Waterford Airport.

SPQRI · 02-11-2012 11:37am #1

http://www.munster-express.ie/front-page-news/general-stories/airport-broke-even-during-tough-2011/ It cost me €45 to fly to the UK from Dublin with Ryan Air as opposed to €180 from Waterford Airport. I'm all for supporting our own but the difference in prices paid for two nights accomodation!

Trotter · 02-11-2012 11:43am

SPQRI wrote: »

http://www.munster-express.ie/front-page-news/general-stories/airport-broke-even-during-tough-2011/ It cost me €45 to fly to the UK from Dublin with Ryan Air as opposed to €180 from Waterford Airport. I'm all for supporting our own but the difference in prices paid for two nights accomodation!

I worked this out recently too. There was €120 in the difference when I checked.

But..
€50 for fuel to get to Dublin and back.
€30 for parking in the airport in Dublin.
€20 for lunch for us both in the airport or on the way.

and.. I was able to leave my house an hour before the flight from Waterford and still fit in a coffee in the airport. On the way home, I was putting the kettle on half an hour after we landed.

kensutz · 02-11-2012 11:53am

SPQRI wrote: »

It cost me €45 to fly to the UK from Dublin with Ryan Air !

Says it all. I'd rather give Waterford Airport the money when I'm heading over for work rather than fill O'Learys pockets.

Sully · 02-11-2012 12:25pm

Maybe they do this already but why not add an Airport Development charge to all those flying out? Knock do it.

kensutz · 02-11-2012 12:27pm

They had been doing it for a while where you paid €10 at the airport.

old gregg · 02-11-2012 12:30pm

Rapid Express to Dublin and Ryanair to London still works out way, way cheaper than flying from Waterford in most cases. Always prefer to support local but the numbers seldom add up for me in this case. Even today I'm looking at going over to London for a concert in December. The Waterford price is 3 times that of the Ryanair equivalent. It's a no brainer as to which way I'll fly.

wellboytoo · 02-11-2012 1:27pm

old gregg wrote: »

Rapid Express to Dublin and Ryanair to London still works out way, way cheaper than flying from Waterford in most cases. Always prefer to support local but the numbers seldom add up for me in this case. Even today I'm looking at going over to London for a concert in December. The Waterford price is 3 times that of the Ryanair equivalent. It's a no brainer as to which way I'll fly.

Not true you forget baggage,20 kg allowed in the hold plus hand baggage with aer Arran .your underpants if your lucky with Ryanair

Cabaal · 02-11-2012 1:40pm

wellboytoo wrote: »

.your underpants if your lucky with Ryanair

:rolleyes:
Its a 10kg allowance, which is plenty if you are just going for a weekend away.

hardybuck · 02-11-2012 1:58pm

Trotter wrote: »

I worked this out recently too. There was €120 in the difference when I checked.

But..
€50 for fuel to get to Dublin and back.
€30 for parking in the airport in Dublin.
€20 for lunch for us both in the airport or on the way.

and.. I was able to leave my house an hour before the flight from Waterford and still fit in a coffee in the airport. On the way home, I was putting the kettle on half an hour after we landed.

Not trying to be smart, but seriously dude - start budgeting! My diesel car will do two return trips to Dublin and 100 miles more on a tank which costs €80 odd to fill. I wouldn't be shelling out €20 for lunch too often either!If your flight times permit, I recommend Rapid Express. If it's just two of you it's economical, you can put your feet up, take a nap and are dropped right to the door of the terminal. I just did a sample check. Waterford - Manchester for a weekend in December was €195 per person and going from Dublin was €30 per person. It'd want to be some convenience to make up a difference of about €330 in ticket prices for a couple travelling.

Trotter · 02-11-2012 2:16pm

Eh I wasn't exactly looking for a reason not to fly from Waterford. I also drive a car that's different from yours.

My budgeting is fine thanks. Next time I go away, Im going to spend €11 on lunch just to make a point.

Flying Waterford is my choice.

kensutz · 02-11-2012 2:22pm

It's €50 for me to get up and down to Dublin too. For Ryanair you pay €25 each way to check in a bag up until Sep 30th and €15 each way after that. It's not so bad flying out if your baggage is a little too wide for hand luggage but on the way back they have somebody at the gate with the bag measuring contraption waiting to sting you before you board. For stress free I'd pay the extra to fly out from Waterford.

old gregg · 02-11-2012 2:26pm

wellboytoo wrote: »

Not true you forget baggage,20 kg allowed in the hold plus hand baggage with aer Arran .your underpants if your lucky with Ryanair

Yes true. 10kg Hand luggage is all I'd need for a weekend in London. Now maybe if aer Arran or whoever had a similar pricing structure as Ryanair it might make a difference. Not much point in me paying for the option of 20kg in the hold when I'm never going to need it.

