Mr. Stephen Kavanagh:

The question was why Dublin Airport was a natural hub. While it might sound trite, if one looks up on a spring morning at the contrails in the sky, they are passenger airlines flying from Europe to North America. They are dropping customers in Heathrow Airport, Paris and Amsterdam. Our proposition is that they should drop more customers in Dublin. For Irish consumers, it would give more choice and, potentially, better value because, inevitably, flight prices will decrease over time. The acceleration of growth will mean an acceleration of cost reductions and better value. It is a virtuous circle and Dublin Airport's opportunity to compete. Ireland's geography is our best advantage. It is the shortest crossing, which is the most compelling advantage from a customer and cost perspective because one burns less fuel between Dublin and New York than between London and New York. This natural advantage and the scale of Aer Lingus's operations at Dublin and Shannon airports in terms of our connectivity in Europe give us an ability to compete. What we need is access to the marketplace. In May we will not just be starting a Dublin to Washington route but also 60 routes that touch Washington, for example, Edinburgh-Dublin-Washington or Dublin-Washington-Boise, Idaho. That is the power of a network and growth and capacity at a hub. The quicker one has critical mass the more sustainable one is. This is the key attribute of the proposal.