Shannon Airport (Feb 2012 - Jan 2014)

Brennans Row · 18-11-2013 5:50pm

Aer Lingus adds Malaga to next year’s summer schedule (Shannon Airport News)

Brennans Row · 18-11-2013 11:44pm

Aviation Services Centre next on list for Shannon

Airport Management at Shannon Airport is to turn its attention to establishing an International Aviation Services Centre as part of the next phase of their plan for the independent airport.

The aviation centre is a key part of the future strategy for the airport once it takes over the valuable landbank of Shannon Development in the coming months.

Shannon Airport Chairman is Rose Hines . . . (listen to live95fm)

This should be a very interesting phase to follow and hopefully it will produce the large number of jobs that were visualised.

Brennans Row · 19-11-2013 12:40pm

Helicopter-leasing business Waypoint to triple workforce (Irish Times)

Waypoint Leasing, a seven-month old Limerick-based helicopter leasing company backed by successful financier George Soros, plans to treble its workforce in Ireland next year as it begins to deploy the $700 million-plus in equity and debt funding that it has raised to date.

Alan Jenkins, the company’s chief financial officer, told The Irish Times that Waypoint plans to increase its headcount in Limerick from seven currently to 20 by the end of 2014.

He said the company would close deals involving $150 million of assets this week, rising to more than $300 million by the year end. This will bring its fleet under management to 21 helicopters. The models, acquired mostly through sale and leaseback agreements, include aircraft from Eurocopter SAS, Finmeccanica’s AgustaWestland unit, and Sikorsky.

Mr Jenkins said Waypoint chose Ireland for its head office due to the strong pool of talent available here in the aircraft leasing sector.

I wonder will they eventually move into the airports Westpark Campus where a cluster of aviation companies have already set up?

Brennans Row · 19-11-2013 6:22pm

Canadian Helicopter Corporation (CHC) Shannon - Irish Coast Guard

The Shannon search and rescue base is nearly 25 years old. The Coast Guard at Shannon covers vast areas of the Atlantic ocean (Valentia Division) which extends 200 miles out.

It also has several mountain ranges in its area, including Ireland's highest mountains in Co Kerry.

The base carries out a significant number of rescues of the many islands of the west coast including the busy Aran Islands and on the lakes of the Shannon.

The two CHC hangars at Shannon seem capable to do MRO?

It would be curious to know if CHC leases helicopters from Waypoint Leasing?

Image by Donal Morrissey

feargale · 19-11-2013 7:51pm

Those involved in the tourist trade in the Mid-West Region plus Kerry, Galway etc. need to form their own tourist board to market the west and south, opening a few small offices in N.Y., Boston, Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Paris etc.. Most tourists want to visit the capital city, but you don't need most. You only need a niche minority.

Brennans Row · 20-11-2013 12:59pm

I believe some 25.000 people work in tourism in the Mid-West alone.

The Atlantic coastline from West-Cork to Donegal is a great natural product, so too is the river Shannon.

I agree we need to have people on ground out there as nothing is better than local knowledge in order to market that product.

The internet has great potential too, as Ryanair hinted in their announcement of new routes to Shannon over the possibility of marketing ones region as part of their new website.

Earlier on in the year a delegation of tourism operators from the West of Ireland spent a week in Chicago promoting the new routes to Shannon.

This seems to have paid dividends.

Brennans Row · 21-11-2013 1:58pm

Aer Lingus cabin crew back settlement proposals in Shannon row (Irish Times)

Aer Lingus cabin crew based at Shannon Airport have voted to accept proposals drawn up at the Labour Relations Commission aimed at resolving a dispute over staffing levels on new trans-Atlantic services.

Shannon aviation firm secures Qatar Airlines deal (Irish Examiner)

Shannon-based Eirtech Aviation will undertake the work across a number of Qatar Airline’s operational bases, including in Shannon, Dublin, Ostrava and its recently established Rome facility.

