Emirates is celebrating its 10th anniversary in Ireland. At the travel trade lunch celebrating the milestone, Enda Corneille (country manager Emirates, Ireland) confirmed to ITTN’s Sharon Jordan that Emirates is to increase frequency to 11 flights a week from July 2022. Emirates is currently operating a daily service between Dublin and Dubai and onwards to more than 120 destinations.
One of the Airline’s Most Successful Route Launch
Since the inaugural flight in 2012, Emirates has carried 2.8m+ passengers on 10,000 flights between Dublin and Dubai.
Enda Corneille explained, “Back in 2012 there were those who couldn’t understand the rationale for launching the Dublin operation given the economic circumstances of the time. However, meticulous planning, a long-term vision, and the confidence both Emirates and our customers have in our product and service have proved the naysayers wrong.”
The Dublin route launch has been one of the airline’s most successful in its 37-year history and despite having to scale back due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Enda Corneille is confident that frequencies will ramp up as travel demand gradually returns.
“Factors such as the reopening of Australia, people visiting relatives and friends that they may not have seen in two years and pent-up demand for holidays is driving demand. Globally we are rebuilding our network safely and in line with international guidelines and have already restored more than 90% of our network. We are in a very strong position to meet the growth in demand as we emerge from two years of travel restrictions.”
Key milestones over the Decade include:
December 2011:
- Emirates hosts almost 1,000 guests at the Convention Centre in Dublin with guest, Lionel Richie, to mark the airline’s first flight between Dublin and Dubai
January & May 2012:
- The first Emirates flight on the Dublin – Dubai route lands in Dublin on January 9. This was an Airbus A330-200 accommodating up to 237 passengers
- Ireland becomes Emirates’ 29th route in Europe and its 119th globally and was one of 15 new passenger routes launched in 2012, which included Adelaide, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh, Rio, Harare and Barcelona
- The Dublin route proved an early success and by May, Emirates had deployed its fastest-ever aircraft upgrade. A 360-seat capacity, state-of-the-art B777-300ER with 52% additional passenger capacity
- Emirates announces its inaugural sponsorship in Ireland – the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
September 2014:
- The success of the route results in Emirates announcing a double daily operation between Dublin and Dubai, connecting up to 44,000 passengers on the route, each month
December 2015:
- Emirates celebrates its one millionth passenger on the Dublin-Dubai route
September 2017:
- VOYA, a range of organic beauty products from Strandhill in Sligo becomes available to Business and First Class customers, onboard at 40,000 feet and in airport lounges for the first time
October 2018:
- Emirates and Dublin-based, family-owned Butlers Chocolates agree a deal that saw one of Ireland’s favourite chocolate brands served to First Class customers on board all Emirates flights
October 2021:
- Having operated four flights weekly during the pandemic, Emirates resumes a daily service on the Dublin-Dubai route
Enda Corneille concluded: “The past 10 years have been exciting and the challenges we have faced have demonstrated just how flexible, agile and able an airline of Emirates’ size can be. This can be attributed to the strength of the Emirates brand, fantastic people, an outstanding product and service and continued investment in technology and innovation.”
“If there has ever been a time to celebrate and recognise success it’s now. We are delighted to be getting together with our industry colleagues to mark our ten-year anniversary and look ahead to new milestones such as new aircraft, new route launches and renewed growth and success.”
For more information www.emirates.com
