Perhaps if People in cork got off their arses and flew on the new routes EI tried over the past five years paying a sustainable yield, they would still exist. But no - its too easy to blame everyone else!
Shannon doesn't have an Amsterdam service or Knock doesn't have connectivity to a major Hub. Yet no one is asking them to throw in the towel or to stop having fantasys about securing them in the future.
You don't get people moaning when extra aircraft are based in Shannon or Dublin or Knock or Kerry - you get people happy with extra frequency, and stability. Only in Cork fantasy land is an extra aircraft based is met with moans and groans.
I love to see the selective memory of people regarding Shannon on this thread. People forgetting that EI basically pulled out of the airport a few years back. They dropped LHR, and hacked north america down to one aircraft, summer only.
As discussed before the perfect airline for Shannon is either Delta or United. They have the feed from New York. Problem is that Cork is not the centre of the universe for them either. Routes like Belfast are marginal, Bristol was dropped.....
Meanwhile, Shannon has the historical links to North America from the beginning of trans Atlantic air travel, a brand in North America, US CBP,
Back to the ATR. Isn't it wonderful that an airline is investing equipment that makes business easier from Cork in cities that people want to go to? This investment from an airline that was nearly bankrupt 18 months ago is a great signal that cork is turning around.
Anyway, three 757s a week still wont keep many here happy, nor, with zero landing charges, will it be the panacea for the airport.