Cork Airport - *Read Mod Note in First Post Before Posting*

Harika

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121703139#Comment_121703139

We made it, our luggage didn't.

Banbha32

Hmm so whatever happened with the airport announcememt in January. Any tea going around about any other routes. I dont think they officially announced the ryanair ones but i guess we know about them for a while already :)

Fabio

Flew with Aer Lingus last night and the aircraft parked at stand-5 just outside the old terminal building. Bit of a walk back into the new terminal, all while three lovely airbridges were free on the new terminal.

Last flight of the night maybe but it seemed strange to me.

.red.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121734444#Comment_121734444

There's only 2 air bridges, not 3. That aircraft would have been on the ground at least a few hours, maybe up to 8 or 10. They won't put that on a bridge stand as then the air bridges can't be used for the normal 30/40 min turnarounds.

Fabio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121734560#Comment_121734560

Yeah it was the last flight in, or one of the last in, so it was going to be powered-down for the night I imagine. Would it be that much work to use the airbridge to offload and then move the aircraft to the remote stand after that? I know it would take more time, probably more costly etc.

what the hell!

A random thought earlier today. Do you think many people connect to another flight in Cork? I was trying to think when you arrive into the terminal off a flight do you have to go through passport control and then back through security. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a flight connections sign.

JCX BXC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121741275#Comment_121741275

Connecting isn't an option with Ryanair, so unless you're doing a connection with Aer Lingus from UK to Europe via cork, it wouldn't be possible. Even then, it's very unlikely to be cost effective given you're going the wrong direction.

Fabio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121741275#Comment_121741275

Good point! I don't think there is a flight connections corridor at all.

whispering1

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0213/1432002-3-new-french-flights-from-kerry-airport/

fjr13

Whispering1 , are you on the wrong thread?

whispering1

No there was somebody on earlier in the thread looking for new destinations from Cork. With the new road now ,Kerry is not that far away. Just keeping you all informed. From Cork myself and i have a few friends who go to Alicante Via Kerry at times as they can get a better deal.

lordleitrim

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764531#Comment_121764531

I never thought of that but with Macroom bypassed and Adare soon to be, if Kerry offers competitive prices and/or routes not served by either ORK or SNN, an hour and a bit drive to Kerry Airport might be a serious consideration for more and more Cork or Limerick passengers over time.

Friends of my parents who live in Shannon Town and who could practically walk to that airport once drove to Kerry to fly to Alicante as the flights (not sure if it was the timings or costs)suited them better.

whispering1

The other thing worth noting is that some people like to go away in the Summer but do not want roasting weather. Northern France ticks a few boxes there . Glad that Cork have brought in Brussels this year too. Choice is good for the consumer.

Pen Rua

And back to Ireland into Cork from the US, via Amsterdam - this time with all the family.

Word of warning for the likely very small minority of travelers going with an infant in arms as part - get to the airport early. Our booking was made via KLM, with Delta operating the transatlantic portions. As I mentioned on the outbound flight, there was an issue but the KLM transfer desk fixed it. That maybe took 20 mins.

We got to Orlando Airport admittedly late, barely over 2 hours prior to departure. The check in desk was quiet enough, so we head up and get started. Turns out, there's an issue with the infant ticket again. Delta doesn't have her on their system, notwithstanding she is showing on our app, our booking and we have booking confirms. Yer man rings whoever, and we think it is sorted. He prints the boarding passes, and we end up with three, not four. So more calls to whoever. It goes on and on. We're now less than an hour from departure, and we think boarding has already begun. Eventually, the supervisor goes in the back and is able to come out with a fourth boarding pass. We run to the gate at about 18:25 and get there at 18:38 or so. Turns out, the flight hadn't even commenced boarding as they had to run checks on the plane!

Thankfully the rest of the trip was no drama, and we were in to Amsterdam on time @ 10am, out of Amsterdam about 15 mins late but into Cork bang on time.

So, overall, flying out of Cork as opposed to Dublin to the US seems to work relatively well if you are not travelling with an infant in arms. 20 min taxi to Cork, no more than 2 hours early to the airport versus 3+ hour bus to Dublin, min. 3 hour early to airport. Off the plane, wait for a taxi and 20 min taxi home.

