Word is that at least two routes are to be dropped but that the deficit will be made up by capacity increases elsewhere.
My money would be on Stockholm Skavista going. Can't understand why they operated a year round service from an airport 70 miles from Stockholm to one whose immediate catchment area is quite small.
I'd be very surprised to see LGW going; I was on it on Monday - nearly full load. Apparently, EZY not doing at all well on it.
I'm surprised they don't add more UK regional routes; with BE off SNN-BHX and BA off SNN-MAN, there seems to be potential there. Perhaps some continental routes (like NYO) to be replaced by UK regional routes?
Ryanair Holdings PLC said it will start four new routes from its Shannon airport base on Feb 2006, to Manchester, Wroclaw in Poland, Rome and Murcia in Spain, each operating three times a week.
To accommodate these new routes, Ryanair will close two routes from Shannon to Hamburg and Stockholm.
That conclusion may be a little hasty - there are several other routes from SNN that aren't yet available for booking after March 26th (STN, LTN, LPL, BVA).
So with Easyjet announcing that they are to pull out of Ireland, Ryanair have been quick to react.
Thus no more Shannon to Gatwick with Easyjet, and Ryanair are pulling Shannon to Luton.
Then though, they announce 2 new Shannon routes: Bournemouth and Edinburgh, both to operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The Luton route is operated using a Luton aircraft. So for the 2 new Shannon routes what existing routes will be cut back to allow for them?
I suspect that Shannon to Stansted and Gatwick could see a reduction in flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays!
That would mean: No more Easyjet to Gatwick. No more Ryanair to Luton. Reduced Ryanair to Gatwick. Reduced Ryanair to Stansted.
Meanwhile Ryanair are axing Knock to Gatwick, and Cork to Gatwick is likely to be reduced to a mere once daily flight.
Things aren't quiet clear yet. The new route announcements were only made this morning. And the schedules for the concerned routes have been all over the place in the booking engine today. Might have to wait until tomorrow to get a clearer picture....
Last edited by Charlie Roy; 26th Jul 2006 at 15:57.