Emirates direct flight the talk of town in Ireland

Willie and Mary Murphy have their bags packed and checked in and are sitting back in Dublin's new Terminal 2 waiting for EK162 to be called. The retired couple are on their way to Auckland, New Zealand to visit family and friends — a good 20 hours flying away. But at least now they are spared a horrendous stopover in Heathrow. "This new direct flight is marvellous," Willie told Gulf News. "We were always hesitant to go before having to endure London. Now, with the direct Emirates flight to Dubai, we have a relaxing stopover there before going on to Auckland." Indeed, since Emirates began service to the Irish capital on January 9, high load factors have turned the launch into one of the carrier's most successful yet. "We have seen a very enthusiastic response to our new Dublin service with load factors reaching over 90 per cent on many of the early flights," Salem Obaidullah, Emirates senior vice-president of commercial operations for Europe and the Russian Federation, told Gulf News. Article continues below "This makes our entry into the Ireland market amongst our most successful route launches to date and underlines the effectiveness of our Dubai hub, linking Dublin to markets across the world, such as Australia," he said. Strong demand Emirates began their daily service with an airbus A330-200 aircraft and had planned to switch to a larger Boeing 777 aircraft, depending on success, after 18 months. "Given the strong demand, the A330-200 aircraft is likely to be upgraded to a larger 777 aircraft well ahead of the originally planned aircraft switch," Obaidullah said. But it's not just people in seats that has made the launch a success. The demand for cargo in the hold is also robust. Cargo potential Largely export-driven, the Irish economy is surviving thanks to a growing market in pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs and high-tech components. The pharmaceutical sector accounts for a quarter of Irish exports and the Emirates service is proving to be a plus. The daily service regularly carries tonnes of vital pharmaceuticals manufactured in Ireland to distributors and clients around the Gulf. Although an estimated 5,000 Irish expatriates live in Dubai, the new service is benefiting from business travellers between Ireland the UAE as well as those travellers using Dubai for its hub services. In Australian and New Zealand alone, an estimated 40 per cent of the population there has Irish roots. With the downturn in Ireland's economy since 2007, an estimated 60,000 left for the Antipodes. An estimated 45,000 left Ireland last year alone, part of global diaspora of 40 million.