SPQRI · 02-11-2012 2:44pm

Trotter wrote: »

I worked this out recently too. There was €120 in the difference when I checked.

But..
€50 for fuel to get to Dublin and back.
€30 for parking in the airport in Dublin.
€20 for lunch for us both in the airport or on the way.

and.. I was able to leave my house an hour before the flight from Waterford and still fit in a coffee in the airport. On the way home, I was putting the kettle on half an hour after we landed.

€22.50 RETURN by Bus. Directly to the airport & picked up from the airport. €67.50 in 'TOTAL'

wellboytoo · 02-11-2012 3:02pm

SPQRI wrote: »

€22.50 RETURN by Bus. Directly to the airport & picked up from the airport. €67.50 in 'TOTAL'

ten hours of your life gone on a bus , no thanks

thomasm · 02-11-2012 3:04pm

4 hours on a bus stopping every 30 mins is off putting too for a journey you could do in 90-100 mins in the car

Trotter · 02-11-2012 3:12pm

SPQRI wrote: »

€22.50 RETURN by Bus. Directly to the airport & picked up from the airport. €67.50 in 'TOTAL'

HA! You ever put a toddler on a bus for 3 hours? I'd walk and swim to London before I'd do it.

hardybuck · 02-11-2012 3:12pm

Trotter wrote: »

Eh I wasn't exactly looking for a reason not to fly from Waterford. I also drive a car that's different from yours.

My budgeting is fine thanks. Next time I go away, Im going to spend €11 on lunch just to make a point.

Flying Waterford is my choice.

Absolutely and good luck to you. Freedom of choice is vital to the open economy.I always look for a reason to use Waterford, but can't see myself doing it anytime soon when there us such a gulf in prices.

hardybuck · 02-11-2012 3:14pm

thomasm wrote: »

4 hours on a bus stopping every 30 mins is off putting too for a journey you could do in 90-100 mins in the car

Agreed, and even with the cost of fuel and parking factored in using Dublin is still a much cheaper option.

looksee · 02-11-2012 3:34pm

I fly from Waterford whenever I can, I find it convenient, quick and reasonably priced.

I just checked two random return flights in December, Waterford Southend return and Waterford Birmingham return, and both can be done for around €80. Ryanair from Dublin on the same dates is €45. I reckon it would cost me €35 return to get to Dublin (4 hours on a bus with no toilets!), and for the convenience, time saving (and avoiding the sheer aggravation of flying Ryanair) its well worth it.

Yes I could do it a bit cheaper on Ryanair but it would mean getting to Dublin airport for 5am.

old gregg · 02-11-2012 4:18pm

^ what dates did you pick for December for €80 because I was looking earlier and still have the page open and the cheapest I can see is €103?

seven_eleven · 02-11-2012 4:49pm

yeah I recently priced flights to southend for early 2013 as I may have an interview in Kent (which is very close to southend so its even better), think they were about €100 for return. Very reasonable imo. I payed that much for flights to Heathrow with Aer Lingus a few years ago.

The only thing that puts me off waterford is the small aircraft being more susceptible to bad weather conditions. If its particularly stormy with strong winds you're flight is going to be delayed a bit.

michellie · 02-11-2012 5:43pm

If your lucky or clever you will keep an eye out for sales, my mother and father flew Waterford to Manchester last week, flights were less than €100. There going in december too for same price.

I'm lookin for flights in April,anyone know when they will go on sale ?

I love flying from Waterford as much as I can, it's just so handy. We flew to Galway last year, we were all ready (hair done,hats on ) getting on the plane at 11, in the races and all by 2

02-11-2012 6:10pm

I flew to Glasgow via Birmingham in May for Scottish Cup Final,the flights were only sixty euro dearer than flying from Dublin and when you fasctor in parking charges and petrol it was a no brainer,no better feeling getting off a plane knowing you will be home in 10 mins and congrats to the people running the airport in these harsh economic times.

moose3844 · 15-02-2013 2:48pm

Any update on the airport yet??

