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Growth at Shannon

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THE Director of Shannon Airport, Mary Considine, believes a change for the better is in the offing.

She is confident the 2011 summer season will herald a rise in traffic volumes for the airport.  
This is continuing a trend that began in the second half of last year and included the launch of the Aer Lingus Shannon/Charles de Gaulle Paris service in December.
At the 2011 summer season schedule launch, Ms Considine said, “The market will continue to be challenging for us at Shannon, but we are confident the worst is over and that the second quarter will begin to show an increase in passenger numbers on the corresponding period last year. This will be our first upswing in passenger numbers since 2008.”
Ms Considine has good reason to express optimism.  The new summer season schedule at Shannon is marked by a return of Aer Lingus transatlantic operations, in addition to new UK/European services from Aer Lingus, Aer Lingus Regional (Aer Arann) and Ryanair.
Aer Lingus has introduced a new Shannon-Gatwick service daily, while an Aer Lingus Regional service to Edinburgh will operate five days a week. It is the fifth Aer Lingus Regional service launched at Shannon inside a year. Ryanair will reinstate services into Fuerteventura, Nantes, Malaga and Palma-Mallorca from this month.
Aer Lingus has also resumed services to New York and Boston, after cancelling both from January 5 to March 27. Shannon did retain critical links into the US through the winter months, with Delta flying into JFK and Continental into Newark but limited options, at any time of year, impact on potential visitors to Shannon and the West of Ireland.
Aer Lingus’ restoration of services into JFK, as well as its three-times weekly Boston service, greatly enhances access for the West of Ireland into the east coast of the US, where there is a significant Irish-American influence in terms of population and business links.
“Providing an attractive range of services into the US is a key objective for Shannon Airport. To have three carriers operating 25 flights per week to the east coast in the current challenging environment shows we are doing very well in that regard. Overall, we are looking forward to the uplift in traffic from our summer schedule and will continue to work with our airline partners to ensure the success of these services,” the airport director said.
A lot of behind the scenes work has gone into trying to rebuild routes and flights at Shannon and the new Government must row in to show its full commitment to the future growth and viability of the airport. There can be no equivocation, no allowing Dublin to get any unfair advantage in any new decisions on aviation policy.
Key to maximising the benefits of existing and new flights routed through Shannon is to get all tourism promoters in the Mid-West on-side.
Passengers stepping off the plane at Shannon must know there are plenty of things to do and see in the area and be assured they will experience a warm welcome.
Another very important ingredient of any visit is value for money. Apart from the cost of accommodation, tourists always talk about the price of food or drink, so those in the hospitality sector will have to be mindful of this, even if the recession has already forced them to take stock of their business model. Profit margins may have to be sacrificed to increase business.
In the current environment, every single passenger arriving at Shannon must be seen as a VIP; remember the numbers add up, one at a time, on the road towards improved monthly and annual figures.

Counting heads
SUNDAY week, April 10 is Census night. Over the coming days, enumerators will be completing their visits to homes around county to ensure every household has a form and that people know how to fill it out.
The Census of population, which takes place every five years, is an important means by which to garner information that can be used for the benefit of small communities and the country at large.
It’s estimated that it should take half an hour or so to complete the questionnaire, so it’s not a major imposition. For those whose first language is not English, a translation of the census form is available in 21 languages. Census enumerators will call to collect the completed forms in the three to four weeks after April 10.
Everybody in the country is counted on Census night, no matter where they might be. So if you are staying away from home on the night, you will be included in the form for that household or hotel.
The Central Statistics Office notes that, as a society, we are faced now with making crucial decisions about our future and “it is imperative that we have accurate and objective information on which to base those decisions”. The Census is regarded as the most comprehensive and valuable of these information sources.
The results assist enormously for effective policy, planning and decision-making purposes. It provides the knowledge so that public resources can be shared evenly across the country and to ensure that services at local level are relevant to all the people who live there.
The Census information is strictly confidential and will be used for statistical purposes only – this is guaranteed by law.
A step-by-step guide to completing the form has been developed in association with the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) and is available to see in your local library, Citizens Information Centre and on the census website at www.census.ie.
Census records provide an historical legacy for generations to come.
For this reason it’s important that the latest Census delivers an accurate snapshot of life in Ireland today. It’s in everybody’s best interest to engage in the process to achieve this.

 

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