Knock Airport

finchkerry

Sorry if this was already mentioned but I stumbled across the below link in the last day. It basically says the minister thinks Knock could overtake Shannon in passengers numbers at some point. I must admit I was somewhat surprised to read this, I knew Knock is on an upwards curve, which I'm delighted about, but not to this extend. I know Ryanair are doing a few new routes out of there with another new flight to Germany too...

The lines I found most interesting were "There is a possibility that Knock could overtake Shannon in terms of passenger numbers, with Shannon down 20% in figures and Knock on the increase"

http://www.limerickpost.ie/index.php/navigation-mainmenu-30/local-news/4397-minister-adds-to-concern-regarding-knock-airport-competition.html

Do people think over the next year more new routes from Knock will be announced? The London route although well served already is a easy bet for high passenger numbers....

Neworder79

In terms of routes they are fairly close with about 28 destinations served from Ireland West and 32 from Shannon. It's hard to see how Knock could double the 700,000 passengers with almost all the popular UK and European routes now covered, unless they add major hub traffic and US connections.

http://www.irelandwestairport.com/flightinformation/route_map.aspx

The minister was just projecting out the current trend of decline which is seeking SNN down over 20% each year while Ireland West grows by over 10% annually. Add to that a possible withdrawal of US troops which account for 250,000 at Shannon, and Ryanair stating they will double routes from Ireland West, it is possible.

However it's unlikely as Shannon have restored routes, and while numbers may continue to fall it should settle around 1.4 - 1.5m. Varadkar was probably just softening up the bolchy Shannon lobby for the changes coming down the line.

munchkin_utd

if you look at the flight options for Germany from Knock theres room for improvement.
Lufthansa only flies once a week from Düsseldorf. Its the heart of the Rühr Rhein area (which has a population of 18million in a tiny area, population density is higher than Holland even!).
Ryanair flies a couple of times a week from Hahn, which is as near to Luxembourg as anywhere major in Germany.

And dont forget, theres a whole swathe of northern, southern and western germany which has no direct flight to the west of Ireland at all yet. And the fights there are to germany are low frequency. A couple of 100 seats a week for a population 5 times that of Ireland.
Plenty of expansion room there for frequencies and new destinations like to south germany where the likes of Memmingen is only a short drive to Zurich so you are opening up the west of Ireland to swiss travellers too

Not to mention theres no flights to the Benelux area either which is another option for expansion.
Not to mention theres nothing at all to Poland, which with the amount of immigrants in Ireland from there you could surely justify a service.
And a connection to the baltic states could also be a runner.

so anyhow, theres plenty of room for expansion there if you ask me.

Zonda999

Yeah, i was surprised to see the Dusseldorf to Knock is being operated with a CRJ900, I thought they'd at least be able to fill a 773 or something

Neworder79

theres plenty of room for expansion there if you ask me.

What I meant is most of the low hanging fruit has been "picked", the lucrative sun routes and UK cities where there is big demand. Heathrow hub connection and Boston/JFK would do very well with the right carriers. But the new european routes have yet to prove their viability, and are mainly aimed at inbound tourism given our small population and economic situation.

Yes there are many more key destinations which could be served, like Zurich, Munich, Rome, South & West France, Amsterdam, Madrid, Poland, Greek islands, Malta, Grenoble or Salzburg for Ski etc. But that does not mean there's currently enough demand to make them viable. Maintaining and growing frequency the current connections is more important than chasing more peripheral routes IMO.

Yeah, i was surprised to see the Dusseldorf to Knock is being operated with a CRJ900, I thought they'd at least be able to fill a 773 or something

Deutsche BA and KLM operated 737 and 146 charters back in 2000, but starting with a smaller aircraft makes the route more sustainable until demand grows, hopefully see more services from LH.

highlydebased

Zonda999 wrote: »

Yeah, i was surprised to see the Dusseldorf to Knock is being operated with a CRJ900, I thought they'd at least be able to fill a 773 or something

Zonda999

highlydebased wrote: »

Oops, maybe I meant a 733!

mayotom

I think shannon would be in serious trouble if it lost its US military business. Knock is a well run efficient airport where the future is bright

finchkerry

finchkerry wrote: »

Sorry if this was already mentioned but I stumbled across the below link in the last day. It basically says the minister thinks Knock could overtake Shannon in passengers numbers at some point. I must admit I was somewhat surprised to read this, I knew Knock is on an upwards curve, which I'm delighted about, but not to this extend. I know Ryanair are doing a few new routes out of there with another new flight to Germany too...

