It could be done too if there was any heart left in Cork and, of course, if the DAA were agreeable.
Tom there's plenty of heart left in Cork, its people controlling its affairs not robots. And seriously this DAA thing is getting tiring, they don't sit in a room stroking a pussycat dictating who gets what etc - At the end of the day like any job you pitch well, you do well. Maybe thats what needs checking, the recent management changes at Cork do nothing - Saddens me to say it but there's going to have to be job cuts at Cork, we are uncompetitive and there needs to be a dramatic u-turn in the airports affairs, a more hands on approach with airlines on a daily basis is needed - There are no rebates, it works well in Dublin so why not say to an airline in Cork gives us 25K passengers we give you package A, B etc. The problem? Cork Management have not requested such a thing.
I don't see any UK based airline especially from London coming here in the medium-term, its suicidal with harps hanging around declining traffic to suit their own agenda.
I said it in 2012, the news when Ryanair went east was going to end badly, it did, managements approach back then should have been to offer Ryanair a better package to more organic routes. The fact MOL carried on this chatter that Wizz were ripping people off, total and utter bull - This the same carrier who takes the stealth approach to destroy traffic, and up prices. Places like Italy, Portugal and Spain can handle competition in the Summer they are demand lead, whether as Wizz on the Polish routes were Price lead and that stimulated demand - There was never going to be competition with Ryanair in Poland it would be a case of who jumps first, and Wizz had the brain to cut their losses.
Such a pity back in 2005 that management even agreed to giving Ryanair a base deal, we lost basically two routes Dublin and Gatwick, the later did outstanding under EZY.
I'll probably get told now that to refuse them a base deal was uncompetitive and all that, but Cork would be in a better place now if they would presently be operating to just Liverpool and Stansted. I can guarantee you that.