Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications

Proposed Sale of Aer Lingus: (Resumed) Aer Lingus and Stobart Air

5:00 pm

Mr. Sean Brogan:

I take that as the Senator's question. As I said, we had been working with the team at Shannon for 18 months on the viability of our operation there. We had invested in a second aircraft through the summer, which is why the Senator would have seen some growth there. However, we have to make the right commercial decision to ensure that, as an independent business, the company remains viable. I took the decision and stand by it, but I do not close the door on Shannon Airport. We will continue to monitor the position as the market changes. The Senator should bear in mind that one thing that happened to us at Shannon Airport was that the forces of competition were brought to bear there also. To give an example, one of our busier routes was Shannon to Manchester which became a heavily competed for route. We are a smaller regional operator which has gone through significant change in the past four years. We must ensure we will continue to grow, which we do. I have illustrated what our growth has been. We do this by making the right commercial decision at the relevant time.

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