The British based low cost airline Easyjet has played down speculation that it has plans to locate services out of Dublin or Shannon. A spokeswoman for the airline told RTÉ News today that they have had talks with a variety of airport managements from time to time, but have no active discussions with Aer Rianta at this point in time.
The company is currently focusing on investing in its services out of Belfast. It recently increased its daily number of flights from 11 to 19. Because of this, the company has ruled out further expansion into Ireland in the short to medium term.
Aer Rianta confirmed that they have had talks with both Go and Easyjet and had put proposals to both airlines about the incentives available if they were to locate here. They are currently offering a full discount on landing charges for three years on new routes out of Shannon, and 75% discount in the first year on new routes out of Dublin.
A spokesman said that they would actively encourage bringing new services into Shannon, in particular to grow the market from there to new destinations in Europe like Scandinavia and Germany. Ryanair, which resumed services to Shannon last year, said that it flew 275,000 passengers on its routes to London and Frankfurt in its first year. This, the company says, proves that there is considerable potential for growth in the low cost market.
