Is the Dublin / Vienna route so price sensitive that only Lauda offer services?

Shannon Airport owning group appoints new company secretary
Shannon Group select solicitor Rachel Leahy as new head of legal and secretary role

The State group that owns Shannon Airport has appointed solicitor Rachel Leahy as company secretary and head of legal and Paul MacNamara as chief finance officer.

www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-a ... -1.4133325

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Flight diverts to Shannon with passenger suffering 'psychotic' episode on board

US-bound flight has made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport this afternoon after the crew reported they had a ‘psychotic passenger’ on board.

https://amp.breakingnews.ie/ireland/fli ... 74090.html

Fliplot wrote:

Is the Dublin / Vienna route so price sensitive that only Lauda offer services?

Aer Lingus fly daily in summer and 4-5weekly in winter but appears to take a break for next few weeks.

A very weird event at Dublin Airport. A minibus was hi-jacked, with passengers onboard.
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/01 ... n-arrests/

dstc47 wrote:

A very weird event at Dublin Airport. A minibus was hi-jacked, with passengers onboard.
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/01 ... n-arrests/

Madness !

JAmie2k9 wrote:

Fliplot wrote:

Is the Dublin / Vienna route so price sensitive that only Lauda offer services?

Aer Lingus fly daily in summer and 4-5weekly in winter but appears to take a break for next few weeks.

The schedules are not optimised for business travellers and I have used LH via FRA on a couple of occasions as there are frequent services between FRA and VIE.

I'm curious as to why OS doesn't do a DUB-VIE run especially since the other LH group airlines with the notable exception of EW and SN are quite strong in DUB. They could also tap into connecting traffic going to Eastern Europe/CIS countries which only really has TK and whatever destinations LH can offer through MUC/FRA. Whilst I see how doing this has the potential to cannibalise the hubs in MUC and FRA I think routing connections to Eastern Europe/CIS through VIE and connections to destinations further afield through MUC/FRA makes sense and would provide a better offering for Irish passengers.

You answered your own question - to avoid eating into LH on MUC/FRA, and a lessor degree LX on ZRH! LH rules absolute!

Willie Walsh to step down as IAG chief executive
Former Aer Lingus chief will retire in June but step aside from board in March

Willie Walsh has announced plans to retire as chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG) in March.

The Irish former pilot will leave the IAG altogether at the end of June. IAG is the parent of both Aer Lingus and British Airways, as well as Iberia. He will be succeeded as IAG boss by the current Iberia chief executive Luis Gallego.

www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-a ... 7?mode=amp

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Ireland West Airport saw a record 807,000 passengers pass through its gates in 2019

Ireland West Airport had a record year in 2019 as passenger numbers rose 5pc to 807,000. It marked the fourth consecutive year of passenger growth at the airport near Knock in Co Mayo.

https://amp.independent.ie/business/iri ... 45913.html

OA260 wrote:

Willie Walsh to step down as IAG chief executive
Former Aer Lingus chief will retire in June but step aside from board in March

Willie Walsh has announced plans to retire as chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG) in March.

The end of an era right there.

I firmly believe there is no way the sale of Aer Lingus to IAG would have proceeded if it wasn't for Willie Walsh. I'm very glad it did, because it really has helped to secure the airline's future.

Hard to believe its 8 years since EK arrived at DUB

Noticed something interesting in the new Northern Ireland "A New Decade, A New Approach" agreement.

"The Irish Government also intends to take forward a review of the potential for Government support to renewed viable air routes from Cork to Belfast and Dublin to Derry, working with the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive to deliver improved connections as a priority."

Page 59 of the document: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... proach.pdf

Seems we may see a return of the Belfast-Cork route in the near future!

kstse wrote:

Noticed something interesting in the new Northern Ireland "A New Decade, A New Approach" agreement. "The Irish Government also intends to take forward a review of the potential for Government support to renewed viable air routes from Cork to Belfast and Dublin to Derry in the near future!

