Pier D

BendiBus

Passed through the airport yesteday and was hoping to depart from Pier D. Alas, I still had to use the prefab :rolleyes: (although they appeared to be getting ready to dismantle it by the time I got back last night - I was tempted to offer to help )

Some flights were going from the new pier. Has anyone used it yet? Is it nice and does it have anywhere decent for coffee?

D'Peoples Voice

BendiBus wrote: »

Passed through the airport yesteday and was hoping to depart from Pier D. Alas, I still had to use the prefab :rolleyes: (although they appeared to be getting ready to dismantle it by the time I got back last night - I was tempted to offer to help

Is that the prefab responsible for seriously hitting Ryanair's profits, if so, it's a good thing it's going, Ryanairs employs a lot of people and we wouldn't want it going the same way as NET or Irish Steel.

Unit costs rose by 5%, slightly lower than expected, due to the higher oil prices, doubling of airport charges at Stansted as well as higher charges for portacabin facilities at Dublin airport.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/archives/?c=BUSINESS&jp=mhmhojkfmhsn&d=2007-11-05

lord lucan

i used pier d last saturday morning for a flight to stansted with ryanair. i have to admit i was impressed,it looks like a proper terminal that you see in other parts of the world!! it is still being fitted out so its not fully finished but they had a coffee shop open and some vending machines. obviously all flights are going from the far side of it until the prefab goes and then they can mark out the new slots on the other side,about time,that prefab wrecks my head,i swear its being getting longer every time i go through it!!

spacetweek

This is great news but they'd been saying all along it was to open in September so they slipped. Am I right in saying that it starts at one of the car parks outside? How do you get to check in/customs in that case?

lord lucan

you check-in as normal and clear security like you usually do. you head down the corridor for pier A and half way down it splits,pier D branches off to the right,the walkway curves around and there's also intermittent travelators to take the strain if you're so inclined. when you arrive back through piers A and D you go through a new passport control area which has loads of booths now and was far quicker than previous visits.:)

wwhyte

The new passport area is a BIG improvement.

penexpers

It's being officially opened today apparently.

Fratton Fred

I'm sure it's a smokescreen. Last time I used it I could swear that I landed in Belfast and walked back to Dublin.:mad:

Hopefully the travelators will take some of the leg work out of it.

markpb

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I'm sure it's a smokescreen. Last time I used it I could swear that I landed in Belfast and walked back to Dublin.:mad:

My other half landed there last week and said exactly the same. Plane touched down at 5.30, she arrived on the land-side at 6.10. Took so long to get to the luggage area, her bags were waiting for her.

Slice

maybe the vague budgeting for the metro includes some sort of reserve for a spur to serve pier D?

Fratton Fred

Slice wrote: »

maybe the vague budgeting for the metro includes some sort of reserve for a spur to serve pier D?

if they had built it in the other direction we woudn't need a metro:D

trellheim

you mean where instead of giving it its own security and baggage belts everyone has to go the long way round.

spacetweek

trellheim wrote: »

you mean where instead of giving it its own security and baggage belts everyone has to go the long way round.

The piers in DUB are kinda ok, especially with this new one raising the bar. It's a pity the rest of the airport - in particular baggage reclaim and passport control in arrivals, security check and shopping area for departures - are so unbeliveably appalling.

BendiBus

spacetweek wrote: »

The piers in DUB are kinda ok, especially with this new one raising the bar. It's a pity the rest of the airport - in particular baggage reclaim and passport control in arrivals, security check and shopping area for departures - are so unbeliveably appalling.

The new passport control (Piers A & D) is OK. What's wrong with the shopping area, apart from the "street" being as busy as Grafton St?

I believe the MAC store there is something like the 5th busiest in the world! So some people like shopping there

Wishbone Ash

I noticed that the DAA signage still assumes that Britain is not part of Europe!!!

"Britain AND Europe" etc........:rolleyes:

BendiBus

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I noticed that the DAA signage still assumes that Britain is not part of Europe!!!

"Britain AND Europe" etc........:rolleyes:

In fairness, most Britons like to think of it the same way

KC61

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I noticed that the DAA signage still assumes that Britain is not part of Europe!!!

"Britain AND Europe" etc........:rolleyes:

The signs are distinguishing between the Common Travel Area (CTA) and the rest of Europe.

Bluetonic

markpb wrote: »

My other half landed there last week and said exactly the same. Plane touched down at 5.30, she arrived on the land-side at 6.10. Took so long to get to the luggage area, her bags were waiting for her.

It's approx 500m, far from excessive.

Less than a ten minute walk anyhow.

munchkin_utd

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I noticed that the DAA signage still assumes that Britain is not part of Europe!!!

"Britain AND Europe" etc........:rolleyes:

Should they not go "mainland and continental europe" instead

fitzyshea

spacetweek wrote: »

The piers in DUB are kinda ok, especially with this new one raising the bar. It's a pity the rest of the airport - in particular baggage reclaim and passport control in arrivals, security check and shopping area for departures - are so unbeliveably appalling.

Why is it so bad? I have gone through Dublin airport twice in the last year and I never have any problems there. The one thing I would say is that the food upstairs "airside" is too expensive and not much choice. the shops are grand its busy yes but Hello its an airport.

Davidth88

Fitzyshea, if you used the airport on a regular basis , esp early in the mornings you too would see it's bad side.

The food upstairs is so unspeakingly bad and expensive that I reckon people only ever go there once , ie once bitten twice shy ( if you excuse the pun ).

I was in the new passport area once so far, it seemed badly laid out because everyone appoaches from one end and you cannot see if the far desks are free, maybe this has been sorted now that was 2 weeks ago.

I always liked pier C , nice and light, but boy does it get warm in the summer. Its also nice a quiet esp down the end, of course this is now going to be knocked !

As for pier A , horrible, just run down... I rememeber when I first flew into DUB that was the Domestic wing wasn't it ?

Pier B, very very crowded indeed, you try getting a seat if the US flights havn't left yet . And again very run down looking

As for the portacabins that are coming down now , the least said the better.

The luggage would be ok , if they used more than just 2 carosels .. it seems that 2 and 3 and the only ones used by BMI/Aerlingus/Ryanair, with the new ones only used by the other airlines . Therefore that end ( towards pier C )gets so crowded it is actually dangerous to be honest.

The old terminal building is just lovely ( to look at ) but it's been ruined by the horrible cheap windows they have put in , this must have been done before the building was listed I assume.

astrofool

They listed an airport building?, that's far sighted of them :rolleyes:

dogmatix

They should dismantle the old airport terminal building from the 1930's/40's and reassemble it on another site somewhere - it would be perfect for a aviation meuseum and could be a big tourist trap - sorry money spinner. And that way you get to keep the listed building too.

Slice

The listed building doesn't really have any effect on the existing Dublin Airport - what's the problem?

astrofool

Because all airports eventually need to expand and grow, or be overhauled entirely, listing a building on an airport site is as short sighted as can be, and will no doubt cause design problems in the future in order to maintain it.

ardmacha

The old airport terminal was listed because it is an important piece of 20th century achitecture, not the sort of thing that could be easily disassembled.