Originally Posted by
CelticRambler
Yet again the obsession with last century's stereotypical business traveller.
First of all, eight hours in Dublin is probably enough for any well-organised Cambridge businessman or woman if they feel the need to get home the same day, but the Dublin conference industry does all it can to keep people there for two, three even four days at a time.
And secondly, for approximately the same length of time as it takes to get from Cambridge to Heathrow, anyone going to the states can aim to save a couple of hours with US pre-clearance at Dublin.
With Amsterdam being proposed at the same time, these services are obviously aimed at passengers going further afield with other carriers. Perfectly sensible, and good luck to both airline and airport.
I appreciate (and indeed sympathise with) your sincere desire to overturn the conventions of business travel, but CityJet is not going to be that iconoclast.
Originally Posted by
CelticRambler
Yet again the obsession with last century's stereotypical business traveller.
First of all, eight hours in Dublin is probably enough for any well-organised Cambridge businessman or woman if they feel the need to get home the same day, but the Dublin conference industry does all it can to keep people there for two, three even four days at a time.
So you're saying that as a Cambridge business person I should settle for 8 hours in Dublin, as long as they are from 10.35 to 19.10, and that if (heaven forbid) I am trying to fit into someone else's 9-5 schedule it's just the fault of the "Dublin conference industry"? Oddly enough when I look at the prices of flights, for example from Dublin to Heathrow, the flights arriving before 9 tend to be the most expensive. I can't imagine why...
And secondly, for approximately the same length of time as it takes to get from Cambridge to Heathrow, anyone going to the states can aim to save a couple of hours with US pre-clearance at Dublin.
Oddly enough my first thought was the same as yours. Independent Cityjet has negotiated a commercial agreement with Air France, so they must have arranged matters to connect to the Delta transatlantic flights at DUB, right?
Er...no. Arrive into DUB at 10.35, after the 10.10 ATL departure has left, and just in time to get to a window to wave at the 11.00 Delta JFK flight pushing back. And Cityjet doesn't have any interline deal that I know of with Aer Lingus, certainly no codeshare.
You say:
These services are obviously aimed at passengers going further afield with other carriers. Perfectly sensible, and good luck to both airline and airport.
In the case of Amsterdam, yes, you're right. But Dublin? Please explain to me how this is a "sensible" schedule, with no useful connectivity. That's a genuine question, by the way - have I missed something in this fairly miserable "what-can-we-do-in-the-gaps-between-Amsterdam-flights?" timetable?
What puzzles me is that a Cambridge-Dublin service that had an EI code and that operated at sensible times could actually generate some useful connecting traffic. Clearly EI (or rather Stobart Air) is not interested, so Cambridge Airport has decided to shower their leftover planned-for-Darwin marketing support largesse on CityJet. Cardiff, Cambridge,... What's next? Carlisle? Caernarfon?