700,000 Extra Seats To/From Dublin Airport This Summer

Dublin Airport will have an extra 700,000 airline seats this summer, with overall summer capacity up 4% this year and with a 17% increase in transatlantic capacity, according to the Dublin Airport Authority. Airlines are introducing eight new services this year and adding extra flights to almost 30 existing routes.

“This is a significant increase in available seats for the summer months at Dublin Airport,” said Robert Hilliard, DAA Chief Operations Officer. “The growth in available seats and flight numbers is positive news for leisure and business travellers, as it provides additional choice and flexibility for passengers.”

The transatlantic market will see the greatest expansion at Dublin Airport this summer, as all of the airlines serving Dublin from the USA and Canada are adding capacity. Overall, there will be an extra 200,000 seats on North American routes during the summer, which is a 17% increase compared to last year.

The addition of American Airlines’ new daily service to New York JFK, which commences in June, means that Dublin Airport will have 15 direct scheduled services to North America this year. In total, there will be 224 flights per week between Dublin Airport and North America during the summer season, underscoring the airport’s strong connectivity to Canada and the USA.

“North America is a key market for Ireland, as we are the largest recipient of US foreign direct investment and Irish firms are huge investors in the USA,” added Robert. “Both the United States and Canada are also important sources of inbound tourism, so it is also pleasing to see a strong growth in seat numbers from North America in 2013 as we celebrate The Gathering.”

This summer, Dublin Airport passengers can choose from new European destinations such as Bologna, Bremen, Brest, Corfu, Helsinki, Oxford, and Zadar.

Extra capacity is also being added to existing services to destinations such as Istanbul, Madrid, Paris, and Zurich. For passengers seeking a sun holiday, Dublin offers a wide range of destinations to the holiday destinations such as Portugal, Turkey, Spain, France, Italy, Croatia and Malta.

This summer will also see further growth on flights to the Middle East, with Etihad Airways increasing its weekly capacity to Abu Dhabi by 34% from July.

So far this year, almost 3.9 million passengers have used Dublin Airport, a 4% increase on the first three months of 2012. Transatlantic passengers were up 8% in the first quarter, the numbers travelling on European routes increased by 7%, and UK passenger numbers were down by 1%. The number of passengers on other international routes, which includes flights to the Middle East and North Africa, increased by 25% during the quarter.

New Services for 2013