Shannon Airport Thread [Mod Warning in First Post]

highlydebased

Brennans Row wrote: »

Definitely an area that the management of the airport should address.

Indeed- this is a quote from an article from a few months ago

Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon urged Bus Eireann to introduce direct services from the midlands, saying for many there, it can be a “coin toss” decision on whether to fly from Shannon or Dublin.

James Nix, who sits on the committee, said bus services to Shannon now are “overpriced and infrequent”.

Mr Pakey responded: “There needs to be a far greater frequency. If the operators are not coming forward we have to understand why not. There are buses all the time swanning into Dublin Airport, so a counter-balance must be found to compete.”

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/business/business-news/shannon-airport-needs-a-friends-group-says-neil-pakey-1-5938150

Brennans Row

Westair seems to have invested in two brand new aircraft. :cool:

A Gulfstream G650 jet and a Agusta Westland AW-139 helicopter.

In the background one can see that their small hangar extension is nearly finished too.

Images Donal Morrissey and Brian Buckley.

Brennans Row

Some 12,000 people took part in events associated with the Great Limerick Run events over the weekend.

Over 1,000 participants took part in the marathon event, with 2,000 in the half marathon and over 100 relay teams.

The bulk of participants took part in the six mile - or 10km - event, which attracted a massive 6,500 runners and walkers of all ages.

Participants came from all over the world, including the UK, US, Italy, Canada, France, Holland, Denmark, Luxembourg and Spain, plus a large contingent from Chicago. (Irish Times)

I wonder has the Chicago summer service started already?




For the four-legged runners there were two TNT Horse Charters in Shannon yesterday, destination unknown.

Apparently TNT has its own horse ramps for use with the BAe146 aircraft.

These ramps are predominantly in place at Shannon, Ireland (which is currently TNT's most significant location for horse charter), as well as Cambridge and Farnborough in the UK, and le Bourget in France. (TNT)

JCX BXC

Brennans Row wrote: »

I agree and the first bus (51) that arrives at Shannon from Galway is at 08:50.

A direct bus journey between Galway Bus Station and Shannon Airport should only need 1 hour to get there.

This could be achieved by modifying Bus Eireann's (X51) bus route or CityLinks (Galway-Limerick-Cork-Cork Airport) bus route to include Shannon Airport.

Definitely an area that the management of the airport should address.

But will they? No. They mightn't even know its so much of a problem!
Emailing them is useless.
They seem to only have replied to one of my three emails, 2 weeks after I sent it. The email replied to was asking would they reply to my previous emails. Their response was they never received them!

A train route would be brilliant, but sadly the chance of that happening is slim to none.


Here is an intresting interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwBy2zbWYfQ&feature=youtu.be

Jamie2k9

Carnacalla wrote: »

But will they? No. They mightn't even know its so much of a problem!
Emailing them is useless.
They seem to only have replied to one of my three emails, 2 weeks after I sent it. The email replied to was asking would they reply to my previous emails. Their response was they never received them!

A train route would be brilliant, but sadly the chance of that happening is slim to none.


Here is an intresting interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwBy2zbWYfQ&feature=youtu.be

You have to ask what demand is for a Shannon stop and the implications to the current route and times for customers.

Claregirl

Carnacalla wrote: »

A train route would be brilliant, but sadly the chance of that happening is slim to none.

Sadly the train could be slower than the bus

JCX BXC

Claregirl wrote: »

Sadly the train could be slower than the bus

With the speed of bus eireann, a toy train would do.

JCX BXC

I was just looking at the shannon to jfk numbers there and they are very intresting.
The Ba001 and Ba003 have a capacity of 34 people (all business jet).

For over 100k people to travel through shannon to jfk the flights would want to have over 150 per flight on the 757's and around 30 on the a318

The newark figure show that an average of 149 people were on the snn to ewr.


Limerick seems to be securing alot of events and festivals. Thats only.good news for shannon.

Brennans Row

It seems that Air Contractors (ASL) have moved into the hangar that was occupied by Signature Flight Support (SFS).

I wrongly assumed that they had moved into the vacated Aer Lingus hangar.

Where has Signature Flight Support (SFS) moved to?

highlydebased

Aer Lingus Regional winter schedule seems to be up, pretty much the same as the summer schedule, MAN 3x daily (2x on Saturday), BHX 2x daily (1 on Saturday), EDI daily, BRS 6 weekly (no flight on Wednesdays for December on)

Jamie2k9

highlydebased wrote: »

Aer Lingus Regional winter schedule seems to be up, pretty much the same as the summer schedule, MAN 3x daily (2x on Saturday), BHX 2x daily (1 on Saturday), EDI daily, BRS 6 weekly (no flight on Wednesdays for December on)

MAN is also only 2 daily on Tuesday, Wednesday.

Brennans Row

Green Airport re-enforces Irish connection following governor’s trade mission (Warwick Beacon)

President and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation Kelly Fredericks said it was a “painful experience,” but he had no choice but to fly out of Boston’s Logan last Tuesday.

