The Government offered no financial incentives to Air France in advance of an announcement yesterday that it will operate a twice-daily service from Shannon airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle from February, the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, said yesterday.
Speaking at the announcement of the deal, he did however describe the "European hub" incentive package offered to airlines by the Shannon Airport Authority as a "clever move".
Mr Dempsey said Paris Charles de Gaulle airport offered more connectivity than London Heathrow.
He also claimed the case made by a minority in the Shannon region that it was "Heathrow or nothing" had contributed to scaring at least one airline away from considering providing an alternative route.
Calling on members of the community around Shannon to support the new route, which will be operated by Air France subsidiary CityJet, Mr Dempsey said the announcement represented "a restoration of connectivity".
"And probably enhanced connectivity if you look at the figures and the facts...If you look at the facts and the statistics about Charles de Gaulle, it is actually a better airport to be flying into in terms of the connectivity.
"So Shannon now is in an ideal position to build; it can serve its local business community, and it can serve the tourism and holiday traveller as well."
Air France, through CityJet, hopes to cater to about 90,000 passengers per year on the new route, but says it can provide extra capacity if necessary.
The Shannon to Paris flights will depart each day at 9.35am and 7pm.
The Paris to Shannon flights will depart at 7.40am and 5.05pm.
The new service comes into effect on February 4th.
Under the deal it is expected the maximum wait for a transfer to an onward destination in Europe or Asia will be 2½ hours.
This also applies in most cases to onward flights to major US cities, although the existing transatlantic route from Shannon operated by Delta should also complement this process.
The Shannon Airport Authority welcomed the announcement, and said the Paris airport would provide connectivity to 248 non-stop destinations, compared with 169 out of Heathrow.
"This not alone gives this region connectivity to over 840 destinations but it also gives these international markets access to this region, which amounts to a very significant business development opportunity for the west," said the authority's chairman Pat Shanahan.
Michael Vaughan, chairman of the Irish Hotels Federation Shannon branch, said it was a "positive starting point in reducing the impact of the impending cessation of the Shannon-Heathrow route [next month]."
Mr Dempsey's Government colleague, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment Tony Killeen, also expressed satisfaction with the announcement.
However, he said the Shannon Airport Authority should be granted full autonomy from the Dublin Airport Authority and "debt-free" status.
Fine Gael TD for Clare Joe Carey welcomed the announcement.
However he said it "does not detract from the Government's monumental failure to retain the Aer Lingus-Heathrow service".