Aircoach Route Changes and General Discussion.

You would wonder if someone else would then step in to fill the void, Dublin Express perhaps.

Really the management of Aircoach's portfolio of routes over the last couple of years or so has been really poor with the hyper focus on serving what isn't a huge market from Derry and the obvious commercial naivety of the Galway route.

Last year's Dublin network configuration doesn't look any better the long it has been place. Realistically what people wanted from the 702/703 routes really was most of all a higher frequency and a faster journey if possible, they didn't want to see the routes merge into these long unwieldy routes with varying gaps between each service.

If they really do scrap the Greystones leg as that is now no longer commercially viable, the poor management of their network, lack of commercial nous and the poor reliability of their services in 2024 will no doubt have played a substantial part in that and they have nobody to blame but themselves.

A reminder that Aircoach operated both the 702 and 703 every hour pre-covid commercially successfully for a decade so there is certainly demand for a good service.

From what I have heard from two excellent sources, the revised routing post the July network has led to a considerable decline in passengers on the outer section of the route to the point where it is no longer commercially viable. Having tapped into some local knowledge in the Wicklow area, many of the previous customers who would take the Aircoach from those areas and others on the outer part of the 702 route, have now switched to a combination of DART and Dublin Express or DART and Dublin Bus, because not only it quicker, it is also vastly cheaper thanks to the fare reductions over recent years on the TFI Dublin City Network.

The 701 route to Merrion Square is also performing really poorly and whilst I have not heard anything certain about it's fate, it's highly likely that it will not be around come Easter. It was a really curious decision to bring that route back as it had been axed the best part of a decade earlier for not being able to work on a stand alone basis which is why it was inserted into the 702 and then afterwards the 703 route as they wanted to keep serving this area. The issue with dropping the 701 is that will mean that the key Dublin City to Dublin Airport corridor will be down to one bus every 30 minutes, prior to the July network changes, the 700 was every 15 minutes but now is every 30 minutes. Dublin Express dwarf them in frequency already on that key corridor.

For all intents and purposes, the network review of last July, which saw changes to all of the Dublin to Airport routes has been a commercial disaster. The extending of the 700 to Cherrywood has not worked, the 701 has flopped, the 702 route changes have killed the demand from the outer ends of the route that was commercially viable for over a decade and the merging of the 703 route into the 702 has clearly not worked either. Much of the changes that are speculated to happen over the next little while will likely reverse may of the July changes whilst also having some service cuts on top.

However the biggest own goal of the network review is that Aircoach management and it's drivers were subject to disagreements on the rosters for this new network and this and a lack of driving staff led to significant service cancellations for many weeks. This was very damaging to Aircoach's well deserved reputation for providing reliable services. Whilst the rosters issue was resolved and a new pay deal was agreed on to help retain drivers, they took a couple of months of this pain and the reputational hit not for something that would bring them long term benefit, but for a network that performed so poorly that it would need to be seriously modified several months later. If the changes that have been talked about on other forums are correct, they may even be looking to make driving staff redundant which is extraordinary if you think what has happened since July.

There are still however negotiations going on with the NTA in relation to the service revisions that are likely to come, so it is possible that things are still moving at this moment in time and the above may be subject to change as there is a lot of local pressure being applied by local TDs.

Aircoach have now confirmed the previously rumoured changes to routes with effect from Sunday 2nd March.

The company has blamed increasing traffic congestion and the service became less attractive, than alternatives such as DART or train services to the City Centre with onward travel to the airport.

Aircoach today announced a number of changes to their Dublin and Wicklow services, following a comprehensive review of the company’s route performance. The changes will take effect from 00:01am on Sunday, March 2nd.

The review analysed customer demand and service levels across Aircoach’s Dublin routes. These changes are being made to better align service offering to customer demand in a way that best fulfils Aircoach’s mission of providing quick, reliable, and frequent services for customers travelling to and from Dublin Airport.

Route 700 will now operate between Dublin Airport and Leopardstown, and will no longer serve Galloping Green, Foxrock, Cabinteely, Cornelscourt or Cherrywood.

Route 701 will become the 700X, providing a shuttle service between Dublin Airport and the City Centre, with the Ballsbridge and St Vincent’s Hospital stops now being served by Route 702.