Airlines serving Green don’t offer trans-Atlantic flights, and Fredericks was a member of the governor’s delegation traveling to Ireland and Italy.

The trade mission, however, could be the prelude to flights across “the pond” to Ireland and a good deal, more according to Fredericks. He would welcome that. In terms of the Green Airport, Fredericks was looking for opportunities to gain passenger traffic and cargo.

He can imagine a relationship with Ireland West Airport Knock, and he returned with a letter of intent with the Shannon Airport Authority. The RIAC board, he said, approved the letter within the last month.

But the delegation comprised of Gov. Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island Commerce Corporation Executive Director Marcel Valois and Donald R. Sweitzer, chairman of GTECH Corporation, was also looking to cultivate business opportunities in both Ireland and Italy.

“Those guys worked like dogs,” Fredericks said of the delegation. “I was there for two days and I was exhausted.” Fredericks didn’t make the Italian leg of the trip.

Fredericks saw opportunities with both airports he visited. As Shannon shares the same air service development consultant as Green, InterVISTAS, he said there is a “unique partnership opportunity.”

This is not the first time air service between Green and Ireland has been mentioned. “Ireland has been on our radar for quite some time,” he said.

Ryan Air has been identified as a potential carrier, but as the airline currently doesn’t provide trans-Atlantic service, Fredericks believes if it were to happen, service with Ryan is three to five years away.

In the letter of intent signed by Chafee and RIAC board chair Jonathan Savage, the state pledges “its commitment towards the goals of researching passenger and cargo routes, mutual economic growth and meaningful exchange” between the two airports.

---

Kelly Fredericks spent two days in Ireland and ended up exhausted.

He must have bumped into Michael O'Leary as he believes a Ryanair trans-Atlantic service could be three to five years away.

JCX BXC

Imagine if shannon got €1 billion from the gov. That would beyond doubt help it. New railway station? Probably! Bus terminal? Probably!

If shannon was to get money it has a few key issues.

*Improve bus services, because at the moment, their poor at best.
*Rail services. Why not connect to limerick, galway and ennis for €9.99!
*Massive extension.
*Maybe a second runway (Although not needed at all, LHR only has 2)
*The hall after security needs to be improved majorly.
*Transform shannon into a connection hub.

Money well spent?

Cookiemunster

Carnacalla wrote: »

Imagine if shannon got €1 billion from the gov. That would beyond doubt help it. New railway station? Probably! Bus terminal? Probably!

If shannon was to get money it has a few key issues.

*Improve bus services, because at the moment, their poor at best.
*Rail services. Why not connect to limerick, galway and ennis for €9.99!
*Massive extension.
*Maybe a second runway (Although not needed at all, LHR only has 2)
*The hall after security needs to be improved majorly.
*Transform shannon into a connection hub.

Money well spent?

Money well spent? Basically no.
Taking your points in order, while bus services could be improved, they're isn't and never will be the population density to justify a rail connection.
The terminal doesn't need any extension (It's deserted most of the time) and there will never be a need for a second runway.
The departures lounge could do with a bit of modernisation alright.
A connection hub to where? While you could possibly try to get more trans Atlantic traffic, but Shannon isn't that far from LHR, AMS or CDG, which are some of the largest hubs in the world and is only down the road from DUB.

At the end of the day it's a small regional airport on the edge of Europe and if they can get back to near pre recession passenger levels everyone would be happy. Plus Shannon already had it's €100m debt wiped out and is getting ownership of the free zone, so it's not going to get any more money. It's sink or swim time now.

JCX BXC

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Plus Shannon already had it's €100m debt wiped out and is getting ownership of the free zone, so it's not going to get any more money. It's sink or swim time now.

How did it rack up 100mil debt

highlydebased

Carnacalla wrote: »

How did it rack up 100mil debt

Decades of being run inefficiently among other things

Jamie2k9

highlydebased wrote: »

Decades of being run inefficiently among other things

Certain customers of the airport are not the best for anybody and it could easily happen again.

JCX BXC

highlydebased wrote: »

Decades of being run inefficiently among other things

I presume DAA would be to blaim for that.
They caused ryanair to pull 75% of flights

GCU Flexible Demeanour

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Certain customers of the airport are not the best for anybody and it could easily happen again.

Although I'm not sure the debt was just about rolling over losses. There was a restructuring package, other investments and even the cost of an upgrade to the terminal about ten years ago that increased the capacity to over 5 million.

In fairness to current management, they do seem to try to keep expectations real. Compare and contrast this Ryanair statement from 2005.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/business/shannon-to-pass-three-million-passengers-mark-224054.html#ixzz1HY0V1KIr

Peter Sherrard, from Ryanair, said: “We are delighted that Ryanair’s new base has delivered such dramatic growth in passenger numbers at Shannon airport. This is good news for tourism and good news for business in the mid-west.


“Shannon airport authority has achieved this through its ability to compete, free from the dead hand of the Dublin Airport Authority monopoly, for Ryanair’s 1.5 million passengers per annum.


