In my absense due to family illness it sure looks like Cork is taking some blows over the last week or so - let us hope there is not any more bad news now for a while. One of my colleagues is a Czeck lady and she confirms the ongoing speculation in Prague that CSA are considering pulling out from Cork. Obviously, she is very concerned about the situation and hopes the something may be retrieved and it is good that the CAA are waking up to the gravity of the matter. Losing easyJet is bad but to lose a 2nd major operator like CSA that has brought nothing but good to Cork must be a near doomsday scenario to contemplate for the powers that be in Cork.
It has come to my attention that the likes of Sean & Mary Citizen in Cork are at last beginning to talk about what state our great new airport is in at the moment and in my experience the public are asking questions now without any prompting which is new. I feel this is telling in itself and that the airport is being found out as over the last year or so there was a lot of ducking going on with little contact by Cork with her client airlines and perhaps the airport is now paying for this kind of devil may care attitude?
Sending out the troops to Prague may be a gesture too late just to be seen to be doing something in a sense of panic but I do wish Cork well because losing a quality operation from the middle of Europe like CSA brings the future of the airport into question as to what kind of future airline they may hope to attract to Cork.
I have also heard a rumor that EI are delighted that CSA may be pulling out so will it be Malev on the block come next autumn? God forbid. If CSA are out of the picture it is impossible to see EI at near a 5 or 6 a week capacity to Prague in the future as it looks like there will be so much capacity to central Europe with flights to Prague, Wroclaw, Katowice, Krakow, Warsaw, Berlin and Budapest. It is hard to seem them all survive at much more than 2 or 3 flights a week at the very most, if that? However, in the meantime there is every chance for Malev to put up their name in lights and they may pick up some more interlining traffic which would be good all round for them and for Cork.
There is also some news from DHL. They are downsizing from the 757 to the venerable Lockheed Electra from September! A welcome return by an old friend to Cork!
Was in the upstairs restaurant last week for the first time. Very high prices and poor service by some of the newer staff. There were a lot of complaints about the restaurant too on 96FM local radio last week but missed all of that coverage. Like in the old terminal there may be issues arising with blocked drains. Not a great situation to be in for a brand new terminal!