The lines I found most interesting were "There is a possibility that Knock could overtake Shannon in terms of passenger numbers, with Shannon down 20% in figures and Knock on the increase"

http://www.limerickpost.ie/index.php/navigation-mainmenu-30/local-news/4397-minister-adds-to-concern-regarding-knock-airport-competition.html

Do people think over the next year more new routes from Knock will be announced? The London route although well served already is a easy bet for high passenger numbers....

Ryanair have said that they will double there routes from Knock over the next 3 years. Its probably an early morning slot to Heathrow that would be most useful to the western region, Hopefully Aer Lingus will switch one of them from SHannon.

Also they used to Fly to Boston and New York before FlyGlobeSpan went bust.

munchkin_utd

munchkin_utd wrote: »

.
Not to mention theres nothing at all to Poland, which with the amount of immigrants in Ireland from there you could surely justify a service.
And a connection to the baltic states could also be a runner.

It would make sense considering there was 1K Polish in Castlebar alone at the height of the boom,lots of them gone now but im sure there would be 50K in Knocks Catchment area (Galway to Donegal and as far east as Westmeath with Athlone less than 100Km, Longfod & Galway 80Km, Sligo 50Km and Enniskillen 120KM). Any Polish i work with fly Knock to London and then get there polish connections from there. Its working out much cheaper than going to Dublin. So i would be surprised if O'Leary doesn't tap into that market.

byebye

Deleted User wrote: »

It would make sense considering there was 1K Polish in Castlebar alone at the height of the boom,lots of them gone now but im sure there would be 50K in Knocks Catchment area (Galway to Donegal and as far east as Westmeath with Athlone less than 100Km, Longfod & Galway 80Km, Sligo 50Km and Enniskillen 120KM). Any Polish i work with fly Knock to London and then get there polish connections from there. Its working out much cheaper than going to Dublin. So i would be surprised if O'Leary doesn't tap into that market.

Have you a link for that? the 2011 census shows 122k polish living in ireland and in decline, i find it hard to believe almost 50% of them live in the NOC area.

If and If only shannon is ran better it could be very bad news for knock with galway only an hour away with motorway 75% of the way it would be just as handy for galyway city to use shannon. But this all would depend on shannon devloping new routes.

byebye

byebye wrote: »

Have you a link for that? the 2011 census shows 122k polish living in ireland and in decline, i find it hard to believe almost 50% of them live in the NOC area.

None at all, was expecting alot more than 122K for the whole country.

finchkerry

byebye wrote: »

If and If only shannon is ran better it could be very bad news for knock with galway only an hour away with motorway 75% of the way it would be just as handy for galyway city to use shannon. But this all would depend on shannon devloping new routes.

Maybe not the above poster but there does seem to be a lot of begrudgers towards Knock airport.

Look, I realise people feel that maybe the airport is not that important due to the small population surrounding the airport however if it can stand on its own two feet, which it appears to be doing, than great, isn't that brilliant in today's economy.

I feel people should get behind the airport and any proposed new routes. I'm not from that neck of the woods but have family near there and it appears to offer the west a good service. One aspect that knock and mayo/Sligo council need to improve the infrastructure around the airport, roads to knock are chronic!

byebye

finchkerry wrote: »

Maybe not the above poster but there does seem to be a lot of begrudgers towards Knock airport.

Look, I realise people feel that maybe the airport is not that important due to the small population surrounding the airport however if it can stand on its own two feet, which it appears to be doing, than great, isn't that brilliant in today's economy.

I feel people should get behind the airport and any proposed new routes. I'm not from that neck of the woods but have family near there and it appears to offer the west a good service. One aspect that knock and mayo/Sligo council need to improve the infrastructure around the airport, roads to knock are chronic!