JCX BXC · 04-09-2014 12:34am

2 years on and Waterford now has 1 flight a day.
Maybe M.O'Leary was right.

b757 · 04-09-2014 12:37am

Carnacalla wrote: »

2 years on and Waterford now has 1 flight a day.
Maybe M.O'Leary was right.

Two on Fridays and Sundays, soon to be one. :P :mad:

fricatus · 04-09-2014 9:03am

Carnacalla wrote: »

2 years on and Waterford now has 1 flight a day.
Maybe M.O'Leary was right.

So we should throw in the towel, just as the economy is turning? I admire Michael O'Leary but I believe he's wrong about Waterford Airport. The only reason I say that is that he flies planes into Kerry and Knock, which have similar population catchments.

He made that comment off the cuff a few years ago and we've obsessed about it since. Unless there are solid figures to back up the argument - and there aren't - I don't accept it.

foxcoverteddy · 04-09-2014 9:18am

Well done Fricatus, it may be a long battle; however there is a need for Waterford Airport, the area will only stagnate without a proper infrastructure which must include an airport, okay the roads are dire, the route from Rosslare to Dungarvan and beyond takes us back to the dark ages, there is no sign of a motorway for at least a decade or more.
The south east has a lot to offer the tourist's and Waterford Airport in truth is our gateway, forget Dublin or Cork, the journey times, parking and traffic volumes, look at these and Waterford makes economic sense.
Fight for Waterford and its airport.
Flying Foxy, support the aero club

dzilla · 04-09-2014 1:40pm

foxcoverteddy wrote: »

Well done Fricatus, it may be a long battle; however there is a need for Waterford Airport, the area will only stagnate without a proper infrastructure which must include an airport, okay the roads are dire, the route from Rosslare to Dungarvan and beyond takes us back to the dark ages, there is no sign of a motorway for at least a decade or more.
The south east has a lot to offer the tourist's and Waterford Airport in truth is our gateway, forget Dublin or Cork, the journey times, parking and traffic volumes, look at these and Waterford makes economic sense.
Fight for Waterford and its airport.
Flying Foxy, support the aero club

Hon Foxy Boy love reading your posts!

TheQuietFella · 04-09-2014 1:51pm

And the only two destinations are Manchester & Birmingham & no sign of London or any another European destination!

If people are serious about an airport for the south east it needs serious thinking about & action.
It obviously doesn't have the demand by the travelling public who can't be wrong considering the facilities at other airports.

Currently €250 to fly from Wat' to Man' return from Oct' 17 > 19 while Ryanair is €86.

That's three times as expensive. Good luck to you if you are willing to pay that!

dzilla · 04-09-2014 2:49pm

TheQuietFella wrote: »

And the only two destinations are Manchester & Birmingham & no sign of London or any another European destination!

If people are serious about an airport for the south east it needs serious thinking about & action.
It obviously doesn't have the demand by the travelling public who can't be wrong considering the facilities at other airports.

Currently €250 to fly from Wat' to Man' return from Oct' 17 > 19 while Ryanair is €86.

That's three times as expensive. Good luck to you if you are willing to pay that!

People are serious about the airport. The airport is being prepped for runway expansion, land around it has been acquired and areas cleared with fencing erected.

The loads on London and Manchester routes where good it was just circumstance that the routes where lost unfortunately.

The airport is limited that it can only attract turbo prop planes, such as Flybe, Stobart and CityJet... In time with the runway extension jets will be catered for allowing more airlines.

Regarding the facilities, it has parking, shop, bar, cafe, bathrooms... what else do you want a hand job? Its an easy place to check in through, no crowds etc and you can arrive 1 hr to 30 mins before a flight. Selected Onwards destination are catered for via Birmingham.An airport is not a place I like hanging around so it suits.

I got a fare Wat' to Man' for 66€ in October on a Friday to Sunday, the fare you have mentioned albeit high is not representative of the fares all the time. I checked and it is 187€ on those dates, high, but all the same I don't have to pay to drive to Dublin and park the car which is another 50€ on top of a ryanair flight, and I like my time so the convenience of WAT wins for me. Also the Ryanair flight you mentioned is not comparing like with like.. if you fly Ryanair from Dublin to Manchester on your dates at the same times as WAT the flights are 123€... so about 60€ cheaper

kuang1 · 04-09-2014 3:16pm

dzilla wrote: »

People are serious about the airport. The airport is being prepped for runway expansion, land around it has been acquired and areas cleared with fencing erected.

