Ryanair welcomes BAA decision

Ryanair was quick to respond to today's news that the BAA had reached an agreement to sell London's Gatwick Airport for £1.5bn. Reacting to the news the airline tempered it's enthusiasm by saying that it recognized the sale of Gatwick as the first step in the breakup of the BAA monopoly, urging the full recommendations of the UK Competition Commission be implemented whereby Stansted and a Scottish Airport would also be sold.
The carrier also called for the breakup of the DAA (Dublin Airport authority) which owns and manages Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports, forecasting that Dublin will lose 2m passengers this year with Cork and Shannon losing a combined 1m. Against this backdrop, Ryanair will grow by 9m passengers this year. "Even Aer Lingus is growing traffic in the current recession, while the DAA monopoly is losing millions of passengers and thousands of jobs", it added.

 

New airport board structures

In response to questions from Fine Gael's deputy leader and Spokesman on Finance Richard Bruton and the party's Deputy Spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Clare TD (MP) Pat Breen., the Minister or Transport Noel Dempsey issued a written response on Tuesday last relating to the make up of the sub board structures of the DAA (Dublin Airport Authority).
In the past the management of the three state airports was the preserve of airport operator Aer Rianta. The current administration decided to give autonomous control to each of the airports but the decision was subsequently reversed. Both Cork and Shannon airports have fought long and hard for their independence but that day is further away than it ever was.
The original plan to split Aer Rianta was made in 2004 but the decision on whether or not to implement the plan has been deferred until 2011. The irony is that each of the airports is managed by it's own Airport Authority which are subservient to the DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) which maintains overall control of the state airports.
Minister Dempsey announced on Tuesday of this week that he had agreed revised board structures with each of the airports. Under the agreement the Chairmen of the SAA (Shannon) and CAA (Cork) will become members of the DAA board and senior executives of the DAA will be appointed to the boards of the SAA and CAA. Hang on ! Didn't we have this before when it was called Aer Rianta ?
The new structure of the DAA will consist of :


1 Chairman
1 CEO
1 SAA Chairman
1 CAA Chairman
5 members
4 worker directors 


All of which looks like too many chiefs...


The SAA and CAA structure will consist of :
1 Chair
6 members including a DAA executive
2 worker directors

DAA's Collier number 3 in state pay ranks

The Sunday Independent newspaper has listed the top earning CEOs of the state monopolies which run the country. In third place behind the ESB (Electricity Supply Board) and The HSE (Health Service Executive) comes the DAA's (Dublin Airport Authority) Declan Collier who has been heavily criticized for the heavy remuneration package which he enjoys. According to the Sunday Independent, Mr. Collier's basic salary €348,000 per year or €29,000 per month. When all the bonuses, pension entitlements and perks are added in, Mr. Collier's total benefits reach €638,000 per year paid for by the Irish taxpayer, a  figure which is almost double that of US President Barack Obama's salary. Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Ryanair chief executive described Collier as 'a mere waste of space'. He said: "Collier is nothing more than a waste of space, who gets rewarded with almost €700,000 a year. The DAA has been bankrupted by the abortive second terminal that nobody wants. He is overseeing the demise of Dublin Airport and, what's worse, Lenihan ( Minister for Finance) appoints him to the board of AIB (Allied Irish Banks) as a public interest director. Totally ludicrous, but unfortunately utterly predictable for this useless Government."

DAA issue tender for T2 facilities management

The Dublin Airport Authority has issued requests for tender for the facilities management of T2 which is to be handed over to DAA next spring. The contract which is covered by a Government Procurement Contract covers security screening, maintenance, cleaning and passenger operations services at the new terminal. The tender process is being managed on behalf of the DAA by Goodbody Corporate Finance. The deadline for bids from interested parties is September 28 next.

Airport delays set to continue in Dublin as ASU staff vote for industrial action

The Herald newspaper reports taht passenger delays are set to continue at Dublin Airport after Airport Search Unit (ASU) staff voted to take industrial action as a result of a proposed reduction in headcount.

In May of this year the DAA said that it was looking for 400 voluntary redundancies among it's 3,200 staff. On Tuesday of this week it informed 27 ASU staff members that their contracts would not be renewed. According to the newspaper, ASU staff met on Wednesday to discuss the matter and arising from the meeting a decision was taken to begin a work to rule. The DAA says that it is not aware of the work to rule and that "traffic through the airport continues to move efficiently".

A press release release from Ryanair this afternoon would tend to give credence to the ASU version of events. The carrier has "confirmed that for the sixth time in three months long security queues at the DAA Monopoly run Dublin Airport resulted in Ryanair and Aer Lingus passengers missing flights this morning."

Somewhere in the midst lies the truth !

Dublin Airport launches Flight Arrivals SMS service

The DAA has launched a new SMS flight information service for 'meeters 'n greeters' who intend collecting arriving passengers from Dublin airport. By texting DUB ARR followed by the flight number to 53045 the current expected arrival time of the flight will be sent back by SMS. The service which costs €0.50 per text has been developed in conjunction with Irish company Saadian Technologies.

Ryanair apologise for airport delays

Ryanair was forced to issue apologies on Sunday after 700 people missed their flights at Stansted Airport the previous day. While the airline blamed the delays on staff shortages at it's ground handling agent Swissport, a spokesperson for Stansted Airport said that they could not understand why the airline had opened just 11 bag drop desks on one of the busiest travel days of the year. The previous Saturday the airline had opened more than double the number of desks.