Yes, you there are layovers to factor in but at least you can walk / eat / drink around Amsterdam as opposed to being confined to a bus. Of course, the big risk is the ORK-AMS / AMS-ORK flights being disrupted, as we saw in the bad weather in late-January.

As an aside, our inbound flight from AMS to Orlando (MCO) was delayed and eventually cancelled. I was panicking a bit, as the projected arrival of that plane was 21:00, when our departure was 19:00. Factor in turn around time, I was very worried we'd miss our AMS-ORK flight home. In the end, the AMS-MCO flight was cancelled but Delta sourced a back up plane from their hub in Atlanta.

lordleitrim

Sounds like a hectic journey and glad it worked out for you in the end but imo nothing beats a point to point direct flight if I can drive or bus it in a couple of hours to the departing airport. Flying to another country for a layover to get to an end destination in a 3rd country when you've direct flights to your final destination in your own country (while having kids or infants in tow) seems like a recipe for stress (which you kind if proved...) Unless there was a crazy 50% or more cost difference in price, I wouldn't even begin to consider it. Your loyalty to ORK is admirable!

Pen Rua

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121770380#Comment_121770380

Ha, yes there are for sure drawbacks with the layover. It was my first time out of Cork since I was a kid. We placed a lot of value on getting to the airport not-crazy early and getting home very quick. A 3+ hour bus with two kids, versus a layover in a big airport with two kids and things to see / do - the latter was the winner.

Our two girls are very well travelled so they were actually great through it all. I think if we are doing it all over, I would look to be sure we don't have an infant in arms on the booking - that seemed to be the issue. The 2.5 year old in her own seat was fine, no issues.

hans aus dtschl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121770380#Comment_121770380

I see it the opposite way. I'll gladly pay 50% extra to avoid Dublin airport. I can't imagine the stress of bringing an infant and young child through that awful mess of an airport. Schiphol is very pleasant by comparison, even for a layover.

I recently did Dublin-out, Cork-Home USA flights on my own and it reaffirmed the whole thing, it was great to avoid Dublin, particularly on the homeward leg.

lordleitrim

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121770560#Comment_121770560

What was so awful about DUB? Granted the period after the pandemic was awful for queues, cleanliness etc and that was down to too many staff been let go but now that they've addressed the staff shortages, it's been an absolutely seamless experience for the dozen or so trips I've taken in the last year or so (no more than 10 minute wait security queues , another 10 minutes at immigration for the recent JFK flight I took), plenty of seating in restaurants and waiting areas and common areas/toilets were clean so I don't understand the aversion. The walk to the Ryanair gates are long which is probably a drawback for families or less mobile but I'd hardly describe the experience as an awful mess. If it's the travel from Cork to Dublin that is the disincentive, fair enough but I'm curious as to what the awfulness is.

thomil

I can't speak for Hans, but the last thing I need after a flight is a three hour Aircoach ride back to Cork. Also, as someone who almost exclusively flew Lufthansa when I still flew through DUB (the logical option when flying to FRA), I found Terminal 1 at Dublin to be poorly laid out, worn out, bordering on obsolete in some areas and cramped, especially at the security checkpoint. It still wasn't as bad as Terminal 3 at LHR, the reason why Heathrow generally rhymes with "Hell No!", but it certainly wasn't a pleasant experience.

I will admit that T2 was a pleasant surprise the one time I used it, but on the whole, I'd rather fly from Cork and transfer through Amsterdam whenever possible. Also, I just like an airport where you can actually look out over the airport from the terminal, and say what you want, Cork Airport has glass frontage to spare...

Pen Rua

We went to the US out of Dublin with our first child when she was less than a year old, back in Summer 2022. It was at the time when there were mad security Qs, so we got there even earlier than 3 hours before departure.

Once you're through pre-clearance, the waiting area is terrible. There's seating, sure, but there's one bar and one restaurant. The 51st & Green Lounge is not worth it (we bought access back then, as we were waiting so long). At least in Amsterdam, the toddler and I took a walk, saw loads of planes, got to the playground, saw the mini-museum etc. I suppose you can achieve that in Dublin too, and just leave pre-clearance till late but that's not my vibe when travelling...! Mom & the baby had the baby lounge to feed privately in and relax, which had value for us.

I used to place a lot of value on pre-clearance out of Dublin, but now I don't. It's the same authorities, same officers, same questions, same analysis and really about the same time (based on my experience at Detroit and Orlando). I'd place more value on it perhaps immigrating permanently and having it squared off this side of the Atlantic, or, if I had book a very tight domestic connection in the US.

