How can the airports compete?

Syth

We've all heard about the plans to break up Aer Rianta. At first I didn't see the point of splitting it up. But then I heard someone metioning that it would increase competition, and that's generally a good. thing.

All well and good, but then I beganing thinking about it. Living in Dublin, the automatic choice for an aorport would be Dublin Airport. Passengers are the bread and butter of an airport (aren't they?), so if say Cork Airport was to compete with Dublin for passengers then it would have to offer me, the customer, quite a lot less for flying in. It would have to be a huge difference to make up for having to get from Cork to Dublin. I mean you'd probably have to rent a room for a night, and then get the bus or train to Dublin, with your luggage. You'd have to be making an emormous saving to justify all that. But that's what I don't get. How could Cork Airport offer loads less than Dublin? Dublin airport would have to keep charging loads more than Cork.

I must be missing something here, because this just seems absolutly crazy, with no rational reason for it. Someone please fill me in because I must be missing something...

Imposter

Contrary to most Dublin peoples views people do actually live outside of Dublin.:D

While Dublin people are unlikely to use Cork airport, people from Cork and it's surrounding counties would if the options were there. When they mention competition it is, I would imagine, partly a way to shut up airlines like Ryanair by giving them other options but aer rianta in ireland and to see how cheap Cork can offer a similar service. It also would help Dublin airport as they wouldn't have to carry the losses from Cork or Shannon.

It would be a case of can Cork and Shannon survive on their own and if so that would drive the competition.

dahamsta

Serious case of deja vu here. Is it just me?

adam

Syth

Of Course there are people outside Dublin, but wouldn't my argument apply to people living in or near Cork? It'd be handy if you lived in the middle of the country and it didn't matter much, but Corkonians would also have more hassle etc if they flew to Dublin? Would Corkonians fly to Dublin, maybe stay the night, and then have to go down/up/over to Cork if they had an airport in Cork? Like I said, you'd want to be saving a packet. Can one airport really offer so much less than the other airports so that it's acceptable to go to an airport so far away?

sceptre

Fair point Syth. The airports won't be competing with other except for the (small imho) amount of people who don't care where they fly from. They'll largely be in the same situation that Chorus and NTL are currently in - no official areas of monopoly (that officially went last year) but for practical purposes they'll have their own sphere of influence.

Except Cork and Shannon. They'll be competing with each other.

The small number of "don't cares" they'll be competing for might mean the difference between profit and loss though so the airports will largely set prices relative to each other (at least in Cork and Shannon). In other words, they'll be operating an effective cartel of sorts. Which if you believe that competition will solve all pricing problems (incidentally I don't as it's a help, not a panacea) is a better situation than a centrally controlled pricing structure with one airport subsidising another. Won't make any difference really but it probably sounds good in a press release and keeps the PDs (who are getting a lot of their core policies* through for a party fighting above its weight) happy.

In short, the reality is that Dublin may do well out of this (as some culchies will travel to the big schmoke to fly but Dublin people will be less likely to travel south ad west to do the same thing) and either Cork or Shannon may do well out of this at the expense of the other. I suspect that in the long run Cork will do better and Shannon will be largely reduced to freight operations but I've no backup for that opinion whatever. Depends on the pricing structure though.


*shame they're mostly founded on the economic equivalent of wet sand and bad maths (but I digress)

Cork

Farranfore and Knock are viable. I am sure Cork & Shannon will prosper as well.

There has been very few flights out of these airports. Automony will allow these airports to scout for business.

Jet Magic has been a success out of Cork. But we need more flights to more destinations.

Too many people are still travelling to Dublin to get flights to the UK. This is totally unacceptable.