Dublin Airport Bus Service Changes

AngryLips

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121927907#Comment_121927907

This service is really going to kill the market for Aircoach in and around the Docklands area. Previously, the two operators had an hourly service collecting passengers in Docklands going through the port tunnel, it meant that you'd never buy a return ticket for either service because you could be faced with up to an hour wait for the next bus at Dublin Airport if you committed to one operator like that (much better to just turn up and pay). With the 783, I think it effectively makes Dublin Express more than every half-hourly in Docklands

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121936120#Comment_121936120

Just a small correction.

Dublin Express already had an advantage as the 784 actually operated every 30 minutes before now.

It continues to do so (now operating to/from Pearse St), but the 783 (between the service operating to/from Terenure and the short workings to/from Hatch Street) will also be every 30 mins.

That’s a bus every 15 mins from the Airport, but the integration doesn’t work on the way back and the 783/784 both depart from the stops between Custom House Quay and the 3Arena at the same time, meaning a 30 min frequency.

Also the 783/784 timings on the TFI planner are incorrect - the correct ones are on the Dublin Express website journey planner.

They still haven’t updated the timetable pdf.

AngryLips

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121936278#Comment_121936278

Is it half-hourly even in the early mornings? I recall it being hourly at the godforsaken hours of the day during the early morning departure wave from Dublin airport ...which is arguably the one most Dublin Airport passengers are likely to use.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121936328#Comment_121936328

The 784 is half hourly from 06:00ish and the 783 from 05:00ish towards the airport.

While you’re right that the first wave period is busy, the majority of people using the airport are travelling over the course of the rest of the day.

devnull

Aircoach have announced today that on the 25th of every month they are going to give away 199 free tickets for the first 199 people to use a code which they will release on social media. When I had a look earlier there was no limit to the number of free tickets you could get per transaction, so you could book a massive party on the same booking and everyone would travel free.

I'm really surprised it's not limited to one customer per booking and I'm also surprised they've gone fully free rather than giving a substantial discount which would have been far more sensible commercially. There's a reason you don't see free fares given away openly and widely anymore. Some companies have learnt a very hard commercial lesson about why it doesn't work.

devnull

Aircoach have cancelled multiple services again today on the 706/706x including early morning airport runs without notice on their website or Social Media.

They say pre booked passengers were informed but social media commentary suggests that a number of passengers believe this was not the case and were left waiting at bus stops and risked missing their flight.

With this service soon winding down, it's clear the company don't care about leaving people stranded in middle of night or morning. I suggest everyone takes other options if possible. It's not worth the risk.

bk

It has been reported over on the Irish Road Transport Users forum that apparently Aircoach have new Scania irizar i6 coaches on order.

Hopefully these are destined for the Cork and Belfast route and have a better specification to compete with DX/Citylink.

Apparently some of the order are also going to Railair service in the UK. They have traditionally used i6’s but dual axel ones with 47 seats, three rail style tables (4 seats around the table) and no toilet.

Obviously not a spec suitable for intercity service and would be odd for the airport services too. I’d assume Aircoach would spec them differently for their service.

belfast stephen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121955673#Comment_121955673

i understood they were DAF i6 not scania

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121956612#Comment_121956612

The RailAir ones are certainly Scania based, but I know that when Aircoach were talking to Irizar about the Irizar IE Tram's which they now have on order, Irizar were keen to promote what they may offer in terms of integral coaches, even though Aircoach were not actively looking to buy anything at that point as they already had recently placed an order for the Tourismos.

I was previously told that the reason that we haven't seen Irizar Integrals with DAF in Ireland is because the overall package isn't as strong as terms of a Volvo, Scania or Mercedes based product, all which have very well established dealer networks. The i6 integral has sold well in the UK with the support Irizar UK has given to it, but over here in Ireland it still has only been ordered on a Scania chassis until now.

You'd hope that as Aircoach have placed considerable orders for IE Trams and now potentially integral Irizar coaches, they have solid commitments in terms of support.

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121956612#Comment_121956612

LMAO, that is totally my bad! The poster, on the other forum only said they are getting “i6”, without really even thinking about it I wrote Scania here.

After all, who doesn’t buy Scania i6’s in Ireland ….. errr Aircoach, always buying something different!

I just hope they choose a decent spec this time.

devnull

Aircoach no longer tracking on bustimes.org since yesterday.

Unclear if this is a glitch or a further reduction in transparency.

belfast stephen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121966591#Comment_121966591

sometimes when the clocks change it can have an effect on the data

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967551#Comment_121967551

Phshouldn't really as was okay yesterday and other First operators and other Irish operators worked.

Saying that it all seems to track again now.

AngryLips

There was talk recently of Dublin Bus relaunching Airlink or something similar but nothing since …was it all just hot air?

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121972964#Comment_121972964

They applied for and were given a new license for the routes so that suggests intent. But it has gone a little quiet.

