Aer Lingus profits soar as new transatlantic flights take off
generated an operating profit of €135 million during the second quarter of this year, ùp more than 43 per cent increase on the same period last year.
The airline described the result as a 'significant improvement' on the corresponding quarter last year, during which it generated an operating profit of €91 million.
The airline's operating profit for the first half of the year was €80 million compared with €9 million last year.
Aer Lingus said the performance was largely down to by capacity growth, as well as a 'robust revenue performance'.
READ MORE
It also benefitted from favourable fuel pricing. There was 10.9 per cent growth in overall capacity and a 4.3 per cent increase in passenger numbers compared over the year.
Aer Lingus began routes from Dublin to Nashville and Indianapolis this summer, together with an expanded European leisure network. It also announced its first direct flight to Cancún Mexico, starting in January.
Aer Lingus chief executive Lynne Embleton said the airline's performance built upon momentum from the previous two quarters.
She also took the opportunity to criticise
An Coimisiún Pleanála's
recent decision to impose restrictions on noise at Dublin Airport.
[
Airlines claim new Dublin Airport night flight limit will hit growth
Opens in new window
]
'The recent An Coimisiún Pleanála decision on night-time noise introduced an unnecessary annual movement restriction at Dublin Airport, which is likely to impede both future growth of north Atlantic traffic and the basing of additional short-haul aircraft in Dublin,' she said.
'This restriction on night-time movements will have to be removed. Together with the continued uncertainty around the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, it will have negative economic and employment impacts.
'It is also now imperative that Government intervenes and urgently legislates for the removal of the passenger cap.'
A ruling limiting night flights at Dublin Airport to 35,672 a year was described by airlines as a 'second passenger cap' and a move that would squeeze growth at Ireland's biggest gateway.
An Coimisiún Pleanála said it would extend the hours the airport can operate from its new 'north' runway to between 6am and midnight. Previously, there had been a ban on landing or taking off from that runway between 11pm and 7am.
The decision means the average number of flights allowed through the airport's two runways between 11pm and 7am is increased to 98 from 65 a day, subject to an annual limit on night flights of 35,672. The older south runway will remain open through the night, while the north runway will close between midnight and 6am.
Planners also propose that night time noise be managed through a quota system, something sought by airlines and airport operator, DAA.
However, Dublin's biggest carriers, Aer Lingus and Ryanair, warned that the new limit on night flights would hinder or eliminate growth on European and North American routes.
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Irish Times
36 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Ireland's county towns: ‘There were 300 people living on this street. Now it's 17'
The Lyons Café, on Quay Street, has a grand facade unusual for an Irish town, even if it is located in the county town of Sligo , population 20,608 in the 2022 census. Above the cafe entrance is the beautiful and original stained glass canopy, which would have set the tone for a special visit to a special place. The original mosaic spelling out the cafe's name in the porch is also still in situ. 'The Lyons separtment store from dates from the 1850s, and the cafe opened in 1926,' says Gary Stafford, who owns and runs the cafe. 'We'll be having a big centenary celebration next year.' The cafe is located upstairs and now seats 135 people. When it opened first, it hosted dances and dinners. Stafford takes me to the original section of the room, where coloured leaded windows are still in place. He points down at the wooden floor, which looks in amazingly good condition to me. 'This is the original maple floor. It's sprung for dancing. We sand it back every four or five years.' As if all this was not enough time travel, Stafford tells me the cafe chairs are also original. They were imported from the then Czechoslovakia before the second World War. 'A lot of bums have sat on these seats,' as Stafford puts it. It's only a shame there isn't some notice on the wall to inform visitors of these facts about the cafe's history and furniture: everyone loves an origin story. READ MORE 'We have always depended on our local trade,' Stafford adds. He scans the space, saying he recognises most of the customers currently in the cafe, which is almost full. 'We have regulars that come in four times a week.' Lyons is now a daytime business, where the menu changes daily. There is also a bakery on site, downstairs. 