The chief executive of Aer Lingus has said he expects demand for air travel to stay depressed into next year.
Christoph Mueller also told the Chartered Accountants Leinster Society that he no longer sees mimicking Ryanair's fare-cutting policy as the best way to stimulate business.
Mr Mueller embarked on a cost-cutting drive straight after getting the top job a year ago, and last month the chief executive vowed to continue that into next year to help preserve the airline's independence.
But he said he would not try to boost capacity, or offer uneconomically low fares just to lure passengers to Aer Lingus at a time when the Irish economy remains weak.
'There will be no growth in Aer Lingus, same capacity into next year,' Mr Mueller said, adding that he might revise capacity plans if the market improved by next summer.
He also told his audience that prices in Ireland were 'significantly higher' tha in other countries, and were comparable with Switzerland.
Mr Mueller said he stopped trying to copy Ryanair's approach last autumn. Ryanair helped transform air travel in Europe by offering fares which for the first time allowed less well-off passengers to travel abroad for a weekend break or a stag party. But Mr Mueller said: 'If you want to base that (expansion) on the binge drinking desires of the Irish population, that's certainly not a wise thing to do,' he added.
