Shannon Airport Thread [Mod Warning in First Post]

VillageIdiot71

nthclare wrote: »

If their management team were able for their jobs why do the need consultancy services ???

But it was such a successful approach the last time

https://www.thejournal.ie/shannon-airport-branding-3-3531521-Aug2017/

SHANNON AIRPORT IS looking for advice on how it can “improve overall competitiveness” and become a “challenger brand” to rival airports in Ireland.

Management at the County Clare hub have tendered a contract for a business consultant to help it create “a renewed commercial strategy and brand framework” to increase passenger spend and encourage repeat visits from travellers.

It’s hoped this new branding strategy will serve as “a North Star” to Shannon Airport and its sister brands under the wider Shannon Group umbrella.

We own an airport. And a load of stuff.

Now what do we do?

AnRothar

golfball37 wrote: »

What is the point of Shannon Group management company with their insane salaries if they have to outsource this ? This is where I would expect them to earn those wages ffs. The firm are hardly going to recommend 70% personal cuts across senior management which is minimum required

You do not understand the game.
Management hire consultants and give them a specification that they are to justify.
This is an easy way of having a convenient scapegoat when hard choices are about to be made.
Also HR are last to go as someone has to write all the P45's.

Berty

AnRothar wrote: »

Also HR are last to go as someone has to write all the P45's.

Unless you also hire a consultant for this :pac:

mdmix

VillageIdiot71 wrote: »

But it was such a successful approach the last timeWe own an airport. And a load of stuff.

Now what do we do?

The "Fly Shannon" branding came out of that that last consultation, but was never properly implemented. They set up a slow website with content that was always out of date and their media presence (social & traditional) wasn't great either. Separate to the last round of consultation, they keep waiving around magic numbers like 3 million passengers by 2020 instead of any tangible targets for growth. What is the point of another consultation if they do not have the skillset to implement the strategy that comes from it? (rhetorical question)

nthclare

VillageIdiot71 wrote: »

But it was such a successful approach the last timeWe own an airport. And a load of stuff.

Now what do we do?

Sometimes they say history repeats itself, but there needs to be someone like Brendan O Regan who's rich in Culture, tourism potential, start marketing amenities such as angling and outdoor activities which are all encompassing for the Shannon region.

I remember the halcyon days of the Shannon Region, I think it started to go downhill from 1993 onwards and started slowly and then it went freefall.

As far as I can see all they have is accountants running the show, the media asks them a question and they answer in figures and covid word salad...

No doubt it's a difficult time for management too, I understand they're human and have a lot of people who are annoyed with the decisions in the boardroom.
It's not easy on top that's for sure.
But if I was in their position I'd bolt and hand it to the government and move on to greener pastures.

At the present time the Shannon group is in the eye of the media and politics as well as the general public.

It's not easy there is say.

Clareman

It'd be lovely to say that the airport can keep going the way it's going, the fact of the matter is it can't survive, blame management, blame politicians, blame COVID, blame the worker, blame the DAA, blame whoever you want but the fact of the matter is the airport as it is is not sustainable, there is far too much waste and needless expense down there, and I'm not talking about just senior management salaries but everywhere. If you speak to anyone that works down in the airport they'll tell you that there's little to be doing down there, a load of people are just waiting for the payout/pension and that it's so unionized everyone is walking around on eggshells.

In my opinion, if this airport is to survive it'll have to cut costs majorly and unfortunately some of the biggest costs there are wages, straight away they've cut 20% of costs there but they'll need to do a lot more.

Clareman

nthclare wrote: »

Sometimes they say history repeats itself, but there needs to be someone like Brendan O Regan who's rich in Culture, tourism potential, start marketing amenities such as angling and outdoor activities which are all encompassing for the Shannon region.

I remember the halcyon days of the Shannon Region, I think it started to go downhill from 1993 onwards and started slowly and then it went freefall.

As far as I can see all they have is accountants running the show, the media asks them a question and they answer in figures and covid word salad...

No doubt it's a difficult time for management too, I understand they're human and have a lot of people who are annoyed with the decisions in the boardroom.
It's not easy on top that's for sure.
But if I was in their position I'd bolt and hand it to the government and move on to greener pastures.

At the present time the Shannon group is in the eye of the media and politics as well as the general public.

It's not easy there is say.

That was the end of the Shannon Stopover, 1 of the most damaging thing to ever happen to the mid-west

AnRothar

Clareman wrote: »

That was the end of the Shannon Stopover, 1 of the most damaging thing to ever happen to the mid-west

Probably going to be lambasted but I must disagree admittedly with qualifications.

The transatlantic gateway status was both a boon and a cross for Shannon to bear.

Evolving aircraft types and air travel changes meant the stopover would have to end at some point.

The fixation on the transatlantic status meant that instead of slowly expanding connections time and effort was wasted defending the doomed status quo.