The loads on London and Manchester routes where good it was just circumstance that the routes where lost unfortunately.

The airport is limited that it can only attract turbo prop planes, such as Flybe, Stobart and CityJet... In time with the runway extension jets will be catered for allowing more airlines.

Am I right to believe that there is no schedule/deadline on this at the moment?

dzilla · 04-09-2014 3:24pm

kuang1 wrote: »

Am I right to believe that there is no schedule/deadline on this at the moment?

I believe so.

kuang1 · 04-09-2014 3:47pm

Well poo to that.
What have they said it will cost?
(Although if land has already been acquired etc then money's already been spent of course...)

dzilla · 04-09-2014 4:14pm

kuang1 wrote: »

Well poo to that.
What have they said it will cost?
(Although if land has already been acquired etc then money's already been spent of course...)

850k i believe. To which the goverment can commit 400k. I am open to correction. It was a 150m extension that would allow mid size jets operate with some restrictions

fricatus · 04-09-2014 4:21pm

dzilla wrote: »

850k i believe.

:eek:

I'm betting the amount of money spent on Pledge to keep Dublin's T2 shiny is more than that. Shows you where we are in the pecking order. :mad:

JCX BXC · 04-09-2014 4:28pm

fricatus wrote: »

:eek:

I'm betting the amount of money spent on Pledge to keep Dublin's T2 shiny is more than that. Shows you where we are in the pecking order. :mad:

But there is Dublin, 20x more population than waterford and has at least half the tourism traffic, and than waterford.

There is no point in putting 400k into a runway at an airport that wont make a profit anyway.

dzilla · 04-09-2014 4:46pm

Carnacalla wrote: »

But there is Dublin, 20x more population than waterford and has at least half the tourism traffic, and than waterford.

There is no point in putting 400k into a runway at an airport that wont make a profit anyway.

Well i suppose that is debatable. Loads out of the airport where profitable and the routes to London / manchester and birmingham where yielding high loads.

Also as the regions designated capital and gateway town I believe it is justified to enable more air routes with our stronget economic neighbour and possibly europe

fricatus · 04-09-2014 4:58pm

Carnacalla wrote: »

But there is Dublin, 20x more population than waterford and has at least half the tourism traffic, and than waterford.

Fine. Give Waterford Airport one 20th of what Dublin gets in that case. T2 cost €609 million. Imagine what €30 million would do for Waterford Airport!

Carnacalla wrote: »

There is no point in putting 400k into a runway at an airport that wont make a profit anyway.

I don't think many smaller airports do make a profit. Cork and Shannon certainly don't. The benefits to business and the community locally are such that the taxpayer tends to take the hit. I've no problem with this being the case - all I want is that we get our share of that pie!

JCX BXC · 04-09-2014 5:03pm

fricatus wrote: »

Fine. Give Waterford Airport one 20th of what Dublin gets in that case. T2 cost €609 million. Imagine what €30 million would do for Waterford Airport!

But Waterford dose not have travellers from all parts of the country going to it, nor does it have much tourist traffic

fricatus wrote: »

I don't think many smaller airports do make a profit. Cork and Shannon certainly don't. The benefits to business and the community locally are such that the taxpayer tends to take the hit. I've no problem with this being the case - all I want is that we get our share of that pie!

Shannon has made a profit this year.

TheQuietFella · 04-09-2014 10:27pm

dzilla wrote: »

The loads on London and Manchester routes where good it was just circumstance that the routes where lost unfortunately.

The airport is limited that it can only attract turbo prop planes, such as Flybe, Stobart and CityJet... In time with the runway extension jets will be catered for allowing more airlines.

Regarding the facilities, it has parking, shop, bar, cafe, bathrooms... what else do you want a hand job? Its an easy place to check in through, no crowds etc and you can arrive 1 hr to 30 mins before a flight. Selected Onwards destination are catered for via Birmingham.An airport is not a place I like hanging around so it suits.

No need for the comments. It is after all just a discussion.

'In time' covers quite an amount! Just not the here & now.
A flight recently was cancelled & the passengers re-routed to Belfast by bus to make their flight. Not the most ideal of situations to be in for all the anti bus establishment.

I would like a decent place to have a drink or something to eat while I'm waiting for my flight. It's more like waiting in the Keogh Practice in Ballybricken. You have better options in WRH than at the airport to be honest.

I would sooner travel to Dublin/Cork & get a direct flight to my destination of choice rather than waiting around at any other airport to continue my journey. Why bother doing otherwise?

