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A DECADE AFTER it first entered service, it’s been a dream of Irish plane spotters that the enormous Airbus A380 aircraft might one day be used on these shores – but it’s unlikely to happen any time soon.
Emirates, easily the largest operator of the so-called superjumbo jet, originally planned to land a double-decker A380 at Dublin Airport last March but postponed the highly anticipated stopover for ‘operational reasons’.
It would have been a historical event. Although A380s have visited Shannon Airport before, the giant jets have never touched down in the capital.
Recently, the Gulf carrier’s country manager for Ireland confirmed that local aviation fans will have to wait a while before they can point their binoculars at the world’s largest passenger plane.
Speaking at a gathering hosted by the Royal Aeronautical Society, Enda Corneille said bringing the jet to Dublin is a possibility, but he isn’t sure when that day will come.
“Basically, it needs a double-decker gate. That would take six months to build,” Corneille explained.
“While it was being built, it would take four gates out of commission … they’re very valuable for A330s,” he said, referring to the aircraft Aer Lingus uses to operate transatlantic flights.
“We’re kind of in a bind. I think the airport want to do it. We want to do it, but it’s the issue of the gates.”
In addition to putting important facilities out of action, Corneille said there is only one space on Dublin Airport’s airfield where an A380 – which is 262 feet wide and has a private lounge on board – could park and reverse without bumping into other planes.
It’s also unlikely that airport operator DAA would prioritise Emirate’s wishes for the sake of a single aircraft.
“If you spoke to Mike Rutter from Aer Lingus, he’d say, ‘I want more taxiways.’ If you speak to me, I want a gate for a 380. Michael (O’Leary) wants other stuff … DAA has other mouths to feed.”
DPA / PA Images
DPA / PA Images / PA Images
Competition
Corneille is also cautious about setting a date for the big event for commercial reasons.
Emirates currently flies twice a day from Dublin to Dubai using a 362-seater Boeing B777. It claims to fly more than 20,000 passengers out of Ireland every month.
The airline – which operates a ‘hub and spoke’ model, connecting passengers to long-haul destinations via its central airport in Dubai – competes with other Gulf carriers flying east out of the Irish capital such as Etihad and Qatar Airways.
“If I look at the competitive set at the moment. We’re doing a seat (load) factor or around 80%. We’re profitable. Do I want to overload the boat? Vanity can get in the way. I want to see how the summer goes with the capacity we’ve got,” Corneille said.
That said, Emirates last month ordered 36 new A380s in a deal worth $16 billion – effectively saving the superjumbo from the guillotine – which will join the existing 101 of the Airbus giants in its fleet.
“I think with that number of aircraft coming down the track, these things have to go somewhere. I’d hope to bring it into Dublin, but I just can’t tell you when,” Corneille said.
However it’s more likely that Emirates will break away from its usual European strategy and roll out a third regular-capacity flight from the Irish capital.
Traditionally, the airline has started routes with daily flights using a B777, moved to double daily frequency and then switched the aircraft for an A380.
“Strategically we want to build out a third operation (from Dublin). Given Cathay, given others, you don’t want to be daft about it either,” Corneille said. “I think it’s something we might grow into, but maybe not just this year.”
A third flight out of Dublin using a B777 – which have larger bellies than A380s – would also allow the airline to carry more cargo out of Ireland. According to Corneille, Emirates flies up to 25 tonnes of goods out of Ireland every day.
“You’d be amazed what would be underneath the floor when you’re on the aircraft,” he said, noting that the Dublin flights carry everything from Keogh’s crisps to baby milk formula and live falcons – not to mention Botox from Mayo.
Hong Kong
When quizzed about his thoughts on Cathay Pacific’s expansion into Dublin, Corneille said that he is unsure whether there is much demand for direct flights to Hong Kong.
“Ireland Inc is very excited about Cathay. Tourism chiefs and government ministers are all clambering to claim credit for the first ‘direct’ Chinese route. But I don’t believe it’s about China at all,” he said.
