MORE than 80 jobs were shed at Shannon Airport in May of last year, when Aer Lingus closed its cabin crew base.
The job losses were hugely controversial as the airline were major beneficiaries of State supports, but speaking at the relaunch of its transatlantic services, Aer Lingus Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Donal Moriarty was unrepentant.
“You don’t need me to remind you how challenging it has been over the last two years for the aviation sector and all of us who work in it. In Aer Lingus we had to take some difficult decisions, including the closure of our cabin crew base here in Shannon Airport. That was unfortunately necessary, it meant we had the right structure and cost base to reinstate our transatlantic services, starting today with Boston.”
Shannon-New York was due to restart the following day, and Mr Moriarty said that there is going to be a very good level of connectivity to America.
“Both routes will operate daily so that’s 14 flights a week to the east coast of the US, which I think is a great thing for the region. In fact it’s going to be the largest seat capacity that Aer Lingus has had on transatlantic from Shannon for 17 years.
“That’s a measure of the commitment we have and the importance we see in that connectivty to this region. It’s going to be great for our customers, great for the Shannon region and for that critical connectivity to the Mid West region.”
He said that the aircraft that will be servicing America, two A321LR neo, are very environmentally friendly.
“They’re 20% more fuel efficient and therefore more carbon efficient than its predecessor, and 50% less engine noise than its predecessor. it’s a real cornerstone of Aer Lingus’s approach to new and sustainable travel across the Atlantic. It’s also a very good customer experience.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.