Clare TDs differ over Aer Lingus meetings

WITH the dust settling after the Aer Lingus announcement of job losses and pay cuts for staff, Clare TDs met with the airline’s director of corporate affairs, Enda Corneille this week. Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley met Mr Corneille on Tuesday and was told that Dublin isn’t doing better than Shannon in terms of transatlantic flights, the sector of business where the airline is making its biggest losses.

“He set out very clearly the difficulties Aer Lingus is having but he made the point that Shannon isn’t doing any worse than Dublin in terms of transatlantic. In my view that means that Shannon shouldn’t have to take a disproportionate number of job losses.”
He felt that Mr Corneille is still open to adjusting the planned cuts if viable plans to make alternative savings are made.
“He absolutely listened, and the impression I got is that Aer Lingus will look at all available options over the next six weeks and it’s up to everyone, staff, unions, politicians, to put our best foot forward.”
Deputy Dooley said that it is important that workers be treated with respect, saying that people who have been with the company for a long period of time should be offered redeployment, where possible.
He also said that Aer Lingus should look at developing short haul from Shannon, while he feels that retaining a crew base at the Clare airport would leave Shannon prepared for an economic improvement. “It’s incumbent on politicians and workers to make proposals on costs to retain connectivity and a crew base that will allow Shannon to develop more transatlantic services when the recession ends.”
Deputy Pat Breen spoke to Mr Corneille on Wednesday but, unlike Deputy Dooley, he was not happy with the meeting.
He feels Aer Lingus have little interest in Shannon. “The whole agenda is geared to Dublin. I’ve heard that bookings on the Shannon flight to New York are well ahead of Dublin and I asked him to clarify that, but he couldn’t. I asked him for the reasons for switching the days of the Shannon flight and he said he would come back to us on that. I feel they are switching it to days that aren’t busy for transatlantic flights and they’re trying to undermine Shannon.”
Deputy Breen said that Mr Corneille said there was no anti-Shannon agenda, but he said that Aer Lingus have already made decisions that damaged the Clare airport, such as the axing of the Heathrow service, which later proved unwise.
He said that he has written to new Aer Lingus CEO, Christoph Mueller, requesting a meeting with him. “He isn’t really au fait with the Shannon situation and an urgent meeting is required.”
Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Breen’s colleague Joe Carey criticised Aer Lingus. “I was shocked at the extent of the measures announced last Thursday. There is an undoubted agenda at work among senior Aer Lingus management, which is to kick Shannon at every turn.
“Why else would the airline refuse to use the state of the art new €21 million US pre-clearance facility at Shannon Airport? You can bet your bottom dollar if the same facility was made available in Dublin first, they would be using it.”