I have no ties to either airport and have used both! you could say by reading the threads there is shannon bashing also but i think people should get behind local airports as much as they can! keep jobs in the local area and lets be honest every corner of ireland need that at the moment.

in my last post i was just pointing out that if shannon is ran better it is going to be a danger to knock. I would hate to see any airport in this county in trouble or closing, As it stand i think there is a future for shannon and knock but what that is time will tell.

As for infrastructure around knock it could be much better and to be honest i'm suprised it never was improved in the boom times.

Kristopherus

Whats this about the infrastructure around Knock? A whopping new road that bypasses Charlestown, and then links to the Sligo-Galway road to get you to the Airport. There will never be a dual-carriageway or a rail link to there, but the roads are anything but bad:(

irishgeo

Deleted User wrote: »

None at all, was expecting alot more than 122K for the whole country.

122k where those that filled in the census form.:rolleyes:

byebye

irishgeo wrote: »

122k where those that filled in the census form.:rolleyes:

Great addition to the thread!

Neworder79

Whats this about the infrastructure around Knock? A whopping new road that bypasses Charlestown, and then links to the Sligo-Galway road to get you to the Airport. There will never be a dual-carriageway or a rail link to there, but the roads are anything but bad

The roads are OK in the immediate vicinity of the airport, and the N5 is fine from Roscommon border to Castlebar (Ballaghaderreen Bypass should also help).

But I'm not sure what you mean about great "links" to Sligo and Galway. The N17 is very dangerous in several sections, narrow with no hard shoulder, tight winding bends on hills, hundreds of side road junctions and ribbon housing leading to many high profile accidents in recent years. I don't think most people want dual carrigways, just a good safe standard of National road like the Claremorris section, with passing opportunities and predictable travel times.

If the the planned N17 upgrades had been done it would they would have brought Sligo within 30mins of the airport, and Galway well under an hour. Unfortunatly most of the projects been shelved, and the Tuam to M6 PPP project is stalled, so unless it gets a reprieve in some form of national stimulus plan I can't see any major improvements in the near term.

yew_tree

But I'm not sure what you mean about great "links" to Sligo and Galway. The N17 is very dangerous in several sections, narrow with no hard shoulder, tight winding bends on hills.[/QUOTE]

There is only one stretch between knock airport and galway without a hard shoulder. That being the road between ballindine and milltown approx 5 miles.

The biggest problem with access on the n17 say from galway city to knock airport is trafic delays between the city and tuam. It really is chronic and they is a constant stream of traffic right up until 8.00pm at night.

The m17 from gort to ballindine (the next planned stage) would be e huge boost but does anybody see that being built this decade?

Tenger

NOC gets another route:

Aer Lingus Regional to start NOC-BHX flights from June 11th.

http://aerarannblog.com/news/aer-lingus-regional-announces-new-route-from-ireland-west-airport-knock-to-birmingham

Zonda999

Not surprising seeing as BMIBaby are pulling out of the route, they were obviously ready to go on that route to get in front of FLYBE, who would have also been interested I suspect

Just wondering, seeing as EI Regional previously did not have an aircraft based in NOC, how will they be operating this route? I can't imagine they have an aircraft based in BHX. Will they be flying the aircraft they end up using from Dublin to do this each day OR would it, say, be flying from SNN to BHX, then over to NOC, back to BHX, and then back SNN. Only way that would make sense to me.

Turbine

Zonda999 wrote: »

Just wondering, seeing as EI Regional previously did not have an aircraft based in NOC, how will they be operating this route? I can't imagine they have an aircraft based in BHX. Will they be flying the aircraft they end up using from Dublin to do this each day OR would it, say, be flying from SNN to BHX, then over to NOC, back to BHX, and then back SNN. Only way that would make sense to me.

Aer Lingus Regional were meant to operate an extra rotation between Dublin and Birmingham, so presumably the aircraft that would've operated this will be redeployed to Birmingham-Knock instead.

Zonda999

I didnt think ALR operated DUB to BHX at all, and that was done with A320's with normal Aer Lingus?

Locker10a

Zonda999 wrote: »

Not surprising seeing as BMIBaby are pulling out of the route, they were obviously ready to go on that route to get in front of FLYBE, who would have also been interested I suspect

Just wondering, seeing as EI Regional previously did not have an aircraft based in NOC, how will they be operating this route? I can't imagine they have an aircraft based in BHX. Will they be flying the aircraft they end up using from Dublin to do this each day OR would it, say, be flying from SNN to BHX, then over to NOC, back to BHX, and then back SNN. Only way that would make sense to me.

