German airline Lufthansa hosted a lunch at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin this week to celebrate 40 years of flying from Dublin Airport.
Christian Schindler, general manager of its UK and Ireland business, said passenger numbers on its Dublin-Frankfurt route rose by 19 per cent in the first quarter of this year, having risen by 9 per cent in 2011. The airline carries more than 300,000 passengers on the route a year, with 80 per cent of the Irish outbound traffic using Frankfurt as a hub for onward travel. It also operates a seasonal route from Dublin to Munich and will next month begin flying from Dusseldorf to Dublin and Knock. “We’re hoping to add other airports, and Shannon and Cork are destinations looking to get Lufthansa in,” Schindler said.
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Time is running out for those wishing to take tables at this year’s Corporate Challenge run by the Business Journalists Association of Ireland. The aim is to raise about €50,000 for the Dublin Simon Community, with drinks group Diageo and accountants Smith & Williamson sponsoring the event next Thursday evening in the Radisson Hotel on Golden Lane in Dublin.
Those wishing to enter should contact BJA chair Laura Noonan at the Irish Independent or email Corporatechallenge@corporatereputations.ie