Thanks for the reply. Pity about the 2nd Geneva being scratched. Barcelona being back year round is welcome though.

ORK - LPA with EI now bookable from 30 Oct. Operates on SUN while ACE SUN departure moved to SAT.

ORK - LGW inproved times. Operated by DUB based aircraft on MON - FRI, otherwise LGW aircraft.
MON - FRI - depart LGW 08:50, depart ORK 10:50
SAT - SUN - depart LGW 17:50, depart ORK 20:30

EI v FR at ORK
 

It'll be interesting to see how Ryanair will react to Aerlingus' expanding their Canaries opeartion. One thing seems certain the Charter carriers may well disappear from Cork this winter with all the scheduled flights operating to the four Islands.

Ryanair are not operating LPA this winter but they may suddenly change there mind once they know that EI are starting it. This summer there has being a drop in the charters to Spain but increased flights to Turkey and Greece.

If Ryanair do go back year round the only hope EI would have is if Sunway use them to operate package hoildays like they do on many EI routes from DUB.

ORK
 

Traffic for June is virtually identical to 2010 so perhaps just perhaps the collapse in Cork's traffic which commenced in late 2008 and has continued since might have levelled out.

A couple of notes on ground connectivity to the airport.

Bus Eireann have extended the 226 service so that it now goes from Kent Station to the Airport.

Also, for the summer, the 252 service (Cork-Clonakilty-Skibbereen-Bantry-Kenmare) will stop at the airport. Sadly it's only once daily and leaves early enough in the morning and arrives late enough in the evening that I can't see it being greatly useful to passengers.

Does anybody have any inside knowledge of the second FR aircraft staying in Cork?

It leaves Aug 31st, also EI will be reducing their Cork fleet again to 3 aircraft from November 5th 2011.

Really lads i dont see the proper growth in passengers (based aircraft) until March 2012 for the Summer 2012 schedule. I think i've heard this is because the departure tax wont be gone until Feb or Mar 12 after legislation for it passes threw from Budget 2012. If that happens i think FR would have 2 aircraft by March 2012, EI gould even go mad and have 5 who knows, but one thing is certain 2012 should be the start of something good, hopefully 2011 will be the bottom out i think we've started to see that this month.

I see Ryanair will now be operating 3 daily flights from ORK to STN until late August on Tuesdays and Fridays, they've also made Sundays Double daily again. Should be a helpful boost.

Adding a 6c worth.

Last week, French friends of mine arrived on the FR from Bergamo at 21.30 They were booked into the Radisson for the night 'cos of late arrival.

They speak little English so they asked at the Information if there was anybody who spoke French, the answer - no. They managed to work out that the phone alongside the information desk was for the Radisson, and they tried to get a pickup, but there was nobody French speaking there either, and they didn't understand that they needed to actually ask for the van to come.... it didn't so they had to wheel their luggage there..... Not happy bunnies.

Simple stuff, a multilingual message from the hotel on the phone box? A multilingual message at the desk on getting a lift to your hotel??

AFAICS there are only two languages on the public signs in Cork Airport, English and Irish..... too bad if your cannot manage either of them..... and we want to encourage tourists.....

Rant over, Barry

Do you expect all airports to have every European language displayed??

Did you friends think about using google translator?

Thats the same in other English speaking countries, i.e the UK only English is spoken and shown on airport signs. Cork can hardly have signs for all 20-30 european languages. I'm sorry but your friends should have researched their trip before they arrived. I always make sure I know how to get to my hotel, even when I'm travelling to a country were I can speak the language. Hopefully they will have learnt this lesson and not just think ignorantly that it's Irish hospitality at fault.

I don't see how this situation is Cork's fault? It's harly fair to blame the airport or the hotel in this situation. In fairness, they were coming from a flight from Italy, not france, no other flights from France wuold have been expected at the time, either. I suppose you couldn't have told them beforehand?
When ive travelled around Europe ive not had much troubke, even though i only have junior cert french and very basic german. Prsonally, I've been to places like Greece and Japan, where the alphabet is very different to the Roman alphabet, a bit of pre-planning and research and I managed fine. I suppose it depends on they type of traveller you are, at the end of the day.....

I've never visited an airport or a hotel where someone didn't have a working knowledge of English. It would be good practice if Cork Airport had someone on duty with a basic knowledge of French on duty at least during the peak tourist season.

Maybe they could organise an evening course for staff in conversational French once the Winter Season sets in.

Having said that surely the visitors could have got their point across by saying the Phrase "Radisson Hotel?" or pointing to their hotel booking etc. Maybe then the staff might have been able to telephone the courtesy bus.

I know it's not really an excuse but as a country with English (or something resembling it, anyway!) as our primary language, we have never had to work too hard on other languages. You are right, most countries do have a working knowledge of English, which makes it harder for us to learn other languages "ah, sure they all speak English there anyway"

any route news for cork this winter?will vardakers delay of the tax rebate affect any of the airlines plans?

When I was in cork last year I heard far more Polish being spoken than Irish in fact the whole time I was there I didn't hear any Irish at all. The only place in Ireland I've ever heard Irish was in Galway and donegal.:suspect:

The main reason Irish signs are in public areas ie, airport, train, bus stations, roads etc is because they have to have them there by law.

and Kerry would be the main Irish speaking areas.

My OP on this was intended to draw attention to the discord between the need to attract tourists and the lack of facilities for them. I don't know if it the same in other airports in Ireland. However, I doubt very much that, for example, Barcelona, which might be seen as the second airport in Spain, has signs only in Spanish and Catalan.....

Of course people should be able to manage, but some help would be welcome. BTW, the people concerned had never visited an English speaking country before. They enjoyed their stay... despite the poor start.

B

Your missing the point. In Barcelona they speak spanish and as BCN is in the region Catalonia, some people speak Catalan. Which is why both languages are justiflyed in the airport.

In Ireland we speak English and a little Irish which is why those languages are displyed in all airports in ROI.

Most people who plan to go on hoildays to a country who dosn't speak their language would learn a few basic words of the language to avoid these problems.