Sir, - There has been considerable media exposure regarding the Virgin franchise Virgin Express's proposed establishment at Shannon International Airport, and AB Airlines reaction to it. It has also been reported in the press that Richard Branson himself, the owner of the brand, would prefer Dublin as the hub of Virgin's Irish enterprise. There are sound economic reasons for Virgin Express, and indeed Virgin Atlantic, to fly from Dublin.
For the record, AB Airlines Plc is not in favour of monopolies. However our new Shannon-Stansted route is hardly a monopoly when potential passengers have a choice of at least five departure airports and four London arrival points. We are a full service airline with very competitive fares.
Would the Minister of Enterprise confirm that there have been no special incentives to Virgin Express to come to Shannon? Under Common Market regulations new routes can attract assistance in various forms for up to three years. Shannon-Stansted is not a new route.
AB has carefully built up our Shannon hub over the last three years, firstly with the Gatwick route and since May of this year with Birmingham and Stansted added. For 1999 we had already announced we would go twice daily, including an early morning London service, in order to satisfy a public demand. Plans for Glasgow and Paris were due to be announced last week. The duplication of services to Stansted calls into question our forward plans and indeed the future of AB at Shannon.
What Shannon desperately requires is new destinations. AB welcomes new airlines to Shannon and is prepared to work hand in hand with them for the good of the community. Brussels is a potential new route as indeed are Amsterdam and Paris. The Ministry of Enterprise should be directing their energy in increasing passenger throughput at Shannon with new routes. Two airlines on a thin marginal operation is of no value to anyone and indeed may in fact turn out to be utterly counter-productive. Even two airlines on Heathrow does not make sense.
As a sovereign state Ireland has enormous power vested in it to protect both the individual and business and the complex Council Regulations can be interpreted various ways. The route licences and operating certificate for Virgin Express should not be issued. Virgin Express has a recourse to the European Court, but when it comes to airlines v The State The State usually wins. Dublin needs a rethink. - Yours, etc., Malcolm Ginsberg,
VP Public Affairs, AB Airlines Plc, Shannon International Airport, County Clare.
P.S.: Readers may be interested to learn that Virgin Express has advertised for pilots and co-pilots in the respected British magazine Flight International. Nobody should be surprised to learn that these will be based in Brussels. Clearly Virgin are not that committed and one must ask the question: "Why Shannon?"