Filling a 757 between Cork and either JFK or EWR three or four times a week would be pretty easy. Perhaps the problem right now is that in the eyes of those EI airline planners and in FR-speak, Shannon is Cork North.

It's only a matter of time before New York gets its long-awaited Cork service:)

Ger Cork->While most of us would love to see those routes, you need to remember that this is a business and a route can only survive if it can make money.

In that respect, you need to look at the volume of passengers, whether they are business or leisure, the equipment that airlines have available and the airport at the other end that you're considering flying to.

Even if SAS noticed the existence of Cork, I can't see how they could make those routes profitable. Similarly, you'd have to question whether a service to a slot constrained airport like Frankfurt can generate the volume to justify occupying a slot there (it's worth noting in this regard that there is speculation on the Dublin thread about the future of Dublin-Frankfurt with them). I'd also struggle to see the demand for more than one North American destination (at least in the immediate future). Maybe Boston and New York both at 3x weekly, but that's about it.

As Brian said, if you count CityJet as Air France, they are more of a possibility. In fact, if there's any airline that the airport needs, it's probably CityJet.

RYAN 2000 - The ORK-GLA with RE story, is that new news, or just a continuation of previous talks.

Anyone think RE will launch t/a with a 757 maybe, as previously mentioned by RE.

New York New York its a helluva town
 

My understanding is that ORK GLA is on the cards from October and RE are the likely airline, time alone will tell. Also contrary to previous rumours the runway, taxiways and apron are adequate for an A330 operation to JFK as far as Aerlingus are concerened.
It's issues like Marketing support or as the Americans say Revenue Support that are likely to come to the fore in the months ahead.

Will the CAA and others who want to fly from the Banks to the Big Apple be prepared to put their money where their mouth is?

Good question. Interesting also to listen to the regular Bus Eireann ads on local radio in Cork adverstising their services to Limerick and Galway and a point is made that the service just happens to a make a convenient stop at Shannon Airport. There is definitely an attempt going on there to get Cork people to think about using Shannon. It would be good to think that the team charged with minding Cork's interests might be as cunning in promoting their product in equally devillish ways.

Does anyone know what loads have been like on Newcastle since they increased to 5 flights per week at the end of March from only 2 during the winter? I know they were getting over 80% loads when they were down to 2 flights so I presume it must be doing Okay

Also Cork-Southampton is to resume on the 15th. I presume Shannon-Bournemouth is the reason for the 3 month break. There are rumours of Shannon-Bournemouth being axed due to terrible loads so hopefully Cork-Southampton is here to stay

Dont know how well Newcastle is doing but there were developments today when no less than the infamous (that word again!) Mr Gerry Adams, MP, MLA, leader of Sinn Fein, came out in public in Cork as a champion in the cause of no debt for Cork Airport and as one political pundit put it to me later Mr Adams might be able to summon up one helluva enforcement team to get the job sorted! :uhoh:

Gee, this General Election business is great. From contacts in the Labour Party and the Green Party the airport has been coming up as a topic on the doorsteps during their nightly canvases. Health would still be a much bigger issue, of course.

Today's other big development for Cork Airport was the first flight by Air Southwest from Newquay. The service is due to run until the end of September at a three weekly frequency for May and then four weekly from June. Let us hope the numbers are good enough for Air Southwest to continue the route after September.

Best of luck to 'em anyway, everyone at Air Southwest. Hope they get great loads on the Dash 8s. It is not everyday a new route starts at Cork!

Newquay is not a new route - Arran did it last summer but elected not to restart it this year.

If Gerry Adams is the only party leader to publicly support zero debt at Cork Airport, then Sinn Fein will have my vote in the election!!:D

New routes from Cork on the cards if Sinn Fein get a share of power? Full loads of community workers on their way to conferences in Tehran, Havana, Caracas, North Korea? :}

Don't forget Columbia! ;)

Skylink
 

The Skylink bus service has resumed this week with a slightly different timetable and a €1 price reduction (now €8 return). Hopefully it will fare better this year being better known and starting early in the summer, unlike last year when they started mid summer.

Presume any ORK-Glasgow service would be through PIK rather than GLA?

Well, if RE were to do Glasgow would it not be better for the punters if it was to be GLA rather than PIK? Who in Cork needs a PIK stopover on the way to visit Glasgow?

Another hard hitting letter in today's Irish Examiner relating the story of a lady in a wheelchair's journey to Australia from Cork to Belfast by train with the aid of associated disabled persons' ramps and good humored staff on the trains etc and from there via Heathrow and Hong Kong to Australia. The return journey through various airports and terminals went well until her rainy arrival back at Cork to be met by no airbridge and her cargo like off load from the aeroplane from a stand at a remove from the terminal and the wetting she got for her trouble to boot!

Is it time to kickstart the Peoples' Airbridges for Cork Airport campaign?

Is the Ryanair Bremen-Cork bookable yet? Last time I checked last night there was still nothing available. Assuming the very welcome route will start how do you all think it might do in terms of business? Aeroplanes with 189 seats are hard enough to fill for any route never mind a brand new one. Dont get me wrong, more than anything, I do want it to work for Cork and to work well too. You know, I have always wanted to learn German. That'd be the Tenor part of me breaking out! :O

Ork-gla
 

RE already fly from Donegal to PIK so if they started from Cork it would probably be to there. PIK suits lots of people better than the main Glasgow airport because there are half price rail tickets from the airport railway station to the rest of Scotland.

Bremen-Cork???
I don't think they're launching Bremen to Cork. There were rumours about it before but I don't think any announcement was made.

For RE to make success of a Cork Glasgow route it will have to be into GLA and not PIK. A new route like this can only be sustained with frequent business travel, nobody wants to land in PIK with at least another 1hr journey ahead of them to get to Glasgow.

Perhaps someone from the Scottish end could comment on this. How does the journey from Prestwick into the centre of Glasgow copmpare to the one from EDI?

I would have though that it was all of 10 miles longer. In that case, it would hardly be worth Aer Arann's while.

PIK-Glasgow city centre 43 mins by train , 45 -50 by car off peak
EDI- Glasgow city centre 50 mins by train (from Waverly rail station)50 mins by car from airport
GLA- Glasgow city centre (no direct train,yet, but with transfer at Paisley) about 30mins, by car 10-15 mins

If its only going to save 7 minutes I'd have to agree with 840 and say its not worth RE's while. We' be better off getting a full twice daily service to Edinburgh and a flight on a Saturday! It still mystifies me that there are flights twice a day four days a week yet there is no saturday service! If the morning flights during the week were earlier they would get more business traffic but I don't think they can be made any earlier without basing a fourth aircraft.

Will the RE service to Glasgow not be to PIK as they already operate there from Donegal and their previous services to DUB & IOM also operated from PIK.