Ivor Callely
Question:238 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications his views on the likely developments on Aer Lingus trans-Atlantic flights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10939/96]
Written Answers. - Aer Lingus Transatlantic Flights.
I understand that the Deputy's question relates to the new agreement between Aer Lingus and Delta Airlines on the Ireland-New York scheduled services. In this regard I would refer the Deputy to my response to his parliamentary question on 14 May a copy of which follows. I would emphasise that strategy in relation to Aer Lingus transatlantic services is primarily a matter for Aer Lingus having regard to their commercial mandate.
I have gone on record before to indicate that the Government has encouraged and will continue to encourage Aer Lingus to develop appropriate strategic alliances with other airlines as part of its overall development strategy, where they are judged to be in the best interests of the airline and the economic development of the country as a whole.
The recent agreement between Aer Lingus and Delta whereby Aer Lingus have joined Delta Airline's worldwide partners programme is not an equity based agreement. It is more in the nature of a co-operative marketing arrangement and is in line with the Aer Lingus transatlantic strategy which seeks to ensure a strong year round service for business and leisure passengers on a commercially viable basis.
The main elements of the agreement are:
— Delta will block book seats on the daily Aer Lingus Dublin-New York and Shannon-New York services in both directions.
— These flights will operate as code-sharing flights i.e. each flight will be shown separately as a Delta and an Aer Lingus flight on reservations systems.
— Delta will code-share from beyond points in the US which they serve i.e. 246 cities.
— Joint co-operation on frequent flyer-Tab programmes.
— Further discussions to share certain services e.g. handling, maintenance etc. are ongoing.
While the issue of code-sharing between Irish and US carriers on Ireland-US services is not specifically addressed by the Ireland-US bilateral Air Services Agreement, the Delta-Aer Lingus arrangement has been approved by both the Irish and US authorities on the basis of comity and reciprocity. I believe that the nature of the agreement is consistent with the aims of the bilateral Air Transport Agreement and with Irish aviation policy generally. The new agreement will have benefits for both airlines and consumers. From an Aer Lingus perspective the agreement will serve to underpin the year round viability of its transatlantic services in the coming years, will give access to Delta's US-wide network and marketing infrastructure and offer further potential financial benefits through sharing of services.
The Deputy will appreciate that the detail of such an alliance between specific air carriers is commercially sensitive by its nature and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on such detail. In approving this type of alliance, my main consideration relates to the broad strategic and regulatory issues. It is neither necessary or appropriate for me or my Department to involve ourselves in the detailed working arrangements between the two airlines.