This article is from page 74 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 74 JPG
, suggested that the loss of the Aer Lingus Heathrow service could open up the possibility of new connections to China, South East Asia and India.
Referring to reports that the Shan- non Airport Authority had identified potential cost savings on the Heath- row route that could be passed on to the airline to encourage it to keep the slots in Shannon, Mr Slattery said if this was true, there was a funda- mental lesson there for the airport authority.
‘Stable doors are best shut while the horse is still inside. Aer Lingus might not have given warning of its inten- tions towards Heathrow but the onus was equally on the airport authority to be vigilant rather than complacent towards its airline customer base. Its management of costs should be as ruthless as that of its current leading airline customer – Ryanair.
“*T don’t believe that the Government emerges with either credit or cred- ibility from the situation. It is diffi- cult to see how maintaining a neutral position on such an important com- mercial decision squares with retain- ing a 25 per cent so-called strategic shareholding in the company. But it
seems quite clear that Aer Lingus is not for turning and that the Govern- ment is not going to intervene.
“The loss of the Heathrow connec- tion is unquestionably bad news. But it does have the silver lining of oblig- ing us to take stock. Initially, the objective was a simple restoration of
the Heathrow slots. Now, equivalent connectivity to any nearby major hub that can offer a wide range of far reaching destinations in one further hop would be a successful outcome. Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are the most obvious candidates along- side Heathrow.
“Already, we are witnessing a marked shift in the balance of glo- bal economic clout away from North America and Europe towards China, South East Asia and India. IBEC has called for more direct flights between Ireland and Asia and I don’t see why Shannon shouldn’t aspire to connect directly with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bombay or Mumbai.
“There is no reason why the Mid- west can’t establish itself as the Euro- pean centre of excellence not just for people from this continent seeking to immerse themselves in the culture and ways of the large economies of Asia but also for their counterparts from China or India seeking to reach out and develop their understanding of how Europe works. Provided we have the confidence to believe in our own capacities, this region can be- come the premier European hub for commercial and intellectual inter- action and communication between Europe and Asia,” Mr Slattery con- cluded.