA April passenger numbers

The UK CAA has published traffic figures for April 2009.

The key Ireland - London area airports show significant YoY declines even though Easter was in April this year and should have had a strong contribution to passenger numbers.

From Dublin, Gatwick traffic which is split between Ryanair and Aer Lingus now that BA have shelved the route bucked the trend with a 7% YoY growth at 89,546. Heathrow and Stansted both showed negative trends with LHR down 3% to 137,233 passengers and Stansted (a Ryanair preserve) down 16% to 64,317. In total, Dublin's traffic to the 'Big 4' London area airports was down 2.8% .

At Cork, Gatwick traffic was up 2% to 9,395. Heathrow was stable, down 1% to 44,820 while Stansted, again a Ryanair preserve took a hit, down 13% to 22,268. In total, Cork's London traffic was down 14.7% YoY for the month.

Shannon has fared similar to Dublin and Cork with Gatwick traffic down 2% YoY at 16,246 and Stansted down 11%, to 23,778.  

Shannon appeared back on the LHR stats last month with the recommencement of the Heathrow service so April was the first full month of service. A total of 11,381 passengers are recorded as having flown the route which restarted on March 29. A total of 104 sectors were flown with A320, each aircraft seating 186 passengers. The monthly total of passengers flown therefore equates to a load factor of 62.8% which ain't bad given the economic climate and the fact that it's just the second month in re-operation.

In Belfast, City Airport bucked many, many months of decline on the key LHR route (a BMI domain) with numbers growing 9% YoY to 46,352. The shocker though is Aer Arann's Cork - Belfast City route which saw passenger numbers drop 28% YoY to 2,964.

At Belfast International, Aer Lingus LHR figures have shown a 29% gain YoY to 24,872.

The decline in Ryanair numbers on certain routes certainly backs up Michael O'Leary's contention that the Irish governments travel tax has had a negative impact on passenger numbers. Ryanair pointed out today that the Spanish government in common with the Dutch, Greek and Belgian governments had rolled back their intended passenger tax proposals in some form or another.

BAW 2137 makes emergency landing

Today's BAW 2137 routing Gatwick - Tampa diverted into Shannon on a security alert. The flight, operated by B777-223ER registered G-VIIO landed on R06 at 14.06z. The aircraft was parked in the middle of the field where the passengers were disembarked and bussed to the terminal. The aircraft resumed it's journey, departing at 17.25z. Picture above G-VIIO is seen in the midst of a May Monsoon with a Shannon Airport Fire and Rescue tender in attendance.

VQ-BCW breaks cover

Former Aer Lingus A330 EI-CRK was first noted in Shannon with registration VQ-BCW on April 30 last. The aircraft had arrived from Bordeaux on April 27 after receiving a pre hand back 'C' check. Since it arrived in Shannon it had defied photographers efforts, languishing outside the Aer Lingus A330 hangar at an unphotographable angle. This afternoon under cover of a monsoon the aircraft finally broke cover heading for stand 34 which would indicate an imminent departure for it's new life.

SR Technics confirms asset break up

Unions at SR Technics in Dublin airport were to meet today after the Swiss parent company confirmed that 'a preferred bidder' had been chosen for the APU and landing gear overhaul business.  The decision to break up the business is understood to have been taken after SRT failed to receive a significant bid for the Dublin business in it's entirety. Talks are believed to have begun with interested parties for the base maintenance business at Dublin but the 'cash cows' at SRT Dublin were the APU and landing gear overhaul business units. 

The 'Irish Times' reported today that a deadline of May 22 had been set for base maintenance and May 27 for line maintenance bids.

The Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Mary Coughlan said that she was extremely disappointed with the development but said that her department would work with the IDA, DAA and Enterprise Ireland to maximise employment potential at SRT's Dublin facility.

EU Commission publishes airline blacklist

The European Commission today published a report into it's findings in relation to transparency in airline web site pricing. The report, which focuses on items such as hidden pricing, pre ticked boxes and hidden fees lists a blacklist of 8 airlines which it says have refused to comply with new laws on airline web sites. A total of 16 airlines operating within the EU and Norway are in full compliance with the laws. 

