A day for green, but no flight to Ireland ... yet

John Howell
Posted 3/17/15

Today would have been the perfect time to announce a flight to Shannon Airport in Ireland. That was the hope of a delegation including Mayor Scott Avedisian that met with airport and local officials …

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A day for green, but no flight to Ireland ... yet

Posted

Today would have been the perfect time to announce a flight to Shannon Airport in Ireland. That was the hope of a delegation including Mayor Scott Avedisian that met with airport and local officials there in December.

A St. Patrick’s Day announcement was in the plan. But there’s no scheduled flight between Green Airport and the Emerald Isle…yet.

That hasn’t dulled enthusiasm of officials there and here to make it happen, as evidenced Thursday at the State House. Three Irish representatives working on the plan were given a reception that included an introduction before the House of Representatives and chatting with just about every official with family ties to Ireland, which means a lot of them.

“I think it is a very good idea,” John Crowe, mayor of County Clare, said in a break between all the handshaking and storytelling.

“I’m struck by the positivity, by the attitude and the willingness to do business and find common ground,” he said.

To make it happen, Crowe believes it will take travel agencies on both sides of the Atlantic coming up with tour packages that commit to 20, 50 and 100 airline seats. Illustrating that kind of demand would reduce some of the risk for an airline to initiate service with hopes that the ridership will follow, he explained.

“There’s a big Irish community here,” he said. As an incentive, he mentioned the strength of the dollar and the fact it is almost on par with the euro.

Tom Coughlan, chief executive of County Clare, thought the Fleadh Cheoil, which he described as the largest traditional Irish music festival in the world, attracting more than 500,000, would be a major attraction. The 10-day festival is held in August.

Patti Goldstein, director of marketing at Green who has been at the forefront of this and other expansions at the airport, likewise points to the receptiveness of the two parties.

“It’s about building relationships,” she said.

Shannon Airport would seem to be a good match. Avedisian said the airport has foreign custom services on site, meaning that those leaving Ireland could be cleared by U.S. customs prior to landing in this country. Shannon offers connections to other European countries.

In terms of volume, Shannon is about half the size of Green with 1.7 million passengers annually, said Neil Pakey, chief executive of Shannon Airport. It is growing and saw a 17 percent increase in traffic in the last year, Crowe said.

The two groups are also exploring air cargo opportunities. The Shannon airport is a free-trade zone.

Last June at a community update on airport developments, Kelly Fredericks, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Authority, announced a letter of intent with the Shannon Airport Authority. At the time, he spoke of Green as the “cargo gateway to North America.”

“That would be a good fit for us,” Avedisian said of the cargo business.

With the help of state Rep. Joseph McNamara, who hosted the State House reception, the visiting Irish squeezed in their Rhode Island stop between stops in New York and Boston. Next time, they’re hopeful it will be far more direct.

If that is to happen, Crowe was assured half of Rhode Island would be making the trip to Ireland because at least half the population has roots to the country, while the other half have ties to Italy.

“The Italian half can come as well,” joked Crowe.

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