Emirates to launch daily flights to Dublin in 2012

Emirates Airline has announced that it will begin daily flights to Dublin from January 2012, marking its first route to the Republic of Ireland. The daily service, which starts on January 9, will operate an Airbus A330-200 offering First, Business and Economy class.Emirates SkyCargo is already active in Ireland, mostly carrying goods through Manchester, and with 14 tonnes of bellyhold capacity becoming available on each passenger flight, activity in the market will intensify, the airline said in a statement. Pharmaceuticals, which make up nearly a quarter of Ireland's exports, are expected to be amongst the commodities carried, along with electronics.Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group, said: "Dublin will be our 29th route in Europe...We see strong potential in Ireland through its industry, technology, tourism and the huge number of Irish nationals living overseas." Ireland has a population of around 4.5 million, but it is estimated that more than 15 times that live overseas, including somewhere in the region of 80,000 Irish nationals in Australia and about 5,000 in the UAE.Other key markets are predicted to include Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, India, South Africa, Hong Kong and New Zealand.“We are delighted to welcome Emirates Airline to Dublin,” said Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) chief executive Declan Collier. “The significant improvements we have made to our facilities in recent years, including the opening of a new passenger terminal, was a major factor in helping to win this new business and we look forward to a successful partnership with our newest customer.” With a fleet of 157 aircraft and the largest A380 operator in the world, Emirates currently flies to 114 destinations in 67 countries. Services to Basra, Geneva and Copenhagen have already started this year. Flights to St Petersburg begin on  November 1 with Baghdad following suit on November 13. Rio and Buenos Aires become new links into South America from January 3 2012. From / Arabian Business News