EK have now gone and have had a number of DART trains painted to advertise there DXB route. Must of cost a lot to do it. Its the first time in 10 years that Irish Rail have had an advertisement on trains.

November 2011 - The Wanderer's Photos

Also they are offering travel agents double commission.

Emirites paying double commission - that should help sway a few unscrupulous travel agents to recommend the Emirites 18 hour Dubai lay over over other airlines with much better connection times to / from DUB.

When it comes to Irish bookings, Emirites local sales office agents seem to be well versed at unintentional deception. They'd be better spending their money on customer service instead of painting DARTs.

If anyone can give me the contact details of the newly appointed Country Manager for Emirites in Ireland Ms. Margaret Shannon I'd like to congratulate her and have a word or two.

Summer 2012
 

Ibera will resume flights from June but Air Nostrun will also operate the route.
(June -August)
DUB - MAD - 14.35, 18.10* & 19.30**
MAD - DUB - 12.35, 15.50* & 17.30**
* - operated by Iberia
** - 3 flight on certain days

Monday - CRJ-1000, CRJ-1000 and A320
Tuesday - CRJ-200 and A320
Wednesday - CRJ-900 and A320
Thursday - CRJ-1000 and A320
Friday - CRJ-1000, CRJ-1000 and A320
Saturday - CRJ-1000 and CRJ-1000
Sunday - CRJ-1000, CRJ-1000 and A320
Weekly seats (June - September) 2011 - 2520 (achived LF over 90%)
Weekly seats (June - September) 2012 - 4240

Drops to 2 daily for September and October. YM and IB. Still an increase over Sep and Oct 2011.

In the region of 7.5 million passengers used T2 in its first year, considering it didn't become fully opernation until late Jan thats good, would of being over 8 million if all carriers moved when it opened in Nov 2010.

Also seems to be two new ticket desks being put in T2, 1 for EK and the other for??? or are EK going to use two of them.

Could be one for First Class an one for steerage maybe?

Commission
 

Sober,

Just a note - the Emirates extra commission ended today as far as I know.
I say extra commission as agents no longer work off commission with airlines. Travel agents normally just charge service fee's. And so they really depend on customer service. So for the sake of 5% on an air ticket and tee-ing off a customer I'd say they'd point out the flaw in the schedule. Unlike a buddy of mine who didn't twig it on the Emirates website and now has a pleasant evening in Dubai International.

Regards
Shamrogue

PS - I'd never call airlines unscrupulous - especially when you read the notes in here. All airlines are saints and make Vincent De Paul look dodgy

But, perhaps I should have booked through an unscrupulous travel agent Shamrogue?

If you book online with Emirates from Dublin you will have to jump through many hoops when things go wrong as is my ongoing experience. You'll find their customer service deplorable. They will tell you black is white, you're wrong and they're right.

Emirates have such a poor complaints process. Eventually you'll get through to Sharon Hurdiss their Customer Affairs Manager UK & Ireland who will handle your complaint with statements that seem to bear such a complex and tenuous relationship to reality that it would be difficult to describe them as truthful without placing an inappropriate burden on the semantic resources of the English lamguage.

And no, I'm not writing this from my 18 hour layover in Dubai although in a few weeks I may well be. If Emirates are not successful on their Dublin route they will just pull the service and route their advance passenger booking to / from Dublin via the UK instead. Sure don't we Irish love long lay overs?

Bmi increasing LHR-DUB for next summer. 5 daily Mon - Sat, 3 Sun all with A319/320/321 with the odd EMB145. Last summer the fifth daily was done with R145 all summer.

Morning departure at 06.50 (replaced LH FRA slot moved to 6.35) but on Saturdays a 6.45 (A319) and 6.50 (A320) departure.

Just hope they will still be on the route by then....

EK are moving to the currrent CO/UA ticket dest beside AA. CO/UA moving to the new one being built.

germanwings Ireland Campaign
 

great to see this by germanwings promoting their Cologne/Bonn - Dublin link.

Do 'Etihad seriously employ NINETY people at DUB for at most two turnarounds on an A330? They're not even self handling?

Check-In staff, Ticket Desk staff, Cabin Crew and Maintence Staff, would say its less than 90 but they may be including the servisair staff to.

I was under the impression all cabin crew were based in Abu Dhabi?

All I know is that Irish Cabin Crew operate some of the flights, they may be based in Abu Dhabi not sure.

Forgot to add they would have about 20-25 or so at there office in city centre

All crew are based in AUH. They hold recruitment days in Dublin, just like they do in pretty much every country.

Busy morning for staff at the airport, A Ryanair flight from Glasgow PIK had a slat problem and declared a PAN and had a high speed landing. 10 mins lather an Aer Lingus flight to Milan LIN returned becasue of a cracked windshield.

Preloaded new Ryanair flight Palermo-Dublin next summer .. 1-4 ---

The morning BD121 arrival from LHR at DUB is delayed until 1115, and a flight is showing on BFS departures as BD4EV
Looks like the flight diverted to BFS, what was this about was it due to high winds? There doesnt seem to be other diversions?

EI-BUD

2 EI Regional flights made it to BFS as well i think

Not anymore. 4 daily M-F and 3 on Sat and 2 Sun