Cork-7

[corkfly]

Appreciate its dark times at present but the dawn will come and hopefully Cork will again prosper with route development. Just looking to stimulate thoughts/ideas to get discussions going again on Cork Airport

Aer Lingus
With AMS and CDG now being served by KLM/AF, perhaps EI will look to shake things up a bit. Perhaps a 321Neo to replace one of the current 320s would allow them to serve JFK/BOS and some of the existing routes such as LHR at Cork?

To me it seems that EI has an issue with size of aircraft for expansion at ORK, an A220 would perhaps better serve some ORK, SNN and Belfast routes. Surely they need to look at either getting in this type or partnering with someone that offers such craft (reading on Emerald Airlines, I believe they're intending to again use ATRs?). Such a plane would open up BRU, FCO, MIL, GVA, VIE, BER as well as offering perhaps a better fit on AMS and CDG given AF/KLM are now on the routes. Is there any partner that EI could offer a European franchise agreement to for the regional Irish airport routes, similar to the Stobart arrangement which seems to predominantly serve UK routes?

Europe
Wizz seem to be expanding at several airports and now seem a different entity compared to the last time they were in Cork. Would they be prepared to open routes to VIL, WAW, VIE, PRG or even LGW?

Swiss has been a good addition to the route network with good frequency. Would they consider continuing into Winter season to serve the ski and city break market as well as the Pharma sector, or perhaps even add GVA given there is historical data on this route?

Hopefully once KLM and AF can start to show the market appetite for connectivity, Lufthansa would consider opening a FRA, BER or even MUC route that offers frequency. Lufthansa operates into SNN from FRA during the Summer, albeit only once a week, but offers both inbound tourism and outbound connectivity to VFR audience. Perhaps City line would be a good fit given the size of their aircraft?

Cork is also lacking in scheduled ski destinations. Only MUC is served once a week in peak ski season. GVA, INN, SZG, GNB, TRN, CMF are all unserved by scheduled flights. Perhaps the best opportunity is to try to attract Ryanair to increase BGY as a year round destination?

A final thought on European connectivity is Iberia Express. Given they are part of IAG, would it not make sense to codeshare and sell via the EI website to create more awareness to the outbound market? Better timing and frequency could also open up the route as a city break destination as well as connectivity to South America.

Dublin
Before the motorway, there was upto 7 Aer Arann and 5 Ryanair flights per day. However the US and German markets both have decent road networks yet still have short sector flights serving connecting passengers. Presumably a transiting passenger from hypothetically BOS via DUB to ORK would be cheaper in passenger fees for an airline like EI as opposed to an arrival in DUB? EI offers connections for CFN and KIR so presumably could do the same for ORK? There must also be short haul connectivity potential for EI from these airports, especially on the next legs on the operating aircraft after its arrival to Dublin which would be low risk of missed connections (hypothetical example ORK DUB NCL DUB ORK) but appreciate that involves adapting their business model. I would imagine that the DAA has car park stats showing those booking car parking from the Cork area to help indicate demand, and the DAA would likely benefit from similar car parking revenue in Cork plus additional landing fees if there were ORK DUB flights.

Charges
Is Cork Airport allowed to vary landing charges by destination and time? For example, demand for a fight to Bari is likely less than one to Paris, so could the airport have pricing set by forecast demand of destination as opposed to a standard set price, or perhaps they already do this? I would also imagine that this could apply to times of flight, for example a midday flight probably has less demand than a peak morning flight, depending on the destination. Incentivising Airlines to operate off-peak hours to new destinations could bring ancillary revenue that the airport may otherwise not receive, plus provide work to relating areas such as security, baggage handling, car handling desks, etc where otherwise there would be dwell time before the next set of arriving aircraft.

​​​​Anyway, just some thoughts and ideas. Would welcome comments or anyone else's thoughts as to how Cork can evolve once we move past the current situation

[sprite1]

Cork Airport Authority are giving lowered charges to airlines if conditions are met......

https://www.dublinairport.com/latest-news/2020/12/17/dublin-and-cork-airports-to-launch-generous-airport-charges-discount-schemes-to-kickstart-air-travel-for-next-summer

[ROKNA]

Cork runway is far too short for the A321NEO, Norwegian couldn't get a commercial load out of Cork due restrictions (well the were hardly pushed by demand), the MAX would have been a bit better but still leaving empty seats. EI will stick with SNN/DUB and pre clearance.