“This huge increase in passengers is ensuring the future of Shannon airport and Shannon’s strategic position as a driver of tourism for the West.”

highlydebased

Carnacalla wrote: »

I presume DAA would be to blaim for that.
They caused ryanair to pull 75% of flights

The debt hasn't come around in just the last couple of years. As GCU says below its a couple of things. Cast your mind back to before the first ever big Ryanair deal- when the airport was even quieter than it is now, it was a staff heavy organisation reliant on the Shannon stopover for business and the troop traffic. There was serious concern about financials in late 2011 as it was costing too much to even keep the doors open.

I also don't think the DAA are to blame entirely for the drop off on traffic. Not least because of the timing of the recession and the travel tax and whoever thought that 6 aircraft could be filled year round from Shannon conned themselves.

JCX BXC

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/top-trumps-head-to-shannon-as-airports-passengers-soar-30262510.html

Usually, they would keep people like that arriving quiet.

And thats a nice increase in passenger numbers.


On another note, Did shannon always offer porterage services?
http://www.shannonairport.ie/gns/Passengers/Prepare/porterage.aspx

Brennans Row

Donald Trump promises to invest €45m as he lands in Ireland (Irish Independent)

Shannon Airport rolls out the red carpet for what must be the mother of all PRs.

seachto7

Disgraceful that they rolled out the red carpet and bowed and scraped to that tuoped wa*ker today. He's not here for the good of the Doonbeg residents. Make sure to avail of the jobsbridge internships with his company folks.

lockman

April 2014 saw a large increase in passenger numbers at Shannon, when compared to April 2013. Highlights of this increase include:

Passenger numbers on European routes rose to 38,610, from 16,087 in April 2013, with UK provincial increasing by 27%, from 13,401 to 17,000. Transatlantic, meanwhile, enjoyed an 18% uplift in the month, from 20,147 to 23,852.

For the full release, see the airports news section:
http://www.shannonairport.ie/gns/about-us/latest-news/latest-news/14-05-12/140_increase_in_passengers_on_European_services_at_Shannon_in_April.aspx

April saw the introduction of the nine Ryanair routes to various European destinations, the new Aer Lingus route to Malaga, and the return of the Aer Lingus Regional route to Bristol, along with Aer Lingus Regional increase in services to Manchester and Birmingham.

Great to see this increase. The airport had been very quiet thus far in 2014 in terms of passenger numbers, so one assumes the numbers were static / saw a decline up to April.

Jamie2k9

Great to see this increase. The airport had been very quiet thus far in 2014 in terms of passenger numbers, so one assumes the numbers were static / saw a decline up to April.

I believe 2 or the 3 months up to April were a decline.

Brennans Row

seachto7 wrote: »

Disgraceful that they rolled out the red carpet and bowed and scraped to that tuoped wa*ker today.

Hey seachto7, when I was growing up in Limerick the word wa*ker meant something else (i.e. a tosser, a fool, a waster).

So when a guy who flies into Shannon in his own jet, buys a five-star Lodge hotel and a links course, spread over 400-acres, along 2½ miles of coast for a bargain price of €15 million, is your definition of a wa*ker?

Then Shannon disgracefully plays the celeb circus game by rolling out the red carpet, thus gaining a world of free media publicity in the process.

You have a problem with that?

seachto7 wrote: »

He's not here for the good of the Doonbeg residents. Make sure to avail of the jobsbridge internships with his company folks.

To be sure Trump is here to make money from golf and that means a livelihood for the residents of Doonbeg too.

Do you have any better alternatives yourself to grow business for Shannon or should we resign ourselves to back-stabbing attitudes and take the migration / emigration route instead?

---

Locals in Doonbeg today expressed their delight - and relief - that the future of the club has been secured.

Community organisation, the Doonbeg Community Development Ltd was instrumental in putting together the original package of lands with Shannon Development in the 1990s that resulted in Kiawah Partners developing the links course.

The organisation’s chairman, Willie Hanrahan, said: “We’re absolutely delighted with the news as it secures the 200 jobs at the golf course.” (11.02.2014 Irish Times)

JCX BXC

One thing about shannon is there is only 1 winter sun route. And for lanzarote the min is €200 return (much more with ryanair)

highlydebased

Carnacalla wrote: »

One thing about shannon is there is only 1 winter sun route. And for lanzarote the min is €200 return (much more with ryanair)

Ryanair winter schedule still not out- one would hope it might include Malaga at least.

Cookiemunster

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

I believe 2 or the 3 months up to April were a decline.

Actually January traffic was up 3.2%, February up 10.9% and March down 4.2% on 2013. March can be put down to Easter being in Apr this year. https://www.iaa.ie/traffic_monthly_review

Jamie2k9

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Actually January traffic was up 3.2%, February up 10.9% and March down 4.2% on 2013. March can be put down to Easter being in Apr this year. https://www.iaa.ie/traffic_monthly_review

Movements were up but I will check again but passenger numbers were down by around 2%.

Ryanair winter schedule still not out- one would hope it might include Malaga at least.

As of last week it will not.