Aer Lingus, Ryanair and Aer Arann are mentioned on the 'grey' list of airlines which have given commitments to bring more transparency but have yet to deliver.

According to national broadcaster RTE News, a spokesman for Aer Arann has insisted that the airline is compliance with the EU requirements. Ryanair's Stephen McNarama insisted that Ryanair had been in compliance since April 1 of this year. Aer Lingus said that it had undertaken to take the necessary steps to address the EU commissions concerns.

EI-EWR departs Aer Lingus fleet

Aer Lingus A330-202 registered EI-EWR departed Dublin on Tuesday as EIN 2280 for Filton on lease handback. The aircraft, msn 330 was delivered to Aer Lingus on May 9 2000 and is due to be painted white prior to handback.

Ryanair's next step towards virtual flying

Ryanair announced yesterday that it was moving to web only check-in in the next step to abolish airport check in desks. From Wednesday next, May 20, all new bookings will offer online check in and bag drop only. From the same date, bookings for unaccompanied minors will no longer be accepted by the airline. The airline confirmed that it will remove the €/£10 airport check in option on it's booking screen, replacing it with a €/£5 on-line check in. Promotional fares (those which are 'free', or cost €1 or €5) will include web check in on a free of charge basis. As an 'incentive' to force migration to the new system, anyone unlucky enough to turn up at the departure gate without a boarding pass will be charged €/£40 to have a new one re-issued.

Passing moment

Just to prove the sunshine does work now and then ! With a vertical separation of 3,000 ft are Air France flight AFR 682 (top) operated by B777-200 F-GSPM on it's way to Atlanta and  AFR 439 (bottom) operated by B777-200 F-GSPD at FL 390 routing Mexico - Paris, pictured this morning over Barefield Co. Clare.

DHL to scale back Irish operation

DHL Ireland announced last week that it was seeking to make 320 of it's 1,000 strong Irish workforce redundant as the result of the economic downturn in the country. Included in the 320 are 90 redundancies at the company's state of the art facility which was opened in 2007 at St. Margaret's in north Co. Dublin, close to Dublin airport. Countrywide, 7 depots will be shut and the company's bases at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airport's will be restructured. It would appear the company have scaled back on aircraft capacity since the start of May. The nightly Shannon - East Midlands flight which had been operated by European Air Transport B757s for the past number of years is currently being operated by Blue Bird cargo B737 aircraft using the 'Eurotrans' AOC.

DAA seeking 400 redundancies

In a bid to ensure it's survival, the Dublin Airport Authority which manages the three state airports has told staff it needs 400 redundancies to cover a forecast €70m drop in income in the next year. In a letter to the 3,600 staff, the companies chief executive Declan Collier outlines a €55m cost saving package including 400 redundancies, reduced working hours for some staff,  a pay freeze and career breaks. Unions representing the staff have said that saving jobs is the priority but that pay cuts are not on the agenda. The DAA envisages the reduction in headcount coming from non renewal of contract positions and a severance scheme. 

Passenger numbers at Dublin airport are currently down by almost 7,500 per day over last year. In addition the DAA is currently engaged in a €1.6bn redevelopment of Dublin airport, both of which have added to the company's woes.

Aer Lingus announce Belfast cutbacks

Aer Lingus today announced that it would be cutting back it's operation at it's Belfast hub later this year as it responds to the current economic climate and falling passenger numbers. The airline's services to Barcelona, Paris, Milan, Rome and Faro will be suspended between October 1 and March 31 next with the result that the Belfast base strength will drop from three aircraft to two. Aer Lingus said that it was still committed to Belfast and was adding a new route to Tenerife next winter while continuing to serve Munich, Malaga, Lanzarote and London Heathrow. 

Three of the suspended routes are in direct competition with easyJet who also serve Faro, Barcelona and Paris. EasyJet spokesman Andrew McConnell said that the move highlighted the 'folly' of Aer Lingus in trying to compete with the low cost carrier. 

Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said that the removal of one aircraft by Aer Lingus was merely 'rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic', (no pun intended, no doubt) predicting that the move would soon be repeated in Gatwick. Mr. McNamara further pointed out that since it opened it's base in late 2007, Aer Lingus has launched and cancelled a total of nine routes in just over a year.

