Waterford Airport.

notharrypotter

Deiseen wrote: »

The Taoiseach confirmed as much so I suppose he is mental aswell is he?

I think you may be right.

tbarry31

Keep it about the Airport please

tbarry31

Just saying not starting any rumours I see Ryanair mentioned Waterford for the 1st time that I can remember today. They even liked posts asking them to come to Waterford .

DLS_75

They’d come to Waterford to stop someone else coming.

mickger844posts

tbarry31 wrote: »

Just saying not starting any rumours I see Ryanair mentioned Waterford for the 1st time that I can remember today. They even liked posts asking them to come to Waterford .

34 years ago today they launched their first ever flight from Waterford to Gatwick so references to that today on their Twitter.
It would be great to have them back but we need action first with regards getting work started on the runway extension.

Gardner

Deiseen wrote: »

Don't think he said it was other regions, he stated that its coming from somewhere and questioned if it was other regions.

If you want to reduce my post to a rant then go ahead but it's all facts. Someone is leaning on the HSE to ensure that UHW investment is kept to a minimum, even in the face of clear and obvious need.

Whether that is the Government, some ministers, other regions, the HSE themselves or someone else then who knows, but it's happening.

The Taoiseach confirmed as much so I suppose he is mental aswell is he?

where did he confirm this?

Deiseen

Gardner wrote: »

where did he confirm this?

Interview with Brendan O Connor a few weeks back.

tbarry31

mickger844posts wrote: »

34 years ago today they launched their first ever flight from Waterford to Gatwick so references to that today on their Twitter.
It would be great to have them back but we need action first with regards getting work started on the runway extension.

Ye I knew all that but the last time they mentioned there 1st ever flight Waterford wasn't mentioned. I suppose it would get anybody thinking positive with Runway being done and now Ryanair actually mentioning waterford. We can only hope , I can see their 1st advertisement now " Ryanair returning to where it all starterd"

JCX BXC

The delusion continues!

Deiseen

JCX BXC wrote: »

The delusion continues!

Ah man will ya ever go away. No one knows how the airport will go but at least the region has a little bit of a hope now.

Could ya not go and piss on someone else's parade and let us succred or fail by ourselves.

JCX BXC

Deiseen wrote: »

Ah man will ya ever go away. No one knows how the airport will go but at least the region has a little bit of a hope now.

Could ya not go and piss on someone else's parade and let us succred or fail by ourselves.

It's a discussion forum, we are here to discuss!

Now if some want to go to fantasy land, by all means do! However this isn't a 'safe place' for delusional ideas, I haven't a clue how the jump has been made from someone part of Ryanair's PR team, who would have nothing to do with the people who make decisions, posting something on Facebook, and an imminent return if Ryanair to Waterford.

Also, Ryanair have definitely mentioned Waterford before, it's hard not to mention where they started. However, last mention by them of flights to Waterford was them categorically stating that will never happen.

Deiseen

JCX BXC wrote: »

It's a discussion forum, we are here to discuss!

Now if some want to go to fantasy land, by all means do! However this isn't a 'safe place' for delusional ideas, I haven't a clue how the jump has been made from someone part of Ryanair's PR team, who would have nothing to do with the people who make decisions, posting something on Facebook, and an imminent return if Ryanair to Waterford.

Also, Ryanair have definitely mentioned Waterford before, it's hard not to mention where they started. However, last mention by them of flights to Waterford was them categorically stating that will never happen.

Yes exactly, its a discussion board, you need to remind yourself of that. It's not a forum for you to just shoot down every single valid point, that's not what a discussion is! The only thing you have added to the conversation is that it will be a total failure and we should all just give up.

Everyone knows that it will be an uphill battle, it's been a long war just to get the runway extended.

If your so interested in airports then you should be delighted to see some investment in any airport in Ireland. If this investment upsets you so much then maybe you have other vested interests because from what I can see, your disdain seems to go way beyond just thinking that the airport is not viable.