The Aer Arran vs Ryanair face off back 15 years ago was a smash and grab job by FR who bled Aer Arran until they gave up as they couldn't make money. FR gave up quickly afterwards as they couldn't compete against the new hourly train service and the M8 motorway. Yes there is business but anywhere you can reach from Dublin you can go via LHR a token AT42 twice a day might work but only if its for EI.

CFN/KIR are PSO and paid for by the Irish government under contract with Stobart and EI handle the front of house. These are covered by EU regulations due distance and lack of infrastructure. Cork never qualified and Waterford, Galway, Sligo no longer meet the threshold due improved rail and road connectivity

[SKOJB]

Cannot believe it’s too short for A321, it’s almost identical in length to Luton and they operate out of that airport every day of the week!

[Blakedean]

I’m certain the runway & 321 Neo chat is regarding transatlantic flights not ORK-Europe

[Musket90]

As mentioned by Blakesdean the Luton 321 operation is medium haul and not transatlantic so there could be a performance issue for longer haul 321's off Cork's runway declared distances and obstacles. Luton's runway whilst similar in length to Cork's has the benefit of no obstacles beyond the end of TORA in each direction ie TORA 2163m TODA 3243m. Whereas Cork is TORA 2133m and TODA 2194m.

[CCR]

A modest runway extension in Cork is long overdue...

[brian_dromey]

I think Cork is going to have to work with what its got for the foreseeable.

The old terminal wont be opened to Ryanair and the runway wont be extended. No realistic proposals have been put forward for how the runway extension would attract additional custom. If EI or a US airline says "we will come to Cork if the runway is an additional 500-1000m" thats a different story, but right now they choose Dublin or Shannon. My understanding is that the A321neo has better performance than the ceo models and possibly the MAX, so BOS is possible, but JFK marginal.

While the A220 would be a perfect size for Cork and Swiss demonstrated that nicely, no likely operator has it on order, unless AirBaltic fancy picking a fight with Ryanair their -8200s and deep pockets. I think Cork is 'stuck' with AT7s and A320/738s for the foreseeable. I think this recovery will be driven by leisure travel, so I think fewer frequencies to a wider range of destinations is how the departure boards will look. Testing is going to help, but will be an additional cost to factor in, especially for families. So 10+ weekly services to Malaga seem a long way off.

[840]

In a very surprising announcement, Lufthansa have announced Cork-Frankfurt from June 25th on Monday and Friday

It's the route and the airline that we have probably all been hoping for for a decade or more and it now seems planned for the worst possible time.

I think we'll have to wait to see if it actually happens.

[840]

For the period the airport is close due to runway works, are any airlines redirecting services to Dublin/Shannon/Kerry?

I assume in the current environment that they will just hope to absorb potential passengers onto existing services at those airports, but was wondering if this is the case.

[CCFAIRPORT]

2 new routes from Cork with Fr

Birmingham /begins 2/12/2021 (3PW)
Edinburgh begins 01/12/2021 (3PW)

[Seljuk22]

Cork will also be a FR base once again with 2 aircraft
https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-restores-100-of-corks-pre-pandemic-traffic-for-summer-22/?market=ie

[EI-BUD]

With Vueling launching Paris Orly in Nov. It wouldn't surprise if Ryanair added twice weekly Beauvais services to compete.

[840]

Summarizing the Ryanair changes, it looks like

Old routes not resuming
- Budapest
- Katowice
- Wroclaw
- Malta
- Naples

New routes
- Birmingham
- Edinburgh
- Venice

Of course, some of those were operated by aircraft based outside Cork and possibly we could see them return if/when those airports have their flights announced. Budapest and Wroclaw were moved to Shannon, so I guess they'll stay there. There will also be an element of chopping and changing based on route incentives leading to route switches. Ryanair seem to operate Bergamo plus one other Italian route (Pisa, Naples, now Venice) with the service moving to an airport where full incentives are available from one where they have reduced. I guess there is good demand from Lombardy (around 18% of the Italian population) for Bergamo, which counter-balances the need to get those reductions; either that or the incentives at Bergamo make it worthwhile regardless.

[Steviec9]

Birmingham and Edinburgh are direct replacements for the EI Regional services. Be interesting to see if EI/Emerald reinstate them.

[Shamrock350]

Emerald has said the addition of these routes by Ryanair won’t impact their plans for Cork. At just 3 weekly initially, it’ll hardly be an attractive option compared to the likely twice daily Emerald will offer but it will obviously fill a gap until that becomes reality.