Meanwhile at Dublin Airport, the DAA had to allocate extra space to Ryanair passengers after queues of 40 minute duration formed at the check in desks on Saturday afternoon. Ryanair opened extra check in desks to ease the pressure.

A statement on the airline's web site said that Ryanair operates an on line check in service and that there is no reason for passengers to queue for airport check in. It would appear that the travelling public, especially occasional travellers are having difficulty in understanding the check in process, especially when it is in what would seem to be a constant state of evolution.

Both incidents are embarrassing for the airline, but especially the Dublin situation after the airline recently engaged in a public war of words with the DAA over security delays at Dublin Airport.

Union calls for postponement of T2 opening

The Dublin Airport branch of union SIPTU has urged the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to postpone the opening of the airport's Terminal 2 until traffic levels return to what the union calls 'realistically feasible levels'. The call comes as unions and the DAA are involved in talks to implement savings of €55m to meet a forecast €70m shortfall in the current year.

B757 in near miss with ride on lawn mower

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport has published a Preliminary Serious Incident Report relating to a near miss between a Skyservice Airlines B757, registered C-GTBB and a ride on lawn mower at Dublin Airport. The B757 was operating a return charter flight from Sharm-El-Sheikh in Egypt on behalf of Thomson Airways in the early hours of May 29 when the incident occurred. Just after the aircraft touched down in foggy conditions at 01.53utc the crew reported that they saw ground equipment "right at the runway lights at the edge lighting here".

The investigation has so far determined that the ride on mower was moving along R10 several metres inside the runway edge lighting and that the mower was not equipped with either VHF air band radio, rear lighting or a flashing yellow beacon. The mower had been one of number of vehicles involved in supervised grass mowing when the operation was stood down by ATC at 01.47utc due to deteriorating visibility. The driver of the vehicle was unaware of the approaching aircraft and the report suggests that the wingtip of the aircraft probably passed over his head during the landing roll.

The Irish Aviation authority (IAA) confirmed to the AAIU that an Advanced Surface Movements Guidance and Control System (ASMGC) is currently being commissioned at Dublin Airport for an eventual release in September of this year. The ASMGC tapes were replayed by the investigating team and clearly showed the mower moving eastwards along the runway.

The report has issued a recommendation to the Dublin Airport authority (DAA) that all vehicles working on or in close proximity to active runways should be equipped with flashing yellow beacons, ASMGC transponders and VHF Air Band radios which are capable of selecting both tower and ground frequencies.

The DAA have responded to the effect that the recommendations have already been implemented.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Posted 090505

DAA forecasts loss and cancels second runway for Dublin

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) which manages the three state airports at Dublin, Cork and Shannon has forecast a loss for 2009 and an even higher loss in 2010 if current trends continue.

Speaking as the DAA published it's financial results for 2008, the Authorities Chief Executive Declan Collier said that traffic figures that "Passenger traffic is falling at our three airports in line with similar declines at airports throughout Europe". During 2008, passenger numbers fell marginally but in recent months the situation has worsened significantly with the company now forecasting an 11% decline in numbers for the year. As a result, the DAA has decided to reduce it's capital expenditure at Dublin Airport by 50% for the period 2010 to 2014, to less than €400m. Among the projects being mothballed are the second runway and additional aircraft parking spaces. The existing runway will now be repaired and taxiways which are up to 40 years old will be replaced.

The DAA has now said that "it is imperative" that the Commission for Aviation Regulation sanction a price increase in passenger charges to cover the cost of the projects being delivered at Dublin. 

T2 will now be completed in February 2010, twelve weeks behind schedule. The DAA has agreed with the main tenant of T2 (Aer Lingus) that the terminal will not be fully operational until November 2010 "to coincide with airline scheduling and allow for efficient commissioning and testing". 

Excluding exceptional items, the DAA made a profit of €78m for 2008, a 28% YoY decline over 2007. Combined passenger numbers at the three airports were down 0.6% YoY at 29.9m. 

Responding to today's results Ryanair called on the office of the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) to launch an urgent inquiry into the DAA monopoly as the airline believes that " DAA monopoly is yet again "gaming" the regulatory system".

In a four point criticism of the DAA, Ryanair has called on the Authority to explain "what it has done with the €800m proceeds it has received over the past two years from the sale of the Great Southern Hotels Group and it's investment in Birmingham, Dusseldorf and Hamburg Airports. Since these proceeds have not been used to pay down airport debts incurred by the DAA at Cork, Shannon or Dublin, the DAA must explain where this €800m has been squandered."

Posted 090424

DAA to hold London meeting to discuss T2 retail opportunities

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has called a meeting to be held in London at the Mayfair Radisson  Edwardian Hotel on April 23 to discuss retail opportunities in the new T2 with interested parties.

The DAA's Director of Retail Strategy, Mark Banchansky has described T2 as having "the sensuous cocktail of the convenience of a mall and the allure of a department store". Operation of the Duty Free shop will be retained by the DAA. In total, 9,000 square metres of retail and dining space are up for grabs when T2 opens.

Is it a mall with an airport attached or an airport with a mall attached ?

Posted 090415

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. 

Posted 090331

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.

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.