Aircoach Dublin-Cork express

parsi

foggy_lad wrote: »

There was 5 passengers on the 8.30pm gobe service tonight. Quite low numbers for a friday night.

Six passengers on the 00:30 ex Cork on Friday morning.

It was a dirty night and I saw 4 passengers head off to Patrick's Quay in error.

GoBe should make it clearer that the bus is leaving from the bus station - the only visible notifcation was seen when you peered into the building and espied the departures board to show it was leaving from Door 11.

Whilst waiting there was an obligatory visit from a drunk looking for a light. This is something that would concern me about both Cork stops.

It was a comfortable journey, fine bus and the driver was turned out impeccably. Didn't try the WiFi.

Came back last night on the 23:30 Aircoach ex Dublin Airport. Probably around 25 people on board. Bus had a persistent rattle and suffered from the age old curse of having to listen to the driver's choice of radio. EDIT: WiFi worked very well - had to reconnect a couple of times but it beat Irish Rail hands down. /EDIT

Driver was friendly and helpful. Certainly a lot of time is wasted by having to go back into Dublin. My feeling was that the homeward journey was not as comfortable. A few taxis swarmed around the bus on arrival in Cork which wasn't a bad idea.

EDIT: I'd travel with either of them again especially seeing as they're unlikely to have drunk guys/gals travelling for nothing to visit Anto or Decco in prison. /EDIT

devnull

patrickbrophy18 wrote: »

If this is the white one you're referring to, no wonder I haven't seen it in my neck of the woods (Dalkey) for a while. It's a petty as it was a smart addition to the fleet.

It was only ever a temporary vehicle which I believe was a prototype, I was surprised to see it stay around as long as it did.

parsi wrote: »

Came back last night on the 23:30 Aircoach ex Dublin Airport. Probably around 25 people on board. Bus had a persistent rattle and suffered from the age old curse of having to listen to the driver's choice of radio. EDIT: WiFi worked very well - had to reconnect a couple of times but it beat Irish Rail hands down.

If the 11:30pm was the coach it normally is, then I know the one you are talking about, it would have been one of the Levante models which there are four of them, which are not the best model of coaches they have. There are about nine or ten coaches allocated to the route, and the others are better.

SandyfordGuy

There is also the chance that the 2004 Setra vehicles (one of which is on the Cork route today covering for a Levante in a rare allocation) are still here since they got a good deal to renew the lease in which it made commercial sense to do so, which may have resulted in them doing so, since interior wise they do not need replacing save for the toilets issue. They would have got a decent discount to renew the lease since the vehicles were no longer new.

Remember Setra is a premium brand, considered the pinnacle of European coach building. Whilst those coaches are coming up for nine years old old, inside or out they don't look anywhere near their age and are extremely durable. That is why they are the most expensive brand on the marketplace. They are expensive but they are very reliable, robust and well built vehicles that will stand up to years of heavy use much better than Scania, Caetano or Plaxton products.

In any case future vehicle policy is likely to depend on the ownership of Aircoach when they get to the time when that decision is made. It is no secret that Aircoach made a substantial six figure loss in the accounts until March 2011 and I would be surprised if the picture was any better in the 12 months to March 2012. The question is however, what has the Cork route done to their bottom line.

devnull

Rumour has it that they made an even bigger loss for the last year than the one before. Also I noticed someone say on another forum that their fleet is looking really bad, with many vehicles missing logos and some sides of some vehicles being totally blank. These vehicles seem to be the ones that are not on the Cork routes, but seems to be the effect of all those ghastly all over adverts. There was one Setra on the Belfast route which was completely blue all over on one side last week!!!

bk

I just got the 7pm Aircoach from Cork and I have to say I'm mega impressed.

The coach was completely full but there was one single person left behind (not with a ticket), Aircoach had a nice guy on the ground helping people and organising things and I overheard him saying to the guy not to worry, we will get you home and ordering a relief bus for just one person!!

