As an aside......
 

O'Leary really did get it catastrophically wrong when he claimed Terminal 2 was a white elephant.

Can anyone imagine what a one terminal Dublin airport would be like now?
:ugh:

He really wasn't thinking ahead.

alserire, depends on your definition of White Elephant. Is T2 value for money? Can T2 be extended to add additional traffic? Was a 15m passenger capacity a blinkered approach? Was the creation of so many incursion hotspots good value for money?

Not sure but anything build between 2004-2007 is value for money!

Yes. If I can remember its another 15 million.

Possibly however B pier was always part of the plan

Lets be honest here Ryanair were never going to be happy. Using a field next to the airport for check in/security would do them just fine.

There's a DAA annual report from a couple of years back, can't recall which, that stated the "B pier"/300's need significant remedial work as there is a crack that affects the structural integrity of the structure. The plan was once T2 was live that the pier would be closed, repaired and extended to accommodate more stands. IIRC, an extension was also proposed for what was the A's, now 200's.

IMHO, that's not likely in the short to medium term. My guess is that the new ATC tower is the priority development at the field as it paves the way for 28R, then toss up between additional gates/pier extensions (repairs?) or 28R post 2020.

JAS

The new tower will be funded by the IAA, and latest talk is that it's to be finished some time in 2017. Nothing official has been announced as such, all just talk afaik currently.

The DAA were asked by airlines not to build T2 where it is, for various reasons; more cul de sacs, too close to the threshold of 28/34, making an already complicated taxiway layout even worse, and they bulldozed 3 or 4 brand new gates to make it. The "H" pattern works just great at most major airports, but the DAA knows better.....

My issue is the chaos that was Terminal 1 check in and security before T2 was built, especially in the morning. It's a far more civilised experience now in either terminal.

I have no great love for O'Leary and I cannot imagine what Dublin would have been like if he had had his way.

Value for money is a different story. As someone else pointed out no building in Ireland built in the early 00's could be described as being value for money.

But it certainly means a better travel experience and there is great scope for further routes/airlines as the economy recovers.

The IAA have tendered for remote towers at Cork and Shannon to be controlled from Dublin.

Only at night initially

DL drop the 332 for the third year running on ATL however AA upgrade JFK to B763.

4 APFS tenders and a clatter of police surrounding an RE ATR at T1. Anyone know what the problem is?

Pax seem to have been offloaded to buses and escorted under blue lights to terminal.

It's the special Santa flight, full escort laid on. :)

Can't tell if that's sarcastic, a joke or serious?!

MOL called it right as DAA blew a €billion.

There has been a plan for decades to have a separate low cost privately built Terminal at Dublin but DAA and its Unions have done everything to stop it even getting to planning stage.

Now everybody is lauding increasing passenger numbers and claiming great Terminal where as MOL stating he did what he said he would do, drop Passenger duty taxes and Ryanair will increase flights. Taxes reduction which apparently was opposed from Dept of Transport.

Now Airlines will continue to get hit to pay for the White Elephant in charges.

Speaking as a passenger, I like Terminal 2 and am quite happy to pay that little bit extra to use it.

Not everyone wants the race to the bottom that O'Leary (used to) promulgate.

Just my €10.62...

Speaking as another passenger I also like T2. Last time I used Ryanair they were using a portacabin added on to T1.

Sometimes Ryanair is cheaper and sometimes it's not but there's more to life than saving €10.

Put there by DAA who wasted the €billion

T2 was not a billion by the way.

I'm not opposed to a loco terminal, but there is a serious shortage of widebody stands in the mornings in DUB even with 2 terminals, and I suspect a loco terminal would be narrowbody only, with no U.S. custom facility

I don't think you could describe T2 as a white elephant! It's certainly being used and it meets the needs of a fair number of pax and airlines.

Is there a need for a lo cost terminal? Possibly! It may be a big gamble though. If pax then vote with their feet. I wonder which terminal they would prefer?