This was 20 years ago.
Not all problems can be laid at the door of the current management.

Air travel has evolved even further since then.

Following a very successful campaign there is a belief by a great many of the traveling public that there is only one airline serving Ireland and all tickets are €9.99.

This has limited current opportunities to expand the route network.

These are some of the sad realities that must be faced.

nthclare

I don't know if my fact's are right,but I hear the firefighters and airport police are on huge salaries.

There's not much to police up there at the moment that's for sure and the only flame's to be quinched is the mood up there with the staff.

I'd say the hare's are happy out as there's hardly any traffic and they were there before the airport and after...

Clareman

AnRothar wrote: »

Probably going to be lambasted but I must disagree admittedly with qualifications.

The transatlantic gateway status was both a boon and a cross for Shannon to bear.

Evolving aircraft types and air travel changes meant the stopover would have to end at some point.

The fixation on the transatlantic status meant that instead of slowly expanding connections time and effort was wasted defending the doomed status quo.

This was 20 years ago.
Not all problems can be laid at the door of the current management.

Air travel has evolved even further since then.

Following a very successful campaign there is a belief by a great many of the traveling public that there is only one airline serving Ireland and all tickets are €9.99.

This has limited current opportunities to expand the route network.

These are some of the sad realities that must be faced.

Very good, well made points there and you are right of course, at the time of the stopover flights were really a luxury item and they were only starting to become commonplace but having legislation that a certain amount of flights had to go through Shannon had a huge knock of for the local economy, for example bus tours often started in Shannon and finished in Dublin or vice-versa rather than a loop to Dublin, there was also a knock on for local hotels for overnight stays etc. etc., but this was back in the Mad Men era so different times completely.

Clareman

nthclare wrote: »

I don't know if my fact's are right,but I hear the firefighters and airport police are on huge salaries.

There's not much to police up there at the moment that's for sure and the only flame's to be quinched is the mood up there with the staff.

I'd say the hare's are happy out as there's hardly any traffic and they were there before the airport and after...

I'm not sure about the airport police but I have heard that the firemen there are on a decent wage but that's because of the extra qualifications/fitness/oncall that they have to have.

JamesBond2010

nthclare wrote: »

I don't know if my fact's are right,but I hear the firefighters and airport police are on huge salaries.

There's not much to police up there at the moment that's for sure and the only flame's to be quinched is the mood up there with the staff.

I'd say the hare's are happy out as there's hardly any traffic and they were there before the airport and after...

Whats that go to do with anything ?? insulting the workers

Clareman

If you have a problem with a post report it and the mod team will review it and act if they feel it warranted.

nthclare

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

Whats that go to do with anything ?? insulting the workers

No it means that if they loose their job's, it's not good or if they're on 20% less it'll be a hard hit.

They applied for their job's and working on the front line, so if they're on 40 Euro an hour fair due they're entitled to it.

I don't know where you're going with your response but there's my response to your logic or assumption of my post and it's meaning.

Thanks for giving me the chance to convince the other posters that you're jumping the gun...

JamesBond2010

nthclare wrote: »

No it means that if they loose their job's, it's not good or if they're on 20% less it'll be a hard hit.

They applied for their job's and working on the front line, so if they're on 40 Euro an hour fair due they're entitled to it.

I don't know where you're going with your response but there's my response to your logic or assumption of my post and it's meaning.

Thanks for giving me the chance to convince the other posters that you're jumping the gun...

Its the way you said it with out explaining what you meant

Clareman

The mid-west has gone through harrowing times, off the top of my head the Krupps and Dell were terrible blows, but you know something? We recovered. I've gone through redundancy and I know what a terrible experience it is but the terms being outlined seem extremely fair, either career breaks, voluntary redundancy or a 20% pay cut with no-one being cut down to less than €30,000, considering the dire situation the whole airline industry is in I can't see what else they can do, by doing these costs cuts over the next few years there's a chance the airport has a long future, keeping on going hoping for bailouts isn't going to help them.

I really do feel for the staff going through this, especially for those there a long time, but the positive slant is they've (probably) a lot of experience, they've a good package on offer and a great upskilling opportunity, I know a few people that worked in Dell for years that thought the factory closing would be the end of them but you know what, they upskilled and now have great careers in different industries and Dell is going from strength to strength in Limerick.

Clareman

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

Its the way you said it with out explaining what you meant

I thought everyone knew about the hares in Shannon Airport

JamesBond2010

Clareman wrote: »

I thought everyone knew about the hares in Shannon Airport

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtzUOeBSRM

There is foxes and badgers as well you know.

there was a lot more than hares in that post





What company said was basically feck ye we dont give a ****e wether you agree with us or not we are still doing it what we want. they are blaming everything on covid even though it was many years of mismanagement. they couldnt even wait till the report from the committee comes out tmw then issue the email.

