The comment from Ryanair chief executive, Michael O'Leary, on the new Aer Lingus "customer-driven plan with a clear business focus" was acerbic. This jargon was just "Japanese for higher fares", he said.

But the real issue for passengers, and indeed for Ryanair, is whether Aer Lingus has a clear plan on the important London route and if this plan is the right one for the airline and most of its passengers.

After dropping its flights to Stansted and Luton in favour of new flights to Gatwick and London City airports, Aer Lingus expects to increase capacity on its London routes by 11 to 12 per cent in a full year and to drive up profits.

It makes no apology for segmenting its markets and targeting mainly the higher fare business sector and leisure sector passenger. But it contends that by increasing capacity it will also be able to offer more cheap seats. That remains to be seen.

If this happens Ryanair could come under pressure on its Stansted route because that airport does not offer connections for long-haul travellers. For Aer Lingus the turn away from Stansted is really driven by the plan to join the Oneworld alliance - flying into Gatwick allows for easy linkages with alliance partner British Airways' long-haul routes out of that airport.

Aer Lingus passengers may be able to get more convenient routings on long-haul destinations but for passengers who just want to fly the Dublin/ London route, the alliance may mean nothing but higher airfares.