CityJet to end Shannon to Paris route

CityJet has decided to end its service between Shannon and Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris from next month.

CityJet has decided to end its service between Shannon and Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris from next month.

The airline blamed the decision on a steep decline in demand on the route that was introduced in February 2008 to compensate for the loss of Aer Lingus service between Shannon and Heathrow. The CityJet service will end on October 24th.

Passengers booked on flights after this date can opt for a full refund or seek to be accommodated on Air France flights from Dublin. Cityjet is a subsidiary of Air France.

Cityjet said passenger numbers on the route did not justify having landing slots at Charles De Gaulle.

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Geoffrey O’Byrne White, CityJet chief executive, said the midwest had been particularly hard hit by the recession. “We cannot foresee passenger numbers and revenues reaching a breakeven level.”

“There are lots of other regions in Europe competing for access to major hubs like Charles De Gaulle and when we started the service there was a ‘use it or lose it’ element.”

“We just didn’t get the uptake. Passenger numbers were slightly better than the first year but they were not enough to justify basing an aircraft on this route”.

“A lot of the businesses we would have dealt with, Dell, Element Six and companies like that who were dependent on bringing in passengers globally to the Shannon region, they have obviously been in the headlines [for job losses]”.

The €10 passenger tax also had an impact and he said it was "insane to introduce it" for Shannon.

“The Shannon situation is one that requires Government intervention and a policy. It is not fair to expect an airline, especially one with shareholders, to sort that out for them.”

“So it was a factor, but not the defining one. The greater influence was that it signalled to our colleagues in Air France that the Irish Government weren’t really that interested in supporting the Shannon region.”

Mr O’Byrne White added that Shannon also suffers from “being very seasonal”.

The Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has been informed.

Shannon Airport director Martin Moroney expressed his disappointment at the decision.

“We were delighted that CityJet came in on the route when it did as it restored connectivity to one of the world's leading airport hubs for the West of Ireland,” Mr Moroney said.

David Labanyi

David Labanyi

David Labanyi is the Head of Audience with The Irish Times