Emirates to upgrade Dublin aircraft

Emirates will deploy a larger aircraft on its Dublin route from July 1, the carrier said on Monday in a statement, just three weeks after the launch of its services to the Irish capital. The daily Dubai-Dublin service, currently operated with a 237-seat Airbus A330-200, will be replaced by a 360-seat Boeing 777-300ER, representing an increase in capacity of "52 per cent", the Dubai carrier stated. The planned move is prompted by high demand on the route - launched on January 9, with load factors driving through 90 per cent for many of the flights, Emirates said in a statement, adding that the Dublin has already become one of the airline's "most successful" route launches. "Normally, this would provide enough capacity for the first 2-3 years of a new route operation. However, Dublin is exceeding our expectations much faster than was predicted and we need more seats to satisfy demand," Salem Obaidalla, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation, said in a statement. He added that a bigger aircraft means more "good news for the Irish economy". Article continues below Emirates' passengers departing Dublin can connect to more than 100 destinations, such as India, Thailand and Australia, with just one stop in Dubai. While Dublin has been Emirates' first passenger service into Ireland, the airline has been serving the market through its air freight division for many years, transferring cargo through UK gateways, such as Manchester.