I belive it will be operated with an SNN based aricraft and crew on a W pattern via BHX as you said! But i wouldnt be surprised to see an A319 on the route in future if the demand persists as it did with baby.

Turbine

Zonda999 wrote: »

I didnt think ALR operated DUB to BHX at all, and that was done with A320's with normal Aer Lingus?

They do but they only operate one rotation on top of the 3 already operated by Aer Lingus.

finchkerry

Great to hear about the new route, although it always looked like it would be filled by someone. Good also to see another airline in with aer lingus regional (aer arann) so its not a ryanair monopoly in the airport.

Surely there must be scope for Aer Lingus Regional to fly from Knock to London Southend?? London routes are generally popular so I presume profitable, if aer lingus regional fly Waterford to southend I can't see why knock to Southend wouldnt work? Again surely there must be routes available both sides

L1011

I don't think EIR have any more capacity available at the moment; and I think they'll need another financial year of the franchise working before anyone's going to finance them getting more ATRs

There's lots of sites which claim they still have more AT7s on order, but these are long since sold on to other customers. One was even already painted in their old circles livery I believe!

finchkerry

MYOB wrote: »

I don't think EIR have any more capacity available at the moment; and I think they'll need another financial year of the franchise working before anyone's going to finance them getting more ATRs

There's lots of sites which claim they still have more AT7s on order, but these are long since sold on to other customers. One was even already painted in their old circles livery I believe!

That's interesting, thanks for that info. I just feel the amount of people that are commuting (or go home every other weekend) from London or out of other nearby county's Essex, Kent, Suffolk etc there would be sufficient passenger numbers to merit a Knock to London Southend route.

I would imagine, although I could be corrected, that flight costs/ taxes in a new airport like Southend would be relatively low in comparison to others to generate business, which would be attractive to your low fare airlines, take your pick of which one.

Zonda999

Easyjet could also serve Knock via Southend with a A319, but they're probably still bruised from their last attempt to compete with Ryanair in an Irish airport

coylemj

finchkerry wrote: »

.... but there does seem to be a lot of begrudgers towards Knock airport.

Look, I realise people feel that maybe the airport is not that important due to the small population surrounding the airport however if it can stand on its own two feet, which it appears to be doing, than great, isn't that brilliant in today's economy.

That airport was paid for by the taxpayer and then handed over debt-free to the airport company so please spare us the 'standing on their own two feet' stuff. It was approved by a corrupt politician (Haughey) to curry favour and buy votes in the west thanks to the campaign by a megalomaniac priest (Mons. Horan).

The only positive thing you can say about it's genesis is that at least they didn't bother throwing money at consultants for anything as silly as a cost-benefit analysis, they just decided to build it and hang the cost.

I don't begrudge the people of Connaught (of which I am a native) an airport but I wouldn't say the employees of Galway airport feel that they were playing on a level playing field when competing against Knock for traffic.

I know Galway was effectively subsidised by the PSO flights over the years but nobody gave them a modern airport for free.

Neworder79

I don't see your point. Most airport in the state were paid for by the taxpayer. Galway was completely dependent on operating grants with no commercially realistic business plan. Their financial problem was not debt from building costs, but a strategy reliant on handouts and protecting one airline, poor management over many years and an inability to "stand on their own feet". Close proximity to bigger airports was always going to challenge it, but they chose to hide in a niche rather than grow and compete. That niche was wiped out by the M6 and other transport improvements.

If Knock are trying to run an efficient and profitable business, bringing better air access to benefit of the whole region (and avoiding more taxpayer bailouts) why the bitterness?

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

That airport was paid for by the taxpayer and then handed over debt-free to the airport company so please spare us the 'standing on their own two feet' stuff. It was approved by a corrupt politician (Haughey) to curry favour and buy votes in the west thanks to the campaign by a megalomaniac priest (Mons. Horan).

The only positive thing you can say about it's genesis is that at least they didn't bother throwing money at consultants for anything as silly as a cost-benefit analysis, they just decided to build it and hang the cost.

