Sligo to Manchester flight

slapbangwhallop

Remember it was cut for the winter - well I phoned up today to see when it was starting again and the girl said it had finished for good!

bobcar61

It had alright been announced as a seasonal flight was was due to be a May-October service if memory serves me right.
The fact that it has been cut doesn't really surprise me.I doubt it was the most profitable route Aer Arann had and with all the controversy over the lengthening of the runway,I'd say it's quite off putting for an airline and if you ask me the only reason we have an airlink to Dublin is because its a PSO route(subsidised by the government)

slapbangwhallop

bobcar61 wrote: »

It had alright been announced as a seasonal flight was was due to be a May-October service if memory serves me right.
The fact that it has been cut doesn't really surprise me.I doubt it was the most profitable route Aer Arann had and with all the controversy over the lengthening of the runway,I'd say it's quite off putting for an airline and if you ask me the only reason we have an airlink to Dublin is because its a PSO route(subsidised by the government)

Ms. SBW called Sligo Airport yesterday and they said it would be starting again in the early summer - either they are putting a brave face on it or there is something that Aer Arran hasnt told them! interesting!

bobcar61

Well it would be great if they were to start the service again but if they didn't it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Aer Arann now have a new CEO after Gary Cullen resigned.Gary has family links to Sligo so maybe he thought it was a good idea to expand services from here so the new CEO(can't think of his name) might not agree so much.

slapbangwhallop

bobcar61 wrote: »

Well it would be great if they were to start the service again but if they didn't it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Aer Arann now have a new CEO after Gary Cullen resigned.Gary has family links to Sligo so maybe he thought it was a good idea to expand services from here so the new CEO(can't think of his name) might not agree so much.

that could be the reason alright! Dissapointing!I found it pretty handy. Whenever I used it it was pretty full. Obviously that wasnt always the case.

slapbangwhallop

the weekender - always the first with the news!http://www.sligoweekender.ie/news/story/?trs=mhqlsnmhid&cat=news

bobcar61

Not a chance though will another airline take up that route. Seriously, like how many airlines are going to have planes small enough to land in Sligo, that already fly to somewhere in Ireland. It's just not going to happen unless Aer Arann take it up again next year which is unlikely:(

Essexboy

It is not the same but you can fly to Manchester from Knock
http://www.bmibaby.com

West on Track will be killed off soon; will Sligo Airport follow?

starbelgrade

Essexboy wrote: »

It is not the same but you can fly to Manchester from Knock
http://www.bmibaby.com

West on Track will be killed off soon; will Sligo Airport follow?

Hopefully not. They may well need that new runway though if they are to survive.

Knock is awful handy too.

bobcar61

Bmi Baby cut their flight from Knock to Birmingham so wonder how the flight to Manchester is doing.
It really is very handy though,getting to the UK is so handy and now Alicante as well:)

slapbangwhallop

starbelgrade wrote: »

Hopefully not. They may well need that new runway though if they are to survive.

Knock is awful handy too.

pity it seems like every second BMI flight from Knock is cancelled because of fog.

starbelgrade

slapbangwhallop wrote: »

pity it seems like every second BMI flight from Knock is cancelled because of fog.

I'd blame that on the weather. :P

slapbangwhallop

starbelgrade wrote: »

I'd blame that on the weather. :P

I'd say its more like that location of the airport - basically on top of a mountain and inland.Ryanair seem to keep flying when the BMI ones are shelved as well.

Janine87

Thats is stupid.. Why would they have an airport for just 2 flights to Dublin daily??? No airport needed then I think even though it is very handy to get to Dublin within 40 mins instead of going by train for 3 hours.

darealtulip

Janine87 wrote: »

Thats is stupid.. Why would they have an airport for just 2 flights to Dublin daily??? No airport needed then I think even though it is very handy to get to Dublin within 40 mins instead of going by train for 3 hours.

