Business

Aer Lingus Regional has been awarded the tender to provide air services on the public service obligation (PSO) routes of Donegal-Dublin and Kerry-Dublin. The airline secured the routes following an EU public tender competition. The two services will be operated by Stobart Air under the Aer Lingus Regional brand. Seán Brogan, chairman of Stobart Air, said the airline had put forward a very strong proposal for both routes. “At the heart of our offering is our connectivity with mainline Aer Lingus services, particularly to North America,” he said. “Passengers to and from North America will be able to connect seamlessly to both Donegal and Kerry. The passenger convenience and wider tourism benefits of this for both…

Aer Lingus Regional is to introduce Ireland’s first direct service to Cornwall next summer. The service from Dublin Airport to Newquay Cornwall Airport will begin on 1 May 2015. Initially, there will be four flights a week – Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday – increasing to five a week – Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday – in the peak summer season, from 27 June to 5 September 2015. The airline is targeting 20,000 passengers in the first year. Tickets will be available for booking on aerlingus.com in the coming weeks. “We are confident that it will become a popular route, and a key part of our summer services,” said Julian Carr, managing…

Nightline has responded to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications hearings on Eircode, the proposed national postcode scheme. The committee heard from officials at the Department for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR), Capita and An Post today to establish whether the Eircode scheme should be sent back to the Dáil to be reviewed again. Nightline has urged it to continue with plans to introduce the country’s first national postcode system. “We at Nightline are in favour of adopting Eircode. The Nightline Group handles more than one million parcels a month and employs more than 750 staff at 11 sites across the entire island of Ireland,” said John…

The number of consumer and commercial debt judgments has dropped by 39pc to 3,339 judgments for the first ten months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2010, according to new figures compiled by Vision-net.ie. Debt judgments allow creditors to retrieve money owed through a variety of mechanisms, including appointing a receiver and commencing bankruptcy proceedings. Vision-net.ie reckons these figures suggest there is an increasing ability and willingness to service, pay and negotiate debts. In terms of monetary value, the total value of all debt judgments awarded has fallen by 63pc to €263m up to the end of September 2014 compared to the 2010 equivalent time. “Today’s data indicates…

Irish Life contributed €57m (CAD$82m) to parent company Great-West Lifeco’s earnings in the third quarter of 2014. This figure represented a 50pc increase, up from €38m (CAD$57m) in the previous quarter. In the year to date, Irish Life’s contribution to Great-West Lifeco’s earnings is a total of €129m (CAD$191m). During the third quarter Irish Life generated €1.5bn (CAD$2.1bn) of sales and €101m (CAD$144m) of Great-West Lifeco’s fee income. “A highlight in the quarter was the launch of our new Irish Life enhanced annuity.This innovative product allows us to offer higher retirement income to people who have experienced poor health,” said Bill Kyle, chief executive officer, Irish Life Group. “We also…

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…