AngryLips

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121973149#Comment_121973149

Are those licenses visible anywhere, like do we know what the routes will look like?

devnull

List as of March here. Not much in way of details of routes other than number and start and end points though.

https://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/240301_Current_Licences.pdf

devnull

The MD of Aircoach, Kim Swan appeared on Bobby Kerr's executive chair show today.

https://www.goloudplayer.com/episodes/executive-chair-kim-swan-managin-ZmMyM2RkN2QyMTIyOThmYTQ4M2JlNjEzN2MwN2Y2MTI%3D

Honestly there is not much of substance in there that is really interesting, just the usual soundbites about wanting to grow the business and develop ways to keep them and how close they work with Dublin Airport and the NTA and have good relationships with them both. Apparently they have signed a new deal with DAA for bus stops for a 3 year period, no idea if that is in the same place or not.

She talked a fair bit about her background but what was noticeable was that it seemed almost all of it appeared to be working in the Maritime industry with freight customers rather than with the travelling public. If you were being critical of Aircoach approach recently, you might say that this shows somewhat in terms of the companies attitude towards transparency of cancelled services.

The other thing is that I'm sorry to be negative towards him, but Bobby Kerr doesn't come across was the most well prepared interviewer, asking really little in terms of probing questions and showing little to no understanding of the industry.

mikeybhoy

Anyone know what's happened to old Aircoach Carpark fleet have they all been scrapped. Heard recently the Streetlite and few others were up in the Eirebus depot in Blanchardstown.

devnull

The last Aircoach departure on the Galway corridor is about to leave shortly.

However, despite that there has been no announcement of this on their website or on their social media which is ridiculous. I guess they are perhaps subscribing to the theory about not reporting on bad news, in the same way they are no longer posting about cancellations or allowing you to track where your vehicle is on their site.

Even today someone posted on social media unaware of the fact the service was closing, with no response from Aircoach and it's not particularly surprising.

https://twitter.com/444eclipseangel/status/1776946565799653759

Is it so hard for them to tell people via an article on their website or is it deemed more important to protect the brand image and instead to hell with what impact that has on the customers?

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121990362#Comment_121990362

The 3 Plaxton Centros, 2 Eclipses, the Streetlite and 6 Bendies still are registered with the Department of Transport as being active, although of course they may not have got around to re-registering them yet.

Apparently at least one bendy is still active though.

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121990472#Comment_121990472

I'd imagine the Plaxton Centros would be the only ones that have some value in them they seemed to be in the best condition of all the carpark buses. They are fully seatbelted too so could be used as schoolbuses perhaps someone like Nolan's could be interested.

stephenjmcd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121990467#Comment_121990467

While they should have a notice on the website 100% and take down information about the service.

What isn't their fault is that person getting no reply, aircoach twitter page isn't tagged in the post

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121990467#Comment_121990467

Could you not have taken a civic approach and told her yourself?

john boye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121991251#Comment_121991251

So did OP have to search Aircoach on twitter to find that? Why?

p_haugh

Depending on what social media management/monitoring tool they use, theoretically they can set it up to look for keywords (i.e. Aircoach) so they see all tweets mentioning them, whether they're tagged or not. Still should have tagged them to be safe however!

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121991294#Comment_121991294

II'm not exactly a prolific twitter user and it's not my place to inform a companies customers that their services are closing down. It should be in a prominent place on their website and tweeted about but it isn't because they're more interested in only talking about good things and hiding the bad ones.

Most companies have keywords setup to monitor their company name to pick up on things like this and many other operator do exactly that. The whole way they have handled the Galway route shutdown shows a real lack of care about their now former patrons.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121991976#Comment_121991976

Ah now come on, you could have done the right thing and just let her know.

That’s just coming up with an excuse if I’m honest.

You may not be prolific on Twitter/X but I suspect that you are capable of replying to someone.

Btw I’m not disagreeing with you at all about Aircoach, but you could be somewhat more civic minded about it.

If I saw someone on the street looking lost I’d generally ask them do they need some help. This is the same scenario.

Or have we gone past the point where we try and help one another?

devnull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121992043#Comment_121992043

I'm certainly not going to post using my personal twitter account so people can link my actual name in real life and my account on Boards.ie for obvious reasons. I value my anonymity just like other members of Boards do, so that was at the forefront of my mind as well, especially considering some of the trolling and harassment that the mods of this forum have been subjected to over the years, the extent of which goes well beyond what you may have seen publicly.

If the twitter account I use normally didn't have anything that would make me easily identifiable I would be happy to use it more to help people, but following what has happened before, I'd quite like to keep my Boards username and my actual name unconnected. It also allows me to post stuff I may otherwise not be able to. That is not something I need to justify on here, but something I thought was worth saying.

ULEZ23

impressive backtracking. Good question up above which you didn’t address, how did you find that post. Were you searching just so you could share your outrage? Feels like you prefer the likes on here akin to someone video a tragedy to share rather than put the phone down and help