Aerial view of Dublin airport.

(From Business and Finance)

Compared to Aer Lingus and Ryanair, Cityjet is something of a marginal player at Dublin airport Yet CEO Geoffery O'Byrne-Whitestill feels very strongly about how the airport is developing. He is the chairman of the newly formed DACC (Dublin Airport Capex Committee), an effort from the four Dublin-based carriers to get a common voice in the dialogue with the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). He does not hold back his criticism of DAA.

"Dublin airport is a building site and the DAA is concentrating on building a new business city. Maybe the focus should be on building an airport for the future at a competitive cost," he says.

While the DAA would argue that it is working its way through a massive capital development that will transform the airport over the next number of years, O'Byrne-White is not convinced.

"Maybe there is a tendency for people to believe the airport is their own freedom to build something big and spectacular. That is losing sight of what their real role is. The access provided by the airport in and out of the country is of such importance that it needs to be treated with much greater attention.

"There is particular agreement among the airlines on the need for the DAA to control costs. The problem is that the regulated asset base incentivises the airport authority to spend as much money as they can to get the return on it. It is perverse. It actually encourages them to spend more. Everything that happens in Dublin airport adds costs and is therefore disincentivising business and undermining industry.