Harry Palmr

mickger844posts wrote: »

34 years ago today they launched their first ever flight from Waterford to Gatwick so references to that today on their Twitter.
It would be great to have them back but we need action first with regards getting work started on the runway extension.

tbarry31 wrote: »

Ye I knew all that but the last time they mentioned there 1st ever flight Waterford wasn't mentioned. I suppose it would get anybody thinking positive with Runway being done and now Ryanair actually mentioning waterford. We can only hope , I can see their 1st advertisement now " Ryanair returning to where it all starterd"

JCX BXC wrote: »

It's a discussion forum, we are here to discuss!

Now if some want to go to fantasy land, by all means do! However this isn't a 'safe place' for delusional ideas, I haven't a clue how the jump has been made from someone part of Ryanair's PR team, who would have nothing to do with the people who make decisions, posting something on Facebook, and an imminent return if Ryanair to Waterford.

Also, Ryanair have definitely mentioned Waterford before, it's hard not to mention where they started. However, last mention by them of flights to Waterford was them categorically stating that will never happen.

Who mentioned imminent? No one, that's your leap not tbarry31's or Micks'.

hardybuck

Perhaps a better question would be does anyone think there is a realistic chance of an airline, or airlines, going in there and sustaining their business over the medium term. If so, who?

Discuss!

fricatus

JCX BXC wrote: »

However this isn't a 'safe place' for delusional ideas

A delusion is defined as "a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact"

Thinking that Emirates were about to launch a service to Dubai from Waterford would be a delusion, because the facts are that a) the runway can't handle 777s and b) Emirates don't fly to small regional airports.

However as of now, funding is in place for this runway, and there's a reasonable expectation that in about three years' time, there will be a runway at WAT that can handle 737-800s. Add to that the fact that Ryanair serves every airport on the island of Ireland that can handle these jets (Belfast City may be an exception, but a fair one given it's proximity to Aldergrove). Ryanair most certainly do fly into small airports like Waterford. These are facts.

Does that mean that they will begin to serve Waterford? I hope so but I have no idea. It's a 50-50 shot. They might yet have good reasons not to. However it's certainly not a delusion, based on the facts as we expect them to be three years from now.

JCX BXC wrote: »

I haven't a clue how the jump has been made from someone part of Ryanair's PR team, who would have nothing to do with the people who make decisions, posting something on Facebook, and an imminent return if Ryanair to Waterford.

Me neither, it's a bit of a leap.

JCX BXC wrote: »

However, last mention by them of flights to Waterford was them categorically stating that will never happen.

Yes, I saw that way back, heard it in interviews given by Michael O'Leary at various times. Will this hold true once facts change on the ground? Your guess is as good as mine.

curmudgeonly

Personally I think the last thing WAT needs is Ryanair, a much better fit would be Easyjet, give them a five year exclusive deal into their hub Luton .
Ryanair have kicked seven shades of sh1te out of them every time they even looked at the Irish market,I am certain they would love a way to poke a stick in Mickies eye.

hardybuck

curmudgeonly wrote: »

Personally I think the last thing WAT needs is Ryanair, a much better fit would be Easyjet, give them a five year exclusive deal into their hub Luton .
Ryanair have kicked seven shades of sh1te out of them every time they even looked at the Irish market,I am certain they would love a way to poke a stick in Mickies eye.

It would be interesting to see how Brexit impacts the industry.

A company like Easyjet may avoid the market, or decide they need to be here, as a consequence.

marno21

JCX BXC wrote: »

The delusion continues!

Ryanair fly to every 737 capable field in this country except Belfast City. They have 6 routes out of Kerry and 13 routes out of Knock, both of which regularly get the same old stick as Waterford. Not sure why the idea of Ryanair flying to London out of Waterford, when they have two London routes out of both Kerry and Knock, is delusional.

JCX BXC

marno21 wrote: »

Ryanair fly to every 737 capable field in this country except Belfast City. They have 6 routes out of Kerry and 13 routes out of Knock, both of which regularly get the same old stick as Waterford. Not sure why the idea of Ryanair flying to London out of Waterford, when they have two London routes out of both Kerry and Knock, is delusional.

