Got to disagree with the 'wrong aircraft' point to a certain degree. I appreciate this was the case with LCY as the EMB was not certified to fly into LCY at the start of operations, therefore a bit more forward planning could have been done on this aspect.
But I think the EMB for Cork wasn't a bad choice, starting a new airline especially out of Cork, one of the first to be based solely out of Cork, was a challenge but. Firstly the aircraft was a jet which is a plus, at the end of the day, they could have picked the ATR42/72 which has similar capacity, but went for the jet instead, which I think was a good idea. But I don't subscribe to the point that a larger aircraft should have been used.
The EMB 135/145 is easier to fill than a B737 say circa 150 seats. At the end of the day it comes down to the load factor, if you can get the 50 seats filled on the 145, well then 100%LF, and that's got to make money, but on the other hand if you use a B737 and fill say 50 seats of 150 avail, that's a LF of 33%, and that doesn’t make money.
Where JM went wrong was not solely down to aircraft choice it was simply they started too big. With a huge route structure, all over Europe. The should have opened tops 4 routes, 2/3 to the UK and 1/2 to continental Europe. Tops. Get a foothold on those routes, and be recognised as the main carrier on them, build up a good image on them, punctuality etc. Reassess the situation, and then worry about expansion onto further routes.
City was a bad idea from the start as the aircraft wasn't certified to fly into LCY. City gives off this 'groovy' place to fly into, mainly for business travellers, but at the end of the day, if the suits weren’t going to fill the seats, Gatwick was the better destination, at least there are far more connecting flights especially for the 'bucket & spade brigade' who would have filled more seats. And not forgetting the business travellers, there's always the Gatwick express to get you into London in 30 mins. Sure isn't that the time you spend over LHR in the hold these days?!
The idea of an airline based out of Cork, wasn't a bad idea, it could, and should have worked, but it was executed badly with some over ambitious plans. Now with Aer Arann taking a few routes from Cork, BMI baby on the scene, Jet Magic maybe at this stage is a lost cause.
Irishrover