The hire car company is called Dooley. tel: 00353 (0)62 53103. They have a local rep at Galway called Neil (I had his mobile no. but have mislaid it for the present) who confirmed he would deliver to Connemara. Any probs, just mention my name and I'm sure he'll be on song. If I find his mobile number I'll let you know. Please let me know how it goes - dead jealous of you going back:it's so drop-dead beautiful over there!

PS My hotel said that a new airport / airfield was being built at Cleggan in Connemara. Went through Cleggan by car but couldn't see any sign. Anyone know anything more on this?

There is a new airfield being built at Cleggan (about 10nm NW of Clifden). Photos here :
FlyingInIreland :: View topic - Clifden Airport
Word was that it should have been completed this summer. However, I'm not sure of its current status.

The other new airfield - Inishboffin - looks complete except the runway numbers have been painted at the wrong ends.

Thanks, I've now arranged to be collected.:ok:

Conemara (Inverin).
Fabulous scenery right on the coast.
Lovely warm welcome and 1/3 the price of Galway.
Only open very limited hours and probably a little challenging in certain weather conditions, but would definitely use them again.:ok:

galway
 

Dean

It is only now that I have time to deal with our visit to Galway in July with a 261 Euros bill over the same period. How did you get on with Galway management? Friends in Irish ATC advise me that Galway come after you for money for just transiting the zone VFR. Local pilots now avoid the zone, I'm told. I intend to take the matter further (Irish tourist board/Embassy etc.) While flying is not a cheap pastime our P28A is no bankers HS125 and it will be a long time before we visit Galway again.

John Mulholland

Galway Airport
 

John

Unbelievably I got a grovelling letter the other day from Joe Walsh, the MD of Galway Airport, after I had written a complaint letter to him. He refunded me €92 to my credit card! In the letter he says : "I note the comments made in your letter an am pleased to advise you that Galway Airport were in the process of reviewing its parking charges for general avaiation traffic at the airport and on this basis we are prepared to process a refund on your aircraft parking and landing charges assocaited with your visit to Galway on 22 August 2009.

The refund will be based on a maximum daily charge of €30 per day with an hourly charge of €3 per hour associated with aircraft parking and a landing fee of €20".

He then goes on to say: "Galway Airport has invested significantly in the provision of facilities and services at Galway Airport over the recent years. These improvements have included the creation of additional apron parking areas and construction of a new genearl aviation hangar. We recently hosted a fly in for UK based aircraft in July this year which proved to be a huge success [it will have been a huge success if you didn't rip off your customers - the first rule of business!]. as part of our process in developing general aviation business at the airport we have reviewed our general aviation charges as part of that process"

Looks like we have a victory here, guys - I just hope no-one else has been ripped off in the meantime!

Deano

€30 a day parking still isn't cheap, if you plan on staying for a weekend.

Still better than the €84 that they were charging!

Parking charges of €30 per day or €3 per hour are still extortionate in GA terms and significantly higher than most european airports.

Incidentally I sent a total of 4 emails to Galway some months ago enquiring about charges for a three ship trip I was organising. I never received a response so ended up bypassing the region altogether.

Galway Parking
 

I do not think that £30 is that high for parking. You wiull pay £17 a day for your CAR at most UK regional airports around London in long term! Airports like any business have to make a profit and a return on investment.

Try spending the day in Blackpool and see what greets you by way of parking charges on your return to your aircraft. Soured our day. Won't be going back.

Then it's relative I guess. I've flown to some spectacular locations in Europe and have never paid anything even close to €30 for parking.

Jersey cost stg 42 for landing, 4 days parking and 40 litres of jet A1. Neuchatel in Switzerland is €10 per day..........they respond to emails also!

However, there appears to be a reversal of policy amongst some regionals, anticipating further slippage on scheduled passenger numbers, to court favour amongst the GA community. To do so successfully requires more than value for money pricing though - it requires a conscious effort to see GA as a strategic revenue opportunity rather than a target for inflated pricing and shoddy service.

Galway have a bit more work to do in this respect. Moreover as the region they serve has quite a lot to offer then there is a compelling reason for them to refine their service offering.

There are differences though.

With a car park, you are located in a city centre. Airports are generally located away from the city, where land is cheaper.

Also, with a car park, you turn up park your car, and leave, and pay for the privlidge.

With an airport, you pay first of all just to use the facility (Landing charge) before you even get to park. On top of this, generally it's in the airports interest that you hang around for awhile, as you might spend money in the restaurant, or take on some fuel. None of this is applicable to a car park.

I understand that ramp space can be limited, and perhaps there is a case for discouraging long term parking in certain cases, but this shouldn't really extend to a period less than 48 hours at any airport hoping to attract GA.

If there is additional apron parking, then why the excessive parking charges (compared to other regional airports). As for the construction of new general aviation hangers, does he know and understand this target market? Will even one of the hanger spaces be made available to visiting aircraft?

dp

I paid about £9 a day at Heathrow, Luton and Stansted this year, for my car. Slightly more at Humberside.

Well, at least Mr Walsh has made some effort to redeem himself.
Perhaps he should offer a "free landing" voucher in the GA mags?

London Heliport charge £300 per hour for short term parking.

They do a bargain offer for 24 hour parking if booked in advance - only £765 for our type.

Leeds is £27:eek: (Cheaper to park a PA28 than a Ford Focus?)

Guys, forget about Galway airport, local pilots have written it off years ago. Its rapacious practices and extortion of VFR airspace charges (for which there is no legal basis) from GA, together with its erratic hours of operation, have made it largely a no-go area. They signal clearly they don't want your business. A shame but that's it.

There are plenty of alternatives in the area as mentioned above, also for something different go to the Aran Islands nearby (EIIM, EIMN, EIIR).

Apart from those mentioned in Pooleys, Kevin Glynn's guide is the bible for more than 100 Irish airfields.

And a new one going to print with another 25 new sites listed. Amazing how many airfields Ireland has, will be 127 airfields (I think) in the new book. Should be available early 2010.

Jon
www.RuskeyAirfield.com

Just looked on Google Earth and each island has its own runway, I thought there would be just one and a ferry service to the other 2. Looks interesting for a visit.

You think Galways is bad? Try Eindhoven! Very unfriendly staff, and a mere 250 Euro for Landing, Handling, and 2 hours parking in a C172.

They seem to think that because they have a Ryanair flight a day, they are hot sh*t.