Wow, I couldn't believe it, I know they have done it before when there was 15 or 20 extra people being left behind, but just one person, now that is impressive. Top job Aircoach.

One thing I'm surprised that Aircoach still haven't fixed is that they take internet bookings only up to 5pm the previous day. I think it would be much better for them if they followed GoBus and CityLinks leads and allowed bookings right up to before departure (it is 15 minutes in advance for Citylink and one hour for GoBus).

Even if Aircoach, only gave you the reduced €18 fare if you booked more then one day in advance and €22 if you book on the day, it would still be good for people to guarantee their seat.

Also loading takes a long time when there is a full bus as it is slow for the driver to check off the names of the passengers against his list. It would be better if they followed GoBus lead of using internet enabled phones, where they check off the tickets against their database directly. This would allow them to take internet bookings up till close to departure and they could use QR codes and the phones camera to scan them and speed up boarding times.

Jamie2k9

And making foolish decisions like this for one person is why Aircoach are making a loss...

ResearchWill

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

And making foolish decisions like this for one person is why Aircoach are making a loss...

If they are making a loss I think Firstgroup can afford it. Also would doubt they would stick with it if it was a serious loss maker.

bk

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

And making foolish decisions like this for one person is why Aircoach are making a loss...

While Aircoach overall may be lose making *, I don't believe for a moment that their Cork route is. It seems to be really doing well now, with very good loadings now. They have really proven this route can work.

I'm sure they won't send for a full bus, rather a mini or midi. Yes it is costly, but it happens very rarely, the odd bank holiday weekend. But imagine the good will they get for it. You can bet he is going to rave to all his family and friends about this and they will become new passengers.

It is great to know that you can depend on Aircoach, that they won't leave you stranded. It is actually quiet refreshing to see this compared to the cut throat view many people have of private operators.

I agree however, it would be better if they moved to a full 24 hour service, they could just tell people to wait for the next bus in an hour or two.

* I'm convinced Aircoach's making a loss is down purely to their Dublin City Airport routes suffering due to a combination of less people travelling and taxi drivers illegally touting at their stops. We can clearly see that from Aircoach reducing scheduled services on these routes, while introducing and increasing the intercity services to Cork and Belfast.

BTW I love that Jamie2k9 took a very positive story about intercity bus services, (fully packed buses all day long and them never leaving people behind) and tries to twist it into a negative story!! Good job their Jamie, ever think of a career in politics!

Jamie2k9

BTW I love that Jamie2k9 took a very positive story about intercity bus services, (fully packed buses all day long and them never leaving people behind) and tries to twist it into a negative story!! Good job their Jamie, ever think of a career in politics!

I was just stating the facts and if I was in politics and head of transport there would be big changes.

Richard Logue

bk wrote: »

While Aircoach overall may be lose making *, I don't believe for a moment that their Cork route is. It seems to be really doing well now, with very good loadings now. They have really proven this route can work.

I'm sure they won't send for a full bus, rather a mini or midi. Yes it is costly, but it happens very rarely, the odd bank holiday weekend. But imagine the good will they get for it. You can bet he is going to rave to all his family and friends about this and they will become new passengers.

It is great to know that you can depend on Aircoach, that they won't leave you stranded. It is actually quiet refreshing to see this compared to the cut throat view many people have of private operators.

I agree however, it would be better if they moved to a full 24 hour service, they could just tell people to wait for the next bus in an hour or two.

* I'm convinced Aircoach's making a loss is down purely to their Dublin City Airport routes suffering due to a combination of less people travelling and taxi drivers illegally touting at their stops. We can clearly see that from Aircoach reducing scheduled services on these routes, while introducing and increasing the intercity services to Cork and Belfast.

BTW I love that Jamie2k9 took a very positive story about intercity bus services, (fully packed buses all day long and them never leaving people behind) and tries to twist it into a negative story!! Good job their Jamie, ever think of a career in politics!

I'm glad a bus operator gives you so much pleasure bk I can feel your all-encompassing love from here!

ResearchWill

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

I was just stating the facts and if I was in politics and head of transport there would be big changes.

