andMr. T. O'Donnell asked the Minister for Transport and Power if his attention has been drawn to allegations that Aer Lingus over the Christmas period and in respect of passengers from Great Britain to Ireland charge higher fares and impose more unfavourable conditions than at other periods; and if he will request Aer Lingus to cease discriminating against emigrants returning home for Christmas.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Aer Lingus Fares.
6.
During the Christmas period Aer Lingus in common with other airlines operating cross-channel services charge higher monthly excursion return fares to passengers from Great Britain because of pressure on capacity and higher costs. At that time maximum capacity is required to carry traffic which is largely moving in one direction. The operation of almost empty aircraft in the reverse direction incurs substantial cost, which must be recovered. Additional costs in overtime and other payments also arise. Disruptions due to weather frequently occur at that time of year which add to the costs of passenger handling or in the provision of alternative transport for large numbers.
An increase in fares in these circumstances is normal commercial practice and sound economics and I do not propose to intervene.
Is the Minister aware that this is just one example of the scandalous manner in which our emigrants are being fleeced by the airlines? Is the Minister aware that at present in Great Britain, Aer Lingus are advertising cheap weekends in Dublin for £17 10s which includes hotel and self-drive car? If one of my constituents who happens to be working in London wants to come home to see his relatives he will have to pay a fare of £30 from London to Shannon, plus airport tax. Is this not gross discrimination against our emigrants? This matter has been raised several times in this House by me. Would the Minister undertake to have discussions with IATA with a view to having IATA regulations on the ITX fares re-arranged so that Irish exiles will be able to avail of the ordinary concessions which are available to tourists?
Yesterday we had a question which was put down from the Fine Gael Party and the question down today is typical of the dishonesty of that party in that the question put down by them yesterday, prompted by Deputy FitzGerald——
Answer the one down today.
——and there was nobody present to follow up with supplementaries—dealt with the whole financial situation of Irish airlines and how to improve their commercial operation——
Are they to be improved by overcharging emigrants at Christmas?
Fine Gael cannot have it both ways. If questions are put down on Tuesday—and nobody is there to deal with the reply or to handle supplementaries——
To-day is Wednesday.
——showing concern about the financial situation of Aer Lingus and how Aer Lingus should be handled from the commercial and financial point of view, questions dealing with a matter which is solely concerned with keeping Aer Lingus commercially and financially sound, as an economic commercial airline who can hold their own anywhere in the world, should not be put down on Wednesday.
Emigrants should not be fleeced. The Minister cannot justify this argument at all. The plain fact of the matter is——
The plain fact of the matter?
We cannot have a debate on this. The Deputy has put a very long question.
I want to ask the Minister if he will undertake to examine the present IATA regulations and particularly the ITX and special group fares and inclusive tour fares with a view to having some concessions made to emigrants? It is a disgrace that an Irish person who wants to come to see his relatives has to pay £30 for the fare alone.
If the Deputy will excuse the pun, the plain fact of the matter is that planes are going over empty to London, Birmingham and Manchester during the period the Deputy talks about and coming back full. The cost of this must be met somehow and that is reflected in the fare increase. It is as simple as that. The economics of air transport demand the fullest possible passenger load each way. These are the facts.
Is not the London-Dublin line the most profitable of the lines between Ireland and England and Ireland and the Continent?
Deputy O'Donnell is being sensible. He is talking about the Christmas problem.
Is it not the most profitable line? They go across empty one way but they can still make a profit.
Deputy Belton is talking about the ordinary, usual, day-in-day-out line.
The Minister is trying to get out of it.
Deputy O'Donnell is talking about the Christmas problem.
Go away out of that.
The Minister would agree that the most politically profitable line is between Dublin and Vienna?
That is rather adolescent.
Is it the Minister's case that he will not intervene for sordid commercial reasons with Aer Lingus to alleviate the lot of emigrants?
He could not care less about anything.
We had all about commercial rates yesterday from Deputy Garret FitzGerald and other people who were not present to deal with their questions. Commercial reasons are very important reasons for keeping our airline in business in a highly competitive world and adjectives such as that used by Deputy Cooney do not help.
(Interruptions.)
If the Deputy wishes I will take up this matter with the airline following this discussion in the House. I want to point out from the point of view of reality that very real commercial difficulties are involved.
Would the Minister not agree that if special concession fares were available to exiles the volume of traffic on the cross-channel route would increase substantially? I have evidence to prove that and I will produce it if the Minister wants it.
I will take up with the airline the tenor of what has been mentioned here by sensible Deputies.