RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary doesn’t do niceties. He shoots from the hip and the lip and doesn’t really care who gets caught in the crossfire. What he wants to do is dictate the rules and play the game on his terms.

Since he established the low-cost carrier at Shannon Airport, he has always tried to hold the Dublin Airport Authority, who controls Shannon, to ransom, making demands they just couldn’t countenance. At times O’Leary is prone to bouts of petulance. It’s his way or the runway. But he is also noted for his colourful turn of phrase.

A few years ago he asserted that his airline was living off “sandwiches and luggage” at its operation at Shannon. Then he lobbed in another grenade, claiming the imposition of the “regressive” €10 travel tax would result in “tumbleweed rolling down the runway at Shannon Airport in the winter

months”.
Back in April 2009, before the introduction of the Government’s €10 travel tax, O’Leary claimed Ryanair was on track to deliver 1.9 million passengers at Shannon. However, inside two years, traffic fell to less than 400,000. Its operation was loss-making and the inevitable happened; the airline reduced its schedule by axing several routes.

At the time, O’Leary was unsympathetic; business is business. He cited the existence of the Government-imposed travel tax and Shannon’s planned adjustment of its aeronautical charges as disincentives for continuing to operate out of the airport.

Now, with Shannon Airport about to extricate itself from the controlling clutches of the DAA, Ryanair sees it as a glorious opportunity to try and broker a new deal that will re-establish its Shannon base.

At the moment, Shannon is struggling for business and sustained a loss last year in the order of €8 million. If it continues to be loss-making, it will impinge on its ability to create its independent entity.
Traffic continues to nosedive dramatically and Omni flights carrying US troops have been drastically reduced. Since 2001, about two million troops transited Shannon as part of the US war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, for the first four months of 2012, only 45,000 troops transited Shannon. On a proportional basis, the numbers have almost halved.

This week, Ryanair deputy chief executive, Michael Cawley breezed into the region trying to drum up support for a proposal they’ve put to Government that, he claims, will revitalise and generate up to one million passengers for Shannon Airport.

Mr Cawley claimed 300,000 tourists generate 2,500 tourist jobs and overall exchequer revenue of €75m. He emphasised that tourists are attracted by low fares and disclosed that Ryanair gets paid or isn’t charged any landing or other fees to bring passengers into most of the airports where it operates.

Arguing his case, Mr Cawley stated the obvious when he claimed that Shannon Airport needs passengers. He believes if the Government accepts the new Ryanair deal to provide up to one million passengers, provided there are no charges for every extra passenger attracted by the airline, Shannon will gain about €5 per passenger in non-aeronautical revenues.

He emphasised Ryanair is best placed to attract passengers and deliver growth into Shannon with its price structure. Furthermore, the Ryanair free charges deal for new passengers will not cost Shannon anything in additional costs over and above existing costs.

Mr Cawley asserted that no other airlines are interested in coming into Shannon or attracting an additional 675,000 passengers and alluded to the fact that 15 different destinations have been withdrawn from Shannon since October 2008.

While Michael O’Leary and Michael Cawley have good business brains, they are also opportunists.
Ryanair were in Shannon previously for the long haul but that didn’t materialise. Now they’re back with a fresh pitch. Shannon needs the business; Ryanair knows that only too well. Maybe this time Shannon might have no choice but be tempted by the carrot Ryanair is dangling.

 

The battle goes on

THE ravages of the recession are still all too evident. Towns and villages around the county are blighted with unfinished developments, while businesses, the cornerstones of most communities, are being forced to the wall.

The town of Ennis has witnessed a plethora of businesses lock up shop permanently in the past year and this week came the news of a double whammy, the shock closures of Curley’s Furniture and Citygate Renault (Ennis).

The two latest casualties of the economic downturn underline the continual battle businesses face for survival. It’s a daily battle and employers need all the help they can get from whatever source.

However, in fairness to the town traders in Ennis, under the Chamber of Commerce umbrella, they are fighting back and looking at new ways to attract custom. They are being creative and innovative.
Promote Ennis, a collaborative initiative between Ennis Chamber, Ennis Town Council and Shannon Development, is one such initiative where the business community is being encouraged to become part of the welcome to Ennis.

A Visit Ennis brochure has been launched while a welcome team, comprising Ennis Chamber staff acting as street ambassadors, are out and about, greeting and meeting, giving advice and directing visitors using the Visit Ennis brochure.

The second element of the initiative is to encourage business owners, managers or frontline staff to give themselves a competitive advantage and the visitors a positive experience.

Another praiseworthy initiative is the utilisation of business contacts abroad. Clare is turning to its emigrant sons and daughters to help buffer the impact of the recession and kick-start job creation in the county.

Connect Ireland has been mandated by the Government and the IDA to use all possible means and contacts to help attract foreign investment to Clare and create sustainable jobs. The initiative works by encouraging ordinary people and businesses to use their international connections to encourage companies to set up here.

Thankfully it’s not all doom and gloom. Farmers aren’t complaining with strong trade prices for stock, while figures from the Department of Agriculture for farm payments in 2011 show that the average payment to Clare farmers was €12,694, an increase of €259 per farmer from 2008. For the same four-year period, payments to Clare farmers were up €1.7m.
Not bad in these recessionary times.