Shannon Airport Thread [Mod Warning in First Post]

Cookiemunster

turbbo wrote: »

live in limerick end up driving to dublin anytime I have to use an airport - says a lot about Shannon.

It says nothing more than that Dublin is a major international hub (and one of the busiest airports in Europe) and Shannon is a small regional airport in one of the more sparsely populated parts of Europe. If airlines thought that they'd fill planes from Shannon, then there would be more routes from Shannon.

turbbo

Cookiemunster wrote: »

It says nothing more than that Dublin is a major international hub (and one of the busiest airports in Europe) and Shannon is a small regional airport in one of the more sparsely populated parts of Europe. If airlines thought that they'd fill planes from Shannon, then there would be more routes from Shannon.

Dublin a major international hub - you're having a laugh!

Cookiemunster

turbbo wrote: »

Dublin a major international hub - you're having a laugh!

No I'm not. 30m passengers a year and growing. Flights connecting from all over Europe and onto the US.

turbbo

Cookiemunster wrote: »

No I'm not. 30m passengers a year and growing. Flights connecting from all over Europe and onto the US.

Why can't Shannon take that business - if it's only connecting flights to the US?

RocketRaccoon

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

The times for the new East Midlands service are pretty diabolical as well.

I haven't seen them yet.

I did use the Liverpool service over the summer but just for myself and my wife to go for a few days as it was so cheap. Useless for matches though. One of the Saturday night outbound flights had 37 passengers on it in September/October.

RocketRaccoon

turbbo wrote: »

Why can't Shannon take that business - if it's only connecting flights to the US?

Because unfortunately its not promoted the same as Dublin. There is an Aer Lingus truck driving around the ramp in Shannon with advertising for flights out of Dublin. What more needs to be said about that?

turbbo

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

Because unfortunately its not promoted the same as Dublin. There is an Aer Lingus truck driving around the ramp in Shannon with advertising for flights out of Dublin. What more needs to be said about that?

Wow - airport management need to be fired if that is true!

nim1bdeh38l2cw

Do not feed the troll.

turbbo

Sunny Gentle Koala wrote: »

Do not feed the troll.

You a manager in Shannon Airport?

JCX BXC

turbbo wrote: »

Why can't Shannon take that business - if it's only connecting flights to the US?

Simple questions with not so simple answers.

Dublin has critical mass, in order to allow connections the flights have to be first sustainable from simple O&D traffic.

Shannon used to be popular with connecting passengers from Birmingham and Manchester, however this has been wiped out due to scheduling changes.

So many other factors to this too.

mdmix

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

I haven't seen them yet.

I did use the Liverpool service over the summer but just for myself and my wife to go for a few days as it was so cheap. Useless for matches though. One of the Saturday night outbound flights had 37 passengers on it in September/October.

Poor flight times Seems to be a common theme with flights from Shannon. I visited Stockholm last year and opted to fly out from Dublin on Friday evening as the only option for Shannon would have arrived at 4.30 on a Saturday afternoon. Most museums were closed Sunday and Monday is also pretty quiet in Stockholm. I would not have enjoyed the trip had I not gone there Friday. Thankfully we did get to fly back to Shannon, but I wouldn’t do that again as public transport is so unreliable I might as well have returned to Dublin and got the blue bus back to castletroy. I will either drive to Shannon in future or get the bus to Dublin airport.

JCX BXC

mdmix wrote: »

Poor flight times Seems to be a common theme with flights from Shannon. I visited Stockholm last year and opted to fly out from Dublin on Friday evening as the only option for Shannon would have arrived at 4.30 on a Saturday afternoon. Most museums were closed Sunday and Monday is also pretty quiet in Stockholm. I would not have enjoyed the trip had I not gone there Friday. Thankfully we did get to fly back to Shannon, but I wouldn’t do that again as public transport is so unreliable I might as well have returned to Dublin and got the blue bus back to castletroy. I will either drive to Shannon in future or get the bus to Dublin airport.

Eh? 2 buses an hour from Shannon to both Ennis and Limerick?

turbbo

In fairness Dublin airport has it's fair share of crap timeslots compared to the biguns in the UK.
Just can't see why Shannon is as devoid of good routes as it is.

