Emerald Airlines, the operator of Aer Lingus Regional, has had a busy few weeks, from route announcements to celebrations. Let’s take an inside look.
The carrier has made some big strides, which will be revealed in this piece, as well as announcing further connectivity across the UK & Ireland.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Emerald Airlines Celebrates One Million Passengers Through Aer Lingus Regional…
Emerald Airlines, through Aer Lingus Regional, celebrated its 1,000,000th passenger, less than 12 months since its inaugural flight from Donegal to Dublin.
It is understood that the one-millionth passengers were the Brady family, who flew on EI3304 between Dublin and Southampton Airport.
Conor McCarthy, the Executive Chairman of Emerald Airlines, said the following on the milestone:
“Today is a tremendous milestone for us at Emerald Airlines. Having only operated our very first flight less than 12 months ago, to have just welcomed our one-millionth passenger in such a short time frame is a really great achievement by the whole team here at Emerald.”
“We wish the Brady Family a really enjoyable trip, and we look forward to welcoming them on board many times more in the future!”
Aer Lingus Regional’s Cork-Bristol Service to Go Ahead…
The Aer Lingus Regional operator also announced that commencing April 28, 2023, services between Cork and Bristol will begin on a six-weekly basis, with Saturday being the only day they will not operate.
Ciarán Smith, Head of Commercial at Emerald Airlines, said the following on the route announcement:
“Today’s announcement is a much-anticipated one and will no doubt be warmly welcomed by passengers traveling for both business and travel pleasure purposes.”
“We are delighted to be providing increased connectivity from Cork while also bolstering our Belfast schedule.”
Belfast City Expands With Newcastle & East Midlands Services…
On top of this, Emerald Airlines announced that two new services will hit the shelves of Belfast City Airport.
Belfast City to East Midlands will commence on March 26, initially as a daily service, before heading to double-daily from mid-April.
Services to Newcastle will begin on April 28 on a daily basis.
Smith also commented on this route expansion, saying the following:
“We are very pleased to be strengthening our schedule out of Belfast City Airport. As the demand for travel options from Belfast only increases, these two new routes will no doubt be warmly welcomed.”
“Earlier this week, we announced that we will be adding 15,000+ seats immediately across our existing network from Belfast City, and we will continue to grow these services in the months ahead.”
Overall…
It remains clear that Emerald Airlines, the exclusive operator of Aer Lingus’ network of regional flights, is getting prepared for what is going to be a busy Summer 2023 season across the UK & Ireland.
With 2.5 million seats on sale across 28 routes, the carrier is in a very strong position and is taking up significant chunks of market share within the region.
All eyes will be on the carrier to see whether any more route expansions will be announced, especially when it comes to capitalizing on its one-millionth passenger and beyond.