The seven-year contract involves the exterior repainting of 74 of Qatar Airline’s wide and narrow body aircraft, including 49 Boeing 777s, together with a number of A330s and A320s.

Major Cargo Hub at Shannon would support Irish exports (Shannon Airport News)

350 delegates attend International Air Transport Association (IATA) conference at the Strand Hotel, Limerick.

The development of a cargo hub at Shannon Airport – one of the key pillars of the new Shannon Group plc’s long-term plans - will be key to supporting companies across the West of Ireland and beyond in accessing major emerging markets such as China, a global aviation conference staged in Limerick today heard.

For example, there are seafood producers across the West of Ireland who have product that is much sought after in China but they cannot get that product to China quickly. A cargo hub at Shannon would be of huge benefit to these exporters and the same applies across many sectors.

“A cargo terminal is part of our long-term planning and there are a number of reasons for this, not least geographical, with Ireland ideally located as a transatlantic cargo hub not just for Europe but also for the Middle East and Asia.

Jhcx · 21-11-2013 4:32pm

Its all such good news to see all this happening. Should hopefully be a good boost for the region specially if it gets to become a cargo hub. lots of room to play around with .

Brennans Row · 28-11-2013 10:00pm

Improved access into Shannon Airport from the USA has contributed to a 12% increase in visitors to the medieval banquets at the Shannon Heritage run castles of Bunratty, Knappogue and Dunguaire.

crazyguy01 · 04-12-2013 1:14am

Looks like more good news on the way for the airport, additional routes being announced by Aer Lingus Regional at a press conference in the airport at about 10 O'clock tomorrow (Wednesday).
Can't find the link on my phone but it was on the airport's Facebook page.
The press conference will be live on the airport website.

link to press conference: http://www.shannonairport.ie/gns/about-us/latest-news/latest-news/13-12-04/Aer_Lingus_Regional_Live_Press_Conference.aspx

Auldloon · 04-12-2013 11:19am

Just had a listen there. New daily to Bristol and an increase in traffic on existing uk routes of Manchester and Birmingham.
30 new jobs in Aer Arann.

Brennans Row · 04-12-2013 12:58pm

I discretely tuned into the live-webcast (at work :rolleyes:) and did I rightly hear Aer Lingus use the term “Shannon Hub” i.e. for those wishing to fly to the states from Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester?

The background posters of today’s announcement were also very prominent i.e. “Shannon’s Pre-Clearance Facility” and “Aer Lingus Bristol – Shannon Route”.

dr.fuzzenstein · 04-12-2013 1:22pm

Once again the sky's the limit.
Here's to a glimmer of hope for the region.
Soon the Dubs will complain that the west gets everything! :cool:

lockman · 04-12-2013 4:43pm

Auldloon wrote: »

Just had a listen there. New daily to Bristol and an increase in traffic on existing uk routes of Manchester and Birmingham.
30 new jobs in Aer Arann.

Good news indeed. The increase in capacity means almost 100K extra seats from next year.

The Bristol route is not entirely new - Aer Lingus regional used to operate this route up to ~2012(iirc).

The airport news section reports that 20 or so new direct jobs will be created as a result of this.

The increases in Manchester and Birmingham mean that now there will be 3x daily Manchester services(up from 2x), and 2x daily Birmingham services (up from 1x daily). This is good for the business and indeed leisure traveller as both these airports have good onward connections.

For more details on this increase, see the airport's news section:
http://www.shannonairport.ie/gns/about-us/latest-news/latest-news/13-12-04/Another_major_boost_for_Shannon_as_Aer_Lingus_Regional_announces_100_000_additional_seats_for_2014.aspx

Also delighted to hear mention of a Shannon hub as reported by BR above. Aer Lingus have been doing something similar in Dublin for some time now i.e. tapping into regional UK areas and feeding the passengers into their transatlantic flights.

Brennans Row · 04-12-2013 5:43pm

lockman wrote: »

Also delighted to hear mention of a Shannon hub as reported by BR above. Aer Lingus have been doing something similar in Dublin for some time now i.e. tapping into regional UK areas and feeding the passengers into their transatlantic flights.

