THE major impetus for the growth in the number of people travelling by air over the past 10 years was the increased level of airline competition, the 1996 airline awards ceremony heard yesterday.
The increased competition has resulted in lower air fares, particularly to Britain, Mr Seamus O'Carroll, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Ireland Air Transport Users Committee (ATUC), told the gathering,
Aer Lingus won three awards, including the 1996 Airline of the Year award. Ryanair won the Value for Money award.
Irish industry and the economy as a whole have benefited significantly from lower air fares, the tourism industry being the main beneficiary, according to Mr O'Carroll.
While the cost of travel to Britain had halved in 10 years, the cost to continental destinations was still unacceptably high, he said.
The ATUC sees the creation of an environment to encourage more competition on European routes as the area for most urgent action over the next two years, Mr O'Carroll added.
He called for the creation of a properly-constituted Office of Aviation Consumer Watchdog or Ombudsman. "The creation of such an intermediary type function would be good for the consumer and the airlines alike," he said.
CityJet won the award for best airline on London routes. Aer Lingus won the awards for other British routes and for Transatlantic routes. There was no winner of the award for Other European routes.