thanks EI BUD. but let me comment on the following..
But I am not sure that a second airport for Dublin is needed any longer.
Dublin has already a second airport. Bal is there and is used (by Air Corps).It makes much more sense to me to open it to the public.
I mean DUB as it stands is in decline, a very costly piece of kit is almost complete in the guise of T2, it looks nice but I really hope that it can encourage Aer Lingus to deliver on a Gateway between USA and EU airports, I certainly believe that if they market this properly, taking on its unique offerings it can be a winner. When T2 opens the airport will have far more capacity than is needed at this time.
that's true but the bottleneck in DUB is not the terminals nor the apron capacity. Is the runway.And a second runway is needed in DUB (deferred until 2012). There is where BAL could play a sensible role to integrate all the problematic issues involved here. (dub second runway + SNN)
In addition, when I look at what is going on in Belfast, ie 2 airports after the same passengers (and yes there is competition) I cant help but feel the whole province long term would do well to have its aviation business consolidated into one facility. I know that Belfast is a much smaller market but their are parallels.
correct but as you said, Belfast is a smaller market. I do think a population of 3 million makes sense (justifies) to do this kind of swap. Plus not all of type of aircraft would be able to land in BAL. So heavier hardware would continue to use DUB but BAL would make an ideal airport for "smaller" aircraft.
My view is that Shannon needs to get used to the reality of its catchment. Ie there is a niche for essentially needed services to the main routes of London a few UK regionals and similar to Belfast for eg an offering to the Sun destinations. Oh and of course a few routes to the USA. With a realistic schedule that makes a return for the operator it makes for better sense for the future. Are there any opportunities for other non passenger traffic business ie maintenance etc?
the catchment aerea can grow in the future as the population / transport infrastructures grow. At the same time motorways will put you at 2.30-3 hours from Dublin. As for the present it is already used for military traffic and therefore it is this the reason that it makes perfect sense to me to install the main Air Corps HQ there. Plus, on the other hand, you still can use SNN as a combined civil military airport.
regards