Dublin Airport

[sean111222]

Any news on Pier F or the new runway?

[sean111222]

Any news on Pier F or the new runway

[thebig C]

Hey Mate

I think the new runway was postponed until 2014 at the earliest along with the new control tower. Likewise, I haven't heard much about Pier F, given the current over-capacity I doubt if its a priority.

You could try looking at the pprune website (Professional Pilots Rumour Network).....go to the "Airlines Airports and Routes" section. There is often good advance information there

[sean111222]

Oh... thats a shame, i thought it would be sooner, but I also heard about a lounge currently being pondered by Emirates, is this true?

[thebig C]

Yes, I have heard the stories regarding the Emirates lounge also. Its not necessarily that big an issue. Ethiad already have a lounge...in fact that why Ethiad were so eager to get into Terminal 2 because they were offered several sites for a Lounge in T1 which they viewed as unacceptable.

[sean111222]

well thats good to know and another thing, what about the toilet refurbishments in terminal 1?

[Viking74]

I still haven't mastered how to paste a complete article from a website! But I thought that this was noteworthy:-

http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/at-...Expansion.aspx

Emirates are putting on larger carriers on their Dublin-Dubai route sooner than expected. Now only one stop between Dublin and Oz! And with the added bonus of flying with Emirates!

[JD47]

Originally Posted by Viking74

I still haven't mastered how to paste a complete article from a website! But I thought that this was noteworthy:-

http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/at-...Expansion.aspx

Emirates are putting on larger carriers on their Dublin-Dubai route sooner than expected. Now only one stop between Dublin and Oz! And with the added bonus of flying with Emirates!

Cheers Viking. I dont know how to do it either. I suppose Odlum or Catmalojin would know how to do it.

[Viking74]

Thanks JD

[Catmalojin]

The bit in red is significant for Dublin Airport (and Cork Airport, too).

Govt to separate Shannon Airport from Dublin Airport Authority
Updated: 21:54, Wednesday, 9 May 2012

The Government has announced plans to separate Shannon Airport from the Dublin Airport Authority, and bring it together with Shannon Development into a single entity.

The new body will have a commercial mandate in public ownership.

The move has been broadly welcomed by businesses and industrial interests in the mid-west, who believe that independence from the DAA is in the best interests of the future viability of Shannon Airport.

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar said it is a significant step in developing the aviation sector in Ireland and securing the future of Shannon Airport.

''It heralds a new era for the Shannon region. I firmly believe that this is the best way forward for both Shannon Airport, Shannon Development and the mid-west region.

''We want to recapture the pioneering spirit of the people who gave us the airport and the Shannon Free Zone concept, so that we can provide exciting and innovative opportunities which benefit business, tourism, and job creation in the region, and across the country.''

Mr Varadkar told business leaders in Limerick and Shannon last January that substantial change was needed if the disastrous loss of passengers and revenue in recent years was to be halted.

Passengers through Shannon have halved to 1.6m in the five years from 2007, mainly through the loss of Ryanair services and the loss of Aer Lingus winter transatlantic services.

A recent report by the international consultants Booz said Shannon faced a significant threat to its future viability under its current ownership arrangements with the DAA, and separation from it offered the best opportunities for growth.

Shannon Airport has annual losses of €8m, and a long-standing debt of €100m.

Minister Varadkar said Shannon Airport will not have to carry the €100m debt into the new entity.

The debt will remain with the Dublin Airport Authority because the debt would not affect the DAA's credit rating and because the DAA would benefit from no longer carrying the cost of subsidising Shannon.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation Richard Bruton said the announcement represents a new start for jobs and enterprise in the Shannon region.

President of Shannon Chamber of Commerce Damien Gleeson said the Government had taken the decision "for all the right reasons and with all the right information".

Mr Gleeson said Shannon was delighted to have autonomous decision-making powers and would be able to compete for passengers.

A spokesperson for Shannon Development welcomed the announcement, saying it would provide "certainty" for the future of the airport.

"There is still a lot of detail to be worked out around the new structure and operation of the new entity, but today's announcement is undoubtedly a major step towards creating a new entity which will act as a catalyst for growth for the wider region in the years to come," the spokesperson said.

Fianna Fáil's Timmy Dooley said he welcomes a decision at last, but he said it seems that the cart is being put before the horse as a steering group is being put together after the decision is made.

However, Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said transferring Shannon from one failed semi-State bureaucracy to another means that there will be no real change or reform.

Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Mr O'Leary said airports should be sold, because the private sector is better at running those assets.

He said the key to Shannon's future was as a gateway for tourists from Europe to the west of Ireland and vice versa.

Mr O'Leary rubbished suggestions that it could become a cargo hub, or be used for pre-clearance for flights to the US.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0509/min...on-region.html

[Dvblvnia]

I would have preferred if the new Shannon Airport authority was made to carry at least some of the debt run up over the years. Dublin Airport shouldn't have to carry the burden of the other main airports in this country completely, especially if they are going to become independent entities.

[sean111222]

Is Qatar Airways considering flying to Dublin?

[Insert username here]

Originally Posted by sean111222

Is Qatar Airways considering flying to Dublin?

I haven't heard anything about that
They fly from Manchester though, I flew from there last year

[thebig C]

Have to say, I've heard quite a few rumours about different airlines looking at Dub....but Qatar wasn't one of them!

[thebig C]

Originally Posted by Dvblvnia

I would have preferred if the new Shannon Airport authority was made to carry at least some of the debt run up over the years. Dublin Airport shouldn't have to carry the burden of the other main airports in this country completely, especially if they are going to become independent entities.

