Dublin Airport Bus Service Changes

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121909505#Comment_121909505

They're still flogging that route. I wonder what the long term future of Aircoach is if they keep going down that path?

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121909815#Comment_121909815

I know there was some disappointment from those in Maghera that Aircoach didn't continue to serve there post the takeover of Airporter, but lets look at this commercially, I doubt adding a Town with a population of 4,500 is going to suddenly make a huge difference to the performance of it and it's certainly not going to make up for the revenue on the Belfast to Dublin leg that Aircoach have lost since Dublin Express exposed their poor commercial decisions.

When Aircoach launched the Cork non stop route all those years ago, their reaction to the competition was a textbook example of how to successfully see off a new entrant with sound commercial strategy. The way Aircoach have gone about surrendering their position on the corridor between Dublin and Belfast as they are desperate to try and make the very close to €3m cost of buying Airporter and all the other sums of money pumped into it, including the almost €2m pumped into a batch of premium brand but high density poor spec vehicles, somehow return on that investment, is a textbook example of how not to do it.

As we all now know that following Aircoach reducing the frequency on the Belfast to Dublin corridor to chase the lucrative returns they think they might find in Derry, Dublin Express has stepped in and now offers a more frequent service with far superior coaches on Dublin to Belfast now and has stepped in to well and truly put the ball in the back of the net with a simple finish. They won't score many easier goals than that.

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121909789#Comment_121909789

Sadly a lot of the politicians and groups who have got involved in this debate haven't been entering the debate honestly and have tried to make political capital out of it, either that or they simply have no idea at all what they are talking about.

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when any politician portrays something in a certain way so it aligns with their ideological thinking because they believe it is better to mislead and score some political points and/or gain votes out of it, rather than actually tell the truth and the facts of the matter.

bk

Same on the Cork route, they are trouble from what I see.

Citylink with their shiny new, high spec, very large Volvo 9900's with plenty of leg room, great fresh livery, extra departures, better stop location in Dublin City, etc.

Every time I travel on the Citylink service, it is busier and busier.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121912168#Comment_121912168

Their departure stops in Dublin are 80m apart on Aston Quay and Crampton Quay - how is one location better than the other?

L1011

Citylink have a waiting room and Aircoach don't as far as I know - that is appealing in crap weather.

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121912263#Comment_121912263

I meant that moving from the old GoBus stop to the Citylink stop is a better location.

The stop is right next to the Citylink office now, which has a little waiting room, sells tickets and the staff there help put bags on the coach, keep an eye on the bags and check tickets, etc.

It is a big upgrade from the old GoBus stop (though perhaps worse locations for those coming off the DART).

Aircoach by comparison don't have any such facilities at their stop. But also I'd guess it might help them attract customers from the nearby Aircoach stop. You are sitting there waiting for a cramped Aircoach coach and then you see the much bigger, more impressive Citylink coach pull up at the next stop and you think, maybe next time I'll try them.

bk

Let me give you my experience over the years on the Cork route.

I use to take the train for years until Aircoach launched their direct service and I switched to it completely. After a while the GoBE service launched, I tried it, but in the first few years it was a mixed bag and I used both Aircoach and GoBE.

However over time GoBE improved and by the time they rebranded as GoBus, I moved almost completely to them from Aircoach. GoBus had at the time nicer new Volvo 9700 coaches then the Aircoach Panthers.

With Citylink taking over from GoBus, they have improved the service in a number of small but important ways. New, even higher spec Volvo 9900's, new very nice livery, the new stop location in Dublin (they share a stop in Cork).

Meanwhile I tried the new Aircoach Mercedes on the Cork route and that was a painful experience, even worse leg room then the older Panthers!

Going from GoBE to GoBus to Citylink I've seen their coaches get busier and busier every time I travel, from being like only 1/4 full back in the GoBE days to usually completely full these days.

BTW I totally appreciate the threat to competition on the Galway route, I'm just giving my experience on the Cork route.