Personally, I've always thought it was a shame that a BHD-ORK never really seemed to work for anyone. I could see a XXX-ORK-BHD vv W-route on Stobart being rather successful, assuming Stobart overnight an a/c elsewhere other than DUB. Or do Stobart themselves have a base at ORK in which case that would simplify the deal. Cork is now a major European centre for the likes of Apple, for example. ORK is rather exposed in it's location if trying to get there from the North. It's a rather hefty drive to say the least and the train via DUB doesn't really offer any great advantages. Yes, there is the current thorny issue of UK ADP, but I do believe that your average punter would be willing to suffer that rather than sit in the car for +/-5 hours. Especially if the numpties in Stormont actually get back to work, we may be able to get some movement on the reduction/abolition of APD on departures ex NI.

A BHD-SNN doesn't make any sense, even if to connect with EI TATL from there. Given that the road between Belfast and Dublin is now a motorway for the vast majority of the journey (of ca. 90mins), it is much easier to drive to Dublin and pick up your US bound bird from there. Further, with at least an hourly bus service between the two cities 24 hours per day in each direction, life couldn't be easier.

I also see a Stobart DUB-LDY as a distinct possibility. If they can make DUB-CFN work on a daily basis then given the demographics of the Greater Derry area then surely it's a no-brainer. Or just for the sake of throwing my 2 cents out there, could we see a Loganair interest if a PSO is on the table, or is a cross-border PSO even allowed now that I think about it? (See also above comment re UK ADP....same applies here!)

BDKLEZ wrote:

kstse wrote:

A BHD-SNN doesn't make any sense, even if to connect with EI TATL from there. Given that the road between Belfast and Dublin is now a motorway for the vast majority of the journey (of ca. 90mins), it is much easier to drive to Dublin and pick up your US bound bird from there. Further, with at least an hourly bus service between the two cities 24 hours per day in each direction, life couldn't be easier.

If you live in some parts of the south east of England it takes longer than that to get to an airport. (due to traffic rather than distance)

Alex

BDKLEZ wrote:

Personally, I've always thought it was a shame that a BHD-ORK never really seemed to work for anyone. I could see a XXX-ORK-BHD vv W-route on Stobart being rather successful, assuming Stobart overnight an a/c elsewhere other than DUB. Or do Stobart themselves have a base at ORK in which case that would simplify the deal.

Stobart have 3 AT7s based at Cork year round for the Aer Lingus Regional Network. To be honest though I think the AT7 might even be too big, there aren’t very strong links between Cork and Belfast. Historical road journeys would have been in the region of 7 hours. There isn’t a rail connection without changing from Heuston to Connolly either. The Luas makes this easier, but is a recent development. That said, anything which increases North-South relations and possibly trade is a positive.

Is it likely there'll ever be a DUB-BKK direct route?

johhnieonion wrote:

Is it likely there'll ever be a DUB-BKK direct route?

Anything is possible! I think it’s challenging yield-wise as both the Thai and Irish markets are relatively time insensitive so the competition from the one-stop routes through the Middle East have less of a disadvantage versus non-stop. The runway at Dublin is an operational challenge too. I’d imagine that Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing or Singapore would be more likely cities. Maybe even KUL with AirAsiaX, but I think Western Europe is too far for them.

johhnieonion wrote:

Is it likely there'll ever be a DUB-BKK direct route?

East has always been difficult for Dublin, while BKK is a popular destination with around 60k+ bi-directional O&D that is barely enough for a 2 weekly service. BKK is primarily flown by leisure traffic that is very price sensitive and therefore happy to connect rather than paying a premium for direct. DUB-BKK also doesn't have the premium demand to make up the difference.

Basically, EI can make more money operating their A330s to North American destinations and TG can make more money (lose less money ) flying to other European destinations.

For comparison Skoot, Singapore's LLC flew 79k+ bi-directional passengers between Athens and Singapore in 2018 on a twice weekly service. DUB-SIN had around 35k+ bi-directional O&D in '18

DUB / LDY has operated before and could be viable with PSO support. There are, however, plans for improved road links here which might make this type of service as difficult as other domestic routes have been.