National broadcaster RTE's news service reports that the airline has told the 100 staff based in Belfast that no redundancies will result from the cutbacks. 

Aer Lingus also announced today that it would be withdrawing one aircraft from service at Dublin this coming winter.

N126ZZ marks first Horizon visit to Shannon

Shannon received it's first visit from a Hawker 4000 Horizon at the weekend when  N126ZZ overnighted on Friday. The aircraft is registered to Meir Aviation and carries msn RC-10. Pictured above N126ZZ taxis for departure to Zurich on Saturday morning, narrowly missing a rain shower and avoiding the sun.

April traffic statistics

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has published the April 2009 traffic statistics.

Overflights for the month at 23,657 were down 11.8% YoY over April 2008. 

At Dublin airport total terminal movements were 15,566 down 12.7% YoY while traffic movements at 14,935 were down 14.1% YoY.

At Shannon airport total terminal movements were 3,277 down 6.5% YoY while traffic movements at 2,890 were down 20.3% YoY.

At Cork airport total terminal movements were 4,305 down 13.4% YoY while traffic movements at 4,758 were down 18% YoY.

Government approach suitors for Aer Lingus

The Times reports that the Irish Government has drawn up a list of potential buyers for it's 25% shareholding in Aer Lingus. The paper reports that Lufthansa, Air France and British Airways have been approached by the Government. It is believed that several rival airlines would be interested in acquiring Aer Lingus but none have the stomach for a fight with Ryanair, the largest shareholder in Aer Lingus.

EI-EFA / EI-EFB delivered to Ryanair

Ryanair started it's second alphabet of 737's this year with the arrival of EI-EFA and EI-EFB at Dublin this lunchtime from Seattle. Seen above in the copyright pictures by Michael Kelly are at bottom : EI-EFA msn 35005, hex code 4CA75C and at top EI-EFB, msn 35732, hex code 4CA75D. Both aircraft arrived in early summer sunshine.

IAA announce 2008 results

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) announced it's 2008 results today. Turnover grew 8.1% for the year to €166.7m but after tax earnings fell from €14.7m in 2007 to €12.2m in 2008.

At the three state airports terminal commercial movements rose by less than 1% for the year to 269,684. En route (overflying) traffic rose by less than 1% to 309,181.  North Atlantic communication traffic handled by Ballygireen in Co. Clare rose by 1.8% to 422,086. the second half of 2008 was particularly difficult with the impact of the meltdown in worldwide commercial markets and the rise in oil prices.

The first four months have seen an increase in the rate of fall off with traffic at Dublin airport down 12%, en route traffic down 7% and North Atlantic HF traffic down 7%.

The recession doesn't appear to have had a significant affect on the Irish civil aircraft register with a total of 1,179 aircraft registered as of May 5c compared to 1,168 in December 2008. Heavy commercial aircraft accounted for 470 airframes with a total of 219 aircraft on dry lease or storage overseas. The helicopter population wouldn't appear to suffering the decimation that pundits and commentators would have us believe - there were 144 helicopters on the register on May 5 compared to 162 in early 2008. 

Dell wins DAA contract

The 'Irish Times' reports that Dell Ireland has won a three year managed services contract with the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to support 1,400 PCs at Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports. The contract was awarded as the result of a competitive tendering process. So far Dell has upgraded the software on 850 PCs and supplied 420 new PCs. Staff from Dell now man the IT help desk at Dublin airport and handle calls from all three DAA airports. A remote management infrastructure was also installed as part of the contract which allows remote support take place.

In January, Dell announced the end of manufacturing at it's Limerick computer assembly plant with the consequential loss of 1,900 jobs. 

Aer Lingus passenger figures bounce back in April

Aer Lingus today released it's traffic figures for April.

For the month, total passenger numbers grew 10.9% YoY to 945,000. Short haul numbers grew 13.2% while long haul fell 5.8% YoY.

Network load factor grew 4.1% to 74.6%. Short haul load factor grew 3.2% YoY to 77.5% with capacity growing 8.4% in the same period. Long haul load factor grew 4.3% to 70.4% with capacity decreasing 14.9% YoY in the same period.

