[devnull]

Looks like they have pipped GoBus to being the first to launch with this service:
http://www.aircoach.ie/news.article.php?ID=346

Aircoach, Ireland’s leading private bus and coach operator, and provider of luxury coach services operating to and from Dublin Airport, will shortly be making improvements to its Cork – Dublin City Centre – Dublin Airport service.

Following trials at key times alongside our regular service, we are very pleased to be the first coach operator to announce the introduction of an All-New Scheduled Express Service between Cork City Centre, Dublin City Centre and Dublin Airport.

We are pleased to confirm that we will be offering hourly services to and from Cork during parts of the day. Our coaches have complimentary WiFi access, leather seating and extra legroom, to help make your journey more comfortable.

The journey time between Cork and Dublin City Centre is scheduled to be just 3 hours, whilst the journey time between Cork and Dublin Airport is scheduled to be only 3½ hours.

Commencing from 07:00 on Monday 2nd April 2012, Aircoach will be offering Express services between Dublin and Cork at the following times:

From Cork to Dublin City Centre and Dublin Airport
01:00 04:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00

From Dublin Airport to Cork
07:30 09:30 11:30 13:30 15:30 17:30 19:30 23:30

From Dublin City Centre to Cork
08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 23:59

Please note that, in response to demand, our current service at 01:00 from Cork will become an Express service and will no longer serve intermediate towns heading to Dublin. Our current service at 19:30 from Dublin Airport and 20:00 from Dublin City Centre will also become an Express service and will no longer serve intermediate towns heading to Dublin.

Please check our website, www.aircoach.ie, for more details and complete timetable information. Booking for these new Express services will also open very soon at www.aircoach.ie. In the meantime, don’t forget you can still book online for all our services, including our existing Cork – Dublin City Centre – Dublin Airport service at www.aircoach.ie

If would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service Team, between 09:00 and 17:30, 7 days a week, on +353 (0) 1 844 7118 or by email at info@aircoach.ie

You also keep up to date with the latest developments through our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aircoach.ie or through Twitter at www.twitter.com/aircoach. Don’t forget to ‘Like’ us on Facebook to be notified of changes and offers.

We are very pleased to be able to offer these improvements on the services linking Cork and Dublin. We look forward to welcoming you onboard our existing Cork – Dublin City Centre – Dublin Airport and our new Express service in the near future.

Aircoach Team

[Judgement Day]

How long will it last?

[invinciblePRSTV]

That is excellent news on there being a 23.59 service Dublin - Cork. FINALLY a late night service to appease gig goers & sports fans.

[Aka Ishur]

Originally Posted by invinciblePRSTV

That is excellent news on there being a 23.59 service Dublin - Cork. FINALLY a late night service to appease gig goers & sports fans.

Agree completely!

[KCAccidental]

the late night bus from Dublin is much needed and will be a success. Twice I had to sleep in T2 in the airport last year because my flight got in at 9pm

[coylemj]

Originally Posted by Judgement Day

How long will it last?

Aircoach is a not a 'here today, gone tomorrow' company, they run several services to and from Dublin airport from all around Dublin city. The drivers are civil and courteous, the buses are clean and they have Wi-Fi on board.

Given a choice between Aircoach and a 1996 Toyota Corolla taxi which reeks of air freshner and cigarete smoke, I know which one I'd take to the airport.

[foggy_lad]

The express bus will beat the socks off the train for city centre to city centre timings!

What are Irish rail going to do now?

[Judgement Day]

Originally Posted by foggy_lad

The express bus will beat the socks off the train for city centre to city centre timings!

What are Irish rail going to do now?

In the time honoured fashion they will jack up the fares for an ever diminishing number of passengers.

[greenbicycle]

Wish they would bring back their belfast route now!

That's a great service to cork though.....

[devnull]

Originally Posted by Judgement Day

In the time honoured fashion they will jack up the fares for an ever diminishing number of passengers.

Not really - nothing to back this up and who knows what the fare structure will be. They tend not to jack their prices up very often, before the changes earlier this month, the time before was in 2008 and the time before that 2005.

Originally Posted by greenbicycle

Wish they would bring back their belfast route now!

The co-operation between two publicly owned transport operators in each country and their resources, as well as blocking access to the Europa bus centre meant that the Belfast route was frequently losing passengers and was pretty empty in the last year or two of it's running meant that the axing is not going to change.

Originally Posted by foggy_lad

What are Irish rail going to do now?

This is a bigger issue for Bus Eireann than Irish Rail as it stands at the moment, because quite frankly at 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm you have a Bus Eireann stopping service taking 4hrs 25 mins with an Aircoach one taking three hours. I can't see any sense for people using Bus Eireann now between the two cities although some no doubt will.

[Mushy]

Can't wait to use this. Much handier now, au revoir to the train for me anyway.

[n97 mini]

The irony that you can travel week nights from Dublin city centre to Cork (and Galway, Belfast etc) after 11:30pm for a lot less money than you can to somewhere in Dublin like Lucan, Balbriggan etc.

[foggy_lad]

Originally Posted by Judgement Day

In the time honoured fashion they will jack up the fares for an ever diminishing number of passengers.

They can't jack them up much more surely or all they will have travelling are board members and political wannabees in first class and free pass holders in steerage

Originally Posted by devnull

Not really - nothing to back this up and who knows what the fare structure will be. They tend not to jack their prices up very often, before the changes earlier this month, the time before was in 2008 and the time before that 2005.

They cant do much more damage than a standard fare of €60 single and €80+ open return(booked on-line)

This is a bigger issue for Bus Eireann than Irish Rail as it stands at the moment, because quite frankly at 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm you have a Bus Eireann stopping service taking 4hrs 25 mins with an Aircoach one taking three hours. I can't see any sense for people using Bus Eireann now between the two cities although some no doubt will.

Those Bus Eireann stopping services are pretty well patronised by people travelling between intermediate stops and there are not so many people travelling to cork because of the distance and the current aircoach service being cheaper and more comfortable and having WiFi.

[dowlingm]

without realtime vehicle location accessible from a cellphone I wouldn't chance an Aircoach service ex Dublin City Centre originating from DUB. The other way would be a different story as it would simply being a question of being on time to be in the queue in Cork.

Just looked at Aircoach's realtime info on the website - requires IE (actually says "IE5.5 on a PC". As Ross O'Carroll Kelly would say: Fock off.

[devnull]

Interestingly on their twitter account they are calling this the first phase so perhaps more to come.