Emirates: Onward connectivity key to direct Cork-Dublin air link

Guest speaker at a Sales Institute business breakfast in the Clarion Hotel, Cork, last Friday, Mr Corneille was replying to a question from Conor Healy. The Cork Chamber CEO asked him whether there would be any potential Emirates Airlines interest in business class passengers flying from Cork Airport to connect with subsequent long haul flights out of Dublin Airport.
âCork to Dublin doesnât work as a point to point service, but looking at it in terms of onward connectivity is a very different question,â replied Mr Corneille. âNaturally, I am interested in any service that would provide extra passengers for Emirates Airlines.
âWe are interested in every location east of Ireland, destinations such as Africa, Asia, India and Australia. I am not sure just how sustainable routes to the USA are; these routes are already over-supplied.â
Emirates is one of the worldâs most profitable airlines, having seen its profits rise 34% last year to $1.5bn (âŹ1.35bn) with a group cash balance of $5.5bn (âŹ5bn).
The company has an order with Boeing for 140 new A380 planes; the giant airbus is to be customised to meet a series of revised specs sought by Emirates and will be called the 777X.
In short, Emirates Airlines is the worldâs fastest growing long-haul service provider, doubling in size every five years in a 30-year history which has also seen Dubai mushroom into one of the worldâs leading air transport hubs. When he has spoken in Belfast, Mr Corneille has offered similar informed industry opinions on local air services, but clearly the main focus of Emirates is on long haul passengers.
Prior to his reply to Conor Healy, Mr Corneille had also given an equally frank reply to a query from Sales Institute council member Ger Dowling about the future of the Cork-Dublin route.
Acknowledging the clearly broader global focus of Emirates, Mr Dowling sought an independent industry view on what challenges, if any, the business community faced due to the current absence of a Cork-Dublin air connection.
âHaving taken around 2.5 hours to drive down here last night, I am not sure about the economic sense of reopening a Cork-Dublin air link,â said Mr Corneille. âIf I have to wait for an hour in Dublin Airport before the flight, then I am not sure that I would buy that flight.
âCork has a large indigenous base, and back in my days with Aer Lingus we did a lot of good business here. The competitive situation with Shannon has impacted upon that, but I see no reason why Cork air business cannot rebound.
âCork Airport has a short term issue, but it has the infrastructure and it can build on that. Air travel is a cyclical business, and goes through an evolution every three to five years.â
As part of his in-depth presentation, the Emirates Ireland chief gave insights across an array of air sector trends. In volume terms, Emirates carried 50 million passengers last year and Ryanair around 80 million, but with markedly lower profits, âŹ867m for the year to end of March, up from âŹ523m the previous year.
Many low cost airlines are looking to get into the more profitable business class service. Of interest to Cork Airport, with its new terminal, is the fact that most of the worldâs airlines are currently checking out all new destinations, particularly those with updated facilities ready for new business.
Surveys conducted with Emirates passengers showed that the airline scores heavily in terms of service. Despite the huge efforts which airlines put into marketing, Mr Corneille said airlines are largely homogenous and struggle to differentiate themselves from one another.
As this is one of the big challenges facing airlines, they put a lot of energy into analysing their own service levels and the services on offer within the airports they select. Passengers respond to quality of facilities and the people who deliver services.
On all counts, Cork Airport and their friendly staff score well. Emirates has certainly recruited a lot of Irish people in recent years. Emirates currently employs more than 270 cabin crew from Ireland and more than 440 people from Ireland throughout the company as a whole.
âHospitality is in the Irish DNA,â said Enda Corneille. âWe have been very happy with the Irish people we have recruited.â