Turboprops also fly to every 737 capable airfield in this country.

However, I'm sure you've excuses for this too Marno!

When the funding comes, I wish the airport well despite my opinion on the waste of public funds, however I think we need reality here. The assumption that a 737 capable runway in a very low demand market (Waterford is also the closest airport to Dublin Airport) automatically means Ryanair, is not particularly realistic.

marno21

Apologies, I missed the full page of posts after the one I quoted.

JCX BXC wrote: »

Turboprops also fly to every 737 capable airfield in this country.

However, I'm sure you've excuses for this too Marno!

When the funding comes, I wish the airport well despite my opinion on the waste of public funds, however I think we need reality here. The assumption that a 737 capable runway in a very low demand market (Waterford is also the closest airport to Dublin Airport) automatically means Ryanair, is not particularly realistic.

They sure do, but they are complementary to the much bigger jet operations. Knock and Kerry wouldn't exist as is if they were reliant on the turboprop operations, they are complimentary to the much larger jet operations (the fact that the Kerry turboprop is subsidised as an aside).

To me, spending €5m from central funds on this runway extension is not wasteful. Buying a copy of the Sunday Business Post or any other similar paper any week of the year and you can find many multiples of this being frequently wasted with no tangible benefits. There are many external benefits of having the extended runway even if the airport is loss making like with Kerry and Knock airports.

Waterford may be the closest airport to Dublin but its still quite a distance. After all, there are regular calls for an airport in Offaly, which is even closer and has a much smaller population catchment.

JCX BXC

marno21 wrote: »

Apologies, I missed the full page of posts after the one I quoted.



They sure do, but they are complementary to the much bigger jet operations. Knock and Kerry wouldn't exist as is if they were reliant on the turboprop operations, they are complimentary to the much larger jet operations (the fact that the Kerry turboprop is subsidised as an aside).

To me, spending €5m from central funds on this runway extension is not wasteful. Buying a copy of the Sunday Business Post or any other similar paper any week of the year and you can find many multiples of this being frequently wasted with no tangible benefits. There are many external benefits of having the extended runway even if the airport is loss making like with Kerry and Knock airports.

Waterford may be the closest airport to Dublin but its still quite a distance. After all, there are regular calls for an airport in Offaly, which is even closer and has a much smaller population catchment.

It's €5 million central funds, but more from publicly funded councils.

And in regards to the calls for an airport in Offaly, calls don't mean that the airport would be viable! There's calls for lots of stupid things!

Johnboy1951

@JCX BXC

I am unsure what your 'position' is ....

Do you think the airport should be closed and the land used for some other purpose?

Do you think it should stay 'open' but not supported or commercially viable and have no extension to the runway?

Do you believe those prepared to invest money in it are wrong?


What do you think should be done with it?

914

hardybuck wrote: »

Perhaps a better question would be does anyone think there is a realistic chance of an airline, or airlines, going in there and sustaining their business over the medium term. If so, who?

Discuss!

Airport are in discussions with Wizz Air about operating in Waterford when the runway is complete

Deiseen

914 wrote: »

Airport are in discussions with Wizz Air about operating in Waterford when the runway is complete

I'm sure they are in discussions with many airlines frequently.

Are these ones more advanced do you know?

Dum_Dum

914 wrote: »

Airport are in discussions with Wizz Air about operating in Waterford when the runway is complete

Wizz Air are now bigger at Luton than EasyJet. If it's them, we could see the successful Luton route back. The shift from Luton to Southend was the kiss-of-death back in the Aer Arann days.

Deiseen

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

@JCX BXC

I am unsure what your 'position' is ....

Do you think the airport should be closed and the land used for some other purpose?

Do you think it should stay 'open' but not supported or commercially viable and have no extension to the runway?

Do you believe those prepared to invest money in it are wrong?


What do you think should be done with it?

