Emerald Airlines takes to the air for Aer Lingus

Regional entrant Emerald Airlines has formally taken to the air, with the airline operating its first flight for Aer Lingus.

At the ribbon-cutting of the Donegal to Dublin route – Image, Emerald Airlines

Emerald Airlines is the exclusive operator of the Aer Lingus Regional network, which began its first service, operating its scheduled services from Donegal to Dublin.

The route launch was celebrated at  Donegal Airport, with Conor McCarthy, CEO and Founder of Emerald Airlines was joined by Minister of State, Hildegarde Naughton, and Steve Ó Cúláin, Chairman, and Eilís Docherty, Managing Director at Donegal Airport, who attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Emerald Airlines was selected as the new Public Service Obligation (PSO), which is funded by the Irish Government and Exchequer. The route is defined as an essential air link between the North West and Dublin in the absence of a motorway or rail network in the region.

The airline will operate up to four flights daily, linking Donegal and Dublin with convenient flight timings and seat availability which enables same-day return trips to Dublin, and onward connections on the Aer Lingus network from Dublin.

In Quotes

Commenting on the announcement, Conor McCarthy, CEO and Founder of Emerald Airlines, said: 

“Today marks a huge milestone in our journey to become Ireland’s largest regional airline. There has been a considerable amount of hard work behind the scenes in order to make this day a reality. I would like to thank all those involved; especially our amazing team at Emerald Airlines, our partners in Aer Lingus, Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton and their team at the Department of Transport, and our friends at Donegal Airport.” 

Lead-in fares loaded as well as frequencies

Tickets for the routes start at €29.99 each way, based on a return fare. Emerald Airlines will operate the flights four times a day, with fares and times now loaded on Aer Lingus’s site (and other purchasing options).

Fights will carry Aer Lingus flight numbers.

For Emerald Airlines, it’s the first step of their planned operations. This will scale from the four return flights a day to 360 flights per week across 12 routes, with the operations to be conducted using the 72-seater ATR 72-600, as the airline rebuilds the Aer Lingus Regional operation.

Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, featuring in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.

Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can follow me on Instagram too!

Also remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.