Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Walsh and Mr. Griffin for appearing before the committee. As he has said, the IAG brand is very strong but he also recognised the Aer Lingus brand is extremely strong and recognised worldwide. We are delighted to hear that if there was a successful bid IAG would maintain the Aer Lingus brand. Two main issues remain, namely, jobs and connectivity. Mr. Walsh has spoken about job losses and job creation but the extra aircraft and jobs created appear focused on Dublin. While we are in recovery mode, the recovery generally begins in the capital city but other regions need to feel it too. Mr. Walsh feels the Cork and Shannon routes are viable and operating at a profit, would he see plans to expand at Cork and Shannon? He mentioned Gatwick, can he expand a little on that? Does he mean specifically for Dublin or could this be brought also to Cork and Shannon? Aer Lingus has 11 flights from Dublin to Heathrow and BA has eight. Can he see these 19 flights maintained daily? He has said he does not need to get rid of short haul flights in order to expand so would he maintain the 19 flights there? Would this increase prices for consumers?