Yep, the Independent confirms more or less what I thought I heard . . . .

Aer Arann is trying to also trying to lure passengers from the UK who wish to travel to the US via Ireland.

They can avail of US customs and immigration preclearance in Shannon and Dublin, saving them hours of queuing when they arrived in America.

Aer Arann operates Aer Lingus Regional under a franchise agreement with the bigger airline.

irishbloke77 · 04-12-2013 7:03pm

Brennans Row wrote: »

I discretely tuned into the live-webcast (at work :rolleyes:) and did I rightly hear Aer Lingus use the term “Shannon Hub” i.e. for those wishing to fly to the states from Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester?

The background posters of today’s announcement were also very prominent i.e. “Shannon’s Pre-Clearance Facility” and “Aer Lingus Bristol – Shannon Route”.

Great news indeed for shannon. Will hopefully work well with the transatlantic business from Manchester and Birmingham. However, won't really work on the Bristol route as that gets into shannon too late to make the connection.

RonanM123 · 05-12-2013 3:05am

Flybe are closing SNN to Glasgow early in Jan while Aer Lingus extend the capacity reduction to LHR into summer 2014 also.

irishbloke77 · 05-12-2013 10:04am

RonanM123 wrote: »

Flybe are closing SNN to Glasgow early in Jan while Aer Lingus extend the capacity reduction to LHR into summer 2014 also.

Had a look for the expansion of the heathrow flight and can't find it. Are you talking about extra flights.

If it's aircraft size, they were using the airbus 320 but went back to the 319 about 2 months ago or so. I see they are going back to the 320, is this what you are referring to? I see you say "capacity" rather than "frequency".

Johnboy1951 · 05-12-2013 7:48pm

irishbloke77 wrote: »

Had a look for the expansion of the heathrow flight and can't find it. Are you talking about extra flights.

If it's aircraft size, they were using the airbus 320 but went back to the 319 about 2 months ago or so. I see they are going back to the 320, is this what you are referring to? I see you say "capacity" rather than "frequency".

I read this opposite to what you seem to have ....

while Aer Lingus extend the capacity reduction to LHR

irishbloke77 · 05-12-2013 8:41pm

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I read this opposite to what you seem to have ....

Actually, you seem to be correct. The airbus 320 seems to be back over the Christmas period, but gone again over summer back to the 319. That's a loss of about 100 seats total each way per day, quite significant about 25% or so.

Auldloon · 13-12-2013 5:54pm

Does anyone know of any hangers in Shannon not being used at the moment? Old srs hanger perhaps?

Brennans Row · 13-12-2013 9:07pm

Auldloon wrote: »

Does anyone know of any hangers in Shannon not being used at the moment? Old srs hanger perhaps?

No, the former SRS hangar was bought by the BBA Group.

They have based an aircraft handling operation called Signature Flight Support (SFS).

Auldloon · 15-12-2013 12:42am

Wonder did they change the letter on the middle door to an F

Brennans Row · 16-12-2013 10:33am

Blow to Shannon Airport as Flybe axes Glasgow route (Irish Examiner)

Shannon Airport has been dealt a blow with news that Europe’s largest regional airline is to pull out only months after recommencing operations from there.

Flybe was the first new airline that Shannon Airport managed to secure after it was granted independence from the Dublin Airport Authority at the beginning of the year.

Announced last January and launched in May as a new year-round, three times a week service, Flybe’s Shannon to Glasgow service is understood to have performed particularly well during the summer.

The embattled UK-based airline has now confirmed that the last date of operation of this route will be Jan 5.

The last Shannon to Glasgow service, which was operated by Aer Arann on behalf of Aer Lingus Regional, began in Jul 2010 but was short-lived.

It’s now hoped Aer Lingus Regional or Ryanair will seize the opportunity to take over the route.

