[devnull]

The Aircoach site does need updating - it was nice when it was introduced, but it must have been in place for about 6-7 years now and they really could promote Twitter and Facebook more etc which maybe would help drum up extra business and spread the word better.

No toilets is not a problem for me, maybe they still have a rest stop, it would be nice to find out if that actually is the case or not I do prefer the newest Aircoach vehicles to the GoBus ones though, the seating layout, as mentioned before on Gobus, is not as roomy or as comfortable, especially down the back.

[bk]

Originally Posted by Judgement Day

bk - does that mean you'll stop posting about Irish Rail then?

I will stop posting about Irish Rail, just as soon as they stop taking a 200 million a year in subsidies. Even if I never use IR again, it is still going to cost me in taxes.

But I'll admit I'll have less first hand experience of IR's services in future.

[mydiscworld]

3 hours non stop. This is great news.

Does it cost any more? Couldn't tell from website.

I do wonder that if GoBus run a similar timetable, will they take some of AirCoach's passengers with their on board toilet feature.

GoBus should def run the hour AirCoach isn't, giving an hourly service Cork to Dublin.

IE will need to react, no doubt. Their avg train time is 2hrs 45 to 2hrs 50. You must get to/from train station too.

So quicker now Dublin city centre to Cork city centre on AirCoach, traffic dependant.

[Kumsheen]

This is great news. Aircoach need to do a bit of marketing now to promote this new service.
It's the 2nd Apr already and even the website is not up to date, just a mention in the news section.
The revenue they are now not getting because of lack of awareness could easilly been spent on a bit of Pre-Launch advertising.

Roll on the GoBus service so we can have some healthy competition.

[devnull]

I've seen this happen before with Aircoach on other route launches, in particular the Greystones one which had a banner linking to the timetable for about 6 months but nothing in the timetables section itself, parts of the website such as live position were broken for a while before they were removed and there are still a few bits of the site that are outdated even before the new route launch.

The impression I get that there is nobody there who is really dedicated to the web side of things, be that the website, social networking, or that kind of thing and if there is there is only perhaps one person who is able to do certain tasks, as the news is always well updated but other things are only done in batches I presume as the news is done through an administration interface and the rest needs some kind of web/development skills which may not be in wide supply in the company which causes the slowdown.

Having worked in IT myself, the above is not that uncommon, particularly in small companies that are based mostly outdoors with very if any full-time few office staff - however it's not something that is quite hard to address. just a few hours work on that website would make a big difference almost immediately, even I could do it!

[SandyfordGuy]

Oh come on, we both know that it is not so simple, what exactly is going to help in the short term without some investment that is no doubt tight?

[devnull]

Well it doesn't require investment really, whilst a total redesign would be nice, just some small few minute tweaks to the current one would make a huge difference.

EG:
- More interaction on Twitter and Facebook, offer a free tickets to a random person when a milestone of followers or fans on Facebook are reached.
- Links to Facebook and Twitter via a little logo at the bottom of every page
- Update of 'Our Service' page to look a little less boring and outline what the coaches offer (Wifi, extra legroom, leather seating, etc) with graphics.
- Make it clear wireless is offered - this isn't mentioned anywhere on the site!!
- Aircoach have lovely new 2009 coaches, but do not feature a single picture of them on their site?! In fact there is no picture of any coach apart from on the front page.
- Travel Shop Belfast - does this exist any more, the service does not?
- Replace the current heavily outdated logo with the Travel in Luxury one and make it slightly bigger.
- You can then move the list of routes in the image under the logo to the top right hand corner beside the logo and also use this top right area as an advertising space for offers/services as well as the list of routes*
- Use the freed up space under logo to use pictures of coaches the aircoach desk etc to break the text up*

* = Already done before, see an old page style here:
http://www.bookassist.com/affiliate/...a_ireland.html

None of that requires investment, none of it requires a total redesign, but it makes a damn good bit of difference for no cost outlay. Of course ideally it would go further, but they're a good start if you are going to use the current design as a basis.