I don't begrudge the people of Connaught (of which I am a native) an airport but I wouldn't say the employees of Galway airport feel that they were playing on a level playing field when competing against Knock for traffic.

I know Galway was effectively subsidised by the PSO flights over the years but nobody gave them a modern airport for free.

You are full of nonsense, i lived close to the airport and know how it was built. Land donated, collections(£4 Million+) and donations built that airport with the Government only making up the shortfall long after it started only because they had to fulfill their contracted obligations even though they tried not to. Horan would of ensured that airport was built even without any government funding. Everybody poor or not contributed to that airport, with a lots of the work done voluntarily and with all contractors taking maximum cuts. Lots of money was also donated from the mayo associations worldwide http://www.mayoassociation.com/ and religious groupings. Its a people's airport, Since 1991 Ireland West Airport Knock has been owned and overseen by a voluntary trust. Unlike many other major airports, it has no private investors, is not a PLC, and all profits are re-invested into the company for the benefit of the region.

But don't let your begrudging get in the way of that. It would be interesting to see how much your community contributes to the infrastructure they use or is it as you say "paid for by the taxpayer and then handed over debt-free".

Maybe Galway actually closed because begrudgers like you had no interest in supporting it when it was needed or maybe it was just too close to Shannon. Some that have always had good infrastructure expect it as a god given right, others appreciate when they have it.

It is also unique as it is not a free airport, the passengers using that airport continue to support it by paying a 10 euro development fee on each flight and is yet successful, i suppose you would prefer the taxpayer paid that like in shannon?. I find it interesting that after shannon getting a 100 million bailout you didn't even mention it but mention a few million that Knock got in the eighties.

How much money do you think 700 thousand passengers yearly has generated in the western region for the government via taxes on tourists. The governments meagre investment has turned out to be one of there best.

You have also just proved what the poster meant by the begrudgers against Knock Airport, :rolleyes::rolleyes:.

coylemj

Deleted User wrote: »

You are full of nonsense, i lived close to the airport and know how it was built. Land donated collections and donations built that airport with the Government only making up the shortfall long after it started.

Long after it started? That's funny because the chronology of the scheme according to the official history is as follows..

1980 Committee’s proposed new airport at Knock gets Government backing
1981 First Sod cut

Get your story right.... http://www.irelandwestairport.com/utility/history.aspx

Deleted User wrote: »

It is also unique as it is not a free airport, the passengers using that airport continue to support it by paying a 10 euro development fee on each flight and is yet successful

They 'continue to support' the airport by being ambushed by a €10 'development' fee when departing, good for you. Bet that does a heap for tourism. That tax is only mentioned on the airport website, if you book a flight out of Knock via Ryanair there is no mention of the €10 departure tax (that is effectively what it is) on their website.

Deleted User wrote: »

How much money do you think 700 thousand passengers yearly has generated in the western region for the government via taxes on tourists.

Exactly the same amount as if they had flown into Galway, Sligo or Shannon.

Deleted User wrote: »

You have also just proved what the poster meant by the begrudgers against Knock Airport, :rolleyes::rolleyes:.

I don't begrudge the west of Ireland a proper infrastructure. Sligo and Donegal airport could never aspire to being anything other than local airports because of physical limitations on expansion capabilities but instead of developing an airport at Charlestown (let's stop pretending it's beside Knock) close to no significant centre of population, they should have upgraded the N17 and Galway should have been expanded to serve North Connaught.

Roscommon town or Tullamore would have had a far better case for an airport than Charlestown.

Neworder79

Coylemj, if this, if that. If my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle. Trying to re-write history to justify your own argument is of no benefit or consequence to the present day. What should, could or did happen can't now be easily or cheaply changed.

The reality is at a time of economic collapse, and huge pressure on the aviation industry, we thankfully still have any airport serving the West/NorthWest. It's location may not be ideal but it is on the axis of the 2 main N roads through the region and within an hour of all the main urban centres. That it is growing and trying to stand on it's own feet is something only someone with a grudge would bemoan.