Do you work for one of the Semi State transport companies.

Jamie2k9

ResearchWill wrote: »

Do you work for one of the Semi State transport companies.

Nope, work for a loco airline who's head could teach CIE a thing or two.

bk

Richard Logue wrote: »

I'm glad a bus operator gives you so much pleasure bk I can feel your all-encompassing love from here!

That is nice, love makes the world go round

Actually I do think the private bus companies are the best thing since sliced pan.

Hardly surprising as they are saving me at least €600 a year!!

And add to that faster door to door journey time and late night services, brilliant.

bk

brume wrote: »

I"ve been in town over the weekend (Cork) and I've noticed a white 06 bus doing the aircoach service - is this normal (twas around the afternoon and had aircoach logos) ?

Yup, it sounds like one of Aircoachs 4 Scania Caetano Levante's, all of which are 06 coaches and I think operate exclusively on the Cork route.

bk

brume wrote: »

Are they as comfy as the rest ?

There are fine, but not as comfy as the Jonckheere.

The Jonck's are probably one of the most comfortable coaches operating in Ireland, with full leather seats and massive amounts of leg room. The only problem with them is that they don't have toilets.

The Levantes have a floor level toilet, but that means less seats and less leg room, also the Levantes are a little less well put together, being a bit shaky in places.

Don't get me wrong, they are a fine coach too, just not quiet as good as Aircoaches other coaches, plus the superb Van Hools operated by Citylink in Galway and the newer Volvos by GoBus. But most people wouldn't notice a difference.

devnull

There are two white ones which are the Panthers:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darren_hall/8044134497/

SandyfordGuy

I believe there is a coach or two in Cork that is garaged there if it is needed for relief work. When they've found the odd relief is/may be needed sometimes you see a second driver go down on a coach for example.

They also advertised a while ago for customer care staff who could do casual driving as required, so this would allow them to be a bit more flexible as well with regards to staff/wages for example.

Also I believe from a contact that this week the Aircoach fleet is to be fitted with RFID systems. This will allow a special green driving system to be fitted to the coach, and other possible developments later such as smart card ticketing, vehicle tracking and real time information. (Note, I'm not saying these are going to be implemented, just it may be possible)

bk

SandyfordGuy wrote: »

I believe there is a coach or two in Cork that is garaged there if it is needed for relief work. When they've found the odd relief is/may be needed sometimes you see a second driver go down on a coach for example.

They also advertised a while ago for customer care staff who could do casual driving as required, so this would allow them to be a bit more flexible as well with regards to staff/wages for example.

I was on an Aircoach relief coach before (Jazz weekend Monday 7pm ex-Cork) and it was a Mallow coach they used, so I assume they have some sort of deal or arrangement with Mallow Coaches.

Still it is very good news that they look after their customers like this.

SandyfordGuy wrote: »

Also I believe from a contact that this week the Aircoach fleet is to be fitted with RFID systems. This will allow a special green driving system to be fitted to the coach, and other possible developments later such as smart card ticketing, vehicle tracking and real time information. (Note, I'm not saying these are going to be implemented, just it may be possible)

RFID seems a bit pointless as most people pay cash or have printed off tickets, non of which would be RFID enabled.

What it could be is that they are going to use the new Android powered tablets being trialled as ticket machines by the NTA on Morton coaches.

This would be capable of doing a lot of what you describe and would allow for the use of Leap card on the Dublin City airport services.

Hopefully it would also allow for faster scanning of QR code tickets for the intercity services.

devnull

An option for a 23:00 from Cork to Dublin has now appeared in the booking system.

SandyfordGuy

When I tried to book it for Sunday it gave me the following message:
Sorry. The 23:00 coach for your outward journey from Cork - Patrick's Quay will not be introduced until 8th April 2013. Please adjust your journey times and try again.

So there is your answer for when it comes in.

bk

Fantastic news, it will be great for the pub closing time crowd.

