Irish Group May Set Up Regional Airline for Caribbean

A group of Irish businessmen with aviation links is considering setting up a regional airline to service the Caribbean. It is understood the group is led by Donal Lamont, a former Aer Lingus pilot. Mr. Lamont was formerly employed at Eirjet, a Shannon-based charter airline which ceased operation last October, citing financial difficulties.

Eirjet operated four Airbus A320s, flying principally between Shannon, Dublin and Cork and airports in the Mediterranean region. Before its collapse, the airline was best known for having operated a plane on lease to Ryanair which flew into Derry but landed at the wrong airport.

The plane, carrying 39 passengers, was bound for Derry airport but landed instead at the nearby Ballykelly army base. The airline sector in the Caribbean is relatively undeveloped.

Business travelers attempting to fly from a western to an eastern island often have to fly via the US. While there are many island-hopping services, none have the range to service the region.

It is understood the difficulty experienced by executives at Denis O’Brien’s Digicel, a Caribbean mobile phone company, encouraged Mr. Lamont and his colleagues in the idea that a new airline would be viable.

However, although one source suggested that Mr. O’Brien would be a likely investor were a sound business case to be developed, this was rejected out of hand by his spokesman.

One source said Mr. Lamont was looking at using a fleet of 50-seater ATRs, which are similar to the turbo- prop aircraft used by Aer Arann. Sources familiar with the market said it was difficult to see how a new regional airline would be viable.