Route 702 will now operate between Dublin Airport and Dalkey, serving the 3 Arena, Ballsbridge, St Vincent’s Hospital, Booterstown, Monkstown, Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey via the Port Tunnel, and will no longer serve Loughlinstown, Shankill, Bray or Greystones.

These changes are being made to maintain and enhance Aircoach’s services where the greatest demand is, and to improve the punctuality and reliability of services.

Last year we announced a significant expansion to our services, going from 152 services a day to 217. Unfortunately, the anticipated passenger growth to match these expanded services has not materialised.

The Bray and Greystones section of our 702 route has been experiencing low and declining passenger numbers in recent years, and is currently not viable. Average passenger numbers for our discontinued stops are now in the low single digits. Journey times had increased due to traffic congestion, and our service became less attractive, than alternatives such as DART or train services to the City Centre with onward travel to the airport.

While we’re disappointed with today’s announcement, we’re confident that the changes being made will ensure the future sustainability and viability of our services across our full network of routes.

Anyone with an existing booking to travel to/from one of the discontinued stops on March 2nd or thereafter will receive a full refund.

Despite the above, Aircoach as ever is badly organised, as whilst the timetables will be changing from a fortnights time, the company has stated that the new timetables are not yet available and at the time of posting it's still possible to book seats for the services that won't exist in less than a fortnights time.

Also of course whilst it's very easy for the company to blame traffic congestion and the service becoming less attractive, there's absolutely zero ownership of the destruction they have caused to demand for their own services by the poor reliability of them for peak travel season last summer or the ill fated network decisions that were made last July which created long unwieldy routes which were a significant factor in journey time extensions and making the service less attractive.

This is a very sad day for those people in Bray and Greystones, whom have seen a previously successful route severely commercially mismanaged by the company and now will be left without a service for some period at least. It would not surprise me at all if National Express tried to start up on the route and then they would really show Aircoach up.

This morning further details have come into the public domain including a letter which has been sent to local representatives about the changes, not from Aircoach themselves, but from a senior consultant in a PR firm.

It's times like these where senior management should be stepping forward and being front and centre rather than hiding behind a PR firm. It was July's changes that led to these large unwieldy routes and not enough drivers to service the routes which created a number of cancellations in last year as documented in the press.

It also is reported in the Greystones Guide, that the company did not engage with local stakeholders.

From March 2nd, services are to be axed from Loughlinstown, Shankill, Bray or Greystones.Public representatives were informed by email from Hanover Communications.

Cllr Stokes stated: “Aircoach cited declining passenger numbers for this decision. The reality is that numbers are down because the service goes halfway round the world, or worse it fails to turn up on occasion. What passengers want is efficient and reliable services. Aircoach have not listened to common sense.”

Cllr Stephen Stokes wrote to Kim Swan, Managing Director of Aircoach to outline a number of issues on January 24th, 2025. At the time, he also urged consultation with local representatives before any changes to the 702 route (Greystones to Dublin Airport). Following this Cllr Stokes successfully moved a motion at the January 2025 meeting of the Greystones Municipal District which outlined: “Greystones Municipal District thanks Aircoach for their continued service. The Greystones Municipal District would request to be consulted ahead of any decision to change the 702 route.”

Cllr Stephen Stokes is disappointed that Aircoach did not consult local representatives that they were planning to axe the 702 route, before announcing the decision. He stated: “The discontinuation of the 702 route is a significant setback for our community. This service has been an essential link for residents, facilitating direct travel to Dublin Airport. Its removal not only disrupts personal and professional travel plans but also undermines our collective efforts to promote sustainable transportation options. It’s a pity that Aircoach didn’t have the decency to write to local representative directly.

“Instead they hired a PR firm to handle their image. The image here is clear, Aircoach mismanaged previous changes, and now they have taken the easy option. It’s a shame that the current management has taken this decision. Aircoach has served North Wicklow for many years, which we are grateful for.”

Cllr Stephen Stokes also urges Aircoach to reconsider its decision, taking into account the adverse effects on the community and the environment.  “While commercial considerations are understandable, they should not overshadow the public good. I implore Aircoach to engage with local stakeholders to explore viable solutions that maintain this critical connection."