[fivejuliet]

Budapest and Wroclaw were moved to Shannon,

Wroclaw has been operating from Shannon since 2006.

[840]

I didn't realise that Wroclaw was in Shannon that long. It's strange they ever had it from Cork then seeing that they don't allow flights from 2 Munster airports to places like Hahn or Warsaw. The general rule seems to be it's one of Cork, Shannon or Kerry, unless there's another airline operating who would steal passengers if they didn't offer a local service.

Regarding Birmingham and Edinburgh, Birmingham is largely a business route and 3x weekly won't pull business passengers from a 2/3 x daily service. It will take VFR passengers, but fares had got very high on that route anyway. I feel Edinburgh is much more at risk considering the passenger mix.

[brian_dromey]

The BHX and EDI routes being offered by FR are very low frequency, as you say. Its hard to know how much business travel will resume, the UK-Ireland market will take a double-hit from the fallout of Brexit and the impact of COVID on business travel. All of that said, a 3x weekly service doesn’t really seem to cut it.

[runawayedge]

Emerald will not be able to compete with FR on EDI even with only three a week. DOW are the prime days for both volume and yield. Market pre Covid was c50k annually, FR have just added 55k seats. BHX market has more business content, but the majority of the traffic is leisure VFR and price conscious most will of which will now fly FR. Market pre Covid was c80k annually. FR have just added 50k seats. The primary contributing routes for the two ORK based EI ATR units were MAN/BHX/BRS/EDI in that order, GLA was always marginal. Can't see a case now to justify two units for Emerald at ORK and even one is a substantial risk as FR could launch MAN. It would appear from an airport perspective that protecting frequency is no longer an objective......a bird in the hand.

[Steviec9]

runaway edge

Agreed. Outside of the London-centric buoyant business traffic and general population levels which can support both business and leisure routes/fares, there wasn't much choice. EIR had managed to take a share of the regional routes but much of the traffic was in fact VFR - we had no choice. FR were busy elsewhere. The world has changed - everyone will be scrabbling for the few pennies being thrown for a while and, love them or loathe them, FR have consistently shown that they can adapt and react quickly wherever there is a few bob to be made. Traditional business planning of "of course the business people will come back to us with our daily frequencies and very high return fares" will result in a lot of fresh air blowing through terminals as half empty aircraft take off for the last time on a terminated route. Business people don't need to travel so often or return the same day (Zoom it if its that important) and x3 a week is enough. We shall see - be interesting to see what it looks like late Spring 22 onwards.

[4eyed anorak]

Aer Lingus completely dropped the ball with Stobart in using them in conectivity etc. When Stobard ceased trading there seemed to be an eternity before Aer Lingus started the ball rolling in a replacement! I even think if Loganair could have got hold of more airframes/crew they would have cleaned up!

[Shamrock350]

What do you suggest they had done? Emerald was already lined up as the replacement operator but wasn’t due to start until 2023, the contract was signed pretty rapidly within about 4-6 weeks of the collapse and they’ve been working to bring operations forward ever since.

At Belfast City, arguably the best performing base during the pandemic but most at risk of new competition, regional flying was carved up between Aer Lingus Mainline and BA CityFlyer to keep it in IAG hands. Aer Lingus also took on the core Scottish routes from Dublin.

There’s no way they could have magicked up a new regional operator in the immediate aftermath of Stobart’s collapse. You can’t exactly invite an established carrier for some “temporary” work with all the financial risk that entails and then hope they quietly move aside once Emerald is ready. You also can’t bunch together a few regional aircraft, even if there’s plenty sitting around, and operate them yourselves without months of massive investment and training which will be rendered useless by the time it’s completed because your readymade franchise operator will be available by then anyway.

Options were limited.

[840]

Good news and bad news.

The bad news is that Aer Lingus have announced their programme for next summer and it just contains Heathrow, Amsterdam , Dubrovnik, Faro, Lanzarote, Malaga and Palma. Most notable is that Paris is not there, but also Barcelona, Lisbon, Tenerife and Alicante are gone (plus a couple [Munich and Nice] that were announced pre-Covid, but never operated). Paris is perhaps a lot more marginal than the cash cow it was, with Air France going 2x daily to CDG and Vueling 2x weekly to Orly. The Barcelona area and Tenerife will still have Ryanair service.