[Ronnie Binge]

Good for Aircoach, I find their service to the airport to be excellent and their parent company, First, have reasonably deep pockets to make it a success.

Personally however, if I was travelling to Cork I would use the train in almost any circumstance, unless I needed to use the late night service. I find long distance coach travel to be claustrophobic. Having a work space and access to coffee and sandwiches is for me an infinitely better way to travel.

However, choice is good and BÉ's offering on the coach route is poor and unattractive.

[SandyfordGuy]

They've updated the site now.

[munchkin_utd]

Originally Posted by SandyfordGuy

They've updated the site now.

pure scandal though hidden on the terms of the new service.
pensioners or other vunerable people with free travel passes (but plenty enough cash to be...) jetting off to the sun cant use the express bus to Dublin airport to do so.
After loosing their free passport last year and all ......
Terrible.

mock pity aside.
The late services leaving Dublin airport are a great addition.
For those of us on the continent (or beyond) relying on evening flights to Dublin in order to get to Cork, they are literally a godsend as the only alternative is to fly to Cork via Heathrow/ Amsterdam or hire a car one way from Dublin to cork after the last bus had left at 7pm.
Or take days off work and get one of the few direct connections that may exist to Cork.

[devnull]

That Cork Timetable page is absolutely shocking.

It is the most unfriendly page to the eye I think I have ever seen. You have the paragraphs of text at the top that tries to be all things to everyone but just makes the thing look too complicated. Then as for the tables down below, they are not much nicer.

Really all they need to do is to stick the information about the Express service on one page, the information about the stopping service on the other page (like citylink), with a note at the top of each saying <click here> for details on the other one. Either that or put them on the same page but in different sections but right now it's not user friendly in the slightest.

They also should get rid of all of those rogue < signs that appear randomly and make the link to the PDF actually work. At least they've got rid of the initial banner though that was there, which truly was shocking, the current one is better for sure even if the spelling of Ballinteer is wrong!

[n97 mini]

What is the latest service before midnight that departs Cork for Dublin city centre? It still seems to be the train at 2030?

[mydiscworld]

So the express service appears to be same price as the slower one.

€22 Adult return Cork to Dublin city. Add €6 if going to/from Dublin airport.

[devnull]

Originally Posted by n97 mini

What is the latest service before midnight that departs Cork for Dublin city centre? It still seems to be the train at 2030?

Still the 7pm (commuter) service is the last bus. First one is 1.00am next morning (express) However they do state on Facebook and also on Twitter that this is the first phase of the new route and they appear to be still advertising for extra drivers, so maybe they will add later services a short while down the line.

Originally Posted by mydiscworld

So the express service appears to be same price as the slower one.

€22 Adult return Cork to Dublin city. Add €6 if going to/from Dublin airport.

It would seem that way - It will be interesting to see if returns bought on bus can use the return journey on a differing type of service, be that express or commuter from the initial one. Hopefully they will.

When they update the online booking for the new service it should give us a good idea from the options it allows you to select.

[SandyfordGuy]

Relax - there is nothing wrong with the website, you can read it easily I don't see what the problem is, christ it's not the end of the world. What they want to do with it at the end of the day is up to them, if you feel so strongly about it why don't you email them with it rather than posting it here, perhaps we could even get back on topic?

The mis-spelling and the broken link are purely just an oversight, don't you ever make mistakes yourself? Come on, lighten up and lets discuss the topic at hand rather than trying to nit pick as much as possible it's great to have a new service, and I'm sure that running a bus company is more about operational quality rather than how good your website is, because after all the first thing someone thinks of when using a company is not how good their website is, it's all about the service.

The rest of you - if you have questions why not pick up the dog and bone and actually call the guys at Aircoach or email them or something like that, you know they're not going to post replies to your nit picking comments here, so why criticize!