Cork-6
 

Flew to Cork via Zurich on SWISS. Was expecting to fly on the Bombardier C Series to Cork but seems the flight was overbooked so flew on an A320 which was practically full. Wouldn`t be surprised if this route is extended all year long. Zurich is a great hub to connect and would be great for Munster skiers too.
The Capt warned on the PA to expect braking due to the "short runway in Cork". Was a bit of a sketchy landing but a nice service overall.
The Dublin Airport Authority have no current plan for even a modest extension of the 17/35 runway in Cork. It is possible to extend it towards the south.
The DAA are rightly planning a parallel runway for Dublin airport however Cork airport seems to be a bit of an afterthought for them.
If Norwegian don`t introduce the Cork-New York service due to the runway limitations at Cork, it should be time that Cork airport be enabled to realise its full potential and become independent of the Dublin Airport Authority.

CCR

If airlines wont pay for it, nothing will happen. Under daa or Independent wont change that....

From what I've heard there's no issue with operating to Stewart, it's mainly just NAI waiting to see if there's a business case before ploughing in.

I'm not a pilot and am not aware of what the exact performance figures are, but apparently it can make it with similar load figures to DUB, SNN and BFS.

Norwegian are assessing it to see if the 737 MAX can do this route from Cork without the runway performance limitations.
The Boston route is doing very well out of Cork by all accounts and obviously the New York route would be commercially successful too.

Norwegian confirmed 3pw next summer.

Good to see the SWISS service upguaged sue to heavy loads. I don't think its the first time this season and I think the CS300 has been in as well. A great sign that its already on sale for next year with a longer season, so a frequency upgrade is not beyond the bounds of possibility.

Good to see D8 increasing for the summer. Slightly disappointing they are staying at 3 per week, I think ORK is the only one of the 737 flights not to see an increase in frequency. Im a bit suspicious of D8's intentions for an NYC service, its not like the marginal runway performance of the aircraft from Cork was unknown to them when they were trying to get their Irish operation off the ground, with promises of NYC and BOS from Cork.

As for WOW, all we can do is keep our fingers crossed. I think 2x weekly could work well, hopefully there will be room in the WW schedule for it, particularly if D8 show no signs of operating a direct New York service. Wow is particularly useful for the US West Coast, Florida and Canada. Fingers crossed.

You're wrong there with frequency, SNN/DUB/BFS-Providence Providence are maintaining frequency, Belfast is losing a rotation to Stewart and Edinburgh is losing 2 to Providence (I think).

My apologies, from routes online:

Dublin – Stewart Newburgh eff 25MAR18 Increase from 5 to 7 weekly
Edinburgh – Providence eff 25MAR18 Increase from 4 to 6 weekly
Shannon – Stewart Newburgh eff 25MAR18 Increase from 2 to 3 weekly

Let's see how things work out over the next few months. Summer 18 is a long way away really, I'd say there will be a lot of changes over the next few months, depending on how many Max's Boeing can get to Norwegian, how they perform in-service and forward bookings/fares. A lot of variables there!

Incidentally, whats the WiFi like on the 737s, does it work all the way across the atlantic?

One thing that has to be born in mind with the Zurich service is that its primary purpose is to bring Swiss tourists to South-West Ireland and as such, it doesn't really matter whether it goes to Cork, Shannon or Kerry. While it's true that Cork provides a few more Irish pax than Shannon and probably quite a few more than Kerry, that advantage could get undone as route incentives start to unwind. Building up a base of Cork users is crucial to its long-term success.

This Fridays flight (01st Sept 2017) has also been upguaged to an A320.

I presume that also means that the operator changes from Swiss Global to Swiss?

There was a lot of Irish onboard my recent SWISS flight to Cork and many pax were connecting through Zurich to Cork.
I was flying from Southern France (It was a lot cheaper to fly via Zurich than London or Amsterdam) and there were Italians sitting on my row.
It`s great they are putting an A320 on the route now to cope with demand but it would be better still if they increased the frequency on the summer schedule using the CS100 and indeed extending the service all year long.

I flew twice with Norwegian in July out of Cork and Dublin into both PVD and SWF. Both US airports efficient and no issues with immigration etc. On both occasions service was efficient, smooth flights on the 800's, no issues, food offering on board ok with pre purchased package, so it does what is says on the label....wifi works, for web apps but not streaming, on board purchased movie options also works fine. Will support inbound visitor growth from the US side in particular and hopefully support the strong growth in US visitors with the strong dollar and low fuel prices also positive.

Low fuel prices don't do much for airlines that hedge.

The performance of the MAX so far is way beyond expectation...it burns about 4.5 tonnes less than the restricted 800 with the MAX at full load in similar conditions....

That is really great news regarding a possible MAX service to New York then!!

Definitely...as someone mentioned earlier about a business case,thats where it'll be decided.

Good to hear the SWISS flights are well patronised. As CCR says, its great to see demand has required an A320 on a few occasions, the CS300 has been in too, I think. Hopefully that will mean some frequency increases for next year. SWISS are an excellent airline, ZRH is a very civilised transfer and the SWISS lounges are lovely. I really do think the ZRH flight will be one to watch. There is strong O&D on that route, mainly pharma.

Fingers crossed for SWF. As I said, Im slightly skeptical of Norwegians intentions. That said, Im sure Aer Lingus / IAG will be reacting with fury to Norwegians attempts at SNN and ORK. BA are launching all sorts of routs from Gatwick if Norwegian do, so we may yet see an A321LR at Cork, once they are delivered. IAG seem determined to strangle Norwegians ambitions at making long-haul low-fares work. If they succeed it won't be good for customers, in the end.

Heard IAG are trying to source 2 A321 neos as soon as possible to compete..

Wouldn't have heard that in your sleep would ya?