Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I will come to that in a moment. I will give the Deputy an example. It was clear even three or four months ago that the buying opportunities for airlines vis-À-vis the manufacturers was very opportune. I have been anxious to place Aer Lingus within that window of opportunity to get the best possible deal from manufacturers in terms of ordering aircraft. Recently, for example, China made substantial orders with Boeing and that has taken some of the pressure off the manufacturer. While the window of opportunity in terms of purchasing aircraft has not closed, it is closing fast as more and more airlines purchase new fleets for the future. Aer Lingus must order fairly quickly, not just for that reason but because it will take a lead-in time of about 18 months to acquire the aircraft and get them operational. At present Aer Lingus has seven long haul aircraft in its transatlantic fleet, all of which need to be replaced immediately.

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