CORK - 4

[Cyrano]

Originally Posted by Hey there

Ryanair are trying to fill four 200-seaters each way per day, up from three during the summer, and selling at below the airport charges (the Cork Airport website says 12.65e per departing passenger, Ryanair start at 5 euro "including taxes and charges").

I don't think Ryanair pays €12.65 at any airport on their entire network. The published tariff at an airport is akin to the "Recommended Retail Price", i.e. a fairly meaningless fiction. You can be very sure that Ryanair has a far more aggressive (unpublished) deal than that.

[Tom the Tenor]

It was great gas at Cork last night and credit where credit is due - the place really looked like a serious airport as not only was the sole airbridge operational (!) and in use for the CSA flight from Prague but there was also a bus in use for passengers disembarking from aircraft parked up in the lower stands by the old terminal. Think the RE304 from Belfast got the benefit of the bus along with probably the EI845 pax from Amsterdam that was parked in Stand 5.

Guess it must be called progress and well done to Cork Airport. Good to see some heart returning to the place. Long may it continue!

[840]

Tom the Tenor

Who is providing the bus? The airport or one of the handling companies?

[asianfly]

That is certainly good news TTT. All I want to do is get on a plane dry, so glad to know that the long dash across a windswept puddled apron in a downpour is no longer a requirement before boarding for a 20+ hour journey to Asia. Let's hope the bus doesn't break down or go tech!

[Tom the Tenor]

The bus on the Cork ramp last evening was being escorted by an Airport Police van so guess it must have been a hire in due to the wet and windy weather we had in Cork last night. Not sure exactly if she was on hire to a handler or not but feel it was more likely the airport authorities.

Either way, thumbs up, the consideration of passengers came first which is always nice.

[brian_dromey]

The lads on the hill are certainly out-doing themselves at themoment, with both busses AND an airbridge! Hope it stays that way. I will be at the airport myself tomorrow (on the RE from LBA) so twill be interesting to see if I get soaked or not!

One more thought has struck me as regards EI and Cork. I flew EI LHR-ORK a fortninght ago(great flight by the way!) and the had a chat with the F/A as regards the MAN route. Funny thing is the Cork base thought they would get the flying! This would seem to indicate that the plans for a/c no5 were canx pretty suddenly. That or one or two routes were spared the chop? I think Aer Lingus missed a trick with LHR though, the morn and eve flights are always packed to the rafters, 95%+ full. What do they do? Add a bloody afternoon flight! Shuould have gone for a based 321 instead. Actually both!

Another oppertunity gone west, instead of 3/4 new routes we got one.....hmmm! Maybe next summer!

[eick320]

The bus is a hire in from Kearneys and is only on the ramp when CAA think the weather demands it.

According to Tom the airport looked great but the wind really tooks it toll last night ... the arrival signs on the south tower blew away last night, last seen heading towards Kinsale passing stand 3, the glass panels on the arriving gate 2 were smashed and i think gate 4 stand 8 took a hammering aswell

[runawayedge]

If Ryanair are not paying full charges on CRK/DUB at both Dublin and Cork it raises some interesting questions. From the Cork Airport route support scheme it clearly states that an existing route is not a qualifying route if the route has already been served within the previous 12 months at a frequency higher than 2 services per week on a year round basis. So, if FR are not paying full charges at both Dublin and Cork, why? and how is it justified? does it conform with EU legislation? Assuming they are paying full whack, and after the Easy debacle, and the demise of CSA and the introduction of EI would it not be in the airport's best interest to introduce some sort of measures to protect existing carriers (obviously conforming with anti competition regs) on routes if they are performing rather than allow ridiculous short time competition that may ultimately destroy the route. I understand that competition is healthy, but there are times it is not. Thankfully RE are doing well and seem to be winning out, but were FR to be victorious I can guarantee frequency would be slashed, and who's the loser? the airport, pax and the region. CAA have to realise that there is a limit to what its catchment area will support on any given route, and maybe even recognise what RE have done for CRK over the last number of years, and dare I suggest it arrive at a strategy for route development instead of groping in the dark!

[840]

Brian->The Manchester flights start in March and as the first of Aer Lingus' new airbuses doesn't arrive until June, it would never have been operated in its current format by a based aircraft.

The currently announced EI expansion only requires a single aircraft to start operations in Dublin on the first weekend in June, so there is probably more to be announced. I doubt we'll see a fifth airbus in Cork, but perhaps we'll see another W pattern out of Dublin (Glasgow?).

[Charlie Roy]

Ryanair meet with local politicians

Seems like this meeting was more about the airport debt question and high charges than specifically wanting to use the old Terminal.

In short, Ryanair are threatening to reduce services at Cork

http://www.campus.ie/user?cmd=item-detail&itemid=100005

[en2r]

Centralwings

Does anyone know when Central Wings release their summer 2007 schedule? Will there be an increase in frequency on the two routes to Cork? Krakow especially should be able to support a third weekly flight

[ryan2000]

Ryan2000

Not one advert has appeared in the local press advising people in Munster that Kracow (one of the most beautiful city's in europe) is now a City Break option from Cork. Where's the marketing support ? gone

[Charlie Roy]

Originally Posted by ryan2000

Not one advert has appeared in the local press advising people in Munster that Kracow (one of the most beautiful city's in europe) is now a City Break option from Cork. Where's the marketing support ? gone

Who are you suggesting should do this? Central wings or Cork airport? Well if Cork airport do have a policy of marketing new routes then they'll also have to equally market Gdansk (one of the most ...Polish(?) cities in Europe).

