Thomas Cook 757 - Heineken Cup Charter from Cork

radar0976

We had a welcome visitor in Cork over the weekend operating a rugby charter from Cork to and from Montpellier for the Heineken Cup Semi-Final over the weekend between Munster and Clermont Auvergne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9MBxrFBGck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9MBxrFBGck

roundymac

God be with the days when for a match like this we would have had 2-3 752's plus a half dozen 737 with the odd A300/A330/747 thrown in. I can remember going to Cardiff for the 2002 final on a Transjet 742, an ex Tower Air bucket that was falling apart.

radar0976

roundymac wrote: »

God be with the days when for a match like this we would have had 2-3 752's plus a half dozen 737 with the odd A300/A330/747 thrown in. I can remember going to Cardiff for the 2002 final on a Transjet 742, an ex Tower Air bucket that was falling apart.

Absolutely. I was having the same conversation with some others up there yesterday. The only other extra flight (from Cork) that I'm aware of for this match was an Embraer ERJ-195.

It's a real sign of the times isn't it. Plus all the "fair weather" Munster supporters from celtic tiger times are gone too.

roundymac

Yes I can remember seing plenty of GAA heads plus a few soccer ones on these flights. Also the corporate "jollys" took up a fair few seats as well. Imagine my surprise when i got on the plane to fly to Montepelier for the semi final against Castres to see all the senior management from work on the plane. All GAA heads being brought down by one of our suppliers. The other thing was the match was being played in Beziers so we were sent off in a bus convoy with police outriders, all the side roads were sealed off so it was full speed down the motorway and the same on the way back. Three weeks later we had the Cardiff fiasco, not only did we lose the match (hand of Niel Back) but a lot of the fans were stuck in Cardiff airport which had put up a marqee for those on the rugby charters and would not leave us near the terminal, some peoples flights did get back to Cork until the early hours of sunday morning, I think the last one in was at 06,00. Desperate carry on.

TPMP

radar0976 wrote: »

Absolutely. I was having the same conversation with some others up there yesterday. The only other extra flight (from Cork) that I'm aware of for this match was an Embraer ERJ-195.

It's a real sign of the times isn't it. Plus all the "fair weather" Munster supporters from celtic tiger times are gone too.

Not really. This was a semi final of which Munster were entitled to 50% of the ground capacity. Take out about 15% of that which ERC keep and distribute themselves and you're left with about 7k Munster fans travelling, which did.

Had this been the final, in the likes of London or Cardiff where the capacity is 3 times that of Montpellier, you would have seen a heck of a lot more flights, like in 2002, 2006 etc.

BrakePad

TPMP wrote: »

Had this been the final, in the likes of London or Cardiff where the capacity is 3 times that of Montpellier, you would have seen a heck of a lot more flights, like in 2002, 2006 etc.

Except not in to Cork or anywhere else in Munster!:D

I have family of a red persuasion and they have said that the Munster support base has fallen apart over the last year or 2. There is also an element who were present at the recent Munster v Leinster derby that Munster rugby would be best steering clear of.

kub

EI Please note 757's have plenty of space on 17/35....hint, hint. I flew on one a few years ago to Palma, if memory serves me correctly it was one of these Thomas Cook ones. My wife noticed that the plane seemed to need more runway compared to usual, observant isn't she?

irishbloke77

kub wrote: »

EI Please note 757's have plenty of space on 17/35....hint, hint. I flew on one a few years ago to Palma, if memory serves me correctly it was one of these Thomas Cook ones. My wife noticed that the plane seemed to need more runway compared to usual, observant isn't she?

Would there be enough room for it to be fully laden with full fuel tanks etc for up to a 7 hour flight? Maybe there is.

But for Aer Lingus, and correct me if I am wrong here, with the change to jetblues terminal in JFK, do all passengers have had to clear customs before getting to new york to be treated as a domestic flight? If so, that means cork wouldnt get any flights until they get a CBP posting.

Zonda999

irishbloke77 wrote: »

Would there be enough room for it to be fully laden with full fuel tanks etc for up to a 7 hour flight? Maybe there is.

But for Aer Lingus, and correct me if I am wrong here, with the change to jetblues terminal in JFK, do all passengers have had to clear customs before getting to new york to be treated as a domestic flight? If so, that means cork wouldnt get any flights until they get a CBP posting.

I don't think thats the case as sometimes flights leave without CBP for whatever reason

highlydebased

Zonda999 wrote: »

I don't think thats the case as sometimes flights leave without CBP for whatever reason

Supposedly all JFK flights do now clear before leaving, so there are no problems arriving at jetblues domestic terminal.

If a ORK-JFK flight were to be operated then they would need to make permanent arrangements for an international gate again

radar0976

highlydebased wrote: »

Supposedly all JFK flights do now clear before leaving, so there are no problems arriving at jetblues domestic terminal.

If a ORK-JFK flight were to be operated then they would need to make permanent arrangements for an international gate again

Sure there's a spare terminal lying around in Cork. They could use that

roundymac

radar0976 wrote: »

Sure there's a spare terminal lying around in Cork. They could use that

Hopefully not for long, the plan is to demolish it and put in addional stands.

A320

irishbloke77 wrote: »

Would there be enough room for it to be fully laden with full fuel tanks etc for up to a 7 hour flight? Maybe there is.

Plenty of room.
Heard a few good rumours around SNN regarding the maintenance of the EI 757s.il dig deeper!!!!

LXFlyer

Zonda999 wrote: »

I don't think thats the case as sometimes flights leave without CBP for whatever reason

Not since the JFK terminal change.

All EI JFK flights have to clear CBP in Ireland as the US terminal is domestic.

The Chicago and Boston flights no longer use CBP in Ireland as a result.

irishbloke77

A320 wrote: »

Plenty of room.
Heard a few good rumours around SNN regarding the maintenance of the EI 757s.il dig deeper!!!!

Is the rumour in regard to moving 757s to cork, or just that the leased in ones will be in Shannon?

When O was referring to room, I don't mean can the 757 make it, or is there room at the terminal, I meant can corks runway handle a fully laden 757? Maybe it can, I am not having a pop at any cork enthusiasts, it's a genuine question.

A320

irishbloke77 wrote: »

Is the rumour in regard to moving 757s to cork, or just that the leased in ones will be in Shannon?

When O was referring to room, I don't mean can the 757 make it, or is there room at the terminal, I meant can corks runway handle a fully laden 757? Maybe it can, I am not having a pop at any cork enthusiasts, it's a genuine question.

Yes it can,I think even a B767 can operate close to full

No 757s still at Shannon but theres a few rumours about maintenance contracts

LXFlyer

The Q1 2013 Aer Lingus Interim Management Statement states clearly that the damp lease of three 757 aircraft will start in early 2014 so you might be waiting a little while yet!!

irishbloke77

A320 wrote: »

Yes it can,I think even a B767 can operate close to full

No 757s still at Shannon but theres a few rumours about maintenance contracts

Apart from united airlines and now delta and us airways also. Assume someone is 757 rated in shannon for maintenance

A320

irishbloke77 wrote: »

Apart from united airlines and now delta and us airways also. Assume someone is 757 rated in shannon for maintenance

Shannon Aerospace do their line maint

radar0976

lxflyer wrote: »

The Q1 2013 Aer Lingus Interim Management Statement states clearly that the damp lease of three 757 aircraft will start in early 2014 so you might be waiting a little while yet!!

I hadn't heard the term "damp lease" before this story broke. Presumably it means cabin crew for the 757s are Aer Lingus but the pilots are not ?

Marcusm

Soggy lease is one I've more commonly heard....