BBTW I've also been on the Dublin Express to Belfast and that is also a far superior coach and service to the Aircoach one.

belfast stephen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121909169#Comment_121909169

that's likely the changes to the 705x serivce

p_haugh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121912385#Comment_121912385

You are sitting there waiting for a cramped Aircoach coach

You don't even get a seat at the Aircoach stop on Aston Quay anymore, it was moved down the quays from the 145 stop they used before (which has a shelter), to outside the Newsagents!

coylemj

Aircoach posted this today on their Facebook page...

To pre-launch our 25th Anniversary celebrations, we are delighted to announce more direct travel options between North and South.

We have added 8 extra daily services to/from Belfast, providing an hourly service at peak travel times between Dublin City & Airport and Belfast City, making the 705X the most frequent express service between Dublin and Belfast!

In addition, due to overwhelming demand Aircoach has added a new stop in Maghera. We are so excited to provide a direct service to the Mid-Ulster community to/from Belfast International Airport and onto Dublin City & Airport!

All new services go live on March 24th

bk

Yep, another small advantage of the Citylink stop is that a Starbucks is next to it. You can get a coffee and sit in the Starbucks with a good view of the Citylink stop as you wait and keep an eye out for the coach to arrive. Very handy on a cold/wet day.

While there are cafes in the general area, there is non within sight of the Aircoach stop.

I know these aren't major things, but all these small things add up. But of course the big one is Citylink having a much more comfortable coach and actually cheaper ticket prices then Aircoach!

devnull

Important update on Aircoach route 706/706x Dublin to Galway.

This route IS NOT OPERATING today because of operational reasons. Aircoach made a decision not to publicly announce this.

https://twitter.com/Phio43015/status/1770065003715936436

https://twitter.com/Aircoach/status/1770073230155321632

Please if you are waiting for this service do not wait. Please seek alternative transport. This is now second time that Aircoach have cancelled services on this corridor for a full day and not published the fact. You cannot rely on this service. Please seek other options if possible.

devnull

The new Aircoach 705x timetable is now up on their website finally and bookable.

https://www.aircoach.ie/timetables/705X?date=2024-03-24

The new timetable which has been fully overhauled sees

• Maghera added to the 13 existing services that operate in each direction between Derry, Belfast and Dublin
• Four additional services in each direction that operate between Dublin City and Belfast City only.
• A complete change of departure times on all existing services departing from Dublin, Belfast and Derry

It remains to be seen how well this does. Aircoach reduced frequency on the successful Dublin to Belfast section of the 705X to chase the Derry dream in January 2023. In July 2023 Dublin Express launched a new service at a higher frequency between Dublin and Belfast, filling in the gap they identified Aircoach had left with far superior vehicles. Obviously Aircoach are now fighting back. However since July 2023 Dublin Express have built up a sizeable customer base and a reputation for having more comfortable vehicles and Aircoach did almost nothing commercially to defend itself.

The Maghera stop will certainly help the Derry to Belfast section, but I can't seeing it making a huge difference to the yields on this route. Certainly it will help a little bit, but lets get things into perspective, if a service is not pulling in decent numbers from Derry with a population of 85k, it's unlikely that adding a stop in a place that has a population of 4k is going to make a huge difference.

It will be interesting to see what Dublin Express do now, National Express are normally far less passive commercially and I wouldn't be surprised if soon enough they upped their own frequency which is an easy win for them considering the quality of their vehicles. You have to wonder if whilst this is good news in terms of extra services between Dublin and Belfast, it may be a case of acting after the horse has bolted commercially.

belfast stephen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121914543#Comment_121914543

it will be fun with Aircoach leaving at 10 past the hour and Dublin Express leaving at 20 past i am surprised the licencing people in northern Ireland let Aircoach leave with a short time before Dublin express departure

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121919926#Comment_121919926

Because they are a cross border service, I don’t think they need the same sort of licensing and regulation like the rest of the intercity routes require. I think they have complete flexibility on departure times, frequency, etc. And also why there is no limit on the number of companies operating the route, etc.

