Vol. 399 No. 10
20 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport if air fares between Dublin and London compare favourably with fares charged on the Belfast-London and the Cork-London routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to circulate in the Official Report a tabular statement showing a representative sample of the air fares currently available on the three routes in question.
This statement shows that the fares on the Dublin-London route are reasonable comparable with those on the London-Cork and London-Belfast routes in that there are no significant variations in the levels of fares available on the routes mentioned when account is taken of the fact that the London-Belfast service is a domestic service and the airport charges paid by the carriers are, therefore, lower than for international services; the relative distance involved on the three routes; and the differences in frequency and standard of service provided by the carriers operating on the route.
Dublin — London Air Fares
|
Aer Lingus |
British Airways |
British Midland |
Ryanair |
Capital |
|
|
Fare type |
IR£ |
IR£ |
IR£ |
IR£ |
IR£ |
|
Executive/Economy type fare |
216 |
216 |
196 |
128 |
126 |
|
Budget type fare |
126 |
126 |
109 |
106 |
|
|
Pex type fare |
93 |
93 |
93 |
89 |
86 |
|
Apex type fare |
82 |
82 |
79 |
60 |
Cork — London Air Fares
|
Aer Lingus |
British Airways |
Ryanair |
|
|
Fare type |
IR£ |
IR£ |
IR£ |
|
Executive/Economy type fare |
250 |
250 |
154 |
|
Budget type fare |
206 |
206 |
134 |
|
Pex type fare |
122 |
122 |
118 |
|
Apex type fare |
98 |
98 |
104 |
Belfast — London Air Fares
|
British Airways |
Danair |
British Midland |
Capital |
Britannia |
|
|
Fare type |
UK£ |
UK£ |
UK£ |
UK£ |
UK£ |
|
Executive/Economy type fare |
164 |
158 |
164 |
124 |
58 |
|
Budget type fare |
128 |
96 |
127 |
104 |
|
|
Pex type fare |
106 |
105 |
84 |
||
|
Apex type fare |
92 |
84 |
92 |
58 |
All fares are return fares.
Route distances: Dublin-London 288 miles
Cork-London 358 miles
Belfast-London 324 miles.
Aer Lingus serve Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.
British Airways serve Heathrow Airport only.
Ryanair serve Luton and Stansted Airports.
British Midland serve Heathrow Airport only.
Capital Airlines serve Luton Airport only.
Danair serve Gatwick Airport only.
Britannia serve Luton Airport only.
Taking into account the distance on the Belfast-London route and the Dublin-London route, does the tabular statement show that the fares charged are comparable?
It is a matter of judgment in many cases. Depending on the airline used and the conditions on the Dublin-London route, the economy fare ranges from £120 to £216; and the Cork-London route from £154 to £250. There is a difference here because of the distance. On the Belfast-London route the fares range from as low as £58 to £164. To answer if the charges are comparable would depend on the figures one uses — whether it is mile by mile or the figures overall. If one looks at the figures overall, there is a difference brought about by different policies of different companies. That is why I am trying to encourage more competition in the airways.
In his reply the Minister said the fares on the Dublin-London route were reasonable. Surely the kernel of the answer was that the fares on the Cork-London route are unreasonable. When you look at the comparison the Minister has given us for the Belfast-London and Cork-London routes it is dreadfully unreasonable. Could he please endeavour to see that the people of Cork and Munster generally get a fair crack of the whip where air fares are concerned?
Yes, I will.
Practically speaking, what can the Minister hope to do?
Perhaps I was not clear. I said the Dublin-London routes are reasonably comparable with those on the London-Cork and London-Belfast routes if one takes those factors into account. If one takes the actual fare only into account, then one could conclude that they do not compare reasonably. Air fares are critical to the economy. I keep them down by competition and I have to approve price increases, which I am very slow to do.
Can the Minister state if he has taken into account all the operators on the routes in question in arriving at those figures? Has he received an application for additional competition on those routes? Would this affect the charge for travel on all the routes concerned?
The tabular statement deals with all the airlines currently flying the routes. Off the top of my head, I do not recall having an application for any other airlines to fly. I should like to make it clear that I would be willing to talk to any airline that wants to fly these routes. The more airlines and the more competition we have on these routes the better I like it.
Would the Minister not agree that there is a vast difference between the fares charged on the Belfast-London route compared with the other two routes, thereby disadvantaging the people who travel Dublin-London? Can he confirm that those fares charged on the Dublin-London route and on the Cork-London route comply with EC regulations? Can he further confirm that in 1992 and thereafter if changes take place he will make representations to the airlines concerned to bring the air fares into line with those on the Belfast-London route?
Next week in Luxembourg the EC member states will return to the question of opening up the airways in Europe. We are endeavouring to have passed at European level the second air liberalisation programme, which, in effect, allows more airlines to fly to more places, with fewer regulations. The airline industry is one of the most regulated industries there is throughout Europe. On assuming this brief, I was amazed by the extent of the regulation. The same is true here, although to a lesser extent. We are doing everything possible, at EC level, to open up the skies as by doing this there will be more competition, which, in turn, will lead to more sensible prices. With regard to the Belfast-London route, I indicated that the prices range from £58 to £164 while, on the Dublin-London route, prices run from £120 to £216. Therefore, the bottom range of one is close to the top range of the other. It all depends on the level of luxury one wishes to have when flying.
That is of little consolation to travellers.
The Minister indicated earlier that there are two means open to him to keep down airfares, the first is competition and the other is to delay or refuse price increases. With regard to the Cork-London route, would the Minister not agree that one of the problems is that there is not enough competition as very few airlines fly the route and, as a consequence, prices per mile are much higher than they are on the Dublin-London route or the Belfast-London route? Second, would the Minister encourage more airlines to fly the Cork-London route as the traffic is there and encourage the airport to stay open longer as this would in turn encourage more airlines to fly the route? The more competition there is on the route the greater the possibility of fares coming down to a level comparable with the prices charged on the Dublin-London route.
I will certainly encourage additional traffic as well as additional airlines to fly the route.
What about my suggestion that the airport stay open longer?
I will take that point up.
