Opening remarks by Sean Brogan, Chief Executive, Stobart Air
at Oireachtas Transport Committee
Tuesday, 17 February 2015
Thank you very much Mr Chairman, and the members for the
invitation to meet with you today.
My name is Sean Brogan. I am the Chief Executive of Stobart Air,
formerly Aer Arann.
I’m joined today by my colleague, Peter O’Mara, Director at
Stobart Air.
I will start by briefly introducing our airline, before mainly focussing
on the International Airlines Group’s bid for Aer Lingus.
Stobart Air is a franchise flying specialist, flying for three airlines –
Aer Lingus, Flybe, and CityJet.
We employ 430 people, an increase of 100 in the past four years.
Our airline is all about:
- high frequency;
- regional connectivity; and
- feeding passengers into onward air journeys.
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Focusing specifically on our Aer Lingus partnership, which we
operate under the Aer Lingus Regional banner.
In many respects, the Aer Lingus / Stobart Air partnership is proof
of what can be achieved when a small airline partners with a
larger one.
We started the partnership in 2010, and now operate 25 routes to
and from 18 airports across Ireland, the UK and France.
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In just four years, Aer Lingus Regional has grown its annual
passenger numbers from 855,000 to 1.3 million in 2014 – a 53%
increase.
In the coming weeks, we will fly our fifth millionth passenger.
Aer Lingus Regional is now contributing 12% of Aer Lingus’ overall
passenger numbers.
The partnership is testament to the commercial relationship
between our airlines, and among the reasons why we extended
our contract to 2022.
It is also testament to how far we as an airline have come in a
short time.
From the brink of bankruptcy just over four years ago, we have:
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broadened our route network;
invested €150 million in new aircraft;
grown our passenger numbers; and
added more people to our workforce.
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The returns from our partnership are particularly evident when you
consider how Aer Lingus Regional feeds passengers to the Aer
Lingus transatlantic routes.
The combination of Aer Lingus, Aer Lingus Regional, and US
immigration pre-clearance in Ireland, is a massive advantage that
no other European country enjoys.
Last year, 100,000 of our passengers either:
- Arrived at Dublin,
- completed US pre-clearance, and
- boarded an Aer Lingus transatlantic service to the US;
or
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- Arrived from one of Aer Lingus’ North American services, and
- boarded our aircraft at Dublin to connect onward.
The advantages this offers consumers are significant.
People save time on their journey – in many cases, by as much as
two hours
Passengers also avoid the hassle of more queues on arrival at US
airports.
So, 100,000 people connected transatlantic in 2014 – an 80%
increase in just four years.
It is a core part of our business, but even more so to Aer Lingus, as
it is delivering the passengers it needs to grow its North American
network.
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Aer Lingus and Aer Lingus Regional will continue to grow our
transatlantic business.
However, it is our belief that if IAG was to takeover Aer Lingus, this
growth could be achieved not only faster, but on a larger scale.
Let me explain.
Looking at it from the UK perspective alone, how can we get UK
originating passengers to choose Dublin instead of London, Paris
or Amsterdam when travelling to the US?
Last year, 4.3 million people travelled to London Heathrow from
Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and
Newcastle.
These are cities we currently service.
Of these, at least 1.2 million connected at Heathrow to other,
mainly US destinations.
Just to look at Newcastle specifically.
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In 2014, Aer Lingus Regional connected 9,000 Newcastle
passengers to or from the US through Dublin.
However, a further 300,000 Newcastle passengers went for London
Heathrow, not Dublin, as their connecting point.
These are passengers we should win.
And as part of IAG, we can win them, because being part of a
global airline family would fast-track the realisation of this
opportunity.
By doing so, our airline would expand, meaning more aircraft, and
more jobs.
Aer Lingus would also benefit from this passenger increase, as
would Irish airports.
Finally, the overall economy would also gain, particularly from
more in-bound US tourists.
-----------------------------------------Consumers want choice and convenience, particularly when it
comes to air travel.
Consumers like the convenience of one website visit, one click to
book, and one check-in straight through from start to finish on their
journey.
An alliance with IAG brings that offering to the next level for Irish
consumers.
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To thrive and survive, airlines must continuously seek out and
secure new opportunities.
We believe that the IAG offer is such an opportunity.
Our partnership with a larger airline has enabled us to grow, and
has delivered significant consumer and employment benefits to
the economy.
I believe that the same can be replicated on an even larger scale
by Aer Lingus joining forces with IAG.
This is why Stobart Air is backing the IAG bid for Aer Lingus.
Thank you.
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