'Everything is baked and cooked on site. We have beef featherblade on today.' At Michael Cosgrove's delicatessen on Market Square, there is a framed photograph of the late, magnificent, Leonard Cohen behind the counter, along with a framed playlist of his songs. 'Ah, that's from the concerts he did at Lissadell in 2010,' Cosgrove says. Was Cosgrove there on one of the two nights, I ask. 'There both nights,' he says. 'It was brilliant. Just brilliant.' Stained glass canopy at entrance to Lyons Cafe in Sligo. Photograph: James Connolly Lyons Café owner Gary Stafford. Chairs in the cafe were imported from Czechoslovakia before the second World War. Photograph: James Connolly There's a photo of a dog, a golden doodle, also on prominent display behind the counter. 'What's the dog's name?' I ask. Cosgrove laughs. 'Leonard.' Cosgrove grew up over this shop in the 1970s, at a time when many others were also living on the street. 'There were 300 people living here. Now there are about 17.' What changes has he noticed in Sligo over time? 'I don't like Sligo being misrepresented as a city, It is a county town and should be left as a county town. It's the council who are trying to make out it's a city. It's a county town, and you can't dress it up as a city. Sligo is a market town.' Cosgrove reflects on other changes: 'The disappearance of shops like butchers and grocers and newsagents. The spread of the town outwards. Traffic chaos every day. We are not bypassed. They tried to pedestrianise O'Connell Street some years ago, but it didn't work.' Michael Cosgrove, at Cosgrove and Sons delicatessen, Market Street, Sligo. Photograph: James Connolly O'Connell Street, Sligo. Photograph: James Connolly 'They tried to pedestrianise O'Connell Street some years ago, but it didn't work.' Photograph: James Connolly The days of the shop selling butter or sugar or tea are long gone. The tightly packed shelves contain everything you could possibly think of in the line of preserves and food in jars, tins and packets. Even the most cursory scan of the shelves reveals every kind of dried and canned beans and pulses, a score of different honeys, ranges of mustards, chutneys and pickles, along with items such as jars of curried peaches, Béarnaise sauce and pickled walnuts. 'Our customers are mostly local. If you have good quality stuff, you will always get customers.' His best-sellers are mostly fresh items from the cold counter. 'We cook our own hams and turkeys, pickle our own beef, and sell a lot of cheese.' What would Cosgrove describe as the most exotic item he currently stocks? He thinks for a few seconds, doing an inventory in his head. 'A tin of banana blossoms from Thailand.' He feels there is more that could be made of the town. 'We have a lot of history in Sligo we don't use that we could use. For instance, we have a fabulous Victorian jail [where both Michael Collins and Michael Davitt were incarcerated] that is falling apart. Why hasn't that been renovated as a tourist attraction?' The Yeats Building at Hyde Bridge, Sligo. Photograph: James Connolly Susan O Keeffe, director of the Yeats Society, in the Yeats Building. Photograph: James Connolly One aspect of Sligo town, and the wider county that has long been successfully marketed to tourists, is its connection with the Nobel prize-winning poet, WB Yeats. In fact, the entire county is frequently referred to as 'Yeats Country'. Susan O'Keeffe, journalist and former senator, is the director of the Yeats Society, which has occupied a former bank building at Hyde Bridge in the town centre since 1973. Perhaps surprisingly for a former bank, the building is of a charming arts and crafts design, with its original coloured stained glass windows and panelling throughout. This year marks the 66th anniversary of the Yeats Summer School, which finished yesterday. Some 65 people travelled from China, Japan, India, the US, Germany and other countries for the 10-day event. Does O'Keeffe think the term 'county town' as it refers to Sligo still has a relevance in 2025? 'We learned the names of county towns years ago in geography. County towns back then had a meaning, and were a piece of our history,' she says. 'But I have never heard anyone refer to Sligo as a 'county town' – and nor do I use the term myself. People might say Sligo is the biggest town in the county, which it is; by far the biggest town. I don't think the term 'county town' is still relevant today. Maybe we will forget about it, and it will be something that won't endure.' I ask O'Keeffe what she considers the essence of Sligo town, county town or not. 'Leaning over the Hyde Bridge and watching the swans in the Garavogue river,' she says. 