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

1980 Committee’s proposed new airport at Knock gets Government backing

Yeah it got backing but no money, that came when most of the airport has already been constructed with local funding even with Opposition from the then current Fine Gael Government. The Metro has got backing from the government but no money. Now if you want to start collecting and fundraising im sure it would be welcomed by all us taxpayers, Understand !!!

coylemj wrote: »

They 'continue to support' the airport by being ambushed by a €10 'development' fee when departing, good for you. Bet that does a heap for tourism. That tax is only mentioned on the airport website, if you book a flight out of Knock via Ryanair there is no mention of the €10 departure tax (that is effectively what it is) on their website.

Thats odd most of there business is repeat custom, they must keep forgetting each time they use the airport as its been in place a number of years:eek::eek: Its also what keeps the airport off the taxpayers backs.

coylemj wrote: »

I don't begrudge the west of Ireland a proper infrastructure.

Sounds very much like you do. A recent independent study by Ernst & Young Economic Consultants states the airport supports a total of 984 jobs in the region with an overall economic contribution of €128 million annually even before the recent increases in passengers. But keep crticising it anyway

coylemj wrote: »

Galway should have been expanded to serve North Connaught.

Then why didn't Galway people get off there ass instead of complaining about it for the past 40 years. Or is it just the fact that there is a successful airport in Mayo that annoys you ? You do realise Knock Airport is only about 5 miles from both Sligo and Roscommon i.e. North Connacht. so its not in that bad of a position. Mullingar is even closer to Knock airport that some of the western parts of Mayo.

Knock CEO “We have a realistic population catchment area of around 900,000 within a 90-minute drive of the airport. This represents around 21 per cent of Ireland’s population, 70 per cent of whom choose Ireland West Airport Knock as their preferred airport.

Cosmo Kramer

Coylemj - you are exactly the kind of begrudger that makes me so pleased that Knock has been the success it has become. Building costs funded by the taxpayer as if it is the only Irish airport built that way - ridiculous argument.

Galway airport was run into the ground by Galway people to support a sub-standard Galway airline who persisted in operating flights that there was no market for. The Galway airline with their Galway CEO then turned around and shafted the airport when they went into administration while Galway airport shafted any GA enthusiasts who were crazy enough to want to land a plane at the airport. Airline is now a regional franchise operator for Aer Lingus based in Dublin, airport is finished in terms of scheduled passenger services. Ex-airline CEO no longer calling the shots, airport chief has vanished to Australia, leaving others to sort out the mess he made. Between them they did it all to themselves. But you thought they should have been given even more Government money to piss away with no return for the taxpayer? Mad stuff.

Interestingly, the now rebranded airline are returning to the province next month. At Knock.

yew_tree

Knock airport is booming considering the awful state the country is in. The management team including Liam Scanlon are very astute men.

The begrudgers in my experience dont even use the airport and it never fails to amaze me why they dont pick another airport to have a pop at such at the totally mismanaged DAA and T2.

No matter where an airport is located in connacht (or anywhere outside dublin and maybe cork) can be considered lacking in population. Galway and Limerick are only "towns" in world standards.

coylemj

Deleted User wrote: »

You do realise Knock Airport is about 5 miles
from both Sligo and Roscommon i.e. North Connacht.

Monsignor Horan probably used similar 'facts' to sell the airport to CJH. What you're referring to is the distance to those counties rather than the towns. In other words, for your own propaganda you're choosing to quote the distance from Knock airport to rural parts of counties Sligo and Roscommon, more massaging of reality.

It's 33 miles from Knock airport to Sligo town and 38 miles to Roscommon town. But let's not let facts get in the way of a good story.

Tenger

coylemj wrote: »

.........It's 33 miles from Knock airport to Sligo town and 38 miles to Roscommon town. But let's not let facts get in the way of a good story.

Its not as if less than 40 miles is a trek to get to an airport.

Neworder79

coylemj wrote: »

....But let's not let facts get in the way of a good story.

You've had many facts pointed out which you ignore, only one poster massaging here. Anyway seems a waste of time reasoning with you whatever your agenda.

bandit197

coylemj wrote: »

It's 33 miles from Knock airport to Sligo town and 38 miles to Roscommon town. But let's not let facts get in the way of a good story.

