CORK - 5

[Kinocker]

I don't think dropping the €3 tax will make much difference to be honest. All it will do is give MOL one less stick to beat the authorities with. He moaned incessantly about it when it was €10 and when it came down he didn't add new routes, he just switched his attack to the DAAs 'high charges' instead.

[ryan2000]

Travel Tax is a red herring! Real reason that the traffic is collapsing is that Cork and Shannon became too dependent on locals making multiple trips abroad each year. Dublin is in a far stronger position because it has a far greater mix of traffic.

[Jamie2k9]

Has there being much of a reduction in flights for Jan and Feb this year compared to last year? I don't think there was but there was a slight increase with FR added FUE, AGP and FAO. So the flights are there but there are not being filled.

Have to agree with you Ryan about out the travel tax.

Dublin appears to have turned the corner.

1% increase in Jan as there was no snow. Would expect a slight drop in Feb but March and April should see a slight increase.

[fjr13]

Jamie2k9 The Dublin route is down to one a day compared to six a day last winter.Aer Lingus had 4 based aircraft last year.Cardiff route has been dropped,bmi baby are gone.Also a large drop in winter sun and ski charters.So there has been a considerable reduction in flights.Easily explains passenger reduction.

[840]

Aside from the reduction in based aircraft, it seems to me that there has been an even bigger problem in retaining non-based airlines.

Once Manx2 have gone, I think only Jet2 and Wizzair will be left and you'd have to worry about Jet2's future in Cork.

That leaves Cork at the mercy of Ryanair and Aer Lingus. While that's not quite as bad as the situation up in Shannon, it's still very undesirable.

[ryan2000]

I think Air South West are back from 27th but it's obvious that the policy of having a portfolio of airlines at Cork which worked so well up to 2005 is now in tatters. BMI Baby, Easyjet, CSA, Malev and many charter airlines have all left, while Sky Europe and Central Wings no longer exist.

The other noticeable feature is that Cork has made no obvious gains from the collapse in traffic at Shannon. It seems that the hundreds if thousands from the South of the country who were busing it to Shannon to avail of the Ryanair cheapies and the New York shopping trips are now staying at home.

[irishbcn]

Or getting the bus to Dublin to catch a flight. How can there not be a market for flights on Aer Lingus from Cork to Dublin to connect to the full network?

[StephenM_SMC]

May be some Shannon traffic moved to Knock where there was increases of 17.4 and 12.4% for Jan and Feb respectively.

I also doubt that a €3 reduction in the cost of flying by abolishing the air travel tax will have the effect that airlines claim.

[brian_dromey]

With RE now operating for EI, the ailine count is one fewer, even though noone has left/gone under!

I don't think it's the case that ORK has picked up much of the SNN traffic. Those fares were incredibly low, perhaps, capturing an section of people that would not have travelled at all at higher fares, which is what is seen these days on remaining SNN and ORK routes.

I'm not sure what the CAA can do to attract more airlines to ORK, some connectivity into FRA/BRU/ZRH would be good. We see much less variety these days, hardly surprising with 4 EI airbus 1.5 FR boeings and the pair of EI/RE ATRs. Most lucrative routes are probably covered.

[Jamie2k9]

Ryanair have added a third weekly flight to Milan BGY on Wednesdays and a fourth weekly flight to Reus on Thursdays and the extra ALC flight which I posted before which was due to operate in July - August will now operate in June as well but on Wednesdays.

[Jack1985]

Thanks for that Jamie! good to see FR offer increased flights to popular destinations, although Milan flights increase is a surpise! obiously selling well, does anyway no weather or not the sole year-round based A/C and the extra Jun-Aug aircraft are operating max daily lyk have no rest gaps in der schedule?

[ryan2000]

Ryanair

There are still some gaps in the roster for the 2nd aircraft. I suspect that they will be used to increase frequency on existing routes as happened this week with Milan and Reus. On another topic traffic at Dublin decreased by 3% during February and by just 1.5% for year to date.

The comparable figures at Cork are 22% and 17% respectively. These are truely appalling figures and must surely be causing concern in the DAA. It continues a trend that began in late 2008. The figures at Shannon are even worse but at least they can point to factors such as open skies on the Atlantic and the ending of the Ryanair deal to explain their collapse.

If the trend continues Cork will dip below 2 million this year from a peak of 3.25m just 3 years ago! Blaming it all on the recession is no longer credible.

[brian_dromey]

The figures are hardly surprising, as ORK lost one Aer Lingus airbus for the winter, compared to the previous winter. I think the summer figures will be more telling than the winter ones.

It's not quite time for panic, just yet.

[ryan2000]

The route mix out of Cork is very poor. I agree that it's not time to panic but if the double digit decline that has been a constant feature of Cork since 2008 doesn't level out there will be serious consequences for the airport.

[Jamie2k9]

Cork is very lucky to have such good ORK - DUB times this summer. The KIR - DUB times were recently changed and they are very bad and all bussiness travellers will be lost as a result.

[Jamie2k9]

Warsaw resumes today and Palma starts as well as other EI seasonal routes.

Cork Airprot Flights Info has Vilnius added for 29 March when it is not starting until 16 April.
Vilnius - Wizz Air - W68007 - 29/03 - 07:15

With the sharp fall in passenger numbers in Jan and Feb, what are numbers like so far this month and April will surly see a rise.

[Jack1985]

Vilnius - Wizz Air - W68007 - 29/03 - 07:15

Minor system glitch Jamie, OCC probably over-looked starting date and entered in incorrectly to the flight info engine. Hopefully as you said numbers will increase as i currently understand the CAA are trying to keep a few of the FR routes this summer year-round, plus re-securing the EI 4th A/C but who knows 2010 proved to be very challenging and hopefully with a new government with fresh ideas the tourism/airport sector will be over-hauled low fare tax model introduced and maybe even Cork being broken away from the DAA i'd like to wish the best of success to all carriers operating from Cork for this summer season regardless

[ryan2000]

Ryanair year round flights

Milan Bergamo would probably work year round as it would have a mix of Ski Traffic/City breakers and inward and outward tourists. Not so sure of the others apart from those that operated through the past winter. NICE might be worth a try now. If the fares Aerlingus are asking for are an indication the yield on it is very good. Strange to see Ryanair down to just a Single Stansted on Sunday's. One would have thought there was a demand for two flights even in these frugal living times.

[Jack1985]

Hi im just wondering if anyone can confirm why the new Saturday flight times for EI ORK-FAO-ORK have increased so much?

Flight times ORK-FAO:

M-W-F-S | 2hrs 30mins
-----S- | 2hrs 40mins

Flight times FAO-ORK:

M-W-F-S | 2hrs 40mins
-----S- | 3hrs

Also the block time has increased on Saturdays from 40mins (M-W-F-S) to 1hour. Why the big increases? im guessing FAO is either really busy on Sat nights or the flight has been given a longer outbound & returning route sector ?

[ryan2000]

Can't imagine them not being allowed use the T9 route. FAO probably very busy on Saturday's. Evening Echo reporting that Britains' Queen Elizabeth is to fly into Cork Airport on 20th May on the last day of her state visit to Ireland.