Yep it is but the times for my family coming over from holland are always wrong:( It would be nice if they had a flight back to sligo after 20.00 orso. Since you can't get a train or bus around that time. Maybe the people in strandhill might think differant though:rolleyes:

Janine87

darealtulip wrote: »

Yep it is but the times for my family coming over from holland are always wrong:( It would be nice if they had a flight back to sligo after 20.00 orso. Since you can't get a train or bus around that time. Maybe the people in strandhill might think differant though:rolleyes:

It is perfect when my mum flies from Sligo to Dublin to get the flight to Germany but it is never enough time to get the flight to Sligo when she arrives from Germany. She always has to stay in a hotel at Dublin airport.

darealtulip

Janine87 wrote: »

It is perfect when my mum flies from Sligo to Dublin to get the flight to Germany but it is never enough time to get the flight to Sligo when she arrives from Germany. She always has to stay in a hotel at Dublin airport.

We have the same problem, perfect going to dublin, rubish for getting here. I mostly drive to get her, gives me a chance to be in the city but it is a lot of driving. There are Hotels now that if you book 20 days upfront it is half price. I know Ibis does but there are other ones that do it aswell. Ibis is in clodalkin so it isn't an option when you travel through the airport.

Janine87

darealtulip wrote: »

We have the same problem, perfect going to dublin, rubish for getting here. I mostly drive to get her, gives me a chance to be in the city but it is a lot of driving. There are Hotels now that if you book 20 days upfront it is half price. I know Ibis does but there are other ones that do it aswell. Ibis is in clodalkin so it isn't an option when you travel through the airport.

No you right. thats not really an option. My mum always stays in the Radisson. The price is okay and its handy because they have a shuttle bus to the airport.

bobcar61

Right this thread isn't about the Sligo-Dublin flight nor is it about hotels that offer a shuttle bus to Dublin airport.Back on topic folks

Back to the point, I've heard that the Sligo-Manchester flight was mostly over half full when it was in service. I would like to know the official loads numbers. I can't see the flight returning to Sligo though as I said before. Aer arann cant compete with a bigger airline that has cheaper flight to an airport about 40miles up the road.

Culchie

I think the real isue here is the lack of promotion and marketing of Sligo to the UK market.

I have a feeling if even the students of Manchester had any idea of the natural surfing locations in Sligo, then those flights would be full every time. Its perfect for the student pound.

I'd be a firm believer in 'build it and they will come' ... well the airport is there, but we need to tell people Sligo is here, and what they can do here!!
The keep trying to focus the marketing of these flights to businessmen when its the other demographic groups they should be trying to attract.

Xiney

They definitely should have been marketing it to the students as a surfing haven.

Late now, though, I suppose.



They could still market the Dublin flight to students there.

bobcar61

Sligo was marketed to the UK. There was ads promoting Sligo on ITV a while back:)

Culchie

bobcar61 wrote: »

Sligo was marketed to the UK. There was ads promoting Sligo on ITV a while back:)

Do students even watch TV anymore? ..... Student Unions, University Campuses, Student Societies, Adventure Junkies .... would be more effective.

Mint Sauce

bobcar61 wrote: »

Sligo was marketed to the UK. There was ads promoting Sligo on ITV a while back:)

was that on UTV or ITV, UTV is a regional version and does not always show the same adverts as the other regions

bobcar61

It was on ITV and ITV2.

Of course students watch tele,home and away everyday:)

slapbangwhallop

bobcar61 wrote: »

Sligo was marketed to the UK. There was ads promoting Sligo on ITV a while back:)

yes there was marketing but it was more aimed at shoppers from some reason! Maybe there is something they could buy in Sligo that wasnt available in the Trafford Centre (one of Europes biggests shopping complexes and situated approximately 5 miles from Manchester city centre).They also marketed it as the "home of Westlife" - the marketing seemed to lack focus or know who their target market was.

darealtulip

bobcar61 wrote: »

Sligo was marketed to the UK. There was ads promoting Sligo on ITV a while back:)

Was that not for the ferry? Does Knock still fly on manchester?