'You see people doing that all the time. You don't even think about it. You are in the middle of the town, and the river is its strength. It flows out of mystical Lough Gill, and right through the heart of Sligo town out through the port and into the great Atlantic Ocean.' A man who knows all about the origins of the Garavogue river is John Carton, who is the harbour master of Sligo port. While many people are aware of Killybegs port further north in Co Donegal, and the port of Galway to the south of Sligo, they may not be aware that Sligo town still has its own, and historic, working port. Harbour master John Carton at Sligo port. Photograph: James Connolly The Glasshouse hotel and Garavogue river. Photograph: James Connolly 'It's been operating since about the 12th century,' Carton explains. We are talking in the foyer of the Glasshouse Hotel, on the banks of the Garavogue. He gestures around the lobby. 'We are currently on the site of the medieval port here,' he says, as I stare around, imagining ships docked in the area where armchairs and sofas are now clustered. Sligo harbour was built in 1822. Carton himself grew up around the area. His father, also John, was the dredge master of the port. 'He gave me the love of the sea and respect of the sea.' For Carton's 10th birthday, his father gave him a 31-foot wooden boat with a sail and an outboard engine, as well as a sense of trust that the young boy would be able to safely manage it. 'Originally, Sligo was trading with Spain, Portugal and up into the Baltics. Back then, Sligo was a bigger settlement than Galway, and a bigger trading town than Galway.' What was being traded? 'Oats, barley and potatoes were going out. Gin, wine and spices were coming in. There were casks of sherry coming in from Portugal. Sligo was also trading with a lot of European ports, and selling some of these things on again.' This back and forth of trading continued all through the 1800s and into the early 20th century, via sailing vessels and steam boats. In addition to goods, many people from the west of Ireland emigrated via Sligo port. During the Famine of the 1840s, thousands sailed for Canada and the US. 'As a child who lived in a port area, you would see lots of different crews coming in over time. It widens your horizons.' He recalls that in the 1970s, Sligo was exporting cattle to Glasgow, Liverpool – and every three weeks – to the unlikely location of Libya. 'That was when Gaddafi was in power,' he says. How many cattle were being exported to Libya in the 1970s from Sligo? 'In enough numbers to justify the journey every three weeks. I've looked at the records, and they just say 'cattle'.' (The port records are stored in the Sligo County Museum.) 'To me, the county town is the town that is the focus of your county, and that's what Sligo is. We were a port town first, and then the railway came afterwards to connect us.' Sligo port remains a working port. 'We export fish meal, and logs to make paper. The fishmeal is processed in Killybegs and goes to Norway, Greece, and the UK. Timber goes to Scotland, Germany and Belgium.' A paper log is still maintained for all ships that come in and out of Sligo. The average number of ships into harbour a year has been 20 in recent years, but by the time I talk to Carton in early July, that number has already been exceeded. 'It'll be more like 40 this year,' he says. Could more be made of the port in terms of tourism or leisure? 'A lot of Irish towns had turned their back on the water, but now that is now changing. There are plans to build a marina at Rosses Point, so we will see what happens.' [ The ancient Irish town battling against decline: 'It used to be the centre of things, but those days are gone now' Opens in new window ] Later that evening. I find myself crossing the Hyde Bridge. It's raining. Even so, I stop for a couple of minutes, lean on the bridge and listen to the rushing waters of the Garavogue river sweeping underneath, as if unseen creatures are urgently calling to each other as they pass by. If towns have distinctive sounds, this is what Sligo sounds like, and always has. Next week: Rosita Boland visits Clonmel
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
There's one scenario in which tariffs won't be a disaster for Ireland
I have enough grey hairs to remember trade deals being done in the past, notably the massive Uruguay round of talks which concluded in 1994 and was – though we didn't know it at the time – the high point of a long postwar drive to free world trade and reduce tariffs. The media spent many hours outside meeting rooms as negotiators from more than 120 countries went through complex line-by-line negotiations to cut tariffs and trade barriers. For Ireland, it was always a case of trading off the potential gains for industry with the threat to farmers. But over time, the State was a huge winner. The world had already started to move away from the relentless globalisation drive which had lasted well into this century. And now we have Trump's new world order and trade 'deals' which are a mix of reality, spin and fudge. We still do not know the full details of the deal between the United States