EMIRATES has announced that it will begin daily flights to Dublin from January 2012, marking its first route to the Republic of Ireland.
The daily service, from January 9 next year, will leave Dubai at 7am and arrive in the Irish capital at 11.30am. The return flight leaves Dublin at 12.55pm and gets into Dubai at 12.25am the next day. An Airbus A330-200 will serve the route offering first, business and economy class.
'Dublin will be our 29th route in Europe and Emirates' customers in Ireland, who currently travel through some of our UK gateways, will be able to fly non-stop to our industry-leading hub in Dubai and conveniently connect onwards to our broadening route network,' said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO, Emirates Airline and Group. 'We see strong potential in Ireland through its industry, technology, tourism and the huge number of Irish nationals living overseas.'
Ireland has a population of around 4.5 million, but it's estimated more than 15 times that live overseas, including somewhere in the region of 80,000 Irish nationals in Australia and about 5,000 in the UAE. Other key markets are predicted to include Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, India, South Africa, Hong Kong and New Zealand.
The Republic is a popular tourist destination and last year received 6.7 million visitors, drawn by the rich ancient history, spectacular countryside, traditional Irish music, thousands of miles of scenic coastline and renowned fresh air.
Emirates SkyCargo is already active in Ireland, mostly carrying goods through Manchester, and with 14 tonnes of bellyhold capacity becoming available on each passenger flight, activity in the market will intensify. Pharmaceuticals, which make up nearly a quarter of Ireland's exports, are expected to be amongst the commodities carried, along with electronics.
The carrier also recently revealed that it will operate the first ever A380 service into Riyadh this month, in honour of Saudi Arabia’s 81st National Day.
Flying into King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, on September 23, the one-off Emirates A380 service will operate as a commercial flight, giving customers the opportunity to be on the inaugural A380 service to the city.
The A380 has been operational between Jeddah and Dubai since February 2010, with strong demand from business and leisure travellers in both directions. The popular aircraft boasts 14 private first class suites, 76 lie-flat beds in business class and 399 seats with ice digital widescreen in economy class.