We priced a departure out of Dublin, and the prices were more or less aligned and that was before we thought about parking / diesel, or, an Aircoach. We placed more value on the relative ease of going in / out of Cork than any savings we might have seen out of Dublin. For sure, there was a risk that the ORK - AMS / AMS - ORK legs would be disrupted.

I think the woes we had were down to travelling with an infant in-arms. I'd be slower to fly a similar itinerary with KLM/Delta under the same circumstances. That said, I did overhear a flight attendance on the flight out of AMS saying KLM & Delta's systems are going to be aligned more, or something to that effect, soon. Perhaps that will solve the issues we had. fwiw, we didn't have similar issues when we flew Aer Lingus / United back in Summer 2022 albeit we had a totally different (much bigger) issue where our outbound flight just disappeared and we went an entire day early.

Kiss my Axe

Hi, not a regular user of Cork Airport but I booked a flight today for Saturday morning departure at 6am and return to Cork Sunday morning at 7am but the 3 car parks (Short term, Blue & Red) are all coming up as full online for that day to park. Is there somewhere else close by or would I get in with a ticket at the barrier? Thanks in advance.

whispering1

Ahead of the busy summer season, the Cork Airport Operations and Asset Care teams are busy upgrading our facilities around the airport campus.

We're pleased to say that we have commenced upgrades and refurbishments on our multi-storey, short term carpark. The works, which will be taking place across all floors on a phased basis, will involve the replacement of electrical wiring and cabling, relining the carpark spaces and other minor refurbishment works.

As these works are carried out, Levels 4 and 5 of the multi-storey carpark are currently closed for parking until further notice. We will provide relevant updates on the progress of the project and when other floors become closed for refurbishment works.

Parking is currently available on Level 1, 2, and 3.

We thank all our passengers for their patience and understanding while we complete these works - which are to ensure that our facilities are up to a modern, first class standard.

notAMember

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121770920#Comment_121770920

I think you’re mixing up transfer and layover. Layover if when you have an overnight somewhere between flights. Transfer is where you walk from one flight onto the next. That is what happens in schipol.

And I happily pay double to avoid Dublin. My parents used it a few weeks ago , thinking they could use their OAP travel pass to get them to cork. My arse. It took them 9 hours from landing to get back home to cork city, and that was with one of my siblings collecting them from kent station. Bus station not connected to train station still boggles my brain. My parents have a bus stop outside their house. Great, except the bus is connected to nothing. Not the trains, airport or any kind of tram. Not even to other buses. They all drop at random unconnected places. Wtf is the point?

No signage at Dublin airport to any bus eireann connection to heuston station. If it exists they couldnt find it. They paid some private bus company to get to heuston, and waited a hour for the privilege. Then the trains were full, you can’t pre book on an oap pass . The train they eventually got was dog slow compared to Europe.

The private buses from airport to cork are woefully slow, and not suitable for them, they both need access to decent loos.

I have driven to Dublin to collect European colleague’s personally I was so embarrassed by what they would encounter there when they tried to get public transport to Cork from Dublin airport.

Sorry for the rant, but the level of bad service Irish people accept in transport is insane. We all have to buy individual cars and clog up the damn roads with traffic because our public transportation is so brutal.

notAMember

I’ll give an example of what good looks like to balance out that moan.

Zurich is a small city, not a capital city, similar population to Cork, 350,000 ish. The economy is also fairly similar, farming, milk, pharmaceutical factories. Cork has Dell and Apple manufacturing & software, zurich has banks.

Airport is just outside the city, 15 minutes out the road. 1 terminal.

You arrive in zurich airport , pick up your bags. Down one floor is trams and buses, taxis . Down one more floor , a little train station, 4 platforms. From here you can get directly to some bigger stations by train… Basel, St Gallen etc and all 3 (bus, tram, train) also connect you to zurich Bahnhof. There are more train platforms in the main town (30 ish?), plus bus and tram hubs, connected to the boat services on the lake. The service doesn’t go all night, most services stop around 10pm, it’s not some giant metropolis like nyc or London. But there are enough ways to get around without a car.

If Dublin was even a tiny bit better, just better signage and connected to the train station with a frequent bus… and if cork just had even a bus to the city center going every 10- 20 minutes, it would make such a big difference to usability .

