Tag Archives: Matthew Thomas

SHANNON Group chief executive Matthew Thomas received a basic salary of €175,000 in 2018, along with other taxable benefits of €24,596. Mr Thomas also received pension contributions of €43,750, giving a total sum of €243,346. There were also business expenses of €13,448. He is due to leave Shannon Group next month and in the final annual report he will be involved with, Mr Thomas wrote, “2018 has been a positive year for Shannon Group. We have seen more passengers using our airport, more visitors enjoying our heritage tourist attraction and our property portfolio attracting more businesses to the region.” Regarding the performance of the airport, he said, “In 2018, Shannon Airport enjoyed its best year this decade, welcoming over 1.86 million passengers, a 6.5% increase in passenger numbers year on year. The UK and transatlantic markets were our best performers last year, both up 7%. During the year, there were 25,556 take-offs and landings from the airports’s newly-resurfaced runway, the …

LESS than three years after he arrived, Matthew Thomas is leaving his role as CEO of Shannon Group. He is set to take up a new position as CEO of the Ports of Jersey. Shannon Group Deputy CEO Mary Considine will take on the role of Acting CEO of Shannon Group after his departure in June. Since his arrival in mid 2016 Shannon Airport’s passenger numbers have increased, but the level of growth has been very moderate, reaching just 1.86 million last year. While this was an increase of 6.5% on 2017, it is not much more than half the numbers which used Shannon during the Celtic Tiger years, and the Clare airport’s growth was eclipsed by the increasing dominance of Dublin. Shannon is now way off the targets that were set for it as it separated from the Dublin Airport Authority at the start of 2013. On the industrial side, during Mr Thomas’ tenure there was significant investment in …

SHANNON Group, which operates Shannon Airport, is calling on Government to support it in safeguarding EU connectivity for the Mid-West and Western regions in a post Brexit environment. Shannon Airport currently has UK hub connectivity through London Heathrow, which will continue to be hugely important connectivity going forward. But in a Brexit situation, as the UK exits the European Union, the airport will then be without connectivity into an EU hub. Commenting on the issue, Matthew Thomas, CEO, Shannon Group said: “European hub connectivity is vital for our tourism and business customers in the Mid-West, and Western regions. It provides the air access needed to grow tourism numbers, to conduct business and attract FDI investment from Europe and is now more important than ever in the context of Brexit. “While European connectivity is currently serviced through the London Heathrow hub, the reality is that in a post Brexit situation, the West of Ireland will be without this critical EU connectivity. …

Aer Lingus has announced that its Shannon / New York JFK service will operate year-round in 2019. Shannon is set to operate it largest Transatlantic service in 17 years with eight transatlantic services operated by six different carriers across seven destinations from Shannon in 2018. Matthew Thomas, Shannon Group CEO said, “We are delighted that Aer Lingus will be operating a New York / Shannon service year-round in 2019. With 40% of US foreign direct investment in Ireland within Shannon’s catchment area, this is great news for our business community, and makes our region much more attractive for future US FDI.” Andrew Murphy, managing director, Shannon Airport said, “We welcome the decision by Aer Lingus to restore it year-round New York service, which will benefit the business community and leisure travellers who will have more options to avail of onward connections to over 90 destinations at the JFK airport, JetBlue’s largest hub airport.” Describing the Shannon / New York JFK …

SHANNON Airport is set to record a decrease in its number of passengers this year, unless there is a late improvement. Figures for the first three-quarters of 2017 show the number of passengers was 5.2% less than for the first three-quarters of 2016. It is a disappointing state of affairs, almost five years after its separation from the Dublin Airport Authority. According to the CSO statistics, 1,257,996 passengers were handled by Shannon in the first nine months of the year. This was almost 70,000 below the figure of 1,327,313 for the same period of 2016. It was also lower than the 1,297,080 that travelled through the airport in the first nine months of 2015. When Shannon was separated from Dublin, its business plan was to have 2.3 million passengers per annum in 2017, a figure the airport is very far away from achieving. The decline in passenger numbers at Shannon is in marked contrast to the other airports for which …

The chief executive of the Shannon Group has hit out at the Government’s aviation policy, which is facilitating the dominance of Dublin Airport. Addressing members of Clare County Council at their November meeting, Shannon Group CEO Matthew Thomas said that aviation policy in Ireland is leading towards the country having only a single airport, in Dublin. Mr Thomas provided figures that showed Dublin Airport had increased its market share from 72% in 2005 to 87% this year and was increasing its dominance at an incredibly fast pace. He said that, despite the growing market across the island, Shannon Airport’s share had fallen from 5.4% to 5.1% since it achieved independence from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). Nonetheless, the airport had managed to increase passenger numbers by 25%. The Shannon Group was seeking to change the “very immature” Government policy with regards to airports, he said. “The Irish aviation policy was only written a few years ago and this makes it …

Shannon Airport and Lagan Asphalt Group have announced the completion of a €15 million resurfacing project on Ireland’s longest runway, eight weeks ahead of schedule. Work commenced in May, including the full rehabilitation of 2,400 metres of runway surface, the replacement of runway edge and centre line lighting with energy efficient LED lighting, ducing and other associated works. A team of 90 people and 70 vehicles worked on the runway at night to avoid disrupting flights. The project is part of a €15m investment programme and was financed through a loan secured from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. Matthew Thomas, CEO of Shannon Group said, “The runway is the main artery of Shannon Airport and has been one of the most important pieces of infrastructure in the region since its construction in 1961. It provides a crucial link to the global community and has facilitated the growth of Irish tourism and business in the region for over 55 years.” He …

Shannon Group plc recorded another positive year of trading in 2016, as turnover hit €67.2 million, up by over 2% on 2015.  In its second full year of trading, the group, the parent company of Shannon Airport, Shannon Commercial Properties and Shannon Heritage, recorded EBITDA of €7.6 million, reflecting a solid performance and a 10% increase on 2015. Announcing his first annual results as CEO of Shannon Group, Matthew Thomas said that a continuation of the company’s improving financial performance is necessary to enable it to undertake critical investments across its business units. “The Shannon Group has a unique mix of complementary businesses that, more than any other commercial entity in the region, gives it the potential to positively influence economic development. Sixteen companies who announced new or expanded operations in 2016 in the Mid-West, which was the fastest growing region outside of Dublin last year, cited the global connectivity at Shannon Airport as a key influencer in their decision to …