Links between Cork and Belfast are not strong, indeed with the long period of unrest, many have never been in the North and Brexit is not likely to encourage them. Business travel is probably only capable of supporting a very small demand and yet would presumably demand double daily service to allow day trips. Hard to make money that way.

Flew DUB/LDY/DUB several times back in 1989/90 on EI Commuter Saab340 and can remember some flights where I was the only passenger. More relaxed times back then resulted in this av. geek being invited to the jumpseat for landing at LDY on one of those lone passenger flights. Happy times.

IrishTexan wrote:

Flew DUB/LDY/DUB several times back in 1989/90 on EI Commuter Saab340 and can remember some flights where I was the only passenger. More relaxed times back then resulted in this av. geek being invited to the jumpseat for landing at LDY on one of those lone passenger flights. Happy times.

Different times indeed! I recall being in the jumpseat of an Aer Lingus 747 flying over Newfoundland towards Boston as a kid.

Irish Rugby teams are on the move this weekend, with Ulster away in Clermont on a Jet2 B737-800 and Munster even using a B757-200 for their trip to Paris tomorrow:

https://championsleaguecharters.blogspo ... -2020.html

IrishTexan wrote:

Flew DUB/LDY/DUB several times back in 1989/90 .

I remember flying BHD-LDY on Jersey European
( FLYBE ) years ago . Amazing that such a route even existed.

The new Aer Lingus uniform looks set to be revealed on the 15th, not publicly confirmed by the airline but invitations going out.

shamrock350 wrote:

The new Aer Lingus uniform looks set to be revealed on the 15th, not publicly confirmed by the airline but invitations going out.

Indeed. Reveal on the 15th, staff will be able to collect their stock over a two week period from the 16th and then I suppose they will switch overnight sometime in February.

State paid €2.75 million for Connemara airport that had been originally valued at €600k
The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht defended the purchase, saying the airport is of “strategic importance”.

A GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT has defended paying €2.75 million for an airport in Connemara that had been valued at €600,000 in an independent report they commissioned.

The purchase of Aerfort Chonamara was confirmed in December by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, who said the airport was “of strategic importance”.

A copy of a valuation report, obtained under FOI however, has revealed that the Department were told it was worth only €600,000 in January of last year.

That report described a series of weaknesses and threats to the airport including a “small and decreasing customer base on the Aran Islands”.

www.thejournal.ie/aran-islands-airport-4961554-Jan2020/

VFRonTop wrote:

Basically, EI can make more money operating their A330s to North American destinations and TG can make more money (lose less money ) flying to other European destinations.

For comparison Skoot, Singapore's LLC flew 79k+ bi-directional passengers between Athens and Singapore in 2018 on a twice weekly service. DUB-SIN had around 35k+ bi-directional O&D in '18

I totally agree, on both counts. It would be interesting to know how much Scoot grew the SIN-ATH route just by launching the non-stop.

There is no doubt that long-haul low cost is a very difficult market to make money in. It very difficult to get the costs low enough while getting fares and utilisation high enough to make money. The reality is that flying in Economy is already very cheap in some cases. This November I flew to Miami for £250 return on Virgin, hand baggage only, but included in-seat IFE, 2 meals, beers/wine/spirits/soft drinks. £125 for an 8 hour flight is incredibly cheap, the last-minute economy, premium economy and upper class subsidise these fares. Virgin probably made more money on people redeeming miles than with these cash fares. Without that revenue mix how can an airline make money though? FR and easyJet were able to drive utilisation up and costs down, Norwegian haven't managed the same trick yet.

dstc47 wrote:

Links between Cork and Belfast are not strong, indeed with the long period of unrest, many have never been in the North and Brexit is not likely to encourage them. Business travel is probably only capable of supporting a very small demand and yet would presumably demand double daily service to allow day trips. Hard to make money that way.

