TheCity

Tag: Aviation

  • Up to 5,000 seats added to DUB-LCY route

     

    LCY runway at dusk
    LCY runway. Credit: London City Airport

    From today (October 27), London City Airport (LCY) will receive up to 5,000 more seats a week from Dublin when British Airways and FlyBe join Cityjet on the Dublin to London route.

    British Airways commenced a five-a-day service from Dublin to London City Airport yesterday using a mix of Embraer 170 and 190 jets.

    Willie Walsh at launch of BA's DUB-LCY route
    Credit: Eoghan Corry/Travel Extra

    Willie Walsh (pictured), the Dublin-born chief executive of International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways, said: “[The DUB-LCY route] complements our existing London Heathrow service and the excellent schedule means customers will have plenty of choice whether flying for business or leisure.”

    The airline hopes to attract business travellers with an early morning departure from Dublin (07:00).

    Regional airline FlyBe’s new service launches today.  The airline is also targeting business travellers with four daily flights starting at 07:00 as well.

    Dublin’s US immigration pre-clearance facilities are an attractive feature for westbound travellers in Britain.  FlyBe recently signed an interline deal with Aer Lingus that allows travellers from Britain to connect on the Irish carrier’s transatlantic services using the same ticket.

    However, FlyBe chief executive Saad Hammad has suggested the airline will not immediately target this niche.

    Another Dublin native, Declan Collier, CEO of LCY, naturally welcomed the two new routes.

    “Our vision to position LCY as the airport of choice for both business and leisure passengers has received a huge boost as a result of this news,” he said.  “We believe that the increased capacity on the route is good news for passengers, offering more choice of when and how to travel.  And I can’t deny that I privately welcome the news as it greatly enhances my own options for flying back home to Ireland.”

    The route will now be serviced by 15 daily flights from three three airlines.

  • New travel routes announced at Dublin Airport

    New travel routes announced at Dublin Airport

    Sunset falling on Dublin Airport's Terminal 2. Photo: Philip Wall
    Sun rises on Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 and its new travel plans. Photo: Philip Wall/Twitter

    Passengers looking to get away from Ireland for a short holiday or weekend break this winter can now broaden their destination plans as Dublin Airport has announced 19 new routes.

    These new routes include potential short trips to Inverness (Scotland) and Cologne (Germany) as well as the continuation of long-haul flights to San Francisco (USA) and Toronto (Canada).

    Dublin Airport says that they will have an extra 950,000 seats available this upcoming winter, a 10% rise from the same time last year.

    Speaking about the new announcement, the airport’s Managing Director,Vincent Harrison said, “These new winter services, coupled with the additional frequency and capacity on many existing routes, significantly strengthens Dublin Airport’s route network, providing even more choice and flexibility for our customers.”

    The introduction of Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 in November 2010 and its sustained success has seen the transport hub become increasingly popular among tourists and those passing by on stop-over flights.

    Ireland's main airline Aer Lingus is continuing to grow on the international market. Photo: Flickr
    Ireland’s main airline Aer Lingus is continuing to grow on the international market. Photo: Eric Salard/Flickr

    Dublin Airport is ranked just outside the top 20 busiest airports in Europe. It handled nearly 20.2 million passengers in 2013 and that number is set to rise significantly come the end of 2014.

    The airport has a large presence on social media and their free WiFi service is in contrast to many other airports around the world where customers have to pay to access the internet. It has 89,400 Twitter followers, over 6,300 Instagram followers and over 60,500 likes on Facebook.

    The airport’s ability to generate business interest for Ireland was rewarded in September 2014 when they won an aviation marketing award at the World Routes Award ceremony in Chicago.

    With new routes planned to Reykjavik (Iceland), Helsinki (announced by Finnair) and a link from Los Angeles to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) for 2015, residents of Dublin and the wider commuter belt can start to plan some exciting escapes.