Not content with a 40+ per cent growth in passenger traffic in 2016, one week into the New Year Cornwall Airport Newquay has already confirmed the launch of a new summer link to the Republic of Ireland from Stobart Air and the return of Flybe services to London Stansted as part of an expanded summer 2017 programme that will also see increased frequencies on five existing domestic routes.
The southern Ireland regional facility now has a network of more than 50 routes with nine new routes taking off this year including Düsseldorf with Aer Lingus, London City, Nantes and La Rochelle with CityJet, Madrid with Iberia Express, Cardiff with Flybe, Southampton and Leeds Bradford with Aer Lingus Regional as well as Menorca with Lee Travel and Stein Travel.
Around 14 million annual seats are available between Ireland and the UK with this year’s offering the largest this decade and up 4.8 per cent on last year. Ryanair is the dominant carrier with a 53.7 per cent capacity share, ahead of Aer Lingus (including its Aer Lingus Regional operation) with a 32.4 per cent share.
As part of its profitability strategy, SAS is turning to regional partners to more efficiently feed its hub airports through the operation of smaller capacity aircraft into lower demand markets. It already has arrangements in place with Cimber Air and Flybe using a mix of Bombardier CRJ900 jets and ATR turboprop equipment.
The news that Norwegian has selected the Irish regional airport to launch new transatlantic links to Boston and New York in 2016 and 2017, respectively, was unexpected and showed how the airport is working with local partners and the world’s airlines to develop enhanced global connectivity.
The twice-weekly service will operate on Wednesdays and Sundays from May next year to the German city which is located in the centre of the Rhine-Ruhr region – Germany’s largest metropolitan area.
CityJet will offer 18 flights a week on the route with three rotations every weekday, one flight on Saturdays and two every Sunday from October 1, 2015. It will be the only link between Cork and the Docklands airport and will complement the flights of Aer Lingus to Heathrow and Ryanair to Gatwick and Stansted, in the UK capital.
The Government said that having carefully considered all elements of the offer, it considered that a sale of the State’s minority shareholding to IAG, on the basis of the terms offered, would be “the best means of securing and enhancing Ireland’s connectivity with the rest of the world and maintaining a vibrant and competitive air transport industry in Ireland”. And it would also “best serve the interests of the travelling public, Aer Lingus and its employees, the Irish tourism industry and the Irish economy as a whole”.
Cork Airport’s level of connectivity, which is the highest outside of Dublin, the country’s largest air gateway, is crucial in generating more trade, drawing more foreign direct investment as well as attracting more tourists. And, given the airport’s significant role in the local economy, its managing director, Niall MacCarthy has called for more local support.
The latest development builds on Flybe's growing network of bases, including Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Manchester and Southampton, showing the airline's commitment to improving connectivity across and from the UK.
Mobile phones and tablets are fast becoming the perfect way in which airlines and airports can keep continuously connected with their passengers, from the moment of booking to boarding the aircraft.
CSA Czech Airlines is introducing five additional European destinations for its 2015 summer schedule, in addition to another five which were announced last autumn.
For Czech Airlines this will be its only route into Ireland after the carrier closed its long-standing route to the capital Dublin. This year-round service was reduced to a seasonal summer offering from summer 2010 but was closed the following year after a short three month season of flights.
Cork Airport has entered into agreement with City Airport Bremen to launch a new FLYCORK initiative, based on the latter's successful FlyBremen model. The new portal will be a custom-built online solution for Cork Airport, its airlines and travel agent partners to generate sales and market tourism in the region.