Maybe someone like Loganair would be suitable? There are precious few airlines still flying ~30 seat aircraft right now. I guess the merges CityJet/AirNostrum might be interested, especially if they were doing some flying elsewhere for the likes of IB, AF or KL.

I was recently on LH2518 MUC-DUB. The door closed and as passengers were in the aisle making their way towards the back of the aircraft to get seated, the plane pushed back and cabin crew started shouting at pax to quickly take their seats.
I was astonished to see something like this happen, the problem then is that at the back all the space in the overhead bins was full. And there were at least 6 pax still yet go reach their seat. The cabin crew were very rude and shouting..... entirely not the fault of the pax. I was not expecting something like this with Lufthansa.

Skyblue39 wrote:

I was recently on LH2518 MUC-DUB. The door closed and as passengers were in the aisle making their way towards the back of the aircraft to get seated, the plane pushed back and cabin crew started shouting at pax to quickly take their seats.
I was astonished to see something like this happen, the problem then is that at the back all the space in the overhead bins was full. And there were at least 6 pax still yet go reach their seat. The cabin crew were very rude and shouting..... entirely not the fault of the pax. I was not expecting something like this with Lufthansa.

I've always found Lufthansa crews to be stern but friendly when it mattered and above all else incredibly professional. Sounds like this crew were having a particularly bad day but no real excuse to be shouting at passengers.

Speaking of Munich, Ryanair has dropped DUB-MUC this year leaving it to Aer Lingus and Lufthansa.

shamrock350 wrote:

Speaking of Munich, Ryanair has dropped DUB-MUC this year leaving it to Aer Lingus and Lufthansa.

Very strange.
You would think Ryanair would be able to make a route with 500k + pax a year work!

I find boarding at Dublin, especially C Gates, to be sloppy at best! Not always the airlines fault but they do pick the ground handling agents. In the last 5 years LH has been arriving, ever increasingly, late and turnaround times are quite tight. I have missed numerous connections at FRA (less so MUC) because of late arriving flights and the silly 10pm departure curfew there.

'Fantastic news for the regional economy' - Knock Airport reports busiest ever year
Passenger numbers are Ireland West Airport in Knock were up by almost 5% as they had their busiest ever year.

The airport had 807,000 passengers surpassing the previous record set last year, making it the fourth year in a row they have beaten their top number.

https://amp.breakingnews.ie/business/fa ... 74433.html

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FlyBe cancels flight from Leeds Bradford Airport - and reports of fire engine on scene

The BE740 flight from Leeds Bradford Airport to Belfast City Airport was scheduled to depart at 8pm, and arrive in Belfast at 9pm.

FlyBe has confirmed that the flight has been cancelled.

www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/tra ... 362152?amp

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Passenger stole €4k worth of perfume and cosmetics at Cork Airport, court hears

A PASSENGER with a one-way ticket for Edinburgh waited until he had passed all security checks at Cork Airport before stealing €4,434 worth of perfume and cosmetics at the duty-free store.

However, another passenger spotted the large scale shoplifting and alerted authorities.

www.echolive.ie/corknews/Passenger-stol ... b1105a4-ds

VFRonTop wrote:

Skoot, Singapore's LLC flew 79k+ bi-directional passengers between Athens and Singapore in 2018 on a twice weekly service. DUB-SIN had around 35k+ bi-directional O&D in '18

O&D would not be the main market with SIN - DUB though - it would be transits, particularly passengers to Australasia (where there are huge Irish people-to-people links), and cargo to Southeast Asia. This is how the ME3 operate at DUB too. However, the SQ Group has a big advantage in both Australasia and Southeast Asia over the ME3, so I could totally see them making a go of DUB in the future. IMO, the issue is not (lack of) demand - it's the runway length at DUB. IIRC HKG was the limit - SIN is simply too far for current technology?

Cheers,

C.

VFRonTop wrote:

Basically, EI can make more money operating their A330s to North America.

While that may be true right now, longer-term, it would be naive to ignore the growth going on in Asia-Pacific, and it would be increasingly risky to continue to have all of the company's eggs in one basket.

