British Airways, which holds the biggest number of slots at Heathrow, are not interested in a 70 per cent discount package being offered to carriers as an incentive to establishing a base at Shannon, says former Aer Lingus chief, Willie Walsh.

Tailored specifically to attract a replacement service for the axed Shannon-Heathrow route, the offer will not, Mr Walsh says, be taken up by British Airways.

"Quite honestly, it is not going to happen-British Airways is not going to step in at Shannon," he said in an interview.

According to the Shannon Airport Authority, the 70 per cent discount offer will reduce on a sliding scale to 30 per cent in the fifth year.

The discount is also on offer to airlines interested in establishing routes between Shannon and Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

Confirming the announcement, Shannon Airport chairman, Pat Shanahan, said that the offer is extremely attractive given the demand across the entire West of Ireland for access to key international hubs and particularly so in relation to Shannon-Heathrow services due to the 48 year history of this extremely profitable route.

"The development of services to these hubs would provide connectivity for both business and leisure passengers to and from key worldwide destinations, which is essential in order to sustain the economic progress of the West and Mid West as well as underpin Shannon Airport as a major economic driver for the region,"he said.

Sean Lally

The Shannon Airport Authority states that the scheme carries a number of criteria and applies on operations between January 1 2008 and December 31, 2008.

They include a minimum frequency requirement of twice daily return services from Monday to Friday and daily on Saturday and Sunday and the route must also be a non-stop one.

Lobbyists are continuing to call on the Government to use its 25per cent stake in Aer Lingus to save the Shannon/Heathrow route.

Meanwhile top Limerick hotelier says job losses are a certainty if the shannon Heathrow route is not re-instated.

Managing Partner at the Clarion Hotel, Sean Lally is worried about the future of the hotel industry in Limerick, which has seen a dramatic increase in bed numbers in recent years.

It has been six weeks since the Aer Lingus decision was announced, and new repercussions resulting from the loss of the slots are emerging every day.

Mr Lally says if the move goes ahead, Limerick will have too many rooms and not enough guests.