The good news is that Ryanair will go 2x daily to Manchester. That is a major capacity increase and a useful frequency. The only downside is that there won't be hub connections, but Manchester was always the least used of the hub options from Cork anyway.

[EI-BUD]

840,
Good summary of EI S22 ex Cork.
There is no case for EI Regional to return to the airport now. Birmingham and Manchester were the backbone of the operation by Stobart. And AFKLM schedules ensure Paris is not sustainable with a 320 and let's see how long AMS is maintained. Hopefully VY will pick up some of the traffic on ORY.

​​​​​​

[840]

I think Amsterdam is a case of seeing what happens. KLM are only offering 125K seats per year (and you can probably reduce that to 100K useful seats considering there are plenty with low demand e.g. an early flight on a Tuesday morning in November). There's also very little room for KLM to expand considering restrictions in Amsterdam; they would effectively have to cancel another route first and while there are routes like Brussels, Dusseldorf or Hanover that are probably better served by train these days, Cork would be competing with every other worldwide destination for the slot. The AMS route has generally been used by 160K-180K passengers annually, so there is scope for a 1 x daily A320 service on top of what KLM are providing. The downside for Aer Lingus is that they would be picking up the low value point-to-point traffic, so margins may make other destinations more valuable.

I tend to agree with what you are saying about EI Regional. Looking at where EI Regional flew beyond what has been taken up by Ryanair

- Bristol - By far the most attractive of the options. There has always been a route to either Bristol or South Wales since the airport was founded. However, always at risk of Ryanair who have a base at either end.
- Glasgow - With Ryanair flights to Edinburgh likely to be much cheaper and with the two cities not that far apart, the route would struggle.
- Rennes - There has long been a flight to Brittany across multiple airport - Rennes, Brest, Nantes [using an archaic boundary for Brittany :-)] - across multiple operators and there are strong connections between Cork and NW France. With France actively reducing internal flights, a route from the area to Cork may be attractive to an operator with smaller aircraft.
- Newquay - Not much market for this. It's main raison d'etre was that it was a very short flight that could fit into what would otherwise be aircraft downtime

- Honourable mention for Sothampton, which was operating profitably until Stobart decided there was more money to be made operating extra flights to Birmingham. If EI Regional came back, it wold probably return.

[brian_dromey]

Well, FR have stolen a march on EI for the winter and Summer 2022, haven't they? Its a little bit sad to see the EI base down to just 2 320s for the Summer, from the peak of 4x A320s and 3x AT7s in 2019. I see that TUI are selling their own flights to Reus, Lanzarote and Palma, which might explain some of the Aer Lingus reductions to Spain.
It will be inserting to see what happens to numbers to Manchester, fares and capacity will be good with FR. The 2nd service of the day is arguably a bit early, departing MAN at 1600ish.

Overall the departure boards aren't looking too bad for Summer 2022. KL and AF will be twice daily to their respective hubs, LX are back to ZRH 4x weekly. While there is no sign of LH to FRA or I2 to MAD, Volotea will be operating Verona weekly as well.


I tend to agree with what you are saying about EI Regional. Looking at where EI Regional flew beyond what has been taken up by Ryanair

The best options for any rebirth of EIR at Cork would be BHX and GLA. FR are operating to BHX, but at 3x weekly timings and frequency aren't the best, so there might be some opportunity there. As you say GLA isn't directly served but the service to EDI does cover some of that market. Connections to the smaller UK cities is going to be problematic without some EIR presence. SOU, NQY, BRS, CWL, LBA, JER, NCL have all been served by EIR over the years, with various levels of success.

[fjr13]

Sorry Brian, LH to Fra in 2022, has been loaded for some months now, 2 per week , same as this year

[brian_dromey]

Apologies - I hadn't seen it when I looked at April/May as it doest start at the start of the IATA Sumer season.
Just I2 to MAD missing right now, then.

[840]

Swiss are to operate a weekly flight to Geneva from December to March.

This is presumably just targeting skiers. It seems very last minute, but with no other ski routes planned this Winter season, they must have seen an opportunity.

[Corkshamrock]

As mentioned and looking at AL website summer 2022 seems light. For one I am looking forward to getting a bit of sun that ive missed for last two years. FAO looks like its only operating 3 days a week with AL with later flights on Tuesdays and Thursdays and midday on Sundays. I take it this will not change at all as schedule is back to 2008/09 levels with that little choice. Also will flight times stay as planned or are they subject to change. Great to see some of the recent announcements but looks like AL not investing heavily at all.