Easter fell in April this year as against March last year which will have given some assistance to the growth.

Year to date passenger numbers are down 2.4% to 3.13m. Shares in Aer Lingus ended the day at €0.63, down 4.55% on yesterday.

Irish Register Update

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has issued the Irish civil register as of today. The file, in MS Excel format can be found at : register

AAIU report into incident with EI-WAT

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport has issued it's report into an incident which occurred to Tecnam P-2000-JF registered EI-WAT at Waterford Airport on December 5, 2008. On the day in question the student pilot with 36 hours experience had completed a solo flight to Cork and back but on landing in a crosswind at Waterford the pilot lost directional control of the aircraft which departed the side of the runway.  The propeller, an engine mount, the nose wheel spat and a pitot static tube were damaged. The pilot who was uninjured admitted to the investigation that he had lost control of the aircraft through not applying sufficient rudder to maintain directional control on landing. The wind at time of landing translated into a crosswind component of 14kts with a tailwind of 5kts. Following the incident the Flying Club placed a limit of 10kts for SPL licence holders. The AAIU did not make any safety recommendations in it's report.

Ryanair to bypass baggage hand handlers ?

At a news conference today, Ryanair's Michael O'Leary said that the airline was looking at the possibility of eliminating the need for baggage handlers by having passengers carry their own bags through airport security. The proposal envisages passengers leaving their bags at the bottom of the steps where Ryanair takeover and stow in the hold. On arrival passengers would collect their baggage at the bottom of the steps. The proposal sounds like O'Leary thinking out loud once again as an airline spokesman later clarified the position by stating that the airline would not pursue the idea if it jeopardised their quick turnaround times.

Michael O'Leary also confirmed today that the airline would reopen talks with both Airbus and Boeing later this summer on the next order for 200 to 300 aircraft. According to O'Leary both manufacturers are at the 'denial' phase of the negotiations based on previous form, whereby they claim that their order books are strong at present. "They know where we are", he said adding that Ryanair was about the only airline in the world with enough cash to buy planes.

New Ryanair company secretary

Ryanair Holdings PLC announced the resignation yesterday of Jim Callaghan from his post as company secretary. The airline announced the appointment of Juilisz Komerek as Mr. Callghan's replacement following the latters departure, announced at the end of April for a new position at Etihad Airways. 

Aer Lingus punctuality statistics

Aer Lingus today published it's punctuality statistics for April 2009. 83% of flights during the month departed on time compared to 74% in 2008. 98% of flights departed within 60 minutes of scheduled compared to 94% for the same month last year. It is possible to deduce from punctuality figures over the past year that falling traffic has had one benefit to the travelling public - less ground congestion leading to more on time departures.

EI-DND becomes F-GIRS for Axis

Former Futura B737-86N EI-DND (msn 28612) changed registration at Shannon today. The aircraft has been worked on by Air Atlanta for the past number of weeks since it emerged from the Lufthansa Paint hangar in the new colour scheme of French operator Axis but with the Irish registration still intact. On April 24 the aircraft completed a test flight in the Irish registration but with French hex code 392232 on it's transponder. Today it became F-GIRS. Pictured above F-GIRS is still being worked on at the AAAE hangar.

Dublin airport to charge for plastic bags

Dublin Airport's decision to charge passengers €1 for two zip lock plastic bags for carrying liquids through security screening has provoked a considerable amount of negative feedback from the travelling public and consumer groups.

The idea of charging for the bags is not new - there have been vending machines in Shannon and other airports such as Belfast City for quite some time and there was little in the way of resistance to their installation at the time. Speaking on RTE Radio's 'Morning Ireland' program Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said that the introduction of the charge by the DAA is in contrast to Ryanair's philosophy which implements discretionary charges as a way of driving down ticket prices. The DAA is not reducing passenger handling charges to compensate. 

Dublin airport reportedly spent €70,000 on plastic bags last year.

EI-RJT diverts to Gatwick

Today's CityJet flight BCY 82K operated by RJ85 EI-RJT diverted to London Gatwick after smoke was reported in the cockpit. The aircraft with 24 passengers and 4 crew was over the English Channel when the incident occurred, prompting the aircraft to divert. Passengers have been accommodated on this evening's Ryanair Gatwick-Shannon service.

