Emirates to double its services to Dublin

Emirates is gearing up to double service to Dublin. The second daily non-stop flight will commence from 1 September 2014. The airline’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will add capacity of more than 5,000 seats a week in both directions.

The new daily service will complement Emirates’ Boeing 777 operation that commenced in January 2012. The second service will feature 360 seats in a three-class configuration – eight seats in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 310 in Economy Class.

Flight EK163 will leave Dubai at 1600hrs to reach Dublin at 2050hrs. The return flight EK164 will depart Dublin at 2220hrs, and will arrive in Dubai at 0855hrs the next day.

“Air travel is indispensable for tourism and trade, the major engines of Ireland’s resurgent economy.  Emirates’ expanded schedule will offer increased access to emerging markets and encourages investment and innovation. There is a clear traffic flow from Dublin to a number of destinations in our network, therefore boosting connections makes business sense” said Tim Clark, President, Emirates airline.

Over 440,000 passengers have travelled on the Dubai Dublin service since it commenced. Tourism Ireland estimates that average growth rates from Asia & Middle East passenger traffic to Ireland by 2020 will be over six percent. Middle East traffic grew by three percent just after the launch of the first Dublin service in 2012, according to the same source.

Amanda Burns, general manager, Tourism Ireland – Asia Hub said: “Delivering twice as many seats vastly improves access and significantly increases the opportunity for Gulf visitors to experience all that the beautiful island of Ireland has to offer.  The Gulf market is of growing strategic importance to Tourism Ireland, and holds plenty of opportunities to grow tourism further.  We look forward to working with Emirates Airline, our network of tour operators and travel agents in the GCC to further drive tourism into Ireland.”