Results 3,481-3,500 of 26,014 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: The question is what if Shannon had a European hub. Mr. Walsh spoke about charges and if there were supports on a route for a period, which is allowed under European Commission rules if the passenger numbers are less than 3 million. He will be aware of that. Will airlines use Shannon as a hub? Hypothetically speaking, let us say we had a link to Frankfurt or Schiphol. Would airlines look...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Why does Mr. Walsh dismiss the hub outright?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: How many of the passengers on a typical flight to, say, Schiphol or Dublin, would be people from Ireland? What percentage would be connecting flights from elsewhere?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: That means that departing flights could have 70% connecting passengers coming in from other airports.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Do you think that cannot happen at Shannon?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is a volume game.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Therefore, what model would attract your members to come into Shannon Airport?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: What would be the attractiveness for your members?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Would you ever see an airport such as Shannon Airport, with its excess capacity, being able to fulfil a hub role?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: However, if we as politicians for our areas, in the context of balanced regional development, see a huge over-concentration in one airport on the eastern seaboard, we will speak about it and be serious about it. Surely, on an island as small as Ireland, a way must be found to rebalance all forms of travel and infrastructure along the western seaboard. Part of that must include aviation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: We are looking for him to come in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: We are going to Schiphol tomorrow as part of our review. We in the region believe we need European hub connectivity and, obviously, we have a journey to go on in that regard. I can agree to disagree with Mr. Walsh. Shannon and the region have this ambition. If we did not, we would not get to that endpoint.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Shannon could have a direct flight to Amsterdam with KLM. It could have a role where it becomes a major feeder to a hub.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: We may be at cross purposes. Our view in the region is that we want a connection into the likes of Schiphol or Frankfurt. The question is how we encourage the airlines to provide flights that link to the major hub from the start.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: That is a discussion we will obviously have. I thank Mr. Walsh for his contribution. I now call Deputy Ó Murchú.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Transparency on its own merits.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Mr. Walsh will appreciate Shannon Airport was built at a time when we had the Shannon stopover.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: We have a phenomenal tourism offering and built on the back of the transatlantic routes we have a serious FDI sector-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: -----boxing way above our weight in population terms.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Update on Issues in Aviation Sector: Engagement with Mr. Willie Walsh (16 Nov 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: We have this phenomenal asset on our doorstep. Shannon cannot exist on tourism alone. It cannot function in that way because we just do not have that. I take Mr. Walsh's points and admit this is outside the box. Shannon in its early years was completely outside the box. Brendan O'Regan was a pioneer in what he did.