I'm all for the success of the airport but I'm not going to be ripped off on prices for the privilege of keeping an airport in Waterford.

Sully · 04-09-2014 11:12pm

Waterford Airport was in the local news today. Their primary focus is on a London route but nothing to report yet. The airlines are only planning their winter routes now and not focusing on summer for a couple of months. Its hoped then that they can get somewhere with the airlines and they hope to have some news at the end of the year but nothing in the next couple of months.

Other routes are being looked at but the focus is on a London route primarily. The airport is viable because figures are up.

JCX BXC · 04-09-2014 11:14pm

Sully wrote: »

Waterford Airport was in the local news today. Their primary focus is on a London route but nothing to report yet. The airlines are only planning their winter routes now and not focusing on summer for a couple of months. Its hoped then that they can get somewhere with the airlines and they hope to have some news at the end of the year but nothing in the next couple of months.

Other routes are being looked at but the focus is on a London route primarily. The airport is viable because figures are up.

For a London route, 4 of the 6 airports only have jet engined aircraft. So Waterford needs a runway expansion. How do they raise the money?

dzilla · 05-09-2014 12:23am

TheQuietFella wrote: »

No need for the comments. It is after all just a discussion.

'In time' covers quite an amount! Just not the here & now.
A flight recently was cancelled & the passengers re-routed to Belfast by bus to make their flight. Not the most ideal of situations to be in for all the anti bus establishment.

I would like a decent place to have a drink or something to eat while I'm waiting for my flight. It's more like waiting in the Keogh Practice in Ballybricken. You have better options in WRH than at the airport to be honest.

I would sooner travel to Dublin/Cork & get a direct flight to my destination of choice rather than waiting around at any other airport to continue my journey. Why bother doing otherwise?

I'm all for the success of the airport but I'm not going to be ripped off on prices for the privilege of keeping an airport in Waterford.

Enjoy driving up the M9 at 3-4am for your cheap flight to Manchester

JCX BXC · 05-09-2014 12:34am

dzilla wrote: »

Enjoy driving up the M9 at 3-4am for your cheap flight to Manchester

Or whenever you feel like flying.

Fate Amenable To Change · 05-09-2014 2:07am

Carnacalla wrote: »

Or whenever you feel like flying.

With the check in time and 2 hour drive if you've to make Manchester at 9 or 10 I think is the point they were trying to make with a bit of exaggeration thrown in.

The prices are good for the 30th of Spetember which is 4 weeks ahead and not a busy period. Then you have to pay to park as well plus the 40-50 euro for diesel/petrol. The parking is telling me over 134 euro for a 5 day park at the moment. So you're talking the bones of 200 euro to get there and park nevermind the flight cost which will likely not be on a Monday or Tuesday, 4 weeks ion advance and in a very non-busy date and a non-busy time.

As far as I remember the London route was shut down even though it was making money due to the issues surrounding Aer Arrann. From a personal perspective I was travelling over and back to London quite a bit the few months before it closed and it the flight was nearly always full.

dzilla · 05-09-2014 7:21am

Carnacalla wrote: »

Or whenever you feel like flying.

?

foxcoverteddy · 05-09-2014 7:39am

Hey lads we are trying to make sure of the future of our Airport, tell you what no one has suggested using a fly/cruise scenario. Depends on what draught vessels can get up to the city quays, but is there a niche market not thought about.
Fly into Waterford and then go cruising? Is it a possibility?

dzilla · 05-09-2014 7:52am

foxcoverteddy wrote: »

Hey lads we are trying to make sure of the future of our Airport, tell you what no one has suggested using a fly/cruise scenario. Depends on what draught vessels can get up to the city quays, but is there a niche market not thought about.
Fly into Waterford and then go cruising? Is it a possibility?

I remember during the boom a service was mooted where the suir would be used to land planes(floatplanes)... I don't think it ever went ahead, it is popular in Scotland transporting folk between islands but its quite a small operation.

thomasm · 05-09-2014 11:11am

Extending the hyped wild Atlantic way and make Waterford a start/finish point would surely pull in numbers too for a fly drive holiday.

Max Powers · 05-09-2014 12:59pm

thomasm wrote: »

Extending the hyped wild Atlantic way and make Waterford a start/finish point would surely pull in numbers too for a fly drive holiday.

bord failte are planning a similar thing for east of country and they have said we will be part of that, Waterford being a logical start/end point

Waterford Airport.

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