[Tom the Tenor]

Heard there was bus moving around the ramp at Cork again last night in the gales and lashing rain. Looks like she is becoming a regular enough sight now! The CAA might as well go off and lease one all together. Think of the good publicity and sense of pride Cork's own bus would bring to the airport - Page 1 news in De Paper for sure!

Today's EI816 to WAW diverted to Berlin SXF presumably due wx in Warsaw. She is not long back to Cork. The Dublin flight to Warsaw also diverted to SXF and as far as I know the the return flight to DUB was cancelled whilst the WAW-ORK did eventually return with her pax. Up Cork!

[en2r]

Ryanair

It has been mentioned on the Ryanair thread that there are strong rumours that Ryanair have made a firm proposal to the CAA to expand out of Cork, presumably out of the old terminal.

[Tom the Tenor]

The Cork Airport Bus!

The Cork Airport bus has been summoned into action again today amidst the howling gales and the lashing rain and in weather like this it would make you think hard why the new Cork terminal has been left the way it is with just the one airbridge. It is a disgrace that at any sizeable state airport on a day like today that any pax have to be doing any traipsing at all around on a ramp. The Minister for Transport, the DAA, the CAA and the cute sleaveens in the golden circle of the old Aer Rianta and perhaps even an element in EI have a lot to answer for Cork not having more airbridges for decent Cork Airport passengers to use on such a bad day as this today. People are paying enough in charges to be awarded the comfort of at least staying dry and warm as much as possible in such severe winter weather.

There may yet be a Cork Airport Candidate in next year's General Election even if I have to stand myself if I get any more angry about the situation!

It was for a change this morning that Cork Airport had one of those rare events, a diversion from Shannon! The Ryanair flight from Liverpool diverted to Cork due to cross winds that caused a fair amount of other disruptions from the Shannon programme today, notably some of the American schedules including a Delta diversion to Dublin. Even a certain F-__DD, (A380?) was considering shooting an approach at Cork before the winds improved enough at Shannon for an approach. Presumably, it would have been a go around had Cork had got a visit this morning from the mighty Airbus jet?

Airbus aircraft are not wholly without precedent at Cork, Boeing neither for that matter. The Cathay Pacific A330 and the Condor 757-300 that arrived from Iceland in bad weather some years ago comes to mind.

[Faire d'income]

Tom the Talker

The Minister for Transport, the DAA, the CAA and the cute sleaveens in the golden circle of the old Aer Rianta and perhaps even an element in EI have a lot to answer for Cork not having more airbridges for decent Cork Airport passengers to use on such a bad day as this today.

Despite the wide spraying of bullets you fail to hit the target. Who more than anyone is responsible for the cost-cutting of every facet of aviation, especially passenger comfort? Who is trying to use the old terminal to gain a competitive advantage over the others that will force them to get access to the same facility ( rendering the new terminal useless and hence spending on it has ceased ). If your local sleeveens force the CAA into bed with the culprits which is likely it could ultimately bankrupt the CAA.

[ryan2000]

Red herring

The old terminal proposal is a red herring. If the CAA use can accomodate Ryanair, it will surely be from the new terminal as the cost of operating two terminals in an airport of Cork's size would be hugely prohibitive.

CAA should stop looking on airbridges as potential cash cows and make them available at a reasonable price to airlines.

[Tom the Tenor]

Well, if a decision was forthcoming on the new terminal's debt the CAA might be able to get somewhere, right a few things like getting a Cobus vehicle for the ramp, put in a few more airbridges and oblige the likes of Ryanair use them if they wanted to do business at Cork and if they did not tell 'em politely as possible to go sling their 'ook!

I should like to thank you, Faire D'income, for your comprehensive summary of CATIII operations in the Ryanair thread. Very intersting material which I have referred to a number of times since your post on the subject and for which again I thank you.

To the best of my knowledge a measure of preparatory work for CATIII was done at Cork a few years ago so whilst it may be a very expensive undertaking it may just be technically feasible? That would have been at a time with a lot less traffic at the airport than now. As I understand it Cork's trouble lies mostly with the RVR in the horizontal with the Vertical viz being less of a problem and if it is any help I am almost certain that some A319 and 757 aircraft have done some CATII autolands at Cork in the last few years. So, what is the difference between a CATII autoland and one at CATIII minima, the autoland part itself should be the same?

Then again, I concede I might be getting it all wrong. Understanding ideas in physics etc and me normally dont see eye to eye!

[MarkD]

Originally Posted by Tom the Tenor

So, what is the difference between a CATII autoland and one at CATIII minima, the autoland part itself should be the same?

Tom - not sure there is such an animal as "CAT II autoland".

See here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrum...ILS_categories

however, this might be a goer in time?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_A...ntation_System