Stellaluna · 16-12-2013 5:26pm

Auldloon wrote: »

Wonder did they change the letter on the middle door to an F

I'm fairly sure it's still an R in the middle!

Johnboy1951 · 16-12-2013 5:41pm

Off topic of Shannon ...... but I thought it might be interesting to those reading this thread .... a great PR move it seems ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIEIvi2MuEk

Mods please remove if inappropriate.

dr.fuzzenstein · 16-12-2013 7:37pm

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Off topic of Shannon ...... but I thought it might be interesting to those reading this thread .... a great PR move it seems ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIEIvi2MuEk

Mods please remove if inappropriate.

I bet the guy who wished for socks thought "Fcuk!" when the other guy got his 50 inch plasma telly.

Brennans Row · 17-12-2013 7:39pm

Aercap’s takeover of ILFC to create global aircraft leasing leader with $41bn assets (Irish Times)

Netherlands-headquartered Aercap, whose key operations are based in Shannon and whose chief executive is Irishman Aengus Kelly, is buying AIG’s aircraft leasing outfit International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) for $5.4 billion (€3.9bn).

When the deal closes in the second quarter of next year it will create an aircraft leasing group with assets of $41 billion, a fleet of close to 1,400 aircraft and an order book of 385 further aircraft, which its statement valued at around $25 billion yesterday.

John Higgins, president and chief commercial officer at Dublin-based aircraft lessor Avolon, said the news was good from both an industry perspective and from that of the Republic. “Anything that’s good for aircraft leasing is good for Ireland because Ireland is the global leader.”

Aercap’s expansion should enhance Westpark’s profile and hopefully other sectors of the aviation services at Shannon will benefit too.

Also, going on the strength of this image, it seems that the leased Boeings for Aer Lingus (US route) are been overhauled at Shannon Aerospace and repainted by Eirtech Aviation?

Brennans Row · 18-12-2013 11:54pm

Shannon Aviation Services and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2013 (Merrion Street)

The approval by Cabinet of the Heads of the Shannon Aviation Services and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2013 paving the way for the creation of the new Shannon Group entity.

Under the Bill a new State company, Shannon Group plc, will be established and the existing shareholdings held by the Government in both Shannon Development (SFADCo) and Shannon Airport Authority will be transferred to the new company.

Shannon Airport was separated from the Dublin Airport Authority (daa) last December and now operates on an independent commercial basis. This will continue to be the case under the merged corporate structure that will be provided for in the new Bill.

Shannon Development has undergone major restructuring during the first half of this year and when completed, it will retain its significant property assets including the strategic lands and property in the Shannon Free Zone adjacent to the airport. To emphasise this more focused commercial remit, Shannon Development will be renamed Shannon Commercial Enterprises Limited.

Under the proposed new regime, both of these companies will operate under the aegis of Shannon Group and the latter will promote and drive interaction and common purpose between them at local level. This will include the promotion and development of an international aviation services centre on the Shannon campus, centred on the airport.

Drafting of the new Bill will be undertaken over the coming months. Minister Varadkar will now refer the Heads of the Bill to the Joint Committee on Transport for their consideration. It is hoped to publish the Bill during the autumn session of the Oireachtas so that it can be enacted by year-end.

I presume the Dail will break up for Christmas on Friday, so will this Bill be enacted by the year-end?

dr.fuzzenstein · 19-12-2013 9:28am

I stand in awe and look at this, gobsmacked!
A government bill that doesn't make things difficult, illegal, more expensive, downright impossible or lays the groundwork to plunge the entire country into ruin. I always maintain that Ireland continues to function despite the ruling classes continuing and relentless efforts to plunge us into the abyss.
A helpful piece of legislation is 10 times rarer than rocking horse poo, marvel at this and remember the day!
Irish governments have two tools at their disposal, the tax hammer and the ban hammer. I think this is the first piece of legislation I have ever seen that actually says "let's encourage something"
It's almost European in that respect.

Shannon Airport (Feb 2012 - Jan 2014)

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