The Government will press EU transport ministers in Luxembourg today to agree a deal to open up transatlantic air travel between Europe and the US to far greater competition.
It will also seek to negotiate a short "transition period" during which the current stopover regime for transatlantic flights at Shannon airport would be maintained for a period of time.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said yesterday he was hopeful EU ministers would sanction the start of negotiations with the US on a new "open skies" agreement at an EU council meeting later today.
He said he thought a final deal with the US could be concluded by Christmas due to the difficulties experienced by the global airline industry, particularly in the US.
The implementation of an "open skies" agreement would provide huge benefits for the tourism industry in the Republic and Aer Lingus, which would be allowed to operate a range of new routes to the US.
Mr Cullen said there was no doubt a deal on transatlantic flights would boost the flotation value of Aer Lingus.
He also dismissed recent speculation that Aer Lingus would not be sold off before the next general election.
"I haven't any plan for it [ flotation] to happen after the next general election. We are moving ahead at a solid pace to bring it to the market," he added.
On the politically sensitive issue of the Shannon stopover, Mr Cullen said the Government had already received indications from the EU that a transition period would be allowed so that the airport could adapt to the new open skies regime and the likely reduction of stopovers.
He did not reveal the proposed length of any transition period.
This stopover forces 50 per cent of flights between the Republic and the US to land at Shannon airport.
The regulation boosts the airport's revenues and it is feared that the Shannon region will face economic difficulties when it is abolished.
A recent report by former minister for transport Alan Dukes and Frederik Sorensen, a former senior EU official, predicted that open skies could add 10 per cent to economic growth in the medium term, but it also warned that Shannon "could run into difficulties".
The new chief executive of British Airways, Willie Walsh, said this week he thought an open skies deal could be implemented within 18 months.
Negotiations on an open skies agreement between the EU and US broke down in June 2004, with the EU arguing it was not offered sufficient access to the US market.
Any deal is expected to include the right for European and US carriers to operate in each other's home markets, as well as the lifting of restrictions on foreign ownership of airlines, which could pave the way for transatlantic mergers.
