It's an Eastern service to BRU, not Arann... no idea whether the RDF has been dipped into for it.
Personally, I am dead against public money being used to support any route. I have been in this industry too long, and it irks me greatly when one supplier gets unfair subsidies to operate a route. Whilst I will concede the need for truly socially necessary services to get PSO (since it is cheaper supporting an air service than building hospitals throughout the Western Isles, for example), is it REALLY right to support a service from CWL-BRU, when a commercial service exists in BRS? We know that loads of people from the South Wales area use BRS, and loads of people from the South West use CWL. Should we really be using public money to take passengers off BA (on BRS-CDG) and SN (BRS-BRU)?
When US airlines (and others) enter Chapter 11, what is really happening is a sick business is being propped up against commercial reality by silly laws. If you want a reason why the US airline business is a shambles, start with Chapter 11. It's a bit like stopping evolution because you quite like dinosaur spotting. BA never needed money to run CWL to BRU or CDG - they had the right aircraft for the job, and got the right sort of fares. If airline A or airline B can't, tough. That's the nature of the market. I would much rather public money be spent on really essential services, like education, health and the police personally.
As for the argument about providing seeding for new long lasting routes that continue beyond the end of the public support - not convinced. The experience is that the grant stops, and the route is quietly dropped a few months later.
What are airlines for? Wealth creation, job creation or national willy waving? I think you can guess where I stand, and it rests on the first of these.
Last edited by TwinAisle; 3rd Jul 2006 at 11:46.