Although EI's role in IAG is primarily North American, there is a precedent for limited diversification - IB was able to branch out from its predominantly South American-focused role to launch NRT/PVG.

Cheers,

C.

VFRonTop wrote:

... while BKK is a popular destination with around 60k+ bi-directional O&D that is barely enough for a 2 weekly service.

Again, O&D is one thing, but I think connections also add to the piece. In BKK's case, EI could actually offer connectivity to both a) North America (JFK - BKK via DUB is shorter than via LHR, FRA, NRT, DXB etc) and b) regional UK (e.g. MAN is one of the biggest unserved markets for BKK, and EI is not insignificant at MAN).

There are also options to help mitigate risk, like by launching the service as a seasonal one first (that 60k O&D figure would be skewed, IMO, where in some parts of the year, it would support a 3 or 4 weekly service, and during other times, only 1. EI could also look at a codesharing arrangement with TG through to Australasia.

Cheers,

C.

BrianDromey wrote:

There is no doubt that long-haul low cost is a very difficult market to make money in.

Indeed. Though, I don't think we'd see a LHLC do DUB - Asia. While DUB and ATH both have VFR traffic in Asia-Pacific, ATH is more of a low-yielding tourist hot spot, with skewed in-bound traffic (e.g. cruising), whereas DUB is an increasingly wealthy business hub, with good potential both in-bound and out-bound. Therefore, I see DUB more supporting the likes of SQ (and CX, if/when they return), than Scoot.

Cheers,

C.

planemanofnz wrote:

O&D would not be the main market with SIN - DUB though - it would be transits, particularly passengers to Australasia.

... SQ Group has a big advantage in both Australasia and Southeast Asia over the ME3

I’d be curious to read your thoughts as to what advantage SQ have over the EU3 and ME3 in capturing connections to Aus et al?

planemanofnz wrote:

Again, O&D is one thing, but I think connections also add to the piece. In BKK's case, EI could actually offer connectivity to both a) North America (JFK - BKK via DUB is shorter than via LHR, FRA, NRT, DXB etc) and b) regional UK (e.g. MAN is one of the biggest unserved markets for BKK, and EI is not insignificant at MAN).

That’s a lot of reliance on connecting traffic that is already being captured by EK, QR, EY, CX, TK, BA, LH, KL, and all the rest. As BrianDromey has mentioned Y fares are very low and have been consistently low for quite a while. Without strong O&D at decent yields (specifically business demand) to fill the plane I think any east bound flights will struggle, HKG is our most recent, and unfortunate example.

I do agree however that the limitations of the airfield are a factor that will hopefully no long be an issue with the north runway.

VFRonTop wrote:

I’d be curious to read your thoughts as to what advantage SQ have over the EU3 and ME3 in capturing connections to Aus et al?

I'm talking primarily about:

1. Frequencies (e.g. in New Zealand, SQ has up to 6 flights a day, compared to EK's 3, QR's 1 and EY's nil).
2. Destinations (SQ Group can take you to places like OOL, CNS, DRW, WLG etc, that an ME3 simply can't).

VFRonTop wrote:

That’s a lot of reliance on connecting traffic that is already being captured by EK, QR, EY, CX, TK, BA, LH, KL, and all the rest.

No different to EI capturing connections to the US from places like FCO, FRA, CDG etc, being captured before by BA, KL, etc?

Cheers,

C.

Trousers on offer for first time for female Aer Lingus crew as airline to launch new uniforms
Airline has long and proud history of using Irish designers with Louise Kennedy returning to helm

Next Wednesday, January 15th, sees the launch of Louise Kennedy’s new uniforms for Aer Lingus, replacing her last collection from 1998. All details are being kept under wraps until the unveiling, but we do know that one of the big changes for the female cabin crew will be trousers for the first time. Also, blue rather than green may dominate the colour of the uniforms, but all will be revealed on the day.

www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/fashi ... 3?mode=amp

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CCPC concern leads Ryanair to change currency option

Ryanair has made changes to its website following the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) raising concerns about how it presents currency conversions to consumers.