[brian_dromey]

840

I would think so and guess there is a block booking from Crystal or Topflight. We’ll might see more when it goes on sale today. Crystal are offering Salzburg from Cork on “other airline” with an 0600 departure from Cork.

EI usually release their summer schedule in stages. At the moment it looks like 2 aircraft and the major destinations launched in time for the runway opening. I’m hoping they might have more to announce around Christmas when the schedule is usually finalised. I suppose this is a funny year, on the plus side the runway is open, vaccination rates are high and we have the DCC, on the negative cases are rising.
Id be hopeful of a third A320 for EI next summer. But with CDG gone and KL twice daily to AMS a fair chunk of the old reliables are gone.

In other news a now deleted tweet said that Emerald will base one ATR at Cork from March. All evidence seems to be scrubbed from the Internet. Let’s hope that it does come to fruition and Cork can maintain decent links with cities other than LON and MAN.

[840]

Back open again at last. Just the one Aer Lingus flight to Heathrow today, but Ryanair and KLM return to the boards tomorrow.

Considering this was a full reconstruction of the runway rather than a simple overlay, does anyone know if anything has been done to address the dip in the middle of it?

[Seljuk22]

FR will base a 3rd aircraft
https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-launches-largest-ever-cork-summer-schedule/?market=ie

[840]

A few significant announcements from Ryanair in recent weeks

- Newcastle and Rome added to the Winter timetable (2x weekly)
- Faro (4x weekly), Bergamo, Bordeaux, Pisa, Venice and Valencia (all 2x weekly) continued for the Winter

It will look like relatively healthy Winter departure boards this year.

I think Faro, Bergamo and Bordeaux will do well in the Winter, but the other three look a bit thin to me.

[840]

It looks like Pisa was a mistake in the press release and won't be extended over the Winter. Couldn't see the market for it anyway. While Venice and Valentia will be thin, there will be some level of short break traffic on them.

[840]

A few new routes for Ryanair next summer - La Rochelle, Treviso, Seville, Rome, East Midlands

Despite being announced as a new route, Treviso seems to be replacing Venice

I had wondered whether it would be the same with La Rochelle and Bordeaux, but Bordeaux seems to be doubling frequency next summer, meaning a total of 6 flights a week to a relatively small corner of France. While the west coast of France has, due to easy ferry links, for decades been a favourite of Munster people going on holiday, that does seem quite ambitious.

[tartan 201]

New six-weekly BRS route:

https://twitter.com/SeanM1997/status/1630497527446241281

[840]

Bristol is the last of the persistent pre-Covid routes to be restored. I've always been mildly concerned that any new entrant would get stamped on by Ryanair, who have a base at either end of the route. We'll watch this space.

Good to see Emerald Airlines finally looking at Cork. Newcastle and Southampton are two other routes that may suit their aircraft.

[RA85684]

I was about to say the same. NCL-ORK has been performing very well over the winter with very little lead in time by FR and the fares haven't been the lowest of the low so I think there's definitely a market there. Jet2 seemed happy with it and Stobart gave it a go as well. It's a shame FR is replacing NCL-ORK with NCL-SNN and not operating them side by side.

I can see a market for NCL-DUB/ORK/SNN alongside eachother, I hope someone jumps in on it. 4/5 Emerald flights or a resumption of 2/3 weekly FR would be a lovely addition.

SOU as well, definitely. A very popular alternative to LGW for the home counties and not short of a bob or two so no issues with EI fares.

[840]

I had reason to look into the SOU route back in the day.

One thing that surprised me was the amount of traffic cruises ex-Southampton generated. It's a pity that for the hundred plus cruise liners that visit Cobh every year, next to none allow it as an initial departure point, as it's a very beneficial business for local airports and pre-departure hotels.

[Sotonsean]

I had reason to look into the SOU route back in the day.

One thing that surprised me was the amount of traffic cruises ex-Southampton generated. It's a pity that for the hundred plus cruise liners that visit Cobh every year, next to none allow it as an initial departure point, as it's a very beneficial business for local airports and pre-departure hotels.

Quite surprised that you were surprised 😊

The Port of Southampton is northern Europe's largest and busiest cruise port. There are five dedicated cruise terminals in the port with 536 cruise calls booked for 2023 handling just over two million passengers. All the world's major cruise lines operate from the Port of Southampton with up to twenty permanently based cruise ships.
​​​​​​
​​​Most cruise calls are full turnarounds but a small percentage are cruise calls such as those from the German operators AIDA and TUI. Each cruise call in proportion to it's capacity is estimated to be worth up to one million pounds to the local economy.

