maxalt - you're demonstrating you don't know the first thing about airline economics. The load factors don't matter a jot - it's the yield that matters. ALT's nett yields are the lowest around (in fact they're in negative territory at the present due to their attempts to stimulate traffic growth - but then so were FRs £5 and £10 fares).
If ALT can't make itself profitable, then it shouldn't be here - rather it should fold and make way for a new operator. Perhaps then the government might realise that all the warnings people have been giving them about the SNN stop-over killing airlines are, in fact true - but the problem is that right now they have been told that so often it's a case of "yeah, yeah, so what? People are still flying, aren't they? Let's keep the westerners (and their votes in the Dial) sweet ...)
Latest on the ALT situation...
As negotiations to secure the future of Aer Lingus continue, unions representing the airline's employees have urged the Irish Government to come to the rescue.
Since the September 11th terrorist attacks, Aer Lingus, which relies heavily on transatlantic routes, has been forced to cut up to 40% of its workforce, reduce its schedule by a quarter and slash prices to fend off competition from budget operator Ryanair. Noel Dowling of the SIPTU union told news channel UTV that there was still some way to go before the future of the business and its remaining employees could be assured, urging the Government to play bigger role.
The European Commissioner for Transport Loyola De Palacio, who has refused to relax the laws governing state aid in order to protect competition, will strictly regulate any intervention from the Irish Government.