Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

As an island nation, air access to this country is more crucial than it is for those European countries which enjoy easy land access. The loss of air routes to us is unquestionably a negative because we need access to as many places as we can and we need as many places as possible to have access to us. There is no doubt that there has been a reduction in the number of services. The airline industry is suffering nationally and internationally in terms of its ability to maintain its profitability and to meet its own demands and commitments. This has seen a retrenchment not only in Ireland but internationally.

Another issue of concern is that a third bloc has been formed on the transatlantic route, but Aer Lingus is not part of any of these blocs. The alliance between American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia Airlines represents the advent of another significant player. My concern is that it is difficult for a small airline like Aer Lingus to compete outside one of these large blocs. It is not for me to tell Aer Lingus what to do, but I hope its broad strategy includes a consideration of how it may form part of one of those blocs. I understand it has a relationship with JetBlue, which is a significant player in the economy market in the United States. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Atlantic route will become more and more competitive. It is also clear that the Atlantic route is extremely important to Ireland, as was pointed out to me not only by Aer Lingus but also by the major United States airlines that fly into Ireland.

I have expressed my concerns in this regard to the Minister for Transport and have emphasised that we must maintain as many routes as possible. Those routes are the lifeblood of our economy, and the key flag carrier in that regard is Aer Lingus. In the United States market in particular, Aer Lingus remains a significant brand image for the country. I sincerely hope the company keeps that to the forefront in terms of its future market development strategy and that it has a particular focus on the United States market. I put an enormous amount of work in as Minister for Transport, with the support of Deputies, in seeking to achieve an agreement on open skies. We were strongly of the view it would benefit Ireland, particularly from the United States. We have not yet seen the fruits of that and there are opportunities there to exploit.

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