skynet out of business?

[SNNEI]

All,

Might I make a suggestion? The fact that so many Airlines have failed at Shannon is down to the fact that none of them got the basic elements right?

Either they were badly timed, insufficient frequency, incorrect fare structure, bad or non existant marketing. None of the many carriers that have come and gone here the last few years seem, IMHO, to have got these things right. I'm not slating them as operators, and i'm indeed not having a go at their staff, but there were clearly deficiencies.

Skynet is a classic case in point. I wish them the best, but how many of us really rate their chances at getting this new St petersburg service up and running after what has happened? If they couldnt make Amsterdam (quite possibly THE biggest continetal route ex Ireland) work, how can St petersburg fare?

Tom the Tenor,

I'm a Shannon boy myself, and I still agree with an awful lot of what you say. There is a certain element up here that feels SNN has some divine right to traffic. The investment in SNN was completely unjustified when ORK and DUB were bursting at the seams.

Quite simply this airport is fu*ked unless something radical is done soon. Yes, the new motorway system we are getting here in the mid west will help, as will the planned rail link (if it ever bloody happens) but the managment of this airport need to get their finger out and start fighting to attract some serious names into this airport. We need good access to a Continental hub (KLM cityhopper.. please look our way....) for starters. Then, we need Aer Rianta to stop advertising the attractiveness of using Shannon in the Shannon region. That whole campaign is pointless. We want to use our local airport, but the services we need just are not there. Spend this money on getting the airlines here, and we the passenger will follow.

Better still, and I know this is going to ruffle a few feathers, close SNN down. Then close ORK down too. Now, build one big airport equidistant between Limerick and Cork linked to each city by a proper motorway system and high speed railway. (After all, we're only 60 miles apart anyhow) Then we have an airport capable of competing with Dublin. There'll be a sufficient catchment area to provide enough passengers for the kind of services the south of Ireland needs. The stopover wont even be an issue: there be well enough passengers to maintain existing links anyway. Please can we refrain from traditional Irish tribalism here: might I point the Netherlands and Schiphol out as an Example of what happens when you centralise airport services, but make them easily accesible to everyone.

Now, lest anyone start getting insulting with me or I draw the ire of those in power, I said this to start a debate, cos lets face it: the thread has run out of steam, but some important issues have been raised here. Lets see what materialises....