“We’re [flying] Cork to London City Airport from October and I think the plan would be for next summer to have other routes out of Cork,” Ms McDermott said.
The exact number of routes is yet to be confirmed but the focus is likely to be on catering for the leisure market, of which CityJet is looking to gain a larger slice.
Demand has been strong ahead of the launch of the London route next month with sales for October on a par with the same service from Dublin.
A revised pricing policy with cheaper lead-in prices coupled with an advertising push has seen load factors — the measure of how many seats an airline fills — climb from percentages in the early forties in November of last year to the 70%-region in July and August.
I'm aware he is all about marketing but in general once they get a fuel efficient aircraft replacement they could be a good fit for Cork long term for routes which EIFR can't/won't keep.
Completely un related to Cork but he also said:
Despite Air France exiting the business last April, a “wet lease arrangement” remains in place where CityJet carries some 80,000 passengers for the French airline each month.
Ms McDermott confirmed that talks are ongoing with another major airline for CityJet to provide a similar service.
While I wouldn't class EI as a major airline I wonder if they could be part of the plan to complement EIR in UK or even some smaller Euro routes?
CityJet eyes further routes out of Cork | Irish Examiner