A Chara, - When the Irish Government decided to sell our national airline to the highest bidder, it engaged in the usual "blame Brussels" routine, when it informed us that the European Commission would not allow it to invest in Aer Lingus. Subsequent communication from the commission showed this to be untrue.
After Aer Lingus was placed on the market there was huge consternation when Ryanair bid for a substantial shareholding: the cheek of Michael O'Leary - one of the "bad guys" - daring to bid for one of the "good guys", Aer Lingus, one of our own.
The Government then went back to the European Commission begging it to save us from ourselves and not allow Ryanair to gain control of Aer Lingus.
Isn't it ironic when the good guys in Aer Lingus seriously damage the economic foundations of the mid-west and west regions by cutting off access to the most important economic and tourist hub in the world, the bad guy rides to the rescue offering to work with the Government to ensure that Aer Lingus maintains its Shannon-Heathrow service?
It just goes to show there are no good guys or bad guys. Private companies have only one obligation - to maximise profit for their shareholders. It's profit before people. However, governments have a responsibility to put people before profit; and this they have failed to do in this instance.
If there are any bad guys in this situation, I would point the finger at those who promoted the privatisation of Aer Lingus, put at risk specific access to and from Ireland and consequently undermined the economic development of the mid-west and west.
Perhaps there is some consolation for the Government in all of this. Maybe we will add a few more millionaires to our growing list at the end of this year - some shareholders in Aer Lingus, perhaps? - Yours, etc,
MARIAN HARKIN MEP, Kevinsfort Heath, Sligo.
Madam, - As a very frequent business traveller on the Shannon-Heathrow service for the past 10 years, I am aghast at its proposed ending. It is a vital link for business in and out of the west. Landing in Stansted or Luton or flying through Dublin is simply not an option as it would add half a day to travel time each way. Frankly, having the road to Dublin blocked off would be less of a problem.
The west of Ireland has to focus its economy on internationally traded value-added services which depend at an executive level on efficient air transport. If you cannot get into and out of the region rapidly, it becomes next to impossible to operate from here. There appear to be very questionable economic reasons for the transfer of landing slots to Belfast as Shannon-Heathrow flights are almost always full. How can Belfast-Heathrow generate more revenue? There is clearly a political aspect to this deal which is simply unacceptable.
The nexus of Limerick, Shannon and Galway is the highest concentration of industrial output in the country outside Dublin. It is unrealistic to expect international business executives to fly through outlying airports at inconvenient times. Senior executives will not make the effort to come to the west and mid-west if it is inconvenient to do so and as a result will not base operations here. Any government which allows this to happen is abdicating its responsibility to the region and its people.
When Aer Lingus was privatised two years ago, I wrote to the then Minister of Transport requesting and receiving assurances that the Government would protect access to the Shannon-Heathrow slots, such was their strategic importance to the country.
This latest decision must be reversed and an investigation held to understand how the Government could ever have agreed to allow it. - Yours, etc,
MIKE FEERICK, CEO, Alison, Galway.
Madam, - Is there not a massive irony in the whinging of Ibec and businesses in the mid-west over the Aer Lingus decision regarding Shannon?
Ibec fully supported the privatisation of Aer Lingus on many occasions. It brushed aside the protests of the trades unions, as did many business and political commentators in the media. Now, it seems we are not prepared to live with the consequences of Aer Lingus being free of all social responsibility to this country - for this is the logical position, now that it is a publicly quoted company. We have clearly not learned the lesson of Eircom.
In all probability, the usual free marketeers, including Ibec, will be out in force soon telling us how much we would benefit from privatising public transport in Dublin. My message to Ibec and the "PD wing" in Fianna Fáil is this: Stop the hypocritical moaning and live with the consequences of your decision. - Yours, etc,
ALAN McPARTLAND, Grange Court, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.
Madam, - I must take exception to your Editorial of August 9th on the Aer Lingus decision to cease flights between Shannon and Heathrow. Your assertion that "only time will tell if dire warnings about the potential negative impact. . . are anything more than rhetoric" is an example of the narrow thinking evident among all too many living on the eastern rim of this country. The warnings are, unfortunately, correct.
Your views on the relative economic decline of the west and on this decision being "a consequence rather than a cause of a long-standing macroeconomic trend" are also misplaced. The entire west and mid-west region is doing very well from recent national growth and provides an essential counterbalance to the overheating very evident around the east coast. Indeed if you take Limerick city and county as an example, it is obvious that economic growth is healthy and vibrant: take a look at the city skyline and count the number of building cranes. Check the number of new hotels opened in the past few years and observe the growth created by business and at the University of Limerick.
It is therefore essential that the Government and informed opinion in Dublin take notice and realise the serious implications of the withdrawal of the Heathrow service from Shannon. Perhaps you might imagine what would happen to Dublin if the same were to happen there! - Yours, etc,
PETER B. MacNAMARA, Fahrwangen, Switzerland.
Madam, - As a once proud Aer Lingus Gold Circle frequent traveller I write to express my extreme disappointment and anger with the airline's decision to withdraw a busy, profitable service from Shannon.
The decision to remove a route from 360,000 customers annually demonstrates an extreme lack of loyalty to long-term repeat passengers. If the airline wishes to throw away hard-earned goodwill from its customers, then so be it.
I encourage all Aer Lingus frequent customers to take the same approach to customer loyalty and choose Aer Lingus competition at every available opportunity, on every available route from all airports.
Perhaps then Aer Lingus will understand how it feels to be left high and dry by the most powerful business partner of all - the consumer. - Yours, etc,
Dr ALAN HYNES, Dow Corning Ireland Ltd, M idleton, Co Cork.
Madam, - I have great sympathy for the people and businesses seriously discommoded by Aer Lingus's decision to cancel its apparently profitable Shannon-Heathrow route. It seems to me that Aer Lingus didn't concern itself too much with the regional consequences of this decision, and didn't fully anticipate the reaction. As a result, it is finding itself pilloried from both left and right.
I just love the Ryanair reaction in particular. As champions of profit, which choice would Ryanair insist on as a shareholder if Aer Lingus management were to demonstrate to that the profit return from Belfast was far greater than that from Shannon? And wasn't it really good to hear the Ibec spokesperson complain that Aer Lingus had done no impact assessment study on the area? Do we take it that Ibec will be requiring its members to present area impact assessment studies when its members make business decisions that will have implications for other interest groups in their areas?
I can't but feel that there is a bit of doublethink going on here. I'm not defending Aer Lingus. But what do we expect when we are dealing with decisions made by commercial organisations? - Yours, etc,
E. McDONALD, Stradbrook Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
A Chara, - The disgraceful decision by Aer Lingus to pull out of Shannon has confirmed once and for all what we always knew: that the real partition of Ireland is between east and west, not north and south. - Yours, etc,
TOM KELLY, Snipe Lawn, Newcastle, Galway.