He's usually very quick to reply to our delusions but no actual response about what he thinks should happen to the airport...

JCX BXC

Deiseen wrote: »

He's usually very quick to reply to our delusions but no actual response about what he thinks should happen to the airport...

I had actually typed most of a reply to this, however an emergency occured and I couldn't finish it (for obivous reasons).

I'll reply now, (@Johnboy1951)

If the airport can sustain itself from private traffic, then I think it's fine if it continues to do so. The SAR helicopter base is also very important, and it is vital that stays. (However that can be moved without massive upheaval)

If the airport cannot sustain any flights whatsoever, I don't see why it should be invested in. My position here is clear, every single other airport in Ireland sustains turboprop flights, and Waterford can't, then it's simply untenable. I'm not sure how it can be argued that a Ryanair flight stimulates the demand for these turboprop flights at other airports, so it's clear the market is smaller in Waterford.

It's not like we've no history to see, the airport sustained flights for many years, and the nail in the coffin seems to be the motorway to Dublin. I'm not sure why it's thought that an infrequent jet flight will counter this effect, especially as all the marketing effort over the years and knowledge that the airport exists is by now, gone

In regards to the private funding, that's great, if only they'd fund the entire project.

Johnboy1951

JCX BXC wrote: »

I had actually typed most of a reply to this, however an emergency occured and I couldn't finish it (for obivous reasons).

I'll reply now, (@Johnboy1951)

If the airport can sustain itself from private traffic, then I think it's fine if it continues to do so. The SAR helicopter base is also very important, and it is vital that stays. (However that can be moved without massive upheaval)

If the airport cannot sustain any flights whatsoever, I don't see why it should be invested in. My position here is clear, every single other airport in Ireland sustains turboprop flights, and Waterford can't, then it's simply untenable. I'm not sure how it can be argued that a Ryanair flight stimulates the demand for these turboprop flights at other airports, so it's clear the market is smaller in Waterford.

It's not like we've no history to see, the airport sustained flights for many years, and the nail in the coffin seems to be the motorway to Dublin. I'm not sure why it's thought that an infrequent jet flight will counter this effect, especially as all the marketing effort over the years and knowledge that the airport exists is by now, gone

In regards to the private funding, that's great, if only they'd fund the entire project.

I read the above as expressing the opinion that the airport should probably close with the helicopter base being moved elsewhere.
Did I misinterpret what you wrote?

The runway extension is a regional infrastructure project (albeit a small one) and you expect private funding to pay for it all?

curmudgeonly

JCX BXC wrote: »

I had actually typed most of a reply to this, however an emergency occured and I couldn't finish it (for obivous reasons).

I'll reply now, (@Johnboy1951)

If the airport can sustain itself from private traffic, then I think it's fine if it continues to do so. The SAR helicopter base is also very important, and it is vital that stays. (However that can be moved without massive upheaval)

If the airport cannot sustain any flights whatsoever, I don't see why it should be invested in. My position here is clear, every single other airport in Ireland sustains turboprop flights, and Waterford can't, then it's simply untenable. I'm not sure how it can be argued that a Ryanair flight stimulates the demand for these turboprop flights at other airports, so it's clear the market is smaller in Waterford.

It's not like we've no history to see, the airport sustained flights for many years, and the nail in the coffin seems to be the motorway to Dublin. I'm not sure why it's thought that an infrequent jet flight will counter this effect, especially as all the marketing effort over the years and knowledge that the airport exists is by now, gone

In regards to the private funding, that's great, if only they'd fund the entire project.

You conveniently forget that other airports have PSO flights by turbo prop, ie Government subsidised?

JCX BXC

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I read the above as expressing the opinion that the airport should probably close with the helicopter base being moved elsewhere.
Did I misinterpret what you wrote?

The runway extension is a regional infrastructure project (albeit a small one) and you expect private funding to pay for it all?

You did interpret it incorrectly. That's not what I said.

I don't expect private funding to pay for it, I don't see why it should be done.