Business

Facebook’s new EMEA HQ in Dublin’s Silicon Docks officially opened Sonia Flynn, managing director of Facebook Ireland and An Taoiseach Enda Kenny at the opening Facebook’s new 200,000 sq ft EMEA headquarters in Dublin’s Silicon Docks district have been officially opened. An Taoiseach Enda Kenny joined managing director of Facebook Ireland Sonia Flynn for the opening of the Frank Gehry-designed building on Grand Canal Square. Facebook currently employs around 500 people representing over 50 nationalities at its EMEA headquarters in Dublin and continues to recruit to support the millions of people who use Facebook every day in Europe. It hosts a diverse range of teams in Dublin across areas including…

CityJet has announced a 25pc expansion of its London City to Dublin route and, starting this week, will operate up to nine flights every weekday. The airline said it will also start operating the earliest flight out of London City Airport with a 06:45 departure. The independent airline currently serves over 250,000 passengers on the route every year. “As an Irish-based carrier, the Dublin to London City route has always been, and remains, very important to us,” said Patrick Lukan, CityJet’s chief commercial officer. “We continue to listen to our customers and they tell us that schedule and service are key to them making their buying decision which is why…

Icelandic carrier Wow Air is to launch a new year-round Dublin-Reykjavik service from next summer. The new route, the first scheduled service between the two cities, launches on 2 June 2015 and will operate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, using either an Airbus A320 or A319 aircraft. The flight time will be around two hours 20 minutes. Flights will depart Keflavik Airport at 06.20 arriving in Dublin at 09.40, while the return flight will depart Dublin at 12.10, arriving Keflavik at 13.35. Tickets for the service will go on sale later today. Wow, which started flying in May 2012, is a low-cost carrier that currently operates 16 routes from its home…

Irish CityJet passengers are set to enjoy reduced check-in times at London City Airport as the airline today announced the introduction of the Sonic ‘phase 5’ Self Bag Tag system at the airport. Check-in time is now reduced from a couple of minutes to just 50 seconds. London City Airport already has the shortest check-in time in the UK, and this system provides passengers flying with CityJet the fastest option for checked-in baggage. The system is simple; having checked in online or at the airport kiosk, passengers weigh their bags and use their boarding pass at the Self Bag Tag kiosk to generate a label for their bag. CityJet passengers…

Security services company Ward Solutions has won a €120,000 contract to deliver an information security service to Laya Healthcare. Ward Solutions secures €120k contract with Laya HealthcareNoel O’Grady, sales director, Ward Solutions, Ian Brennan, director of information technology, Laya Healthcare and Brendan Molloy, business development manager, Ward Solutions Employing 430 people in Dublin and Cork, Laya Healthcare provides health insurance to more than 475,000 customers across Ireland and deals with large amounts of confidential data.  Ward Solutions has carried out a full risk assessment for the organisation, which has resulted in improved internal procedures and processes across all of its businesses.  The health insurer has also focused IT spend on…

Ryanair has signed a long-term deal with Navtech Inc, a leader in flight operations software and services, to provide aeronautical charts and flight management system (FMS) data for use on board its fleet of 300 Boeing 737-800s. Ryanair converted to Navtech paper charts and FMS data in August and is currently transferring to ‘electronic flight bags’ with Navtech’s state-of-the-art cockpit solution iCharts EFB, which provides pilots with quick and easy access to the most up to date data as well as customisation options based on user and organizations size. “Ryanair is pleased to launch Navtech Charts and FMS data on board our flights this summer. In Navtech, we found a…

Aer Lingus Regional adds Leeds Bradford to route network The expansion of the airline’s route network follows the ongoing success of the franchise agreement between Stobart Air and Aer Lingus, which saw both a Shannon to Bristol and Cork to Newcastle service launched earlier this year. This announcement is the first time that Aer Lingus has operated flights to Leeds Bradford in 14 years. Aer Lingus Regional expects to carry up to 70,000 customers annually on the new route and will operate all services on the company’s brand new fleet of regional aircraft. According to managing director of Stobart Air Julian Carr, the launch of the route marks a significant milestone for the airline. “We are…

The industries most impacted by the economic downturn – including manufacturing and motoring – showed continued signs of improvement in August 2014, according to new figures from Vision-net.ie. Manufacturing and Motor Industries Show Improvement in August 2014 The manufacturing sector experienced 50pc fewer insolvencies last month (five) when compared to August last year (10), while the motor industry saw no insolvencies during August 2014. Vision-net.ie said, however, that overall insolvencies across all sectors increased by 19pc (108 v 91) in August when compared with last year. Forty-five percent of last month’s company insolvencies were recorded in Dublin, followed by 19pc in Cork and 6pc in Galway. Leitrim, Offaly, Laois, Sligo…

DCC plc said today that it has reached agreement to buy Esso SAF’s unmanned retail petrol station network and motorway concessions in France. The total consideration will be €106m (£84m), plus stock in tank at the date of acquisition, all payable in cash on completion. The acquisition includes Esso SAF’s network of 274 Esso Express unmanned petrol stations; 48 Esso branded motorway concessions; and contracts to supply around 75 dealer owned dealer operated sites. As part of the transaction, DCC Energy will enter into a long term branded supply agreeement with Esso SAF. The acquired business will have annual volumes of approximately 1.9 billion litres and revenues of approximately €2.2bn…