there is no route to LHR for the entire west coast, a route which by all accounts was doing very well. People will not travel to ORK as it is a nightmare of a place and is very much a last resort for anyone from the West coast
Having never been through Cork, I can't comment whether it's a "nightmare" or not, but it is not a viable option for me to use as I would have to go to Limerick first. This is a blow for those who do not wish to go through the crowded (beleive me, I know!) throngs of Dublin Airport, motorway or no motorway!
For westerners, DUB should be treated as being at capacity until both the M50 upgrade and T2 gets on stream. That's not going to happen while both Cork and Shannon are owned by Dublin Airport Authority.
This is slightly off-topic, a different debate even, but if the airports were seperated up, with each airport answerable only to local government authorities, then maybe there wouldn't be a problem attracting flights to one or the other. Each airport would only have local government to blame, and a more realistic demographic of flights (I.E. Everyone uses their local airport) would ensue. No part of the country would prop up the other.
(I dunno about my logic today, but I'm suffering with a headcold so forgive me)
Another suggestion for the development of SNN, and this one just takes it way off thread topic, off forum topic, and out of "Misc. Forums"........
Two Words: Aircraft Manufacture.