I know I'll definitely be using it. Just hope they always use one of the toilet equipped buses for this run, given the likely users of it or they will definitely have to stop in Urlingford.

Hopefully in time they will also add a 9pm service to plug the gap between 7pm and 11pm.

This development should really put to rest any question of the Cork Aircoach service being successful and profitable. They wouldn't be adding this extra service if it wasn't.

Also I think it should answer the thread with the recent rumour about Aircoach going out of business. Such expansions aren't the actions of a company in that sort of trouble.

devnull

It's weird they haven't announced it anywhere though, it's just on the booking engine, not on the timetable or the news section.

Though judging on past record - it's not surprising.

bk

As you say, no surprise, their website is terrible and their marketing * and social media interaction is spotty at best.

Operationally they seem to be excellent offering a very comprehensive schedule at very cheap prices and never seem to leave anyone behind which is superb.

But their website, online booking and marketing all badly need to improve and these items should be relatively low hanging fruit.

They also need to improve their coaches IMO, but that is a more difficult task obviously.

* BTW I've noticed GoBE to Cork ads on facebook, GoBE definitely seemed to have ratcheted up their marketing drive. Just a pity about their reduced schedule.

devnull

I actually think their social media has improved - looking at twitter they're now answering people and have become more active on Facebook - true it can still be improved but I'd call it above average now when before it was poor so I don't think that is a huge area of concern like it would have been previously in my opinion.

Marketing has improved too but there is still some way to go before they make the most out of such activity. Whilst I see what they are doing with the posting about events coming up, I can't help thinking they should make more of some of their strong points, which they don't do enough of in my view. They could play to their strengths more.

As for the website. It's been done to death here and we've been saying that for well over a year. But The current design has been there since late 2005, it really is time it went.

A trip down memory lane, notice that I think the site has got worse since then:
http://web.archive.org/web/20051028235735/http://www.aircoach.ie/ (2005)
http://web.archive.org/web/20060506200458/http://www.aircoach.ie/ (2006)

Not only is the current design dated, it also is a shadow of what it used to be with many useful features removed and a total removal of images. The current site has two dead links on it's front page alone.

I never could complain about them operationally. Just everything else.

bk

devnull wrote: »

An option for a 23:00 from Cork to Dublin has now appeared in the booking system.

Confirmed now on their twitter and facebook accounts. So great news

devnull

Still not on their website, old habits die hard.

SirDelboy18

Hi guys, I travel the Cork Dublin route weekly with Irish Rail, tempted to change it up, and I'm just wondering if Aircoach has sockets on board?

foggy_lad

SirDelboy18 wrote: »

Hi guys, I travel the Cork Dublin route weekly with Irish Rail, tempted to change it up, and I'm just wondering if Aircoach has sockets on board?

No they don't but neither does the train unless you pay a large premium for 1st class.

bk

SirDelboy18 wrote: »

Hi guys, I travel the Cork Dublin route weekly with Irish Rail, tempted to change it up, and I'm just wondering if Aircoach has sockets on board?

No, non of the bus companies in Ireland have sockets onboard unfortunately (some abroad like Polska Bus do).

But then neither do Irish Rail to Cork, other then one plug per carriage at the end and in first class.

However having said that Cork to Dublin is just 3 hours, so most laptops and definitely every tablet (usually about 10 hours battery), should last the whole trip, so I don't think it is really necessary.

BTW yes, Aircoach has free wfi internet onboard.

SirDelboy18

bk wrote: »

No, non of the bus companies in Ireland have sockets onboard unfortunately (some abroad like Polska Bus do).

But then neither do Irish Rail to Cork, other then one plug per carriage at the end and in first class.

However having said that Cork to Dublin is just 3 hours, so most laptops and definitely every tablet (usually about 10 hours battery), should last the whole trip, so I don't think it is really necessary.

BTW yes, Aircoach has free wfi internet onboard.

Well I always book the seat in Irish Rail by the socket at the end which makes it perfect for me. My laptop battery is currently pretty much f*cked so a socket is the highest priority in terms of travel. Oh well.