Aerlingus at Cork
Jack, the reason I question the nature of the Aerlingus base at Cork is that for several years they continued to base the pilots in Dublin and were most reluctant to move them to Cork. I'm told that the situation has changed in recent times.
While I give Aerlingus credit for their significant expansion in 2005 and 2006, they have always been much more adventurous with new routes out of Dublin. I accept that Cork has a much smaller catchment area but as against that the airline has virtually no competition to worry about down here apart from Ryanair on a few sun routes and would enjoy a monopoly on routes such as Frankfurt and Dusseldorf.
Brussels has by all accounts been a success. For years local groups lobbied for such a service but were told there was no market here for it. It's also vital that the issues that make it more costly to operate from Cork are addressed. If an upturn comes in the economy Aerlingus are in poll position to benefit from it in Cork if they can get the correct strategy in place.