Following the introduction by Emirates of a 360-seat B777-300ER on the Dublin-Dubai route from 1st May (as reported by Irish Travel Trade News on 2nd May), Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation, said today: “The phenomenal performance of this new service continues to impress us. Now Ireland has one of the largest aircraft in our fleet and we can now offer 52% more seats. We thank all the customers who have supported our investment in Ireland and who have used the service to travel to Dubai and our extensive network beyond.”
Popular destinations for ex-Dublin passengers so far have included Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Karachi. Onward connections to Lusaka and Harare have also recently been added, while a new service from Dubai to Ho Chi Minh City will commence on 4th June.
The deployment of the B777 comes after a further review of passenger load factors and aircraft availability led to a decision that the Airbus A330-200 should be upgraded even sooner than the 1st July date announced earlier this year.
Dublin Airport Authority’s Chief Operations Officer Robert Hilliard congratulated Emirates on the expansion: “Dublin has been a resounding success for Emirates and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the future to further grow their operations in Ireland.”
The B777 also has capacity for 25 tonnes of cargo, compared with 15 tonnes in the A330-200. Pharmaceuticals, telecommunications equipment, seafood, meat, machinery, computers, computer parts and aircraft spares are among the exports being carried out of Ireland by Emirates SkyCargo.