JCX BXC

turbbo wrote: »

In fairness Dublin airport has it's fair share of crap timeslots compared to the biguns in the UK.
Just can't see why Shannon is as devoid of good routes as it is.

Because they don't make money, since 2014 we've gotten and lost routes like Berlin, Munich, Paris, Nice and Stockholm. Who can you blaim?

turbbo

JCX BXC wrote: »

Because they don't make money, since 2014 we've gotten and lost routes like Berlin, Munich, Paris, Nice and Stockholm. Who can you blaim?

4 flights to Brussels a day from Dublin with Ryanair.

It will only get worse as earlier post mentioned critical mass - I think that is what is happening in general it'll get to the point you won't even check Shannon as an option.

JCX BXC

turbbo wrote: »

4 flights to Brussels a day from Dublin with Ryanair.

It will only get worse as earlier post mentioned critical mass - I think that is what is happening in general it'll get to the point you won't even check Shannon as an option.

Yet cork actually lost its route to Brussels. However that's probably not a good route to pick as there would be a significant portion of travel between Brussels and Dublin for obvious reasons.

I disagree with your next point, I think as people become more tuned into checking for the cheapest price all options will be considered.

turbbo

JCX BXC wrote: »

Yet cork actually lost its route to Brussels. However that's probably not a good route to pick as there would be a significant portion of travel between Brussels and Dublin for obvious reasons.

I disagree with your next point, I think as people become more tuned into checking for the cheapest price all options will be considered.

Yeah hopefully it improves would like to see it get busier. I think Dublin is busy enough in every way.

Poxyshamrock

The completion of the M7 about 10 years ago which gave rise to the likes of Dublin Coach and Eireagle is a definite factor in people choosing Dublin over Shannon.

JCX BXC

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

The completion of the M7 about 10 years ago which gave rise to the likes of Dublin Coach and Eireagle is a definite factor in people choosing Dublin over Shannon.

Without a doubt, there period around 2009-2012 was devastating for Irish airports thanks to road projects, new bus services and recession. Such has made a recovery harder.

mdmix

JCX BXC wrote: »

I disagree with your next point, I think as people become more tuned into checking for the cheapest price all options will be considered.

It’s very hard for Shannon or other airports to compete here. As Dublin has more capacity it also has the most cheap seats, giving it the illousion of being cheaper. Unfortunately as search engines default to search from Dublin (as well as most airline websitessites in Ireland) its pretty difficult to compare flight costs, even if you know how. It’s also unhelpful that Ryanair (shows multiple cancelled routes from Shannon) and Aer Lingus (Shannon does not show as an option on multiple screen sizes) websites are flawed. Norwegians website to be fair remember your “preferred airport”.

Shannon marketing team should really step up the recent good work they have done to get the word out on options and example prices

turbbo

JCX BXC wrote: »

Without a doubt, there period around 2009-2012 was devastating for Irish airports thanks to road projects, new bus services and recession. Such has made a recovery harder.

Yes but what about completion of the M18 which should have boosted numbers in Shannon?

Cookiemunster

turbbo wrote: »

Yes but what about completion of the M18 which should have boosted numbers in Shannon?

Why? North of Galway is as close to Knock as it is to Shannon. There's also about 40 buses a day and a motorway between Galway and Dublin, which Galway people are well used to using. The simple fact is that outside of bucket and spade routes and Poland, every European service from Shannon has been pulled. The likes of Ryanair don't want to be there outside of these routes unless they get deals that would basically screw the airport.

JCX BXC

It likely did improve numbers a little, however the final section of the M18 is a bit of a dud, with Kiltiernan to the Coolagh roundabout being having no time savings with the motorway, yet it's an extra 8km.

While north of the M6 is closer to Knock, Shannon does offer a wider route selection with longer opening hours for the most part, however Knock triumphs Shannon with UK connectivity (not as much as in the past, but still), and perhaps achieves a contra-flow effect.

Dublin is still the larger beast here though.

JCX BXC

mdmix wrote: »

It’s very hard for Shannon or other airports to compete here. As Dublin has more capacity it also has the most cheap seats, giving it the illousion of being cheaper. Unfortunately as search engines default to search from Dublin (as well as most airline websitessites in Ireland) its pretty difficult to compare flight costs, even if you know how. It’s also unhelpful that Ryanair (shows multiple cancelled routes from Shannon) and Aer Lingus (Shannon does not show as an option on multiple screen sizes) websites are flawed. Norwegians website to be fair remember your “preferred airport”.

