MOL's comments from story in the Irish Indo today. Given that FR are very unlikely to get a deal similar to the one they got at SNN, it seems any future expansion from ORK is unlikely. They will play one off the other in any case, but SNN would appear to have the upper hand in this particular bun fight.
Cork eclipsed as Ryanair add five Shannon routes
SHANNON has been given the nod ahead of Cork as the country's premier tourism hub beyond Dublin, with Ryanair announcing five new routes from the Limerick-based airport.
According to the airline's chief executive, Michael O'Leary, Shannon was more strategically placed to service the western and southern region.
Speaking in Limerick yesterday, Mr Leary said Dublin and Shannon would not be competing for the same market.
The five new routes, to begin on October 12, are: to Biarritz and Carcassonne in the south of France; to Faro in Portugal; to Krakow in Poland; and to Venice.
Mr O'Leary said that while Ryanair's first winter at Shannon was loss making, the first 12 months would not be.
And he said the company was well on course to reach its two million-passenger target for the airport by year five.
"We don't look at any base or route in a winter context. Overall, the 12-month period at Shannon will be profitable," he said.
"Traffic numbers are ahead of expectations. Yields are behind expectations but that's far better than having the traffic behind expectations."
Mr O'Leary rubbished suggestions that the airline was not committed to Shannon and would withdraw its services once Dublin Airport became less congested.
"Dublin and Shannon are different markets. Shannon offers access into the western seaboard and the southwest, whereas Dublin is for city access and the eastern seaboard." But he added there was "an issue whether Shannon and Cork can both grow rapidly without cannibalising the same market".