Originally Posted by
sawtooth
How do we get to full service carrier serving 25 routes and a solvent operating airport business with no fees or parking charges?
Cyrano said it: with or without departing passenger penalties, you don't. Right now Knock can possibly claim four "full service carrier" destinations.
Originally Posted by
takingoff
What other way can the airport say open and run properly with a charge of this sort, they do not receive large amounts from the government to dig themselves out of holes.
People in glasshouses ... From the airport's website:
On 21 February 2007, the Irish Government announced that it was giving €27 million of capital grant money to Ireland West Airport.
Maybe in 21st century post-tiger Ireland 27m€ doesn't count as "large amounts" but from where I'm sitting, that's a fair sized handout.
Originally Posted by
takingoff
Knowing the roads around Knock this whole cheaper flying out of Dublin from Westport is a silly argument. It takes 45 minutes from Westport to Knock (55k) and 3.5 hours from Westport to Dublin airport (260k). So when you factor in the additional 205k in petrol, tolls and most importantly time (which is most valuable to me) your telling me it's cheaper to fly from Dublin, I'm sorry I've done the calculations on numerous occasions and Knock simply works out better. Just think logically for a minute Rambler, in a return trip how much is 5 hours of your time worth to you, then put on the 410k in petrol (bear in mind fuel is not cheap these days) plus the tolls plus the godforsaken thought of that long drive for what might be a weekend at home. I'm laughing now about your remark that it's cheaper to fly out of Dublin/Shannon because of the €10 development charge! :-)
All this assumes that irrational humans behave like good little mathematical models. They don't. If your man in Westport has a brother who works in Dublin and gets a lift back on a Sunday evening or a Monday morning, it costs him nothing, compared to Knock's 10€ get-out-of-here fee. Thinking logically does not apply to people booking or travelling by air. If it did, they'd pay for safety, they'd pay for comfort, they'd read terms and conditions, they'd add up the whole cost of their trip ... but they don't. They see cheap Ryanair headline fares and "rip-off" departure charges (this is the No1 complaint on travellers' reviews of Knock).
Of the 700k passengers passing through Knock, I calculate approximately 500k of those use Ryanair. We all know that MO'L is proud to offer a bus service. That means for 71% of passengers Knock is just a glorified bus stop. That's not begrudgery - that's reality.
A couple of decades ago, shops in France used to charge you to go in and have a look around. They eventually figured out that it put people off. What's one of the biggest complaints of today's town centre traders in Ireland - parking charges. When you've got a public-facing business, you do everything possible to encourage the public to come in, not charge them for the privilege of your existence.
Right now, Knock has a captive audience and can extort its 10€, but that makes it vulnerable. The day travellers decide they can get better value for money elsewhere, that source of income will dry up and it sounds like there's nothing in place to replace it. In today's economic climate, there is only one 'visible solution' - be different, be (really) original. Unfortunately, while Knock could be an amazingly unique airport, it isn't. It's just yet another small regional airport with high hopes and no commercial imagination.
And before you ask (again): no, I'm not going to give you a list of what could be done. That's my business, and reserved for somewhere else. But don't worry - we won't be trying to take your Ryanair passengers away.