Its also 37 miles to Westport and 34 miles to Tuam. Its a central location in the northwest region.

instead of developing an airport at Charlestown (let's stop pretending it's beside Knock)

Who is pretending it is beside Knock. It is associated with Knock because it is an internationally recognised place of pilgrimage. Its 12 miles from Knock for the record.

Knock Airport is booming at the moment, long may it continue.

finchkerry

coylemj wrote: »

They 'continue to support' the airport by being ambushed by a €10 'development' fee when departing, good for you. Bet that does a heap for tourism. That tax is only mentioned on the airport website.

To be fair comparing the two airport taxes (Dublin & Knock) - Knocks works out at €24.99 plus the €10 development fee making it €34.99 in total. While Dublin's taxes in full is €36. So its a euro cheaper to fly from Knock. Both these flights were based on going to London stansted via Ryanair. I suppose to people in Dublin this has little bearing but imagine coming from Westport, Carrick on Shannon and places, even from west Cavan, ok not densely populated but the airport provides a service to those people too.

It would appear management are in Estonia trying to drum more flights according to their twitter page https://mobile.twitter.com/#!/irelandwest

Hopefully could get a few more good route, anyone got any ideas which ones?

eyeinthesky

Hi all, coylemj is the typical bergrudger of anything positive for the West. His nit picking is laughable, and his comments are not worhty of reply. Our airport is succeding because of hard work, good business expertise and a will of people to pull together. His opposition under the guise of supporting Galway Airport does not work because really it is obvious he supports Shannon and Knock is the thorn even with big handouts.

highlydebased

I wonder what is the max operating capacity of the airport as it currently is- terminal, ramp etc. Bearing in mind it's operating hours I can't imagine it physically able to handle many more flights than it currently does

Neworder79

I wonder what is the max operating capacity of the airport as it currently is- terminal, ramp etc. Bearing in mind it's operating hours I can't imagine it physically able to handle many more flights than it currently does.

I think I read that the departues extension was designed to allow for over 800,000 pa. However the arrivals and baggage area is small, and the apron is very constrained with just 3 aircraft stands.

highlydebased

highlydebased wrote: »

I wonder what is the max operating capacity of the airport as it currently is- terminal, ramp etc. Bearing in mind it's operating hours I can't imagine it physically able to handle many more flights than it currently does

I believe the Apron is currently been expanded(slowly), but they could probably do with expanding the departure lounge a little bit further . But one thing there not short of is room to expand, just the money.
They do have a second Hanger and Apron but i've only ever seen it used for private jets, business etc..

lotusm

some info on the link below might be useful

http://www.mayococo.ie/en/Planning/DevelopmentPlansLocalAreaPlansandStrategies/LocalAreaPlans/IrelandWestAirportKnock/Document1,18166,en.pdf

finchkerry

I see Ryanair have added another Bristol flight to their August schedule, should help increase passenger numbers for that month. I think it's another monday flight.

Information taken from their twitter page.

https://mobile.twitter.com/#!/irelandwest

munchkin_utd

finchkerry wrote: »

I see Ryanair have added another Bristol flight to their August schedule, should help increase passenger numbers for that month. I think it's another monday flight.

Information taken from their twitter page.

https://mobile.twitter.com/#!/irelandwest

heres a working link for those who dont have a login for twitter nor have any wish to.
http://twitter.com/#!/Irelandwest

Looks like the SNN bailout has opened a can of worms for the government...Now lets see if they treat the west and North west region as good as they have treated the mid west and South via SNN.

http://www.mayotoday.ie/index.php/browse-mayo-news-by-category/mayo-politics/item/4813-mulherin-to-seek-govt-support-for-major-development-work-at-knock-airport.html

finchkerry

Deleted User wrote: »

Looks like the SNN bailout has opened a can of worms for the government...Now lets see if they treat the west and North west region as good as they have treated the mid west and South via SNN.

http://www.mayotoday.ie/index.php/browse-mayo-news-by-category/mayo-politics/item/4813-mulherin-to-seek-govt-support-for-major-development-work-at-knock-airport.html

Will be difficult for the government to back out of this under Enda's watch. Besides another 3 other FG TD's in Mayo. With FG in power can only be a good thing for Knock, granted cutbacks will occur in every walk in life due to the downturn.