Lufthansa commenced operating a weekly Frankfurt-Dublin Airbus A340-300 service operating mid morning DLH978/979 on Wednesdays from 3rd July till 30th October.
The inaugural service was operated by D-AIGS Airbus A340-313X MSN 297 named "Bergisch-Gladbach" which was delivered to Lufthansa on 13th October 1999.
This is the first schedule Airbus A340-300 service to Dublin since TAP-Air Portugal operated a weekly service to Faro in the mid 1990s.
In a statement to Aerotelegraph website Lufthansa said "Operational reasons have prompted us to temporarily replace the usual A320 on these routes with A340. The use of long-haul aircraft from 1 July to the end of October helps to prevent especially flight cancellations during the summer."
The aircraft Airbus A340-300/600 will operate on a few selected flights with high demand from Frankfurt to Cairo (CAI), Dublin (DUB), Lisbon (LIS), Vienna (VIE).
On 13th March Lufthansa announced a $12 Billion order at list prices with Airbus and Boeing for 20 Airbus A350-900 and 20 Boeing 787-9 aircraft to replace four engined aircraft (Airbus A340-300/600/Boeing 747-400/800) between late 2022 and 2027. The carrier added "Lufthansa Group has negotiated a significant price reduction".
The airline operates a fleet of 15 Airbus A340-300 aircraft seating 283 passengers in a three class layout 18 flat-bed seats in Business Class, 19 reclining seats in Premium Economy, and 261 standard seats in Economy Class powered by four CFM56-5C4 engines.
According to Lufthansa Group Capital Markets Day presentation, by 2025, the Group plans to retire the Airbus A340-300 from its fleet carriers.
CEO and Chairman of Lufthansa Group Carsten Spohr said "By replacing four-engine planes with new models, we are laying a sustainable foundation for our future in the long run. In addition to the cost-effectiveness of the A350 and B787, the significantly lower CO2 emissions of this new generation of long-haul aircraft was also a decisive factor in our investment decision. Our responsibility for the environment is becoming more and more important as a criterion for our decisions."
Image courtesy of Air Canada Airbus A330-343X at Dublin
Air Canada has introduced former Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 aircraft in acquired via TAP Air Portugal on routes from Dublin to Montreal and Vancouver replacing Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300(ER) aircraft. The aircraft are painted in Air Canada's revised livery.
C-GEFA Airbus A330-343X MSN 939 ex 9V-STD/CS-TOU operated its first service to Dublin on Sunday 30th June operating ACA818/863.
C-GEGC Airbus A330-343X MSN 940 ex 9V-STE/CS-TOV operated its first service to Dublin on Thursday 4th July operating ACA862/819.
For the summer season the aircraft will be operated in a two cabin premium economy and economy class. The aircraft C-GEFA (MSN 939) ,C-GEGC (MSN 940), C-GEGI (MSN 941) , C-GEGP(MSN 942) will be reconfigured at end of season into standard three class cabin configuration.
The acquisition of the former Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 aircraft will enable the carrier transfer its six remaining Boeing 767-300 in its fleet to Air Canada Rouge.
Dublin Airport became the first European airport to be served by Lufthansa new Airbus A321NEO today (Sunday 30th June) as D-AIEA MSN 8761 operated 'Lufthansa 5LC' from Frankfurt Main airport arriving 1721 local and departed as 'Lufthansa 981' at 1858 local.
The aircraft was registered as D-AZAM with its first flight on 4th April and was delivered Hamburg Finkenwerder to Berlin Tegel on 4th May. The aircraft was deployed on the network operating exclusively on domestic routes from Berlin Tegel to Frankfurt Main and Hamburg and Frankfurt to Munich.
The aircraft is named after the German city of Aachen and is first of 40 A321Neo's ordered
The aircraft is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1133G engines and is equipped with Sharklets leading to a significant fuel reduction of up to 20 per cent per seat kilometer.
This Airbus A321neo is configured with 215 seats and unified in such a way that aircraft can be adapted quickly and easily when transferred between Lufthansa Group airlines (Austrian, Lufthansa and Swiss International) enabled by standardization focused on the large, cost-intensive components such as cabin and galleys.
The aircraft is fitted new seats designed by Italian manufacturer Geven with each row of seats has its own USB ports with a special column has been inserted into the table to facilitate tablet holders.
Finnair is to increase the frequency of flights from Dublin to its growing Helsinki hub this winter to meet growing demand.
From 31 October the carrier will operate up to nine weekly services from Dublin with four extra services on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, in addition to the existing daily flights between Dublin and Helsinki with connections to services across Asia and the Far East.
