March 10th 2007
Today after a week or negotiations the announcement has been made that will see Flyeire acquire full control of the Air Belgium subsidiary airline Eireflyer. In return Air Belgium now controls a 40 percent stake in the low cost airline and plans are to merge the two Irish airlines together to form a prominent stance at Flyeire’s main Hub Dublin Intl. Keeping the Flyeire name and branding the airline will now focus on ways to improve customer satisfaction and keep up the excellent service that Eireflyers passengers received. Plans are to introduce increased legroom on all flights and the introduction of in-flight services not seen before at flyeire.
CEO Darren Walsh appeared excited about the upcoming partnership with Air Belgium and had this to say
”We are delighted to have struck a partnership with Air Belgium and exciting times lie ahead as we embark on a big expansion of our services throughout 2007. With load factors on all flights up from same time 2006 it was clear that new services had to be offered to keep passengers returning to flyeire and the increased slot availability now means we can take advantage of increased passenger numbers though Ireland’s busiest airport.”
With the acquisition of 12 Boeing 737’s due to arrive throughout the year and the return of current aircraft to their owners, a total of up to 14 new routes are now planned for the Irish carrier.
Air Belgium CEO Danny Stes was also available for comment
”This new partnership with Flyeire will enable us to keep our commitment of providing high quality services out of Dublin while enlarging our network coverage and cutting our costs significantly. We truly believe that the new combined airline formed out of Flyeire and Eireflyer will be able to become one of the major players in the Irish aviation network more than Eireflyer on it's own ever could”
Also the maintenance contract of the Flyeire fleet will now be undertaken by Air Belgium's facilities in Brussels including Aircraft painting and cabin refits
Questions and comments are welcomed !