The Port of Southampton and it's position as northern Europe's busiest cruise terminal is like saying that London Heathrow Airport is Europe's busiest airport. There's a similar comparison which obviously makes the Port of Southampton one of world's busiest cruise ports.

​​​​​​It's great that Aer Lingus Regional (Emerald Airways) have announced flights from Cork to Bristol. Hopefully we will see the resumption of a Cork to Southampton route at some point in the future.

[840]

Vueling gone from both Cork and Shannon from June. It will leave Shannon with no connection to Paris. It's disappointing to see an airline pull out, but it seemed almost inevitable considering nobody seemed to know the route existed.

[840]

Ryanair appear to be adding Barcelona and Fuerteventura. Barcelona on Wednesday and Sunday mornings. Fuerteventura on Thursdays. Both operated by Cork based aircraft, but it’s not clear what’s reducing to achieve it.

[jmdavies86]

It will leave Shannon with no connection to Paris.

Aer Lingus are due to begin SNN-CDG from 22nd September 2023.

[Aisle2c]

Anyone know when the Aer Lingus winter schedules will be announced from Cork (particularly to Paris)

[jmdavies86]

Anyone know when the Aer Lingus winter schedules will be announced from Cork (particularly to Paris)

Well, according to this article (https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/international-airlines-group-iag/aer-lingus/aer-lingus-launches-cork-lyon-service/), they already announced at the end of June a winter seasonal Cork to Lyon (from 23rd Dec) primarily for ski travellers and also the re-introduction of flights to Malaga & Tenerife, along with a doubling of the frequency of flights to Lanzarote, so it could well be that Paris will not be served from Cork this coming winter.

If you specifically want to fly with Aer Lingus, you may have to fly from Dublin or Shannon instead; the Shannon to Paris flights (from 22nd Sep) were also announced around the same time in June as the above.

Ryanair are due to begin thrice-weekly flights from Cork to Paris-Beauvais (from 29th Oct) if that's of any use.

[Aisle2c]

Well, according to this article (https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/international-airlines-group-iag/aer-lingus/aer-lingus-launches-cork-lyon-service/), they already announced at the end of June a winter seasonal Cork to Lyon (from 23rd Dec) primarily for ski travellers and also the re-introduction of flights to Malaga & Tenerife, along with a doubling of the frequency of flights to Lanzarote, so it could well be that Paris will not be served from Cork this coming winter.

If you specifically want to fly with Aer Lingus, you may have to fly from Dublin or Shannon instead; the Shannon to Paris flights (from 22nd Sep) were also announced around the same time in June as the above.

Ryanair are due to begin thrice-weekly flights from Cork to Paris-Beauvais (from 29th Oct) if that's of any use.

Sorry, only saw your message now. My preference is to fly out of Cork (I live 10 minutes away from the airport), so I'll probably have to look at AMS. Ryanair is problematic in that we'd then have to travel into Paris to get to Gare de Lyon, and same on the way back.

[TheSpiddalKid]

Sorry, only saw your message now. My preference is to fly out of Cork (I live 10 minutes away from the airport), so I'll probably have to look at AMS. Ryanair is problematic in that we'd then have to travel into Paris to get to Gare de Lyon, and same on the way back.
There is a direct high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris, run by Thalys, it runs about every hour and takes 3.5 hours. I got an advanced ticket from Brussels to Paris first class for €40.

[inOban]

Thalys and Eurostar have merged under the Eurostar name, in case you're looking for train times and tickets.

[CCR]

Any word on the Cork-Dublin flights returning? DAA chief mentioned them in an interview in the recent past but no announcements so far.
Would be so convenient for passengers to/from US/Canada.

[virginblue]

Why would they? The only incentive to fly such a loss-making route would be to stop KLM syphoning off TATL passengers (and for that matter, the lucrative, not the penny-pinching ones) who would rather back-track to AMS than do the road/train/coach trek to DUB (or if they cannot bear this, fly on IAG via LHR).. Are the AMS flights really full of TATL-passengers?

[jmdavies86]

Any word on the Cork-Dublin flights returning? DAA chief mentioned them in an interview in the recent past but no announcements so far.
Would be so convenient for passengers to/from US/Canada.

