Waterford Airport.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119515552#Comment_119515552

seriously doubt it, but id imagine google knows, there will probably never be for such a need anyway, cant imagine anything bigger than a 320 or 737 landing out there, if even....

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119515588#Comment_119515588

Would that be size of Ryanairs aircraft ?

marno21

Cork Airport has taken 747s in the past and it’s runway is shorter than Waterford’s extended runway will be. The issue would be taking off they wouldn’t make it very far with a runway that short.

Waterford could take 757s and 737 MAXs on transatlantic flights but it’s unlikely these would actually happen in practice.

PTH2009

What domestic routes would be a runner for us ?

I'm guessing Dublin and Maybe Knock or Donegal

Waterford- Belfast would be great

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119516825#Comment_119516825

None of the above.

Domestic routes would only work if they received PSO funding and you would not get PSO funding for any of the above.

Just think of Dublin. Waterford City to Waterford airport 15/20 minutes. Need to be at the airport 30mins before departure, 25min flight to Dublin, another 20/30mins getting through Dublin airport and into the city.

By that time would would have drove from Waterford to Dublin

deisemum

It used to be so handy when I could fly from Waterford to Galway, 20 mins flight.

chasing_ghosts

If this all goes ahead then yeah we'd hopefully see 737s and A320s at the most but definitely can't imagine anything bigger unless it was cargo. My thinking is that if Ryanair finds a Kerry-Frankfurt flight feasible, then surely something can be done with Waterford.

Cork also did have a 767 cargo service for a while so there you go.

As for the regional service it just doesn't make sense, Waterford isn't the boonies like Farranfore or Carrickfinn. We're well connected down here (trains could be more frequent though).

snotboogie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119517916#Comment_119517916

I’d imagine that a Dublin route would be primarily used for connections.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119515982#Comment_119515982

yup by the looks of it, impressive fleet they have, unable to post link, but its easily accessible via the google, id say 737's and a320's are probably the most common planes out there, nearly every airport ive been to is filled with them. id imagine providing for anything bigger is a serious ordeal, as it would go way beyond just having a capable runway, as the whole airport would need to be altered in order to facilitate them. im still extremely skeptical that any major passenger flights are financially viable for the airport, but i ll be happily proven wrong

Valhalla90

Id say the routes that would be successful from WAT would be to the likes of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Amsterdam and maybe a few summer destinations!

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119519884#Comment_119519884

Nice to head out to Amsterdam for your em 'clogs'

The UK routes would be great for the soccer

L1011

Despite being dearer, you'd ideally want KLM on that route as it would open up connections to near everywhere. They operate in to some very marginal regional airports in England/Scotland so know how to make it work

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119519204#Comment_119519204

It still wouldn't be successfully, no domestic routes would be a success

Cosmo Kramer

There wouldn't be any domestic routes, no Irish domestic routes are viable without PSO funding and Waterford is far to close to Dublin to justify that.

There won't be any Frankfurt type routes either. The Ryanair one to Kerry is based around German inbound tourists to Kerry, there won't be any market for that in Waterford.

The only long term viable routes would be:

London - Luton and/or Stansted

English midlands - one of Birmingham or East Midlands

North of England - one of Manchester or Liverpool

Possibly Edinburgh at a stretch but suspect that would struggle.

And a couple of seasonal sun routes - maybe two out of Alicante, Malaga and Faro April to October.

That would all need to be backed up by either private sector or government funding on an annual basis, or a passenger departure charge, or both. Otherwise it won't pay for Ryanair or Aer Lingus and they'll walk away.

JourneyMan8

what is the current situation out there, quite a few planes flying around the area recently

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119522448#Comment_119522448

Same as it has been since commerical flights stopped.

General aviation and private flight's. Waterford aero club, Atlantic flight training school and R117

azimuth17

A lot of small cargo planes also, usually bound for European destinations. The Waterford Aviation page on Facebook hasa good cross section of photographs.

StringerBell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119521528#Comment_119521528

Which airline/airport/govt dept do you work in as a matter of curiousity?

BBM77

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119532107#Comment_119532107

Sounds like the Dept of Cork.

fuzzy dunlop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119536011#Comment_119536011

Try an hours drive North of the Shannon.......

AdMMM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119521528#Comment_119521528

The DUB - KIR route by Ryanair is run without PSO

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119553496#Comment_119553496

Yes but Killarney is almost a four hour drive, Waterford is half of that hence why a Waterford to Dublin route wouldn't work

Valhalla90

If an airport in a bog in rural Mayo can be successful there is no reason why WAT won't be.

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119554432#Comment_119554432

Yes I fully agree but not for domestic flights.

Uk, mainland Europe and summer destinations.

That said everything has gone very quiet since the news of the two Galway lads

GandhiwasfromBallyfermot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119555158#Comment_119555158

Waterford council said at the time that a deal was being negotiated but nothing had been signed yet. So they could still be working through the detail. Knowing Waterford Council it will take them so long to do anything, or they'll make it so difficult, the Comers will get bored and bugger off somewhere else.

hardybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119554432#Comment_119554432

The key difference is that Knock scoops up people from all over the West, North West, border counties and the midlands. That's something Waterford will struggle with. They also had the shrine bringing in visitors, and the coming and going of emigrants.

Draw a line down from most of Cavan, Longford, Roscommon, and then further west to Donegal, Mayo itself and Galway - and they're either closer to Knock than Dublin or a similar distance.

Most of Tipp will be closer to either Cork or Shannon than Waterford. Parts of West Waterford are closer to Cork than Waterford. Carlow is about the same to Dublin and Waterford and north Wexford is closer to Dublin.

Waterford Airport will have to make sure that the facility is as pleasant as possible to use, and be competitive in terms of price (I don't think it was before) to tempt people away from using those other airports, and be smart with its route selection.

BBM77

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119558235#Comment_119558235

Was it not the case that the routes that where there before were profitable. It was the company as a whole went bust.

hardybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119558377#Comment_119558377

Are you talking about Waterford? I'm sure there was profitable routes (I presume that's the name of the game), but they're no use if there wasn't sufficient income for the company to stay afloat.

BBM77

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119558519#Comment_119558519

Yes, Waterford. Don’t get why Waterford Airport’s sustainability is in such question considering it has a history of profitable routes. It is hardly Waterford Airport’s fault if an airline company goes bust. Plus there is 600,000 population within an hours drive of Waterford.

Cosmo Kramer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119554432#Comment_119554432

If ever a post screamed "I haven't the slightest clue what I'm talking about" it's this one. Hardybuck has given a fairly decent explanation of why Knock is successful in a way that Waterford never could be. It turns out a bog in rural Mayo is actually quite a good location when it has a catchment area of 600,000 people for whom it's their nearest airport of any substance. Sadly Waterford's location south of the city means that there are even parts of County Waterford for which it wouldn't be the local airport, let alone the rest of the region.

As for all these supposedly profitable routes it really is astounding that such potential has been left untapped by the airlines for six years and counting at this stage. Surely if they're profitable one of Aer Lingus Regional, Flybe, Eastern or Loganair wouldn't have been waiting for a runway extension and would be getting stuck in there right now to get their hands on all those profits. Incredible that they've chosen not to...