Cathay Pacific are going to fly from Hong Kong to Dublin starting on 2 June 2018. Services will be operated by the Airbus A350 providing passengers with one of the most up to date experiences in the sky.
This is great news for Ireland, being the first ever direct service to the Asia Pacific region. The fact it is a highly regarded carrier introducing the service is just the cherry on top of this news.
Frequent Flyer Delight
Hong Kong’s airline is a founding member of the oneworld alliance. This means that frequent flyers who are members of a oneworld frequent flyer programme will be able to earn miles and points on their flights.
Since Aer Lingus is no longer in the alliance, many people in Ireland switched to the British Airways Executive Club. People travelling to Asia will now be able to fly non-stop, avoiding a stopover in London or Doha.
Hong Kong Flight Schedule
Flights are scheduled to depart Dublin at 11:55am, landing in Hong Kong at 7:05am. This means people will be able to have a full day of work on arrival. Return flights depart at 12:50am and will arrive in Dublin at 6:45am.
During winter, the flight times are slightly different but largely the same. The service will operate four times per week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Connections
The new service will open up easy connections throughout Asia. Cathay Pacific also service many cities in Australia which is a very popular destination for Irish travellers.
It will be interesting to see if any airlines codeshare on the flights. I would expect Qantas in Australia to be a prime candidate for this, to nab some of Irish market.
Overall Thoughts
Irish business ties with China are growing all the time so this service will be a boon for the country. Tapping into the fast growing Chinese market should also be a boon for tourism as well.
I really enjoy flying Cathay Pacific so I am delighted this service is happening. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via Cathay Pacific.
Is this really just a new way of getting to places without going through the Middle East as a stopover? I can see it being used for the likes of Australia, Fiji and all that! Can the likes of Bangkok be an option? Do you know how long the flights will be? Silly questions are all I ask! 😛
Well, originally Qantas just went through Singapore and you could also go through Bangkok and Hong Kong. Dubai has only been happening for 5 years so now it’s been switched back. The flights will be around 7 hours from Sydney to Singapore and then just over 13 hours from Singapore to London Heathrow. All questions are welcome haha! Thanks for the comment!