Cathay Pacific will operate the route four times per week from next June.
Dublin Airport has announced details of a historic route between Dublin and Hong Kong that will commence in the summer of 2018.
The year-round service will be Dublin Airport’s first ever direct route to the Asia-Pacific region and has been billed as a major milestone for the airport and the entire Irish economy.
Starting on June 2, 2018, the route will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and will arrive in Hong Kong early in the morning, providing a wide range of connecting options with flights to mainland China, Japan, Korea, South-East Asia and Australia on the Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon networks.
In summer, the flight will depart Dublin at 11.55, arriving in Hong Kong at 07.05; the return flight will depart Hong Kong at 00.50, arriving in Dublin at 06.45.
In winter, the flight will depart Dublin at 11.00, arriving in Hong Kong at 07.30; the return flight will depart Hong Kong at 00.15 and arrive in Dublin at 05.30. The service will be operated with an Airbus A350-900 aircraft in a three class configuration.
It is estimated that approximately 40,000 people travel between Dublin and Hong Kong each year and that figure is expected to grow with the opening of the new service.
According to the Irish Embassy in China, 4,000 Irish people live in Hong Kong, while trade between Ireland and China is worth more than €8 billion per annum; almost 100 Irish firms with operations in the country employ a total of 100,000 people there.
Commenting on the announcement of the route, Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said: “We are thrilled to welcome Cathay Pacific to Dublin Airport and to Ireland. Dublin Airport is competing for routes like this with other major European airports, so winning this new business is hugely positive news for Ireland, for foreign direct investment, for Irish exporters, and for inbound tourism.
“This historic new route brings direct flights from Ireland to Hong Kong for the first time and also offers excellent onward connections via Cathay Pacific’s Hong Kong hub,” Harrison added.
“Dublin Airport is continuing to add significant new airline customers and new routes, providing passengers with increased choice and convenience,” he added.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, welcomed the move, saying: “Today’s announcement is good news for Irish tourism as we plan for 2018 and beyond, continue the roll out of our market diversification strategy in light of the UK’s decision to exit the EU, and seek to implement the findings of our recent Developing Markets review.
“The new Cathay Pacific service will help further to open up important tourism and business opportunities for Ireland in Hong Kong and China, in Australia and New Zealand and across the Asia Pacific region.
“We look forward to working closely with Cathay Pacific, Dublin Airport Authority and other tourism interests, to maximise the promotion of this new service to Dublin. As an island, the importance of air and sea access cannot be overstated – they are critical to achieving growth in visitor numbers.
“In 2016, over 600,000 visitors from Australia and Developing Markets came to the island of Ireland, an increase of +4% on the previous year. Recent CSO data confirms that tourism from this region is performing very strongly, with growth of +17.5% recorded for the first seven months of 2017. Next week, we will launch our extensive autumn campaign – aimed at boosting late-season travel to Ireland from around the world and teeing up travel in the early part of 2018.”
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