Fury in Cork as Norwegian Route to Boston Axed next Winter
According to the Irish Examiner there is fury in Cork following the announcement that Norwegian is suspending its route from the airport to Providence RI. Labour TD Alan Kelly said he wants an inquiry into the “debacle” of the suspension of the flights, which carried 17,000 passengers last year, of which two-thirds were inbound. “A little over 12 months ago when, amid much fanfare in Cork, Norwegian announced its new Irish services, I warned that this was a Trojan horse for Dublin Airport and, regrettably, so it has proved.”
Cork senator Jerry Buttimer has called on the Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos and daa CEO Dalton Phillips to appear before the Oireachtas Transport Committee to explain why the airline scaled back the flights so soon. This move is hardly going to encourage other airlines who are considering Cork as a new route.
This flies in the face of a report by AviationAnalytics.com that showed (based on Norwegian figures) that Cork Airport has the highest average profit per seat at €36. This compares to Stockholm which had an average loss per seat of €170! Dublin and Shannon also fared well with profits of €4 and €6 respectively.
Speaking following the announcement, Kevin Cullinane, Head of Communications at Cork Airport said “Following a comprehensive review of their services, Norwegian has decided to suspend some routes during the quieter winter season due to lower demand, including a number of services to Boston Providence from Edinburgh, Shannon and Cork,”
New Lisbon Route with Aer Lingus
The new year-round service from Cork Airport to Lisbon Portela Airport, Portugal’s main international gateway, will commence 26th October 2018. It will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays.
Welcoming the important new route announcement by Aer Lingus, Cork Airport Managing Director, Niall MacCarthy said “We welcome the decision by our biggest customer Aer Lingus to commence operations from Cork to Lisbon in response to strong consumer demand for additional flights from Cork Airport.
About the Author
Mark Dwyer Mark is an airline pilot flying the Boeing 737 for a major European airline. In addition he is also a Type Rating Instructor, Type Rating Examiner and Base Training Captain on the B737. Outside of commercial flying Mark enjoys flying light aircraft from the smallest 3 Axis microlights up to heavier singles. He is also an instructor and EASA Examiner on single engines and a UK CAA Examiner. He flies the Chipmunk for the Irish Historic Flight Foundation (IHFF). Mark became the Chairman of the National Microlight Association of Ireland (NMAI) in 2013 and has overseen a massive growth in the organisation. In this role he has worked at local and national levels. In 2015, Mark won ‘Upcoming Aviation Professional Award’ at the Aviation Industry Awards sponsored by the IAA. Mark launched this website back in 2002 while always managing the website, he has also been Editor and Deputy Editor of FlyingInIreland Magazine from 2005 to 2015.
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