Unless it was operated as a PSO route by Emerald Airlines or Ryanair were able to be convinced to operate ORK-DUB like they do KIR-DUB without any subsidy, I don't think they will likely return; I did the train journey myself between Cork and Dublin back in late January, and dare I say, it wasn't actually that bad, it's just rather long and doesn't obviously go to DUB directly.

[CCR]

There is no need for a PSO route between Cork and Dublin. There was 11 flights a day on this route between 2 airlines in the 2000's. Obviously the hourly train service and the new motorway took away some of the passengers. However for connecting transatlantic passengers through Dublin, the last thing they want to do is hop on a coach to Cork with the jet lag.
Using DUB with the CBP is far better for travelers to the US rather than LHR or AMS.
Having travelled often between Belfast and Cork by plane in the past, I do it by train in more recent times via LUAS in Dublin. It's a real shame there isn't a rail stop at DUB.

[AVGEEK7812]

There is no need for a PSO route between Cork and Dublin. There was 11 flights a day on this route between 2 airlines in the 2000's. Obviously the hourly train service and the new motorway took away some of the passengers. However for connecting transatlantic passengers through Dublin, the last thing they want to do is hop on a coach to Cork with the jet lag.
Using DUB with the CBP is far better for travelers to the US rather than LHR or AMS.
Having travelled often between Belfast and Cork by plane in the past, I do it by train in more recent times via LUAS in Dublin. It's a real shame there isn't a rail stop at DUB.

Im sure Emerald would do it if they new it was viable. I cant see happening myself. The bus routes and motorway make it quick. The multiple daily flights to LHR & AMS provide alternative stopovers as well.

There would be faster connection times there. ‘So people arent waiting around jetlagged’

In other news Aer lingus will swap a 320 for a 320 neo in Cork from 8 Nov to operate ORK/SNN -LHR. The ORK crew operate SNN LHR in the winter

[brian_dromey]

Im sure Emerald would do it if they new it was viable. I cant see happening myself. The bus routes and motorway make it quick. The multiple daily flights to LHR & AMS provide alternative stopovers as well.

There would be faster connection times there. ‘So people arent waiting around jetlagged’

In other news Aer lingus will swap a 320 for a 320 neo in Cork from 8 Nov to operate ORK/SNN -LHR. The ORK crew operate SNN LHR in the winter

The only reason I could see them operate ORK-DUB is that they might be able to extract an outsize revenue proportion on transatlantic routes ex ORK in the oneworld JV. I have no knowledge of the workings but suspect that EI would get more of ORK—SFO revenue (for example) by having an EI “own metal” option all the way to SFO, even if the passenger did select the BA option via LHR.
I agree. I don’t see anyone operating ORK-DUB on purely O&D commercial terms.

[Mcvicker03]

Hiya.
back before covid arrived in 2019 aer lingus operated flights to BHX from cork and Shannon.Are there any plans for that to return or is this held by Ryanair now?
thanks

[GeorgeNTravels]

There is a petition circling online demanding that either EI or FR resume the Cork-Glasgow route to allow for both family and mainly football fans to travel easily between the two cities.

Although FR operate EDI the petition says these are not ideal for football fans due to the amount of extra time it adds to their journey

[CabinCrewe]

There is a petition circling online demanding that either EI or FR resume the Cork-Glasgow route to allow for both family and mainly football fans to travel easily between the two cities.

Although FR operate EDI the petition says these are not ideal for football fans due to the amount of extra time it adds to their journey
Suspect operators prefer money notes than petition notes.

[Seljuk]

Record passenger figures at Cork airport last year: 2,801,900
https://www.corkairport.com/news/detail/2024/01/24/cork-airport-enjoyed-its-busiest-ever-year-for-international-traffic

[AVGEEK7812]

They must have forgot about 2007?

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/record-3-2-million-passengers-at-cork-airport-in-2007-1.926243

[fjr13]

They must have forgot about 2007?

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/record-3-2-million-passengers-at-cork-airport-in-2007-1.926243
Avgeek7812, if you read the full article, it was a record year for International traffic.2007 was indeed their record year for passenger numbers, but approx 500,000 were domestic passengers on the Dublin route, now no longer operating

[AVGEEK7812]

Avgeek7812, if you read the full article, it was a record year for International traffic.2007 was indeed their record year for passenger numbers, but approx 500,000 were domestic passengers on the Dublin route, now no longer operating

Right I thought it was Cork being OTT as per usual