Commenting on the news Andrew Fish, Finnair General Manager UK, Ireland and Benelux, said “The UK and Ireland are key markets for Finnair so we know our customers will appreciate extra flights and more seats on services from Edinburgh and Dublin.
We are adding nearly 10 per cent more capacity to the Edinburgh route, which equates to 25 additional flights. Throughout the winter period, our Dublin customers can benefit from an extra 13 per cent – or 168 flights in total, adding 13,561 additional seats between Dublin and Helsinki".
Finnair continues to build out its market niche between Europe and China with the announcement the carrier is to operate to Beijing International Daxing Airport three times weekly from 3rd November with an Airbus A330 aircraft and recently expanded its code-share agreement with China Southern Airlines from Guangzhou on domestic flights.
History was made at Dublin Airport with the first visit of an Irish registered EJ aircraft as EJ-CORE Embraer EMB-135BJ Legacy 600 MSN 14501072 formerly G-RHMS operated by GainJet Ireland Ltd arrived from Shannon as GJI65R at 1442 local.
The “EJ” a new Irish aircraft register targeted at corporate and business jets with a maximum take-off weight over 5700 kg are eligible for registration on the EJ register, is administered by the Irish Aviation Authority, with Shannon Airport’s International Aviation Services Centre (IASC) as a preferred marketing and support partner with gold-standard onshore EASA jurisdiction and is designed for full compliance with current and forthcoming EASA regulations including Part NCC.
The “EJ” Registration format consists of EJ plus four letters (for example, EJ-IASC), which allows for significant flexibility form personalised registrations. In addition, an assigned registration mark can be transferred to another aircraft owned by the same owner, if desired according to IASC.
The first aircraft to be placed on the EJ register was EJ-IOBN received its certificate of registration on Friday 12th October, an Embraer ERJ 190-100 ECJ, MSN 19000632 ex N730MM and is operated by Gainjet Ireland.
Ryanair's newly formed Malta based subsidiary Malta Air operated its first service to Dublin Airport just days after the announcement on its launch. Today Sunday 16 June 9H-QAA operated RYR648E from Bordeaux arriving 1252 local and departing as RYR6485 at 1430 local in Ryanair colours.
On 11th June Ryanair announced it has agreed to purchase Malta Air, a Maltese start up airline, into which Ryanair will move and grow its Malta based fleet of 6 Boeing 737 aircraft initially increasing to 10 aircraft, which will be branded in Malta Air colours by Summer 2020 to grow its already sizable presence in Malta , and access non-EU markets (North Africa) from Malta.
The carrier this week transitioned two Boeing 737-800 aircraft to the Maltese register 9H-QAA MSN 44782 ex EI-FZI and 9H-QAB MSN 44792 ex EI-FZR.
Ryanair based aircraft from France, Italy and Germany onto the Malta AOC which will allow these crews to pay their income taxes locally in France, Italy and Germany instead of Ireland.
This week the carrier opened a new base at Bordeaux Airport with three based aircraft operating 37 with 86 weekly flights delivering 1.4 million passengers per annum and in Marseille with two based aircraft operating 47 routes with 155 weekly flights delivering 2.6 million passengers per annum with a third aircraft to be added next winter and a new route to Dublin operating three times weekly from 10 May 2020.
Aer Lingus has rebranded EI-CVB Airbus A320 ahead of the busy summer season. The aircraft positioned Dublin to Shannon on 21st April for painting into new brand colours returning Dublin a week later on 28 April.
Interestingly according to playback on Flightradar24 the aircraft while en-route to Shannon under a sortie with Irish Air Corps PC 9 formation over the Midlands presumably in connection with this year's Bray Air Show.
On 17th January Aer Lingus unveiled a refreshed brand with updated logo and new aircraft livery, reflecting the airline’s position as a modern and contemporary Irish brand that competes on the international stage. The new brand identity supports Aer Lingus’ ambition to be the leading value carrier across the North Atlantic.
The carrier has rebranded two Airbus A320's EI-CVA and EI-CVB and two Airbus A330-300's EI-EDY and EI-ELA. The carrier is to take delivery of it's first Airbus A321LR EI-LRA in new brand colours this summer, the fleet rebrand is to be completed by 2021.
American Airlines further increased Dublin Airport connectivity with the launch of Ireland’s first direct flight to Dallas, which is American’s largest hub for connecting traffic.
American operates more than 900 daily flights at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which now has 9,000 one-stop connections more than any other hub in the world.
