The new chief executive of Aer Lingus, Dermot Mannion, has said he is confident the current bi-lateral agreement with the US which restricts the airline to a small number of airports will come to an end soon.

In an upbeat assessment of the airline's future Mr Mannion said he was confident talks between Irish, American and EU officials could open up a larger chunk of the US market to Aer Lingus.

He also gave unions a commitment that the airline's base at Shannon airport would be maintained. However, he warned that operating profits for 2004 could be down and the current business plan might need to be revisited.

Mr Mannion, a former executive at Dubai-based airline Emirates, was meeting unions at the airline for the first time. He told them he was prepared to work in a spirit of partnership.

Union representatives described him as "diplomatic" in his first meeting. Mr Mannion was accompanied by the head of human resources at Aer Lingus, Liz White and the director of operations Dick Butler.

The human resources (HR) department has been the subject of union criticism in recent weeks after a leaked document showed the airline was prepared to use heavy-handed tactics to get staff to take redundancy.

There have been several high profile exits from the HR department but Mr Mannion appears anxious to move on. Despite this union representatives told him trust needed to be restored following the leaking of the memo.

Mr Mannion said growth opportunities at the airline lie in the long haul area, although he strongly emphasised short-haul would also remain key.

At present Aer Lingus only has access to five airports: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Washington DC and Boston for scheduled services. This is because of a restrictive agreement signed many years ago by the Irish and US administrations.