All in all it wasn't a bad decision. Clearly the Government felt that they wouldn't get enough on the open market to justify the sale of an important asset. Hence the reasonable decision to retain it in State ownership but use it as an opportuinity to reform Shannon "Development"!!

As for the debt, the DAA has a debt of €700 million....of which €100 million belongs to Shannon. So its not a huge imposition considering the differences in traffic and pax between Dublin and Shannon.

Catmalojin rightly highlights how important this is for Cork. Their debt is alot higher at €300m.....which is rather more if it was to be foisted on Dublin! Cork however clearly doesn't have the passengers to pay off its own debt so it will be part of the DAA Group for the forseeable future!

C

[Dvblvnia]

Originally Posted by thebig C

All in all it wasn't a bad decision. Clearly the Government felt that they wouldn't get enough on the open market to justify the sale of an important asset. Hence the reasonable decision to retain it in State ownership but use it as an opportuinity to reform Shannon "Development"!!

C

Yeah, but they should have at least been told to take at least, say, €25 million of it. It's not fair that Dublin Airport should be lumbered with the debts of the other airports in the Republic.

[JD47]

Originally Posted by Dvblvnia

Yeah, but they should have at least been told to take at least, say, €25 million of it. It's not fair that Dublin Airport should be lumbered with the debts of the other airports in the Republic.

We're Dubs we can handle the burden. We take it with a pinch of salt

[thebig C]

Originally Posted by Dvblvnia

Yeah, but they should have at least been told to take at least, say, €25 million of it. It's not fair that Dublin Airport should be lumbered with the debts of the other airports in the Republic.

I would have prefered that Shannon take "some" debt, however the business part of my brain just doesn't see how they could carry any of it. Wereas, I can see Dublin expanding especially if the parrallel runway is added.

[Dvblvnia]

Originally Posted by thebig C

I would have prefered that Shannon take "some" debt, however the business part of my brain just doesn't see how they could carry any of it. Wereas, I can see Dublin expanding especially if the parrallel runway is added.

Well there's that too. God, every other airport besides Dublin does seem to need every possible support, don't they? I'm sure Dublin Airport could manage considering it has 5x the passengers of both Cork and Shannon combined. What I'm after is more of a symbolic gesture that Shannon is aware that it ran those debts up pursuing an unsustainable business model which necessitates a major debt write-off and total corporate restructuring. Just letting them off risks major moral hazard.

Though if those figures of €700 million of total debt for the three airports are true, it gives the lie to the idea that the debt was run up to build Pier D, Area 14, the roadworks around Dublin Airport and, of course, Terminal 2. If €300 million is due from Cork and €100 million from Shannon it follows that only €300 million of it is accounted for by Dublin.

The second runway would be a great advantage for Dublin airport - it should be built to A380 and 787 standard so that it can take the top-level business of the likes of Emirates, Qatar, Singapore Airlines etc. with perhaps Pier D or something used to take this planes. Dublin Airport would be well able to take Shannon Airport's debt if we had a couple of A380s coming in every week! By the same token, I was bemused when the coalition government in Britain cancelled plans for a third runway in Heathrow. Passenger numbers there have exceeded 70 million this year and will rise further with th Olympics and the Jubilee. In the future, Heathrow's status as the world's busiest airport could be taken by Dubai because of a penny-pinching attitude by the newish government in Britain.

[Noodles7]

Originally Posted by Dvblvnia

Well there's that too. God, every other airport besides Dublin does seem to need every possible support, don't they? I'm sure Dublin Airport could manage considering it has 5x the passengers of both Cork and Shannon combined. What I'm after is more of a symbolic gesture that Shannon is aware that it ran those debts up pursuing an unsustainable business model which necessitates a major debt write-off and total corporate restructuring. Just letting them off risks major moral hazard.

Though if those figures of €700 million of total debt for the three airports are true, it gives the lie to the idea that the debt was run up to build Pier D, Area 14, the roadworks around Dublin Airport and, of course, Terminal 2. If €300 million is due from Cork and €100 million from Shannon it follows that only €300 million of it is accounted for by Dublin.

The second runway would be a great advantage for Dublin airport - it should be built to A380 and 787 standard so that it can take the top-level business of the likes of Emirates, Qatar, Singapore Airlines etc. with perhaps Pier D or something used to take this planes. Dublin Airport would be well able to take Shannon Airport's debt if we had a couple of A380s coming in every week! By the same token, I was bemused when the coalition government in Britain cancelled plans for a third runway in Heathrow. Passenger numbers there have exceeded 70 million this year and will rise further with th Olympics and the Jubilee. In the future, Heathrow's status as the world's busiest airport could be taken by Dubai because of a penny-pinching attitude by the newish government in Britain.

The current runway can handle the dreamliner without any problems, particularly as Emirates are swapping out their A330 for a B777-300ER on the Dublin-Dubai route. I don't think Dublin will ever need the ability to serve A380's (despite the fact that I'd love to see it). Unless the Chinese invest mega money in Ireland and China Southern decide to send one of their A380s our way a few times a week then we wont have to serve it.

I think the Heathrow runway plan was shelved because of the local residents complaints rather than the logistics and cost of the construction (sounds like Dubliners on highrise, but don't get me started ). The extra runway at Heathrow would be a much more viable option than Boris Johnsons new airport in the Thames Estuary for sure and not just due to costs but also due to BA's refusal to move from Heathrow regardless of new facilities.

A link about Boris island airport in the estuary : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Estuary_Airport