The airline started service from DFW to 23 new markets and increased service to more than 80 existing markets. This growth marks the airline’s largest expansion at DFW in more than a decade.
Vasu Raja, American Airline’s Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning said "We’re making the world a smaller and more connected place by connecting small communities like Harlingen, Texas, to global cities like Dublin and Munich, while also bringing citizens of the world to the beauty of Glacier National Park via Kalispell, Montana, and California’s Wine Country with service to Santa Rosa, California."
Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said "Dallas is an excellent addition to the existing route network from Dublin Airport and we are thrilled that American Airlines will be serving this market with a daily summer service. This is the first time Ireland and Texas have been connected with a direct flight and the new service will help meet the increased demand for travel between both markets. We will be working closely with American Airlines in order to promote this new service on both sides of the Atlantic."
The new route will operate daily until September 28, will be operated with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The flight departs Dallas at 20.35 and arriving in Dublin at 11.40 the following day. The return flight will depart Dublin at 13.40, arriving in Dallas at 17.45.
A new era in connectivity began today with historic access between Western Canada and Ireland as Westjet launched its new Calgary-Dublin route. C-GRUP Boeing 787-9 MSN 64975 WJA6 touched down Dublin 1136 local. The return sector WJA5 departed to Calgary at 1526 local.
The new service operates three times weekly on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays till 7 October then reduces to twice weekly till end of season on 20 October.
The launch of international scheduled service between Calgary and London (Gatwick), Paris and Dublin will support 650 full-time jobs and $100 million in total economic output. The three new flights from the UK and Western Europe are expected to eventually bring up to 185,000 visitors to Calgary on a yearly basis, helping the development of Canada's fastest growing sectors of the Canadian tourism industry, Indigenous tourism.
Alberta Premier, Jason Kenney said "Today's inaugural Calgary-Dublin flight from Alberta-born and bred WestJet is a declaration of confidence in the economic future of our province, and more proof that we are open for business and ready to take on the world."
Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said "We have forged a strong bond and friendship with WestJet and we are delighted to welcome its new direct service between Calgary and Dublin Airport. It's a great honour that WestJet has chosen Dublin Airport as part of its first group of airports to be served with its new Dreamliner aircraft. We wish WestJet every success with its new route and we will continue to work closely with them to promote the new service."
WestJet Chief Commercial Officer Arved von zur Muehlen said "With the launch of our third transatlantic Dreamliner flight, WestJet adds to our exceptional growth into and out of Calgary , where we remain the airline with the most destinations and departures."
The Boeing 787-9 aircraft carry 320 in a three-class cabin configuration including the airline's newly revealed Business cabin featuring 16 private pods with lie-flat seats, an upscale Premium cabin and an updated Economy cabin.
The airline has made a significant investment in its Calgary Base operating 67 routes and recently announced a$50 million investment in the 125,000-square-foot hangar is in addition to the airline's announcement that it will be the first Canadian airline to base its first three Boeing 787-9 aircraft there. Both investments are expected to generate significant economic output and support thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Alberta.WestJet remains the carrier with the most destinations, seats and departures out of YYC.
WestJet has been operating flights to Dublin from St John's since 2014. This year the route was switched to a new seasonal to Halifax operated by Boeing 737-700.
The carrier took delivery of three of 10 Boeing 787-9 on order. The base locations and routes for the remaining seven aircraft have not yet been announced. It has options for an additional 10 aircraft to arrive between 2020 and 2024.
View Westjet Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Cabin Tour Video
Since its launch 2nd June 2018, nearly 80,000 passengers have travelled and two million kilos of freight with Cathay Pacific on the Hong Kong-Dublin route which operates four times weekly using Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
The Dublin route is timed for maximum connections from Hong Kong with strong passenger flows to Bali (Indonesia), Fuzhou (China) , Cebu and Manila (Philippines) and Sydney (Australia).
Cathay Pacific Regional Head of Marketing & Sales Europe, Edward Fotheringham, said: “We are thrilled to see that in just one year, nearly 80,000 passenger trips have been made, and 2 million kilos of freight carried from Dublin to Hong Kong and beyond. On behalf of Cathay Pacific’s team and our newly-appointed Account Manager Dublin, Fiona Noonan, we would like to thank our passengers and trade partners for their encouraging and continued support.”
“Most of all, we look forward to further growing bilateral trade and tourism relationships between Ireland and the Far East. It remains our top priority to make this relative new addition in our ever-expanding network a continued commercial success.”
Cathay Pacific has unveiled a new brand promise "Move Beyond" – a call to action to move people forward in life, through our airline’s ability to connect them to meaningful people, places and experiences.