Shannon marketing team should really step up the recent good work they have done to get the word out on options and example prices

True, and fully agreed that these websites are completely not user friendly, however I was speaking more on the line of sites/apps like Skyscanner, who don't discriminate in the same way, and are still getting more and more popular.

turbbo

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Why? North of Galway is as close to Knock as it is to Shannon. There's also about 40 buses a day and a motorway between Galway and Dublin, which Galway people are well used to using. The simple fact is that outside of bucket and spade routes and Poland, every European service from Shannon has been pulled. The likes of Ryanair don't want to be there outside of these routes unless they get deals that would basically screw the airport.

Very few if any US based flights from Knock - usually chartered if there are any.
Knock has a way smaller population base - 2 of Irelands larger cities in proximity to Shannon - Galway and Limerick.
The 2 airports will never compete at the same level. Knock is a small regional airport with lots of flights to the UK. Shannon should and can be a lot more than that. But it's being forced into a small regional by Dublin hoovering up all the routes. You're right in that Ryanair seems to have some sort of hatred of the place.

Muckka

turbbo wrote: »

Very few if any US based flights from Knock - usually chartered if there are any.
Knock has a way smaller population base - 2 of Irelands larger cities in proximity to Shannon - Galway and Limerick.
The 2 airports will never compete at the same level. Knock is a small regional airport with lots of flights to the UK. Shannon should and can be a lot more than that. But it's being forced into a small regional by Dublin hoovering up all the routes. You're right in that Ryanair seems to have some sort of hatred of the place.

I think the problem with Shannon Airport is the marketing strategy.
The Shannon group as a whole has massive potential and since then they haven't had a mind as creative as Brendan O Regan.

The whole Shannon region has gone very stale, and needs a reset.

The Shannon Groups property portfolio has huge potential, and they're back on track building massive warehousing and office space.

I think the new group is in its fifth year, and hopefully it'll grow for the benifet of the Midwest....and further afield.

finbarrk

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

If only the airport had a daily flight to Birmingham! :rolleyes:

Yeah. Departing at 08.45 the morning after the match. And also the morning after the Gold Cup. Great.

Cookiemunster

turbbo wrote: »

Very few if any US based flights from Knock - usually chartered if there are any.
Knock has a way smaller population base - 2 of Irelands larger cities in proximity to Shannon - Galway and Limerick.
The 2 airports will never compete at the same level. Knock is a small regional airport with lots of flights to the UK. Shannon should and can be a lot more than that. But it's being forced into a small regional by Dublin hoovering up all the routes. You're right in that Ryanair seems to have some sort of hatred of the place.

The issue in Shannon isn't with the T/A routes. They're are doing quite well for an airport of Shannons size. The issue is that lack of connectivity to Europe. Many European routes have come and gone and without another sweetheart deal with Ryanair they'll stay gone. It's got nothing due to hatred, simply economics. Ryanair don't do anything unless it financially beneficial to them.

And it's not being forced to stay small by Dublin, it's small dues to its location on the West coast. Dublin has over 2m passenger on its doorstep. Shannon has maybe 500K.

turbbo

Cookiemunster wrote: »

And it's not being forced to stay small by Dublin, it's small dues to its location on the West coast. Dublin has over 2m passenger on its doorstep. Shannon has maybe 500K.

By those numbers it should have a quarter of the traffic - I'm guessing it doesn't have even a 20th of the traffic. I guess that's critical mass in action.

jasper100

Cookiemunster wrote: »

And it's not being forced to stay small by Dublin, it's small dues to its location on the West coast. Dublin has over 2m passenger on its doorstep. Shannon has maybe 500K.

Maybe when the Cork motorway is open it will mean north Cork based people can get to Shannon much easier. The lack of congestion on motorways towards Shannon would be a huge advantage, people as far away as Portlaoise, Athlone etc. could be persuaded to go to Shannon instead of Dublin as its far less congested in the airport itself and the roads leading to it.


Even as far away as Newbridge and Kildare, to go down the M7 instead of the M50 gridlock and Dublin airport itself should encourage people west.

The M50 chaos will only ever get worse.