The British Irish Chamber of Commerce, representing hundreds of businesses with interests in both Ireland and Britain accounting for over a million employees, has welcomed the commitments indicated by IAG to securing vital air links within and from Ireland and Britain. The Chamber points out that the value of weekly trade between Britain and Ireland exceeds €1billion and employment attributable to that two-way trade exceeds 400,000 split equally between Ireland and the UK. The fact that the Dublin-London route is the second-busiest in the world shows the vital importance of unimpeded access to sustaining those jobs and trade.
John McGrane, Vice President, British Irish Chamber of Commerce said: “The proposed takeover provides scope to further develop Dublin’s ability to grow as a hub; capitalising on existing strong links to regional airports in the UK and the lack of runway capacity at BA’s Heathrow base. Commentators have noted that IAG has indicated if the takeover is approved it will include Aer Lingus in its transatlantic joint venture with American Airlines, leveraging the natural traffic flows between Ireland and the US and the advantageous geographical position of Dublin for serving connecting flows. This could open up more gateways into this important market which grew to 2.1m passengers in 2014.
“Enhanced focus on Ireland from a strong international carrier like IAG, according to the British Irish Chamber, could assist new route development efforts from Irish airports. It would also provide streamlined network connections to world regions not currently served directly (e.g. Asia, South America) both for Irish consumers and intending visitors to Ireland.”
The Chamber noted that IAG’s track record in Ireland is strong - it has grown its business on the London-Dublin route since taking over bmi's Heathrow slots in 2012 and has recently expanded operations to London City.
From a global industry point of view, the Chamber noted that being incorporated into the strong IAG family will provide scope for Aer Lingus to withstand the cyclical nature of a consolidating airline industry.