and the European Union – before we even start to worry about how Trump might try to rewrite it. Ibec chief economist Gerard Brady calculates that exporters accounting for about 10 per cent of our export value to the US now know their tariff and another 10-15 per cent await news on exemptions from tariffs being negotiated between the US and the EU. The remaining 75 per cent or so of pharma and semiconductor exporters will have to wait for separate investigations now under way in the Trump administration. READ MORE There is a potential outcome from all this which, while damaging, would not be disastrous for Ireland in the short term. There will be problems, but the economy could adjust and adapt. While the Department of Finance estimates that the tariffs could lead to employment being 70,000 lower in five years' time and the economy 1.5 per cent smaller are, at best, a rough guesstimate, they do look to be in the right direction. On current trends, this would mean growth continuing, just not as quickly as it would have. We can assess the potential damage for Ireland only when we know the full details. The spirits and whiskey sectors look exposed, for example, as the US says it is a target for the 15 per cent tariffs. As this is a big issue in France, there will be an EU push in the week ahead, before final details of the deal with the US are published, to try to lower the burden here. As well as the impact on Ireland, this is one to watch at political level in the EU, as France puts pressure on Ursula von der Leyen 's European Commission , which negotiates on behalf of the EU. As butter, another vital Irish export, was already subject to a tariff of about 16-17 per cent (which will remain), things will at least not get any worse here. If we want to identify problem areas, smaller companies reliant on the US in a range of sectors is one. Small may no longer be beautiful in a complex and politically-driven world market. And it is also worth focusing on the risks to parts of rural Ireland – as highlighted by Chambers Ireland chief executive Ian Talbot – particularly those reliant on sectors such as food and also pharma and medical products. Towns such as Westport and Kinsale will anxiously await details on the pharma tariffs. [ EU-US trade deal analysis: Tariffs have a price for both sides. Trump was willing to pay it Opens in new window ] And here things remain a bit woolly, largely because the US president is undertaking study of this sector under a so-called section 232 process – referring to a section of a 1960s US act. This is separate from the big so-called reciprocal tariffs announced on Friday. The EU view is that its deal caps tariffs on pharma at 15 per cent – including any outcome from this separate process. If this holds, the sector at least knows its maximum charge. A big report – due shortly – has been drawn up for Trump under section 232, which looks at national security issues from trade and how more of the supply chain of key products can be brought back to the US from countries such as Ireland. Let's hope Trump does not revisit the 15 per cent maximum tariff figure as part of this. Tariffs are only one of Trump's policies options. On Thursday, he issued a letter to 17 of the big pharma companies demanding they cut prices in the US to the lowest level applying elsewhere. As a big buyer of pharma, the US state machinery has a lot of power here. Imposing high tariffs appears to run counter to the drive for lower prices. So the interaction between Trump and big pharma is another key thing to watch in the weeks ahead. What we do know is that the US president is determined to return pharma investment to the US and get better prices for American consumers. For Ireland, the initial impact may be slow enough to emerge. But this is likely to mean somewhat lower investment by pharma here in the years ahead and a sector which may be more focused on EU and other markets rather than exporting back to the US. Changes in the pricing and accounting practices of the multinationals – now designed to report massive profits in low-tax Ireland – are also likely to cut corporate tax revenue here. Like the rest of the economy, the Irish pharma sector will adjust. But there will be a cost, the scale of which depends on the extent of US policy action. The longer-term strategic questions will take time to clarify themselves. A major issue is whether Trump's policy direction will stick. If you are, say, a big pharma company, do you base your investments on an expectation that this is now the new world, or that Trump's policies will, in time, be rolled back either by him or by his successor? US court challenges to his powers to impose wide-scale tariffs are only now playing out. US consumer prices are surely set to rise – the only question is how much and whether there will be a cost in jobs. And the financial market calm could be upset at any time, given the crazy and risky course on which Trump has embarked. On Friday, they were already looking jumpy. So the uncertainty will roll on. Ireland should get through the first wave of this, albeit with some collateral damage. But the big question is our place in a world which seems to be breaking up into new trading blocs and alliances. And whether the valuable certainty which a final, agreed trade deal might bring can last - Ireland and Europe now needs Trump to direct his attention elsewhere.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
