On average Dublin Airport had 600 airlines and aircraft movements per day during 2015.
Here is my pick of the top 10 aircraft to visit during the year following non-scientific open Facebook straw poll of Dublin Aviation enthusiasts.
From the Airbus A350 to Air India Boeing 747-400 and Slovak Government Tulopev TU-154M Dublin has hosted interesting aircraft.
I will take a closer look at the 10 top aircraft to visit.
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| ET-ASG Boeing 787-801 Ethiopian Airlines |
1. A little piece of Irish Aviation history was made on March 20 as Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-801 Dreamliner ET-ASG made a scheduled first visit to Dublin Airport, ahead of launch new direct services to Addis Abba and Los Angeles (LAX). Today Dublin is Ethiopian’s European hub with transit 10 transatlantic flights per week to Toronto and Washington Dulles.
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| F-WWYB Airbus A350-941 Airbus Industries |
2. Irish aircraft lessor Aercap brought the Airbus 350 to Dublin on July 8 the 1st visit of the type F-WWYB Airbus A350-941(WXB) Airbus Industries arrived from Toulouse and went straight into Aer Lingus Hangar 6 for demonstration later performing a local flight before returning back to Toulouse in the afternoon.
3. Gulf carrier Etihad Airways on November 1 used A6-EHF Airbus A340-642 on early morning ETD045 service in lieu of Airbus A330-200. This was first time the carrier deployed the type on route, as the last time the type came to Dublin was for FlightFest in 2013 using A6-EHJ with ‘Formula 1’ titles.
4. Icelandair used TF-FIU Boeing 757-256 on Sunday 11 October operating a charter flight in it’s special Northern Lights Aurora color scheme. The livery is a key element of it’s #MyStopover campaign , where you can take an Icelandair Stopover in Iceland for up to 7 nights at no additional airfare on your way between Europe and North America.
5. Iranian carrier Mahan Air Airbus A310-304 EP-MMX visited Dublin on June 15 on board was HE Ali Ardeshir Larigani, President of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Iran and delegation to Ireland for an offical two day visit.
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| ET-AML MD11(F) Ethiopian Airlines |
6. The three engined MD11 is fading out of service as many carriers replace the type with new highly efficient twin engined aircraft. On August 1 an MD-11(F) ET-AML of Ethiopian Airlines made a technical stop from Addis Ababa on its way to Victorville Calforina on return to lessor. Ethiopian Airlines’ fleet renewal and growth continues as three brand new Boeing 737-800s where delivered via Dublin in May, June and July.
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| Thomson Airways Boeing 787 |
7. On Wednesday June 17 Dublin Airport welcomed Thomson Airways 787 Dreamliner for the first time to Ireland. The visit was to celebrate the launch of two long-haul routes to Cancun, Mexico and Montego Bay, Jamaica direct from Dublin Airport during summer 2016 and to showcase the aircraft to the Irish travel industry. The event was trending on Twitter hashtag #Thomson787DUB
8. Russian built aircraft are increasing rare in Dublin so the visit of Slovak Government Tulopev TU-154M OM-BYO on July 22 drew huge attention, on-board was Slovakian soccer club “Slovan Bratislava” for a UEFA League qualifier against UCD. The aircraft was parked on West Apron and departed late night on July 23. The The last visit by a TU154 was in September 2011 when Tatarstan Air’s RA-85799 visited on a football match charter.
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| VT-ESO Boeing 747-437 Air India |
9, The last visit of Air India aircraft to Dublin was in May 1982 using VT-DSI Boeing 707. On September 23 VT-ESO Boeing 747-437 arrived at Dublin as “Air India One” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on board, who made a quick diplomatic visit to Ireland before travelling on New York to attend the UN General Assembly.
10. The bizjet scene at Dublin was extremely active during 2015, on afternoon of July 25 a record 25 business jets where present. New Business Jet types visited Embraer Legacy 500 and Gulfstream G650ER. One of the most interesting aviation visitors in the form of Falcon 900EX, FAB-001, Bolivian Air Force for a brief two day visit to Dublin by the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales.
Irish Aviation Research Institute © January 4 2016 All Rights Reserved.
