Cork-US flights still in jeopardy

WHEN a transatlantic route from Cork to Boston was announced last year, the news was met with widespread jubilation.

Various publications, this one included, reported on the largely positive comments from consumers as well as local business owners.

A post about the flights on the Evening Echo page lit up with activity – enthusiastic readers could be seen tagging their friends, both at home and abroad, proposing holidays and meet-ups and generally revelling in the possibilities coming their way.

They didn’t know it at the time, but the proposed route was in line for unprecedented delays, and was also about to become a major bone of contention in the aviation industry, both in Ireland and the US.

Shortly after the route announcement, management at Cork Airport hailed the new transatlantic flight as a game changer.

“The addition of direct year-round connectivity to North America has long been a target for Cork Airport, which has a robust business hinterland with a large cluster of US multinationals and a fantastic tourism product,” managing director NiallMacCarthy said at the time.

“This is great news for both the airport and the region and is a major strategic boost for both business and tourism.”

Given that Cork Airport serves Ireland’s second largest city, transatlantic connectivity was always a major goal.

Legacy issues relating to the country’s aviation history meant it was not able to offer flights to North America in the past, despite having a large population within its catchment area, a strong economic base, and an excellent tourism product.

The new transatlantic route, proposed by low-cost European carrier Norwegian, seemed to sweep away that history, offeringCorkAirport and its hinterland a more connected future.

Conor Healy, Cork Chamber CEO said it was undoubtedly a “defining moment” for Cork, while Minister Simon Coveney said it fulfilled a potential for the city and, indeed, for the wider Munster region that many stakeholders had been working on for a long time.

Initially, the flights to Boston were to be rolled out in early 2016 — between three and five flights a week.

Norwegian said it also wanted to start a route from Cork to New York. It was music to the ears of the Rebel County.

Fast-forward to present day and the flights still have not commenced.

They have, in fact, become more contentious than ever.

Norwegian said the flights were dependent on them securing a foreign carrier permit from the US Department of Transportation (DoT), which they had applied for before announcing the Cork to Boston route.

The application was backed by the Irish Government, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), various tourist authorities, Cork Airport, and local business groups.

However, following various objections from airlines unions and carriers, largely in the US, this process stalled.

The average time for the granting of such permits has been cited as 53 days – less than two months. Norwegian’s application, however, was delayed by two years and became the longest pending application of its kind.

Since the Cork to Boston route was announced in September, a myriad of individuals, organisations and politicians have had their say on the licensing issue.

In March, Taoiseach Enda Kenny even raised the issue with US President Barack Obama who claimed there was no political opposition to Norwegian’s proposed transatlantic flights.

A few weeks later, the DoT issued an order proposing to grant NAI, Norwegian’s Irish subsidiary, its foreign carrier permit to fly to the US.

The department said NAI appeared to meet normal standards for awarding the permit under the terms of the EU-US Open Skies deal. It also said there appeared to be no legal basis to deny the application.

While this recent development was widely welcomed by Irish politicians, and by consumers and business owners in the Munster region, some organisations were unhappy with the decision.

Last week, a number of US congressmen weighed in on the issue. They submitted a letter to the DoT urging it to block the flights, and even submitted a bill to that effect.

The claim to take issue with Norwegian’s employment contracts. The US congressmen alleged that Norwegian will hire crew outside of both jurisdictions – a claim that has been directly refuted by Norwegian who have said they will only hire crew in the EU or US.

This issue has also been raised on this side of the Atlantic, by the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA).

The organisation echoes the position taken by the US congressmen. It’s president, Captain Evan Cullen, has accused the Irish government of not policing employment rights and laws to the same extent as other EU countries.

“The Irish Government does not police employment rights and laws to the same extent other EU countries do,” said Capt Cullen.

“We don’t want to block these flights, we just want people working on them that have decent terms and conditions under EU and US employment law.”

While the congressmen’s move was welcomed by the IALPA, it has drawn criticism from both Cork Airport management as well as Mayor of County Cork, Cllr John Paul O’Shea.

“The details included in this proposed bill and references to our labour laws are quite simply inaccurate and insulting to the people of Cork,” said the Mayor.

“The US Department of Transportation has already stated that there is no legal impediment to the granting of a foreign carrier permit. There is quite simply no validity to this proposed bill and I would call on [the congressmen] to withdraw this bill and support the Cork to Boston route for the many Irish and indeed Irish American and American people who await to avail of this new direct link to Cork.”

Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune, who met with Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos last week, also commented.

“NAI has made commitments to address previous concerns expressed in this application process, including their commitment to only use Irish and EU-based crew on the services.”

In turn, Norwegian dismissed the congressmen’s allegations as “false” and “misleading”.

It even suggested that the new routes have been met with such opposition because individuals and organisations within the industry are unhappy with increased levels of competition, a standpoint echoed by management at Cork Airport.

“We’re obviously disappointed at the level of attempted blockage of competition from the US side. We favour free competition, we favour open skies, and we’re looking forward to the start of this service,” said managing director Niall McCarthy.

“This whole argument is about protectionism by certain unionised crew and legacy carriers who want to keep fares higher and competition lower on transatlantic services.”

The Irish Aviation Authority has also weighed in on the issue, reiterating that NAI is an Irish company with 1,400 pilots, cabin crew and operational management staff based in Ireland, Finland, the UK and Spain.

“NAI approval will generate more routes between Europe and the USA, leading to increased consumer choice and benefitting both economies. Just like our own industry has benefitted from the growth of low cost airlines in Europe, we will also prosper as airlines like NAI expand their Transatlantic route offerings,” said head of corporate affairs Donal Handley.

“The IAA would not normally need to comment on the status of any individual airline. However, the circumstances are exceptional and it is appropriate to correct the misleading information being issued publically by vested interests opposed to competition on the Transatlantic.”

While the latest war of words surrounding the transatlantic flights from Cork to the US rages on, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Department of Transport, having issued its ‘show cause order’ recommending the flights go ahead, is only accepting observations until this Friday, May 6. Responses are due by May 13, after which time a final ruling will be issued.

If the licence is granted, the Cork to Boston route is set to commence on August 1.