Are you saying that Ryanair would of opened the current routes from NOC if they still had 6 aircraft based at SNN serving the same ones. Think answer is no......you can't say NOC hasn't done well out of SNN over the last few years. It has done well on getting BE,LH,EI in but Ryaniar are there to make a point.
Yes I think some. It's not black and white, FR didn't one day leave SNN, transplanting the whole base to NOC, they retain a scaled back SNN base and 10 of their key routes up to today. Some were restarted from ORK and KIR. At NOC they started with a couple of sun routes for a season and grew slowly over the last 4 years adding a route here and there as they opened bases across europe. Many of the routes were already successful charters from NOC even with FR at SNN.
So Yes I think FR may have added many of the routes anyway, and of course at the same time used some as a stick to poke the DAA like you say.
So it was alright for Knock to receive operational funding and development grants but not for SNN when the tables are turned...
I should have said my previous post wasn't necessarily my personal opinion but an explanation of the argument NOC were making. I believe there's place for both to be successful airports and I'm happy SNN will be supported back to health.
Yes NOC benefited from state support, but I don't think anything put it at a major competitive advantage. But I think it's reasonable to argue that NOC has had to work hard to get to this stage, and is being told there won't be future funding, where as it appears that SNN which had all the support and resources of the DAA and Shannon Development is getting a bailout.
Wether that gives it a major competitive advantage is another question. Anyway the public / private / semi-state / private trust aspect mean this is comparing apples and oranges and my head hurts so I'll leave it at that!