“I see all the numbers and I don’t see enough numbers Ireland-China to justify anything. They’ll fly into Hong Kong, but they’ll use Hong Kong in the same way we use Dubai as a hub … Cathay will be fighting out with us on Australia and the Phillipines in particular.”
Nevertheless, Corneille said another airline advertising eastern flights “is good for us all”.
“They’re a good brand and they have a good reputation and they’ll be a formidable competitor. But competition comes and goes … the customer will decide.”
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Think it should be “only hear about the wins not the losses” and “thousands of ads” slightly exaggerated. Me being a bit facetious., I am not however seeking to make fun of the subject, personally I believe gambling to bea more dangerous addiction than alcohol. I’m surprised st the number of people I know living in rented accommodation, driving 10-15year old cars who are, apparently winning thousands on betting every week.
Fair play to the students bringing this up. It is a danger.
It’s always the same idiots crying out about gambling. It’s the same brain dead crew who give gambling a bad name by betting on bad information. All the crap about bookies always winning etc only exists because of people not planning what they do properly. I make my living from gambling and I’m not a bookie. I make a very good living. Am I an addict? If so, then I’m a very happy and quite wealthy one. Go put 2 grand on Rory McIlroy to win his matchplay tomorrow and you’ll make back over €700 profit. That’s a weeks wages for most people-tax free. Easy money. Bye now.
If it’s that easy how are bookies making a profit ? The we lost at Cheltenham is a play on results gamblers May win on the Cheltenham races and lose on all the other meetings or dogs, football boxing etc etc
Wait John you actually make a living from it? Oh in that case I take back what I said.
For all the harm it causes to the vulnerable are completely negated by your apparent success. We should increase advertising spending and relax regulation to create more success stories like you john, who gives a sh/t about the social implications right!?
Should limit the amount of ads. Not just to curtail gambling habits but also to prevent us watching the same shite gambling app for ‘the lads’ tv ad 1000 times during every sporting event.
There’s only so much drink you can drink or drugs you can do before you physically can’t do any more….you can gamble everything you have and get loans for more and lose that in a half an hour or less without anybody asking questions or asking if you need help
As someone that gambles and previously worked in the industry, I am constantly amazing at the negative perceptions the wider world have on this subject. Gambling has a stigma attached to it whereby it has a “so-called” reputation for ruining lives, targeting the vulnerable, etc. It’s all complete claptrap, as that is just not how they operate at all!
Although parts of the industry are perhaps under regulated compared to the scrutiny they could be placed under, it is still the most regulated industry in the world.
Just like alcohol companies, hotels, cinemas, supermarkets, etc, they offer a service. People need to accept responsibility for the decisions they make, rather than blaming external influences.
Other countries have higher age requirements for purchasing tobacco, voting, drinking, gambling, etc, as they feel education (or rather a lack of it) are the key determining factors in good decision making. So, why don’t we just raise the legal age for such activities to 21 (finish secondary at 18, then do a 3 year degree), the age at which our education system says we are fully qualified for adult life!
A woman kept gambling Scottish notes in a bookies in London and collecting on her credit card the manager though is was money laundering got on to head office they said keep taking the money.
A manger was worried about how much money a punter was losing as he new he could not afford it head office said keep taking the money .
Both cases where paddy power who where fined and warned about future conduct
I can see how it becomes a problem for so,e when not 4 posts down there is a fairyhouse sponsored “what kind of race goer are you” quiz which mixes betting with a lads day out sort of event with alcohol etc….
These companies target the young, a lot more needs to be done. I received 2 texts every day during Cheltenham from Betfair even do I haven’t had an account with them since 2010.
I bet a few quid at Cheltenham every year, I know nothing about horses. I win a few quid, I lose a few quid then that’s it till next year. It’s self control those students are lacking, is it an addiction? Maybe. Self control? Definitely.
Yeah it’s all about self control. Reminds me of a Tommy Cooper joke. ‘Doctor my arm hurts every time I do this (raises arm above head)’. ‘Well then stop doing it then’. If gambling is leaving you broke then stop gambling. If you have that kind of addictive personality then chances are that you would be prepared to stroll into a bookies and lose your money there anyway.
Let’s put it this way… why wouldn’t you bet when you know you have mummy & daddy in the background to bail you out? Give me a break… this was never an issue for the generation before and there was plenty of physical bookies and online gambling.
Smcb
That’s just the point it wasn’t an issue in the past, there was no on line advertising or gambling. You had to physically go to a bookies. Now the ads jump into your face and curiosity trips in and it’s so easy I don’t even have to get out of my chair.
Previously “I might give it a whirl, oh it’s raining outside, stay put and try it later” hour later subject forgotten.
Eh, what are you talking about?…. Paddy Power were online well into the Noughties … I remember because I gambled away when I was a student (on the money I earned and could afford to lose). Give me a break. The mollycoddled generation are having a bit of a moan. They’d want to meet real addicted gamblers whose actions have caused real pain and hurt.
Gambling is a huge problem, how many suicides are a result? 1 in 3? Why are we allowed to gamble using credit cards? For me, banning the use of credit cards for gambling would stop people getting in so much serious trouble, in parts of europe you cant buy a lotto ticket or equivalent using a credit card!
Or maybe they’d take a cash advance on their credit card, via an ATM or their online banking? A few people have mentioned “Ban credit card gambling” here. You do realise that credit card companies already profile gambling sites and charge topups as a cash advance (at a higher rate)? So it’s the same as transferring cash from your credit card into your account, or withdrawing cash and going down the bookies. If people want to gamble they will gamble, it’s not the apps fault, or the credit card’s fault.
It’s the equivalent of:
- Banning 6 packs in favour of 4 packs so people drink less
- Getting rid of 10 packs to discourage smoking
- Limiting paracetamol purchases in one shop but allowing someone go shop to shop
Inconveniencing many (I don’t gamble btw) to pretend we’ve done something for a few who need help is a very typical kneejerk response
I see Paddy Power landed in hot water in Britain for actively encouraging a problem gambler until he lost his job, his family and ended up homeless.
In May 2014, staff found out that he was working five jobs to fund his gambling yet staff encouraged him to become more active until one day the manager saw the poor man living homeless on the street. They’d sucked every last penny from him and his life had collapsed.
The same company is at the forefront of the campaign for 24 hour gambling in Britain and a relaxation of the laws here in Ireland.
Gambling is a vice, an insidious addiction.
In Gambler’s Anonymous there’s a saying:
A gambler will end up in one of three places:
Prison
Psychiatric institution
The Morgue.
This disease is out of control nationwide. Government are turning a blind eye and counting the revenue instead.
Time to call a halt to this Evil Vice.
This is a ticking time bomb, it’s a problem at second level never mind third. Keep telling students there is a reason Paddy Power shares have increased 15 fold in 10 years and if they want a good bet just buy the shares. We can only make them aware of the dangers.
establishments do not provide information for the huge number of problem gamblers as to what to do if they feel they have a problem.. The current law is being completely ignored by an garda siochana as the wagering and payout limits are being breached every single minute. Does any one ever wonder where the huge amounts of money being deposited in automated roulette machines every day. I have personally observed many people depositing thousands in fifty euro notes in very short spaces of time. In contrast there are others hanging around who have blown their wages, welfare money or any other money they can get their hands on. As a gambling addict who has lost everything and great difficulty attempting to abstain I feel not enough is being done to protect the vulnerable being completely exploited by gambling establishments…
Well said, more needs to be done.. You wouldn’t constantly shove alcohol in the face of an alcoholic.. All media is responsible for what’s a huge bombardment of all types of gambling
It’s way way too easy to lose plenty of dough, and it’s not real money when you are playing, just a number on a screen.. I’ve thrown away everything, many times. It’s not that I didn’t win, it’s the addiction that kept me going till I was completely broke. Then reality sets in, hiding things, lying to my loved ones and feeling more depressed each day.. But still waiting for payday to go again.. It’s a horrible way to live and sometimes seems impossible to get away from. No one close to me knows this because been secretive comes with the shame and self loathing. I bet you (no pun intended) alot more people than we realize are in the same boat. Those sites ect are extremely good at getting into the head of the poor gambler, and releaving them of everything possible.
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