THE contentious issue of the lost connectivity between Shannon airport and Heathrow will be very much back on the agenda, should Ryanair succeed in their bid for Aer Lingus.
In a recent interview, Michael OLeary questioned Aer Lingus decision to pull out of the route, claiming they made a fundamental mistake to cease their Shannon-Heathrow operation.
“They had 80 per cent load factor on the Shannon route and they closed it and went up to Belfast where they only have a 55 per cent load factor and losing money.
“We’re aware the Government wants to restore and enhance connectivity in Ireland. We’re going back on the Heathrow-Shannon route-certainly with a minimum of a morning and evening frequency, so, a kind of business frequency.
“And those slots will have to come from existing slots Belfast or Dublin. In Dublin, they have a load of slots, or some of the existing slots in Belfast. Belfast won’t be closed. It’s just we’ll put a minimum of the morning and evening rotation back on the Shannon-Heathrow route”.
He also predicted that in the brand new Europe, there will be four airline carriers with over 100 million passengers a year: BA, Air France, Lufthansa and Ryanair.
He claimed that Aer Lingus was being wiped out by Ryanair. “But instead of wiping them out, why don’t we rescue them”.
