The ratings on Irish airport operator Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) reflect Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' view of the dominant position of Dublin Airport--which generates three quarters of the DAA group's EBITDA--in the Irish air transportation market and its favorable single-till regulatory regime, which has supported significant increases in aeronautical tariffs in 2010 (up 26%) and 2011 (up 7%) that offset declines in traffic. We also view DAA's implementation of cost-cutting initiatives and its moderate requirements for capital works from 2011 onward as supportive factors. These strengths are mitigated by the close correlation between passenger traffic, which is mainly origin-and-destination, and the economic environment in Ireland which, in our view, will remain relatively weak in the near term (see "Rating