NI community projects fear closure after US and UK funding reportedly pulled from peace organisation
A number of community and peacebuilding projects supported by the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) fear they will close due to the reported loss of vital funding from the US . It also emerged this week that the UK government had pulled a promised £1 million , citing budgetary pressures. However, multiple organisations told The Irish Times their 'bigger concern' was the halting of the US contribution to the peacebuilding and reconciliation body. The IFI said it had received financial support from 'a range of international donors including the US government' and was seeking clarity and support from its US partners. READ MORE The peacebuilding organisation was established by the British and Irish governments in 1986 to promote economic and social development and bring together nationalist, unionist and cross-Border communities. Since then, the IFI has spent €974 million supporting more than 6,000 projects, including efforts to remove peace walls and to prevent young people from being recruited or attacked by paramilitaries. The US government has traditionally been the IFI's largest funder. According to the IFI's accounts, its donations last year came from two sources, €2.5 million from the US and €5.5 million from the Irish Government. USAid, which administers foreign aid for the US government, was closed by president Donald Trump earlier this year. [ Senator George Mitchell: Northern Ireland's peace must evolve. And if it is here to stay it must be shared Opens in new window ] In February, Donald Trump's administration cut USAid jobs. Photographer: Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg via Getty Images It is not yet clear precisely how this will impact the IFI, but groups which deliver its projects in Ireland fear their funding will not be renewed at the end of this financial year. 'Since Donald Trump removed the USAid ... they've been more or less telling us we don't have any funding,' said a representative of one community organisation, who asked to remain anonymous so as not to jeopardise their contract. 'We've been told we should look for other funding if we want to keep the project going.' Conal McFeely, of Creggan Enterprises, which has previously received IFI funding, said: 'We've been told the reason the IFI are now considering withdrawing is because they've been choked of this funding from USAid, and they're out telling groups they're not going to continue their funding'. Emphasising the 'highly significant' role the body had played, he said it was 'instrumental in bedding down the peace here and attempting to contain and settle the conflict. They're a key player'. But he said 'a number of programmes, particularly in the Derry area, including here in Creggan, have been informed it's likely their programmes will not be funded beyond the current term, and they've been told to consider winding the projects down. 'There is a complete lack of alternative funders willing to take a risk ... lots of those initiatives will unfortunately fall by the wayside,' he added. Mr McFeely added it was 'extremely disappointing' the UK government was 'withholding its last [£1 million] phase of funding, and that will have a detrimental impact on the ground here in terms of marginalised communities that are still dealing with the fallout from the conflict. 'If the Irish Government is still prepared to put in money, why is the British government not matching that money? It's scandalous,' he said. In a statement, the IFI said that it 'has received financial support from a range of international donors including the US government, the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK. 'We are grateful for the long-standing support from all our partners, including the bipartisan support under various US administrations,' it said. 'We are continuing to engage with our US partners to seek clarity around support from the US government which will play a key role in the delivery of the IFI's programmes into the future.' It said all projects currently funded by the IFI 'remain unaffected and their funding is secure as per their letters of offer'. 'Support from the US and others remains critical in our ability to deliver peace and reconciliation initiatives in Northern Ireland and the southern border counties,' the body said.