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121773972#Comment_121773972

Just a question, but why didn't they take the AirCoach 704X to Cork?

It's part of the Free Travel Scheme, and they have buses leaving hourly unless it's the middle of the night.

3 and a half hours nonstop to Cork.

GoBus also takes the pass.

I know PT aint the best in Ireland, but that just means one has to do some due diligence beforehand.

Also, if an OAP, who could well afford to pay for a seat on a bus or train, needs to book a seat then perhaps they just need to fork it out?

Thephantomsmask

It is possible to prebook on Irish rail, you need to select "free travel pass" as the ticket type in the passenger drop down. They don't allow prebookings of any ticket type within 90mins of departure time though.

Fully agree on the poor signage and connections, there is little to tell people that Dublin express are the connection to Heuston.

markodaly

The private buses from airport to cork are woefully slow, and not suitable for them, they both need access to decent loos.

Just saw this? What do you mean by slow?

3 and a half hours to go 270kms aint slow at all. By private car, you are looking at 2 hours 45 minutes at best to over 3 hours if you are caught in any traffic.

How could it be faster in your opinion?

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121773982#Comment_121773982

If Dublin was even a tiny bit better, just better signage and connected to the train station with a frequent bus… and if cork just had even a bus to the city center going every 10- 20 minutes, it would make such a big difference to usability .

There is currently a bus every 30 minutes from Kent station. The 225 or 226.

A bus every 10-20 would be better of course. BusConnects appears to be keeping the 30-minute frequency, but across every day, so a slight improvement.

Zurich is a small city, not a capital city, similar population to Cork, 350,000 ish

According to Wiki, the population of Zurich is 450,000 while its metro population is 1.45 million.

It's basically another Dublin.

hans aus dtschl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121770920#Comment_121770920

Sorry I should clarify.

Issues start before Dublin. You need to book parking, but it's not always available: I have needed to park in Swords. You're down €100 or more straight away. Then you need a bus or taxi to the airport (from near the airport to the airport). You're down minimum 3 hours now and €100 (parking, tolls, petrol) and are probably starting to feel slightly tired and want to get something to eat: make sure to eat OUTSIDE security, because prices inside are very high now.

At the baggage check you can be quite unlucky with the new automated machines, and need to search for someone to do your bag for you. It's a bit of a coin flip and it's more time.

Get to security and queue. Dublin doesn't have a monopoly on long queues, but it is a big contrast to Cork. And do you remember what the air con is like where this couple of hundred people are queuing? There is none (presumably for security reasons). You're down around 4 hours and €150 now and because of persistent security issues at Dublin you're probably going to pad out that time a bit more.

Beyond security, T1 is very old now and looks/feels it. Food options are limited and expensive. I have been unlucky a few times recently where there were many shuttered shops/cafes, not sure if it's still the case. It's cramped and crowded and quite loud with shops competing for attention, like a city street. If you're flying Ryanair it's a long walk. Probably stairs. Escalators and magic carpets will likely be switched off (maybe broken?). You might end up in "terminal 3" (the prefab on the runway with no facilities). Or you might end up in the US preclearance lounge which is at least spacious and comfortable albeit with no cafe, just a tiny shop with a long queue. Or you might pay extra to book 51st and green (it's often full, don't bother walking up).

At the plane, all-in you're easily down near €200 and 5 hours. On the return journey you have the whole security and bus/taxi thing the opposite way around which is a bad experience too. Conservatively you're down maybe €200 and 8 hours on a round-trip.

So poor transport integration, poor quality of the terminal and general dedication to making money from every passenger makes it quite a poor experience. I'm not aware of any "free" facilities there and the only outdoor space I'm aware of is in the bar upstairs.

So I will pay a premium of around 50% to do so. Sometimes I can't do that and simply must go from Dublin, but I'll avoid Dublin if possible.

the beer revolu

I agree that public transport connections from Dublin Airport are poor but just showing up assuming that your travel pass will get you a bus and train to Cork without any research or pre booking is extremely naive in my opinion.

I'm travelling to Brussels via Amsterdam in May and I already have my ticket. I wouldn't dream of just rocking up expecting the first train to take me where I want to go!

That story says more about the people travelling than the terrible service. You can only expect so much.

However, everyone would agree that we need much better public transport everywhere!