It is a more an example of a purely competitive market, then the more regulated routes in the rest of the country.

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921196#Comment_121921196

I honestly can't why it can't be like that on every Intercity corridor

belfast stephen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921196#Comment_121921196

from my understanding there is a Set limit set by the licensing body in northern Ireland think its 20 minutes was 15 but was put to 20 minutes

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121923630#Comment_121923630

To be honest, I was sort of thinking the same after I posted that, well a version of that.

I mean the NTA approach of max two operators on each route has pretty much failed, with just the Cork route having it now. Belfast never really applied due to the International nature with 3/4 operators on it (depending on how you count the X1), DC dominated the Limerick route from early on and Citylink now dominating the Galway route.

While I'd keep the need for a license and the time separation between operators [1], perhaps remove the cap on the max number of operators per route. Perhaps it would allow for more competition on routes?

[1] Like if just two operators, they have to be 30 minutes apart, 3 operators 20 minutes apart, 4 operators 15 minutes.

Rock Steady Edy

Stena Line leaves from Dublin to Holyhead between 10 and 20 mins after Irish Ferries, and then there are no ferries for 6 hours. We nearly always travel Stena.

Booked passengers will have made their decisions before travel based on the perceived service level (comfort, timeliness, reliability, value). Only walk-ups might be swayed to get an earlier coach if they arrive slightly earlier.

p_haugh

The 783 started running this morning, and as expected the early morning departures were running well ahead of schedule. According to comments on Facebook, the drivers had to wait for time at each stop to keep to schedule. I'd imagine that will be changed soon enough.

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921196#Comment_121921196

Whilst it doesn't need a license to transfer passengers between ROI and NI, it would need some kind of license/permit from the Northern Irish Government to be allowed to carry passengers between Derry, Maghera and Belfast International Airport.

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121919926#Comment_121919926

The licensing authorities in NI have no powers to do so.

Aircoach don't need a license between Belfast City Centre and Dublin Airport / City, they only need an International operators license and an international authorisation permit, both of which they have. This allows them to carry cross border passengers. The only time they need a license from the NI authorities is to carry passengers that undertake journeys that both start and end in NI.

Aircoach has approval from the DoI to carry passengers between Derry and Belfast International Airport which it inherited from Airporter, It hasn't been given approval to carry passengers from Derry to Belfast City, but the bus can still run from Belfast Airport to Belfast City Centre on it's way to Dublin (under it's International Authorisation) as long as nobody after leaving Belfast International Airport gets off in Belfast City.

devnull

Aircoach have painted at least one vehicle in a fairly bland silver livery to celebrate 25 years in business. They also managed to seriously age the coach wearing it by painting the black under the window that colour too.

https://flic.kr/p/2pEQDyJ

Can see that they would want to celebrate it with a special livery, but doing so by removing their own striking blue livery and going for something so bland is surprising.

p_haugh

Kind of like it to be honest! Also, Silver is the colour usually associated with a 25 year anniversary so I can understand why they decided to put it in that colour.

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121932037#Comment_121932037

I think it looks good personally. Looks to be a wrap/vinyl as opposed to an actual livery

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121932185#Comment_121932185

Think it's the front that really doesn't do it for me, would have been better to left the bit under the front windscreen black and the silver feels a bit too light, more like a blue tint to it.

belfast stephen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121929103#Comment_121929103

but the licensing body can put a time scale on the time between each company and they have to be notified

belfast stephen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121932037#Comment_121932037

its a wrap also some of the coach from the Galway route are meant to be moving to the belfast route

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121932200#Comment_121932200

It looks better in the flesh. Anyway it's kind of funny they're how they're celebrating their 25th Anniversary given how much they've changed from being innovative, premium and commercially driven operator when they started out to what they are today it's quite the shift in 25 years.

A return to their core principles what made them successful 25 years might be in check today for them.