Last year, Ryanair's use of dynamic currency conversion was criticised by Which?, a UK consumer watchdog, for the high conversion rate it charged customers. The watchdog highlighted that, where the customer was buying a fare advertised in another currency, the airline automatically converted fares to the home currency of the purchaser, at an exchange rate that compared unfavourably against market rates.

https://amp.independent.ie/business/iri ... 53533.html

planemanofnz wrote:

I'm talking primarily about:

1. Frequencies (e.g. in New Zealand, SQ has up to 6 flights a day, compared to EK's 3, QR's 1 and EY's nil).
2. Destinations (SQ Group can take you to places like OOL, CNS, DRW, WLG etc, that an ME3 simply can't).

Both points are valid, though I'd still wager that one daily frequency with a decent connection time is all that is necessary for the demand out of Dublin. I was thinking that the ME3 have the advantage due to more connection opportunities (offering African destinations and North Asian CN, JP etc. destinations) without the need to back track which help to fill the DUB leg. ME3 also have a better/more economical stage length, 7 hours to DXB/AUH/DOH versus 15 hours to SIN.

planemanofnz wrote:

No different to EI capturing connections to the US from places like FCO, FRA, CDG etc, being captured before by BA, KL, etc?

True, but DUB has the O&D demand to have (mostly) healthy yields to North American destinations. in 2019 connecting passengers accounted for ~6% of all DUB traffic (approx 2m) O&D had to fill the rest.

I personally would love to see SIN, BKK, PEK/PKX and other Eastern destinations being served directly from DUB and by their local carriers but I don't think that we will see it for a few years yet. Best I'm hoping for is that Cathay and Juneyao hang in there for another year.

Flybe is on the ropes once more.

Under a deal that completed last March, a consortium comprising of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group, and Cyrus Capital Partners acquired Flybe's operating assets.

The consortium had pledged to pump £100m into Flybe's turnaround plan, with the airline being rebranded as Virgin Connect from later this year.

Insiders said, however, that Connect's proposed financing requirements had become more onerous, potentially leaving Flybe on the brink of collapse.

EY, the accountancy firm, has been put on standby to handle an administration of Flybe Group, according to aviation industry sources.

http://news.sky.com/story/regional-airline-flybe-in-frantic-bid-to-stave-off-collapse-11907407

https://www.dublinairport.com/latest-ne ... ro-service

More good news for DUB. Didn’t see this one coming

So pleased to finally see Egypt Air announce Cairo - Dublin, 4w and year round as well.

Egyptair have already assigned a consolidator for Ireland so expect some pretty good Business Class fares and some great earning and burning opportunities Ex DUB for those who are Star FF members.

Great to hear the Egyptair announcement!

Has anyone seen any sneak peeks of the new EI uniform? Really looking forward to the reveal on Wednesday!

I've been pretty impressed to see that the A321 running SNN-BOS has pretty much gone without a hiccup. Ever since it started, I don't think more than a few flights have been canceled. EI-LRA doing a good job.

Deadline looms for appeals on Dublin Airport passenger charges
Department sets January 24th as closing date for appeals to aviation regulator’s ruling

Time is running out for anyone seeking to challenge a controversial ruling by regulators to cut Dublin Airport’s passenger charges to €7.87 a head, the Department of Transport warned on Monday.

www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-a ... 1?mode=amp

ChrisNH38 wrote:

I've been pretty impressed to see that the A321 running SNN-BOS has pretty much gone without a hiccup. Ever since it started, I don't think more than a few flights have been canceled. EI-LRA doing a good job.

Only 1 outbound and 1 inbound have been cancelled since it started the end of October

Does anyone know why Boeing have put up billboards around the exit roads at DUB? They just show the Boeing logo, nothing else.

EI321 wrote:

Does anyone know why Boeing have put up billboards around the exit roads at DUB? They just show the Boeing logo, nothing else.

Actually its for an airline conference.

https://www.aviationnews-online.com/conferences/dublin/