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Aer Aran man with a plan to survive

By Jem Casey on November 15, 2008 3:29 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

KATHY SHERIDAN, The Irish Times

THE SATURDAY INTERVIEW: 'I HAVE NEVER called a reporter in my life. They come to me," said Pádraig Ó Céidigh a few years ago. Aer Arann's owner had been crowned Irish entrepreneur of the year. The plucky little airline's upward mobility seemed assured. He was a "big fan" of Michael O'Leary. Heck, he even talked like him.

"With me what you see is what you get. I have no time for plámás or bullshit," he told TG4, before tearing into smug "Dublin 4 types".

Fast forward to the Clayton Hotel near Galway, after a nightmare week for Aer Arann, which had announced it was laying off 100 people - almost a quarter of its staff. Ó Céidigh is still a man with no time for bullshit but is gracious with it, and it's fair to say that he is no longer a "big fan" of Michael O'Leary. But he still hasn't called a reporter.

Famously, the native-Irish-speaking, Jesuit-educated Galway boy was first an accountant, then a teacher for 11 years, then - after pursuing a law degree at night - a solicitor. His love of teaching in Coláiste Iognáid, his old school, and slow, painful disenchantment with the politics of the staffroom reveal much about the man himself.

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Aer Arann plans to cut 100 jobs

By Jem Casey on October 21, 2008 9:33 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Aer Arann

The Irish airline airline Aer Arann, an offshoot of Aer Aran Islands has plans to lay off up to 100 staff in a cost-cutting measure. It is not known whether the tax-payer subsidised service to Inis Mor, Inis meain and Inis Oirr will be affected by the cuts.

The airline has started negotiations with staff in a bid to secure the future of the company, which is suffering the effects of the global slowdown in the aviation industry.

Aer Arann wants to drop its aircraft numbers from 12 to nine, but says it will not cut key routes.

The airline says it will now focus on leasing aircraft, and staff, to other airlines, in a bid to maximise profits and minimise costs.

Passenger numbers have grown from 12,000, when it was set up in 1970, to 1.1m in 2006. It was originally established as an island-hopping service between Galway and the Aran Islands.

Padraig O Ceidigh purchased the airline in 1994 and began expanding routes and fleet, launching scheduled services in 1998. In the same year the government awarded the airline a route between Donegal and Dublin, followed by the Sligo/Dublin route soon after.

It was due to launch a new Cork-Glasgow route at the end of the month.

- Siobhan Cronin


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Aer Aran man with a plan to survive
KATHY SHERIDAN, The Irish TimesTHE SATURDAY INTERVIEW: 'I HAVE NEVER called a reporter in my life. They come to me,"…
By Jem Casey | Comments (0)
Aer Arann plans to cut 100 jobs
The Irish airline airline Aer Arann, an offshoot of Aer Aran Islands has plans to lay off up to…
By Jem Casey | Comments (0)