Paris flight fails to get off the ground

THE performance of Aer Lingus’ Shannon-Paris and Shannon-Gatwick services has led to the routes being discontinued in 2012.

In a statement the airline said, “The Shannon to Paris and the Shannon to Gatwick services, which were part of the Aer Lingus summer 2011 schedule will not be part of the summer 2012 schedule.
“Aer Lingus is a demand-led airline and reviews its entire route network on a constant basis. These two routes have been discontinued as there was not sufficient demand to operate them profitably.
“Aer Lingus will continue to operate seven direct transatlantic flights from Shannon per week in the summer 2012 schedule. Based on the very strong performance of the Shannon –  Boston route in 2011, we will increase the service from three times per week to four times per week for summer 2012. Shannon to New York will consequently reduce to three flights per week.”
It’s yet another blow for Shannon Airport, as passenger numbers continue to decline. Fewer people used Shannon last year than in 1997, while there is little sign of any improvement on the horizon.
Councillor Sean McLoughlin said he felt there had been an issue about the timing of the discontinued flights, particularly the Paris one.
“It’s good that the number of Boston flights are increasing from three to four and it’d be very important that people would be able to go between Shannon and Boston on a Sunday. There are a lot of companies who have people working here, who are based in the Boston area. They like to get their personnel in and out on a Sunday.”
With regard to Shannon – New York services, he noted it is unfortunate there will be no Aer Lingus service on the route in the month of March.
“It’s a pity the New York service is going from January until the end of March. The busiest time for flights across the Atlantic tends to be the month of March but at least the Newark service is still there.”
Councillor McLoughlin said the timing of the service into Charles De Gaulle Airport had been unsuitable, as he felt services from Shannon to such hubs need to go out on a Monday morning with return services late on Fridays. “For Shannon to operate into hub airports, it has to be done like that,” he said.
The Fine Gael representative said business-friendly services such as those into hub airports need to be prioritised as “the business community is the bread and butter of the airport”.