It has now been seven years since Cork Airport lost its fleeting experience of the glory of transatlantic flight.
For 26 heady months between July 2017 and September 2019, Corkonians could fly across the pond from their favourite airport, heading to and (for many more importantly) from Providence, landing back just minutes from home, as Norwegian utilised the improved efficiency of the 737 MAX (737-800) fleet, which allowed the medium-sized plane to take off from shorter runways.
But while passengers from the State’s second-busiest airport were enjoying the freedoms that the new performance brought, others were not so lucky.
In October 2018, Indonesian airline Lion Air were initially largely blamed as their flight 610 crashed soon after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board their new 737 MAX.
A few months later, a similar accident in the same aeroplane led to 157 deaths, this time outside the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The culprit is now known to have been faulty software, called MCAS. It overrode pilot input after takeoff in certain conditions, ultimately leading to the plane model being grounded that September, which signalled the last commercial transatlantic service from Cork.
But the plane returned, following rigorous re-certification and, as always with aviation, much-improved safety.
The reason the Cork service was never resumed could give us clues as to how a brand-new certification could signal the return of flights across the pond.
Ultimately, despite the MAX being capable of flying at shorter fields, it was still limited by the length of Cork’s runway, which made it physically impossible for Norwegian to fully sell out the flight.
While the service from Providence could comfortably land with every seat filled (as well as the luggage hold), the fuel needed to cross the Atlantic (over 15 tonnes’ worth), meant the ‘payload’ had to be limited.
Fewer bums on seats, suitcases in the hold, and profit from the flights.
A former Norwegian pilot says that at Cork, the Scandinavian airline was losing out around 8.5 tonnes on average (payload and fuel), which meant that, despite demand, seats were limited and generally sold at a higher price than their equivalents at Dublin or Shannon.
However, a brand-new certification for the MAX’s baby sister, the Max 7 (737-700), could open a window of opportunity to fly across the pond from Cork once again. It’s shorter, lighter, and takes fewer passengers, but importantly burns less fuel and has over 600km more range, bringing major hubs like Chicago and Toronto into play.
The plane may be smaller, but for airlines, a lighter plane that’s capable of carrying a full load is a far more attractive proposition than a heavier plane that’s burning up unnecessary fuel while seats remain empty.
There’s no shortage of demand. A recent survey from the Cork Chamber showed that 87% of respondents indicated that direct connectivity into Cork is important for colleagues travelling from overseas, with New York the most requested destination for business travellers, and any other US destination coming second.
Half of those surveyed said that they mostly travel long-haul to the US, with Boston (12%), San Francisco (7%), and Chicago (6%) the next most popular hubs Stateside after the Big Apple.
When interviewed last year, then-DAA CEO Kenny Jacobs said that transatlantic flights “will come in time” and that the airport was already considering an extended runway in long-term plans, with a €200 million overhaul of the north end of the terminal building due to be completed in December.
For now, the airport is focusing all its efforts on increasing connectivity to European hubs, with the General Manager of the Air France/KLM group telling the Irish Independent that the city’s multinationals make a stronger case for airlines to use Cork Airport.
“The corporate potential here is big, we have a lot of pharmaceutical (companies), Apple, the tech sector is really important here,” said Jerome Salemi.
“We have global deals in the city with these companies and Cork should be an important place. We hope to see more and more business travellers coming to Cork or leaving Cork, transiting via Amsterdam or via Paris. So all the ingredients are here…”
“What I would be most excited about would be all the European capital cities that Cork isn’t connected to year-round,” said Mr Jacobs, who stepped down from the role in February after a legal settlement.
“Madrid, Lisbon, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Berlin. It’s about, for me - short-term - big European city connectivity, that’s great for inbound business connectivity and city breaks.”
American budget airline Southwest has 250 unfulfilled orders for the aeroplane, dating back 13 years, and could be the guinea pig for others to follow, but are still locked in disputes with Boeing, following another software glitch on the plane.
The Dallas-based airline told Boeing bosses last week that they won’t accept any new jets that have the issue; the latest in a sorry saga for the plane, whose issues have stemmed from a culture change from engineering to cost-cutting at the aerospace giant, based out of Seattle.
So, despite the new certification making transatlantic flight theoretically viable from Cork Airport, with all of this going on it might prove a hard one to land.
Could Cork Airport taste glory of transatlantic flight once more with newly-certified Boeing Max 7? | Irish Independent
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