DAA defends ‘dynamic pricing’ for airport parking

Dublin Airport Authority has said increases of more than 100 per cent in the cost of some parking spaces at the airport in recent months came about due to “dynamic pricing” aimed at keeping space available for latecomers.

The airport manager said pricing of its 18,600 long-term and 3,750 short-term spaces throughout its car parks “fluctuates depending on several factors, notably the time of year and the demand at that time for parking”.

The airport was responding after The Irish Times revealed on Monday that price increases of 100 per cent and above were reported by some passengers.

A spokeswoman said the authority used dynamic pricing, as a form of “demand management” which would encourage people to book earlier, which she said would offer customers the best prices.

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She said the authority did not like to have the car parks full at all times, but preferred to have “a percentage” of spaces free at any one time to facilitate those who turn up at the airport without booking well in advance.

The authority said the “dynamic pricing model means that sometimes a customer can pay less or more than they may have done previously which enables DAA to effectively manage demand for parking, ensuring that all those who need to park at Dublin Airport can do so”.

As reported on Monday, one airport user experienced the price for 10 days at the Red, long term car park, rising from €64 in March to €125 when booking in advance for next October. Other users told of similar jumps in costs.

The spokeswoman said: “With Dublin Airport getting significantly busier once again, some passengers will be paying more for parking in the weeks and months ahead than they would have done over the past two years”.

The spokeswoman said “when the airport was much quieter with only 5 percent of 2019 traffic” demand for parking was greatly reduced, “which resulted in more discounted offers online”.

“We also encourage passengers, where possible, to journey to Dublin Airport via the many public transport options available” she said.

The DAA will not say how much money is generated from its car parks but suggests it has some 3,750 short-term and 19,600 long-term car parking spaces in use.

Based on the current tariffs displayed on its website the DAA could potentially earn €141,697 every day from its short term car parks.

The authority could earn up to €100,800 per day in its Red Long Term Car Park, a further €86,400 per day in its Long Term Blue car park in addition to revenue from its Green car park (open only at weekend) and remaining surface parking spaces.

Leaving the Green and remaining surface spaces out of the calculation, the daily income is potentially as high as €328,897 per day, a figure that would annual earnings at close to €120 million a year.

An Irish Times estimate in March 2008 estimated the authority was then potentially attracting revenue in the region of €100 million a year on its parking facilities.

One advantage of dynamic pricing is that price increases in busy times can be expected to go some way towards covering the gaps in income when parking spaces are empty.