Vol. 253 No. 1
asked the Minister for Transport and Power if, in view of the recent cancellation by Aer Lingus of the service from Shannon to Dublin, he will give an assurance that the position of Shannon as a transatlantic airport will not be jeopardised in any future negotiations with American airlines.
21.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether a new air agreement between the United States and Ireland is about to be negotiated; whether any change in Government policy regarding landing rights in Ireland is contemplated; and, if so, if he will make a statement on the matter.
22.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether the Government intends now or at any time in the future to grant landing rights at Dublin Airport to the American airlines.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I propose to take Questions Nos. 20, 21 and 22 together.
I explained the Government's policy in these matters to the House in my replies to questions put down by Deputy T. O'Donnell on 5th and 26th February, 1970 and by Deputy Coughlan on 5th February, 1970. There has been no change in policy and I do not consider it necessary or appropriate to make any further statement.
23.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether he approved of the recent decision by Aer Lingus to discontinue the Dublin-Shannon internal feeder service; if so, the reasons why he gave his approval for this decision; whether he had examined all the implications for Shannon Airport and for the tourist industry before giving approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
24.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power why the decision by Aer Lingus to discontinue the Dublin-Shannon service was not taken at an earlier date so as to enable the American airlines to rearrange their arrival times at Shannon to connect with the Aer Lingus transatlantic scheduled services to Dublin.
25.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether, in view of the fact that many American tourists will be greatly inconvenienced as a result of the decision by Aer Lingus to discontinue their Shannon-Dublin feeder service, he will now subsidise this service for the 1971 tourist season; and, if not, why.
26.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether the provision of the Shannon-Dublin feeder service by Aer Lingus was one of the agreed conditions of recent US-Irish air agreements; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
27.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether he has received representations from the US Government and from Irish interest groups about the decision by Aer Lingus to discontinue the Shannon-Dublin air service; whether he proposes to take any action on the matter; and, if not, why.
28.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power whether the decision by Aer Lingus to discontinue its Dublin-Shannon feeder service will have any implications for the future of Irish-US air agreements; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
29.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power the subject matter of his recent discussions with a representative of the American Government and the outcome of the discussions.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I propose to take Questions Nos. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 together.
The Shannon-Dublin air service was introduced by Aer Lingus in 1966 at the request of the then Minister for Transport and Power. This was done to improve the service to and from Dublin for passengers of other transatlantic airlines serving Shannon. No commitment to provide or maintain the service was sought or given and the provision of the service is not a condition of the bilateral air services agreement between the two countries.
Aer Lingus indicated in December, 1970 that they wished to discontinue the service because of heavy losses on it. The Aer Lingus estimates showed that the estimated loss on the operation of the service, taking only direct costs into account, would amount to £43,000 for the summer of 1971. The aircraft, if employed on other more profitable routes, would make a surplus of £100,000 on operating costs and make a substantial contribution to overheads and could be expected to bring in a worthwhile quota of tourist business. Figures as to the actual user of the service and other relevant information were sought but were not then readily available.
Aer Lingus was not in a position to produce actual figures at the time. It was not until March, 1971 that all the relevant information had been extracted. The user of the service estimated by Aer Lingus amounted to-only 4.3 per cent of the passengers carried to and from Shannon by the American airlines in 1970. The US Airlines were unable to provide comparable statistics. This meant that the service was being operated at a loss of approximately £75 per transatlantic passenger carried between Dublin and Shannon. The information also indicated that the user of the service was diminishing steeply. As between 1969 and 1970, the user dropped from 7.2 per cent in 1969 to 4.3 per cent in 1970.
In terms of passengers per flight the figures were 10 in 1969 and 8.5 in 1970, while the Aer Lingus forward bookings for 1971 indicated an average of 3.6 per flight.
When the necessary information to enable a decision to be taken was available in late March, 1971, the matter was submitted to Government. Following the decision of the Government Aer Lingus were informed on the 2nd April, 1971, of agreement to the discontinuance of the service.
Representations in the matter have been received from the Ambassador of the United States of America to Ireland, from Transworld Airlines and from Bord Fáilte. The Ambassador discussed with the Minister for Transport and Power the problems arising for US passengers already booked on the service. The other representations were on similar lines—namely, that the US airlines and US travel trade are already committed this summer to passengers booked on this service. The estimates now furnished to the Department of Transport and Power by TWA of the number of passengers who used the service in 1970 and expected to use the service in 1971 differ very substantially from the estimates of Aer Lingus. It is not possible at this stage to reconcile these differences and I have, therefore, decided in deference to the representations made that the service should be maintained for the coming summer. During the summer accurate checks will be made to establish precisely the extent to which the service is being used and the whole question will then be re-examined.
In view of the Minister's detailed statement I should just like to ask him one supplementary question: Can the Minister say why this decision could not have been taken three or four months earlier so that the American airline timetables could have been synchronised with the Irish airline's timetable? No problem would have arisen if this had been done.
As I have indicated, the detailed statistics required were not available until late March of this year. The decision would have been taken earlier but for that. It is primarily because of the inconvenience involved for those who have made bookings on the basis of the existing services that the decision has been made to carry the service on for the rest of the summer.
In recent months Aer Lingus have made two snap decisions, the first in January in relation to the Manchester/Shannon service and the second in relation to the Dublin/ Shannon service. In view of the fact that these decisions appear to have been made at the worst possible time, could the Minister urge on Aer Lingus the importance of planning six months in advance?
The Deputy may take it that Aer Lingus will be made aware of the necessity of having regard to——
Advance planning.
They do have regard to advance planning, but in all aspects of their business, not just in some.
Is it not a fact that several internal/external airline groups offered to undertake this service?
I do not know of any serious offers made to that effect.
There was an offer in some respects.
I did read of some but as I say I do not know whether it was serious or not. The question does not arise because the service is being continued this summer.
In view of the grave financial difficulties which Aer Lingus are in and will continue to be in by operating this service is it the Government's intention to compensate them?
I do not think that question is down, but the short answer is "no".
The Minister recognises the fact that they could be in financial difficulties by virtue of his direction?
I have given the short answer.
These are separate questions.