Ryanair offers refund to Munster fans

With Munster sadly out of this year's Heineken Cup Final in Edinburgh, Ryanair have added two extra flights from Dublin to Edinburgh for Leinster fans.  A 'losers refund' is being offered to Munster fans who bought Ryanair tickets to Edinburgh or Prestwick months in advance of the final in anticipation of seeing their heroes play in the final. The airline is offering a €100 refund per return flight (or cost if less than €100) to Munster supporters who will not now be travelling. It's not a bad deal for Ryanair who are now offering special match return fares of €349 from Dublin to Edinburgh or €199 return from Dublin to Prestwick !

Ryanair carried 5.3m pax in April

Ryanair today announced it's passenger figures for April. For the month, a total of 5.3m passengers were carried which represents a 12% YoY increase over April 2008. Load factor grew 3% YoY to 82%. Some of this year's growth can be attirbuted to the fact that Easter fell in April this year, but nonetheless the airline's strong growth brought it's total for the month to twice that of British Airways.

F-GTIQ registered N497EA

Boeing 757-2G5, msn 24497 was noted reregistered in Shannon today as N497EA. The aircraft had originally arrived as F-GTIQ of Eagle Aviation on April 21 in full Saudia colours and titles. The aircraft was towed to Shannon Aerospace today where it was noted with the US registration applied, having been registered on April 28 when the French registration was cancelled. The owner is listed as East Trust Sub 2 although 497 Eagle Aviation is the obvious new registration. 

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SRT buyer to be known in two weeks time

The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) is understood to have completed it's evaluation of the bidders for the business of SR Technics in Dublin and has sent on details of the top five preferred proposals to SRT's headquarters in Zurich. SRT have committed to getting back to the IDA inside the next two weeks with it's preferred choice.

A last minute fifth bid entered the fray along with the bid from former Ryanair executive Conor McCarthy, one from Setanta Sports Mark O'Meara, one from a European company specialising in APUs and one bid from a Canadian Company.

Last Friday a further 42 staff were laid off at the Dublin operation, bringing to 727the number laid off so far.

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DAA expected to announce up to 350 job losses

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) which manages the three state airports of Dublin, Cork and Shannon is expected to announce 350 job losses, including 80 managers at it's airports as part of it's €70m cost cutting plan. The company employ a total of 3,600 at the three airports. The job losses are expected to be to be announced this week in the wake of the decision by the Labour Court that the company should pay €3m in increments following the resolution of a dispute with unions representing the employees. As part of it's judgement the Labour Court told the unions that they could expect that the DAA to implement cost savings "of a similar value to the increments". 

The DAA first rang the warning bells on job losses when it announced it's results for 2008 which saw a 28pc drop in profit for the year. In it's decision, the Labour Court recommended that the increments be paid in return for a clear commitment from the unions to engage in discussions with the DAA on a cost cutting program.

In early March the union SIPTU were compromised when it's aviation branch served strike notice on the DAA in relation to the payment of increments in spite of the fact that ICTU (Irish Congress of Trade Unions) had called off a national strike in order to return to the negotiating table with the social partners. SIPTU's General President Jack O'Connor had to intervene to have the strike threat withdrawn.

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OY-MRG unveils new colour scheme for Cimber Sterling

Former Sterling B737-7L9 registered OY-MRG emerged from the Lufthansa Paint hangars in Shannon today in a new livery for it's next operator Cimber Sterling. The aircraft had originally arrived in Shannon on March 18 from Tallinn in full Sterling colours and had entered the paint shop last week on April 28. The new colours are a reversal of the red and white of the previous scheme. Pictured above OY-MRG is pictured after being towed back to the Air Atlanta hangar.

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N977RY to join Travel Service

Former Futura B737-86N N977RY, msn 32740 reappeared from the Lufthansa Paint hangars at Shannon this afternoon in the full colours of Czech operator Travel Service. The aircraft arrived in Shannon from Dublin on December 10 last for maintenance with Air Atlanta Aero. On entering  service with Travel Service the aircraft is due to take up Czech marks OK-TVJ. Pictured above the aircraft is seen under tow to R09/27.

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