This article is from page 8 of the 2007-10-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
has learnt that Air India is selling slots into Heath- row. A proposal has been put to the minister that at least one of these slots is purchased and the slot leased to Continental be returned to Aer Lingus when the lease is up in 2008.
Those proposing such a move ar- gue that as these slots are already in place there will be no drawn out set up process.
Meanwhile ACA, the action group comprising of key industry, tour- ism and community leaders in the Shannon and western region and set up in response to the announcement that Aer Lingus’s Shannon Heath- row slots were to move to Belfast, has lodged an application for slots at Heathrow.
The application has been made on behalf of the action group by Astrae- us Airlines, an established provider of chartered and scheduled services
throughout Europe, Africa, North America and Central Asia.
The authority responsible for slot allocation and schedule facilitation at all major airports in the UK – Air- port Co-Ordination Ltd has received the application, which seeks landing and take off slots at London Heath- row in line with the existing schedule of air services between the interna- tional hub and Shannon.
Mayor of Clare and Alliance mem- ber, Cllr Patricia McCarthy said the Alliance had taken it upon itself, its members and the people of the region to engage with Astraeus Airlines in seeking to ensure that the slots are
retained for Shannon into the future.
According to John Brassil, Chair- man of the Atlantic Connectivity Al- liance said the Alliance had formed a special limited company – Shan- non Air Link Ltd. – to enable man- agement contracts to be entered into with Astraeus should we be success- ful in securing the slots at Heathrow.
Capt John Mahon, Director of Flight Operations with Astraeus said, “We are an experienced airline with an expanding base and would be very happy to provide services on the Shannon-Heathrow route on be- half of the Atlantic Connectivity Al- liance. Our board has considered the issue and will work with the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance on progress- ing the proposal.
Based in Crawley in England, Astraeus operates scheduled and chartered flights for around 50 tour Operators specialising in serving destinations in Africa, Europe, and Canada. It also specialises in pro- viding operational capacity to com- panies, and has worked with Iceland Express, Air Asia, FlyBe and Ster- ling to commence or enhance their ol MIA
Its main bases are Manchester Air- port and London Gatwick Airport. Astraeus Ltd flies over 4,700 seats worldwide per week.