Shannon loses out to Cork

IT’S been a week of mixed news for Shannon Airport.  The good news – all legal requirements have been met to enable private aircraft avail of the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) pre-inspection station at Shannon. It’s a development that signals enormous revenue and opportunities for the airport.
The bad news – both Aer Lingus and Ryanair have announced plans to fly to a total of 15 new destinations from Cork this summer. For many of the routes, it will be a simple matter of Shannon’s loss being Cork’s gain. To rub salt into Shannon’s wounds, Ryanair has also announced a new summer route from Knock to Reus-Barcelona.
Shannon has fallen victim on two fronts. Ryanair has engaged in a long-running row over the Government’s €10 travel tax and charges at Shannon, which it claims are uncompetitive. The second blow comes by way of Aer Lingus’ decision to enter into a franchise deal with Aer Arann to provide feeder points into Dublin from both the West of Ireland and the UK under a new Aer Lingus Regional brand.
Aer Lingus is to add eight new routes to destinations including Tenerife, La Rochelle, Jersey, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London Gatwick from Cork.
Aer Lingus notes this as evidence of the airline’s long-term commitment to building a route network to serve both business and leisure needs in the Cork region.
Adopting a very conciliatory tone, Aer Lingus also signalled that it would no longer try to undercut Ryanair’s prices for routes but would instead focus on offering passengers additional services.
Ryanair is to offer seven new summer routes from Cork Airport and temporarily base an additional aircraft there from June to the end of August.
Ryanair will fly from Cork to Alicante, Barcelona (Reus), Bordeaux, Faro, La Rochelle, Lanzarote and Malaga and claims this will bring an extra 40,000 passengers through the airport in three months.
As is customary, Ryanair didn’t sign off without a word of warning. Just like the airline’s argument in respect of Shannon, it said the Government-imposed €10 tourist tax and charges imposed at Cork would hamper year-round growth at the airport.
The switch in commercial tactics by the two airlines has very serious implications for Shannon Airport. Not only will it hit airport revenue and jeopardise jobs but it will also discommode a huge number of people from the Mid-West who have grown accustomed to the convenience of Ryanair services. In fact, it’s been suggested that rather than looking to Cork, Ryanair and Aer Lingus could grow additional traffic at Shannon, where there is capacity.
Of course, both airlines have a history of difficulties in trying to broker deals with the airport authority in recent years.
Aer Lingus axed its Shannon-London Heathrow route in 2007, blaming an uncompetitive cost base, and moved to Belfast. After a long campaign of protest, the Shannon-Heathrow service was restored last year but with a reduced frequency. Aer Lingus has also pruned back on its transatlantic services from Shannon and news of setting up services in Cork certainly casts doubts about the prospects of new short-haul services from Shannon.
Some while back, Ryanair laid out its plans to reduce from four to one the number aircraft it will have at Shannon after March unless the travel tax goes and charges are lowered.
One could understand to some degree how Aer Lingus might want to test the market in Cork on popular short-haul routes to the UK and a couple of sun destinations. However, it is puzzling as to why two rival airlines are making such a mad dash to Cork, especially when many of the Ryanair sunshine routes have a proven rate of success from Shannon already? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Ryanair’s decision to divert to Cork is yet another example of how Michael O’Leary plays hardball when airports don’t play according to his rules.
Aer Lingus’ interest in Shannon has, for some time, been far from what it should be. The airline’s new CEO, Christoph Mueller, hasn’t endeared himself to Shannon supporters in the manner in which he has pushed Dublin as central to its long-haul business. It seems unlikely that Aer Lingus will have any part to play in halting the decline of Shannon’s transatlantic passenger traffic.
Meanwhile, it is to be hoped that the airport and Mid-West can gain on another front. The extension of the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) services at Shannon to include passengers on private aircraft is seen as an opportunity to attract lucrative business. Since last August, US-bound passengers on commercial flights clear all entry controls before boarding the aircraft, thus ensuring there is no further official processing and passengers are treated as if they had arrived from a US domestic airport when they land Stateside.
Because of its location, a significant number of US bound private aircraft already use Shannon for refuelling. In announcing the expansion of the pre-clearance services, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey expressed confidence that with this development “there will be a significant increase in these numbers in order to take advantage of preclearance”.
The positive ripple effect the CPB service could deliver in the region is something that has captured the imagination of Shannon Airport Authority chairman Brian O’Connell. He says Shannon Airport should provide VIP facilities as a bonus attraction for corporate jets.
Also, Atlantic Way chairman and the developer of Westpark at Shannon, Mr O’Connell believes the pre-inspection for private jets can draw multinationals and institutions to set up headquarter operations at Shannon.
The extension of the CBP to cargo flights remains the last piece in the jigsaw to be completed and would provide the potential for even more business at Shannon. The relevant authorities must do all within their powers to deliver this as soon as possible. In these difficult times, it is vital that Shannon can take any advantage going.