Clareman

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

What company said was basically feck ye we dont give a ****e wether you agree with us or not we are still doing it what we want. they are blaming everything on covid even though it was many years of mismanagement. they couldnt even wait till the report from the committee comes out tmw then issue the email.

Ah now I think say that they want to do this isn't a fair reflection, they have to act and they have to make tough decisions, there'll be nothing new in the report coming tomorrow so why wait? If they waiting until the report they'd be blamed for delaying.

People keep going on about mis-management but is management to be blamed when an overly unionized workforce is extremely expensive and inflexible? I honest believe that the current management are making the right decisions and is the best opportunity for the airport to have a viable future, the day of the "jobs for life" in a place like an airport is gone unfortunately and no airport can survive with that mentality anymore. Even Heathrow is letting staff go at the moment.

nthclare

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

Its the way you said it with out explaining what you meant

That's ok, it's easy to read thing's wrong, I've often done it myself.

No harm in me being asked what I meant either.
I like when I'm pulled aside and people are honest and upfront.
A friend of mine suggested that the whole Shannon Group is like a poison chalice and he left it a few years ago.

Mary Considines has a lot of hard decisions to make and that's not easy.
The commercial properties are doing ok for now, as long as they keep up the good work.

Shannon Heritage should be run by the Clare County Council, considering they're doing a great job at the cliff's of moher, or else the OPW might get to run those site's.

I work in Forestry myself and had close connections with Shannon Development and in the heyday I helped them with certain projects around Shannon Town.

Hopefully this is a blip and something good will come out of all this.

JamesBond2010

Final Report of the Taskforce for Aviation Recovery
https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/8441c-final-report-of-the-taskforce-for-aviation-recovery/

if u did want to read full interim report
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/8298b-aviation-recovery-task-force-records-of-meetings-12th-and-19th-june/

Stanford

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

Final Report of the Taskforce for Aviation Recovery
https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/8441c-final-report-of-the-taskforce-for-aviation-recovery/

Where?

JamesBond2010

Stanford wrote: »

Where?

Thats all it showing @ the moment just that no pdf yet.


Even the interim report is just 4 pages long.

Brennans Row

Shannon Group welcomes Aviation Taskforce report recommendations (Limerick Post)

Among its findings, the report recommends that a stimulus package be put in place for Shannon, Cork, Ireland West and Donegal airports to allow them reduce airport charges for airlines which will help restore and grow passenger numbers into the regions.

It also calls for an increased investment in international marketing funding for Tourism Ireland, with emphasis on regions in conjunctions with regional airports like Shannon to stimulate recovery of inbound tourism into regions.

Another recommendation asks that funding for essential capital projects should be granted to airports like Shannon. This would be in line with current European Commission rules on State Supports which allows for airports with under three million passengers to receive capital expenditure support.

The Taskforce report also calls for the extension of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme until March 2021 and liquidity supports for the aviation sector. It also recommends a review of National Aviation Policy.

RocketRaccoon

Brennans Row wrote: »

Shannon Group welcomes Aviation Taskforce report recommendations (Limerick Post)

Among its findings, the report recommends that a stimulus package be put in place for Shannon, Cork, Ireland West and Donegal airports to allow them reduce airport charges for airlines which will help restore and grow passenger numbers into the regions.

It also calls for an increased investment in international marketing funding for Tourism Ireland, with emphasis on regions in conjunctions with regional airports like Shannon to stimulate recovery of inbound tourism into regions.

Another recommendation asks that funding for essential capital projects should be granted to airports like Shannon. This would be in line with current European Commission rules on State Supports which allows for airports with under three million passengers to receive capital expenditure support.

The Taskforce report also calls for the extension of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme until March 2021 and liquidity supports for the aviation sector. It also recommends a review of National Aviation Policy.

None of these will happen.

golfball37

Shannon isn’t under the auspices of the regulator. They can reduce or increase airport fees when they like unlike Dublin I always thought?

tv221

Masala wrote: »

No stimulus package for Kerry?? or Waterford???

jeez.... an Aviation Task Force that doesn't know how many airports are in the Country.

The bin Mahfouz family who own it can look after;)

un5byh7sqpd2x0

Masala wrote: »

No stimulus package for Kerry?? or Waterford???

jeez.... an Aviation Task Force that doesn't know how many airports are in the Country.

Waterford hasn't had a commercial flight in years, and won't have any until the runway is upgraded.

Masala

tv221 wrote: »

The bin Mahfouz family who own it can look after;)

And the DAA can look after Cork!:)

Brennans Row

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

None of these will happen.

For new infrastructure projects I'm quite optimistic as the government then a u-turn recently in this regard.

“The €12 million Hold Baggage Screening project at Shannon Airport was halted halfway through construction due to funding constraints as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the €6.1 million Government grant to ensure its completion is very welcome.” See post 6412