Manx2

bobcar61

I was just browsing the local news and I saw an article that Manx2 are going to be in talks with Sligo airport and other regional airports that will be losing their routes to Dublin with the end of the PSO subsidies.

I'm just wondering what routes if any that Manx2 would operate from the regional airports and what the chances of them been successful are? I know that at the moment they operate Cork-Belfast and Galway-Belfast but if they were to operate routes from regional airports would they just fill the place that Aer Arann had.

If Aer Arann don't continue the route to Sligo, which I doubt they will, Sligo airport will become a ghost town, not that it isn't already but it would become an airfield for just General Aviation.

Do you think Manx2 would take over the routes to Dublin, the same routes as the PSO but without the subsidy or would they start operating new routes?

Article: http://www.sligotoday.ie/details.php?id=12793&PHPSESSID=73ecf1e993f54d8bc29b9e3fc2975da0

Your thoughts!

highlydebased

They could well do- the let410 has a capacity of 19 AFAIK so that would be ideal....

Cosmo Kramer

Sounds plausible. Aer Arann's route to Sligo averaged about 15 passengers per flight last year. Manx2's aircraft would be just the right size, although without the PSO subsidies they would need to up the fares a bit which might cut the numbers. However their prices on the Cork - Belfast route seem reasonable enough so they might be able to offer return flights around the €70 mark, which could well be a success.

Oscar Bravo

"The Let410 has a capacity of 19 AFAIK so that would be ideal...."-Totally agree.Sligo needs the service,the airport will do well to survive otherwise.At least they have the Coast Guard Chopper based there too.Galway could badly do without it going too.At least with Knock,they have flights to the UK and further abroad during the summer(credit to the team at Knock Airport too).The daily Aer Arann flight accounts for just 2per cent of Knocks passanger traffic.Something has to give though-Too many Airports up along the West coast.Perhaps the likes of Knock should of been built nearer to a big town eg Castlebar....but too late to change these things now.

Cosmo Kramer

I think Knock is actually fairly well positioned as it is, middle of nowhere, but at a junction of two major roads and therefore central to the whole of the west and north west. I think the reason it works is because it has a decent catchment area within 50 miles in all directions - north to Sligo and Donegal, south to Galway, east to the midlands and all of Mayo to the west. For that reason the likes of Manx2 would be as well giving it a miss in terms of flying within the country, they'd do better in Sligo. Knock's strength is flights abroad.

If it was built further west towards Castlebar it would be handy in Mayo but far less accessible to the wider region and therefore less successful overall.

Oscar Bravo

"Knock's strength is flights abroad"-yep and its great to see Fly-Be starting a Knock-Edinburgh service too.Not to forget the exsisting Sumburgh flight operated by Logan Air.