New airlines services have been announced for Irish airports.
Dublin To Aberdeen
Loganair has announced a new service from Dublin Airport to Aberdeen.
Dublin Airport stated on its website, "Dublin Airport welcomes today's announcement by Loganair that it will begin a new service between Dublin and Aberdeen.
"The airline will operate its four times weekly service with a 49- seater Embraer 145 regional aircraft from September 5, increasing frequency to a daily service from March 28, 2022."
In a statement published on Dublin Airport's website, Dublin Airport managing director Vincent Harrison said, "Aberdeen is one of Scotland's most vibrant cities, offering a rich cultural calendar, lively nightlife, scenic coastline, and many spectacular parks and gardens.
"We are very pleased to welcome the return of Loganair services to Dublin Airport, and I have no doubt that this new route will be popular in both directions for Irish and British customers. We will work closely with Loganair to promote its new service."
In a statement also published on Dublin Airport's website, Loganair commercial director Kay Ryan said, "We are truly excited to be operating this important service and pleased to be able to step in and quickly restore the vital link between these two great cities. We also anticipate strong interest from passengers in Aberdeen, and the surrounding areas, who are eager to spend time in Ireland."
Dublin Airport added on its website, "Dublin Airport is Ireland's main aviation gateway. Pre-pandemic 2019 Dublin Airport welcomed a total of 32.9 million passengers, making it the tenth largest airport in the European Union. It had flights to more than 190 destinations in 42 countries operated by almost 50 airlines.
"Last year passenger numbers declined by 78% to almost 7.4 million due to the impact of COVID-19."
Cork To Frankfurt
Meanwhile, Lufthansa has launched a new service from Cork Airport to Frankfurt.
Cork Airport stated on its website, "Lufthansa has commenced a new twice-weekly service from Cork Airport to Frankfurt.
"The new service, operated by Lufthansa's CityLine rand, will operate on Mondays and Fridays. The route will be served with a Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft with 75 seats on board - 15 business class and 60 economy class.
"The flight will depart Frankfurt Airport at 15.40 local time, arriving into Cork Airport at 16.45. The return flight will depart Cork at 17.25 landing in Frankfurt at 20.30 local time, a flight time of two hours and five minutes. Lufthansa joins other major European flag carriers - KLM, SWISS and Air France as well as home carriers Aer Lingus and Ryanair, operating from Cork Airport this summer.
"Headquartered in Frankfurt, Lufthansa is one of the largest airlines in Europe and also owns SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels airlines and Eurowings. The carrier operates an extensive network of regional services within Germany and Europe as well as the Asia Pacific, Middle East, North America, South America and Africa via primary hubs at Frankfurt and Munich airports. Lufthansa utilises a large fleet of narrow and wide-body aircraft, as well as regional jet aircraft. A publicly listed company, Lufthansa is a founding member of Star Alliance.
"Today's announcement concludes intensive efforts made by the Cork Airport team to bring the German flag carrier to Cork in recent years. This new Lufthansa operation will complement the existing SWISS International Airlines service, with both airlines offering seamless connectivity through their Lufthansa Group Hubs at Frankfurt and Zurich, respectively."
In a statement published on Cork Airport's website, head of aviation and commercial business development at Cork Airport Brian Gallagher said, "These are challenging times for aviation globally, so it is great to see Lufthansa take off from Cork Airport this summer connecting Cork with Frankfurt for the first time in eighteen years. We have worked long and hard over many years to secure connectivity to Frankfurt and beyond with Lufthansa to help support businesses and internationally trading companies across the South of Ireland region. It is great to see all this work come to fruition and secure further international connectivity to another major European hub airport."
In a statement also published on Cork Airport's website, senior director sales UK, Ireland and Iceland for the Lufthansa Group Andreas Koester said, "After 18 years, we are proud to see Lufthansa operating once again at Cork Airport. Just in time for summer, this new Cork-Frankfurt connection compliments our flights from Cork to Zurich with SWISS, emphasizing the importance of Ireland within our network. Furthermore, with this additional connection, we are looking forward to offering our customers even more travel options within our worldwide, multi-hub system. As one of the largest carriers in Europe, with just a short stopover in Frankfurt, our customers will have access to hundreds of connections to numerous destinations within our vast, global network."
Shannon To Turin
The above announcement of new airlines services for Dublin and Cork airports follows the announcement of a new Ryanair service from Shannon Airport to Turin as part of Ryanair's opening of a new base at Turin Airport.
A statement published on Shannon Airport's website said, "Shannon Group is delighted to welcome the announcement by Ryanair of a new service from Shannon Airport to Turin in Northern Italy. The new winter service will run weekly on Saturdays starting on 18th December '21 to 26th March '22.
"This is the first Turin service to operate from Shannon Airport since 2009."
In a statement published on Shannon Airport's website, Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine said, "We would like to congratulate Ryanair on the opening of their new Turin base. We are delighted to be adding this popular winter destination for our Irish customers to enjoy.
"Aviation has a long journey ahead, but It is great at last to see some green shoots of recovery. This is another step in slowly rebuilding our air services and brings to nine the number of Ryanair services announced for Shannon to-date. As the vaccine roll-out programme increases and we look forward to the lifting of the non-essential travel ban on July 19th with the introduction of the EU Digital COVID Certificate, people can again begin to plan for much-deserved holiday breaks."
The statement published on Shannon Airport's website added, "The capital city of Piedmont in northern Italy, Turin is a perfect destination for a skiing holiday with many fine ski resorts, as well as a great location for a city break. It is also known for its refined architecture and cuisine. The Alps rise to the northwest of the city. Stately baroque buildings and old café's line Turin's boulevards and grand squares such as Piazza Castello and Piazza San Carlo."
© 2021 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
