EASTERN PROMISE TAKES OFF

The Middle East is fast becoming a popular tourist destination and with a growing number of
entrepreneurs doing business in the United Arab Emirates the arrival of a new airline from Dublin to Abu Dhabi is in a perfect position to meet growing demand. Niamh MacSweeney reports

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, recently launched four flights a week from Dublin to Abu Dhabi. The new service offers Irish customers direct access to popular tourist and business destinations in the Middle East and opens up onward routes stretching across more than 43 destinations worldwide after just a short set down in Abu Dhabi. In addition, a one-stop connection to Sydney offers Irish travellers the fastest flight to Australia and destinations to the east include major cities in Asia, including Bangkok and Manila.

The new service will offer a total passenger capacity of 1,600 seats every week and has experienced considerable demand from business and leisure travellers, and cargo shippers alike following its announcement. The Abu Dhabi based airline will operate an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, offering a three-class service, with 10 seats in diamond zone (first class), 26 seats in pearl zone (business) with the remaining seats in coral zone (economy).

A PROSPEROUS DESTINATION

With one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the United Arab Emirates is thriving. The country is experiencing a huge construction boom and with a rapidly increasing manufacturing base and plans in place for infrastructure upgrading over the coming years, the capital Abu Dhabi is proving to be extremely prosperous.

According to James Hogan, CEO of Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi is investing in excess of €125 billion in infrastructure such as property, roads, light rail and a new airport. €11 billion of that will go towards tourism, with world-class museums and plans for Formula 1 to be held in the city in 2009. “Abu Dhabi is establishing itself as one of the world's leading cities. To support that you need to have an airline that links up with other destinations and one of the beauties of new technology and geography is that from the Gulf you can fly to most places in the world non-stop,” Hogan explains.

VENTURING EAST

The CEO is confident that the timing and economic conditions are right for the route to become a major success and that the airline can meet the travel and transportation requirements of businesses and holidaymakers in Ireland, Abu Dhabi and other regions around the world.  “Ireland is still buoyant and we can see from trends that the business is there for flights coming out of Ireland. Abu Dhabi is one of the richest cities in the world and you are going to be hearing a lot more about it over the coming years,” Hogan says.

He maintains that Ireland is unique in that it has a large population that travels and has a high top end group of people with disposable income who travel overseas and who more recently have been venturing into eastern parts of the world. “We have the business men who are looking to trade or set up a business quarter in Abu Dhabi. You have the students and the backpackers travelling to the likes of Bangkok or Sydney and our service connects through so there is only one stop to Australia. We are looking at the business segment, the top end, the visiting friends and family, and the backpackers. Then in the Middle East we have a huge Irish community living in Saudi Arabia so instead of people going to London, Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt they can fly straight into Dublin,” Hogan explains. “We know that there is a good market and we can compete and get the yields that we need to be successful,” he adds.

INBOUND AND OUTBOUND OPPORTUNITIES

Hogan says the launch of the service is great news for the Irish outbound travellers and will encourage other airlines to look at the Irish market and Dublin Airport as an originating point. He also agrees that the potential for inward trade and tourism will also be enhanced and says he is working closely with the Irish tourism authority to promote Ireland as a leisure and business conference destination.

Speaking at the launch of the airline Minister for Transport and the Marines, Noel Dempsey, T.D. said, “this is a very exciting time for Irish aviation, the arrival of Etihad Airways to Ireland is a terrific opportunity for Ireland and Irish tourism. Visitors from the Middle East, Far East and Australia will be brought directly into Ireland which not only makes their journey easier, but it also presents significant corporate and leisure opportunities for all the markets along the route.” Etihad Airways has ambitious plans for the future of the service and announced it will be increasing the number of flights between Dublin and Abu Dhabi. Later this year the airline will provide six non-stop flights each week.

Published in the September 2007 Issue of Irish Entrepreneur