Lufthansa is tripling capacity on its Dublin-Munich route this winter.
The German airline will operate the Dublin-Munich service six times per week during the winter season, which runs from October until the end of March. The move is a major expansion for the route, which went year-round for the first time last winter.
“We’re delighted that Lufthansa is expanding its Munich service from twice a week to six times per week this winter,” said Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison. “Lufthansa has been growing its business significantly in Dublin in recent years and we look forward to working closely with them to further expand its offering in the Irish market.”
The expansion in the Dublin-Munich route should bring a further boost to German visitor numbers to Ireland. Germany is now the third largest market for overseas visitors to Ireland, with visitor numbers increasing by 32% to 560,000 from 2011 to 2014.
Passenger traffic at Dublin Airport is up 15% in the first five months of this year, as the airport welcomed an extra 1.1 million passengers during that period. “We’re seeing growth across all sectors of our market this year,” Mr Harrison said. “This summer, Dublin Airport welcomes 21 new services and we’re also seeing significant extra capacity across a wide range of our existing routes.”
Lufthansa will operate it Dublin-Munich route daily except Thursdays this winter using a combination of A320 and A319 aircraft.
Lufthansa carried a record 377,000 passengers in and out of Dublin Airport last year, which was an increase of just over five per cent on 2013. About three-quarters of Dublin’s Lufthansa passengers connect at the airline’s Munich and Frankfurt hubs.
Last year the most popular onward destinations for Lufthansa’s Dublin travellers included Moscow, Sofia, Tel Aviv, Kiev, Belgrade, Lagos, Shenyang, Tokyo, Beijing, Larnaca and St Petersburg.
