Dublin strengthening position as a connecting hub

dublin strengthening position as a connecting hub

Vincent Harrison, Managing Director, Dublin Airport, interviewed by Ross Falconer.

The Irish economy is performing well, with a growth rate of 5% expected this year. Consumer sentiment is good, confidence in spending has returned, and Ireland has its lowest unemployment rate in seven years.

Against this positive backdrop, Dublin Airport is outperforming economic growth, with traffic up by 15% in the year-to-date. There are a number of reasons for this – not least the benefits of 23 new routes and extra capacity on 40 existing services that were introduced last year, alongside six new services already welcomed this year, with nine more to come.

“We’re also continuing to benefit from an increase in connecting traffic at Dublin, as more see the benefits of using Dublin as a hub for North American travel. Our transfer numbers are up 40% so far this year,” explains Vincent Harrison, Managing Director, Dublin Airport.

The figures are certainly impressive. 2015 was a record-breaking year for Dublin Airport, with 25 million passengers (+15% year-on-year). “We grew traffic faster than our EU peers throughout the year, and were the fastest-growing within our peer group for long-haul (+19%) and short-haul traffic (+15%),” Harrison says. “We welcomed six new airlines and now offer a total of 182 destinations with 56 airlines.”

Over one million passengers connected at Dublin last year, and it is making significant investments into its product proposition as a connecting airport, with the aim of increasing that figure to two million. Works on a new transfer facility will begin this year to improve the efficiency of the transfer process, provide greater capacity, and enhance the product offering. “We have dedicated Flight Connections Hosts working in the transfer area, specifically to help transferring passengers,” Harrison comments. “Our updated website includes a Dublin Airport Flight Connections page, to provide passengers with important information on Dublin, US CBP, and the benefits of Dublin Airport as a transfer hub. Self-connect is a growing segment of the market and we’re well-placed to benefit further from this growth, given our geographic position, the fact that we’re the only major airport in Europe that has US pre-clearance, and our customer mix.”

New runway to be “essential enabler for Irish economy”

Dublin’s commitment to innovation and continuous improvement is evidenced through the myriad investments it is making to meet growing demand and enhance the passenger experience. In the context of the industry across Europe, the most eye-catching is the recent announcement that Dublin is progressing plans to build a new 3,110m runway, 1.6km north of the existing main runway. The airport is investing €320 million in the project, which has been described as “an essential enabler for the Irish economy for many years to come.”

“Dublin Airport received planning permission in August 2007 to build a new runway, but the plans were put on hold due to the economic downturn and subsequent fall in passenger numbers,” Harrison explains. “However, the recovery in passenger numbers, particularly in the past two years, has been significant. The continuation of growth at Dublin Airport is dependent on having sufficient capacity available to satisfy future demand.”

There are multiple projects either recently completed or underway to enhance capacity and service levels. €10 million is being invested to transform the Arrivals Hall and façade of Terminal 1; Spanish aviation fuel specialist CLH has won a 20-year concession for the €40 million redevelopment of the existing fuel facilities; a €22 million project, known as Apron 5G, is delivering 10 new aircraft parking spaces and three new taxiing lanes on the airfield; and a €14 million upgrade to the Terminal 2 multi-storey car park was recently completed.

Dublin strengthening position as a connecting hub

Vincent Harrison, Managing Director, Dublin Airport: “Our core route development strategy continues to lie in building Dublin’s role as the gateway airport for Ireland and as an excellently-located hub airport between Europe and North America.”

Digital delivering seamless experience

“We are constantly seeking new ways of working, and embracing and implementing new technology to improve our customers’ journey and experience through Dublin Airport,” Harrison asserts.
Digital innovation is at the heart of this strategy. Dublin was among the first airports in Europe to offer free, unlimited WiFi, and this is accessed via a simple one-click process. It also embraces social media as a key tool for customer engagement, information sharing and promoting new routes and services. Dublin Airport is notably successful on Twitter, with over 152,000 followers, and is also active on other channels including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

“We also have an award-winning mobile app with real-time information on queue times at security and CBP and ‘my flight’ push notifications that keep passengers fully informed of any last minute changes to their flight,” Harrison says.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to enhance the growing transfer business, Dublin has worked closely with Google to provide a free virtual digital assistant guide – DUB HUB – for connecting travellers. This provides passengers with a digital map showing their current location, the boarding gate number of their connecting flight, directions to the gate and the approximate time it will take to walk there. “DUB HUB uses real time geo-location tools to give users a simple graphic interface with clear walking directions to the gate,” Harrison adds. “We will be extending targeted food & beverage and retail offers to transfer passengers later this year.”

This drive for innovation is truly creating a seamless airport experience. Just a few further examples include US pre-clearance, which has seen the introduction of 16 digital pods that capture the passengers’ image and fingerprints (an ESTA requirement) as part of the pre-preparation stage; new automated check-in kiosks are currently being trialled in Terminals 1 and 2; and Bluetooth technology is being used to display real-time queuing information before security screening.

It’s clear from our briefing that Dublin Airport is committed to providing a competitive environment for both new and existing airline customers. Its vision for growth is predicated on delivering great service for its passengers and business partners, and innovation is central to this focus. “Our priorities for 2016 and beyond are to deliver more growth at Dublin Airport, while continuing to offer a world-class product to our airline and passenger customers. We will continue to expand our transfer business and also to grow overall capacity further, and of course progress our plans for a new runway,” Harrison concludes.

Dublin Airport factbox

2015: 25 million passengers

2015 passenger traffic growth: 15%

2016 passenger traffic growth (Q1): 17%

Key airline customers: Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Stobart Air (Aer Lingus Regional)

Number of routes: 182

Top 5 destinations: London, Manchester, Birmingham, New York, Paris


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *