Emerald Airlines Celebrate Millionth Passenger

DALLAS — Less than a year after its first flight from Donegal to Dublin, Emerald Airlines (EA), Ireland's newest airline and the sole operator of the Aer Lingus (EI) Regional Network, celebrated the arrival of its millionth passenger today.

The Brady Family, who took flight EI3304 from Dublin to Southampton, was lucky enough to receive four complimentary roundtrip tickets that they could use on any route in the Emerald Airlines/Aer Lingus Regional network.

The pandemic-inspired airline started operating flights between Dublin and Donegal on February 26, 2022, and has seen rapid expansion since then. With more than 580 flights each week by the summer of 2023, it will operate 25 routes, 15 from Dublin and 10 from Belfast.

Conor McCarthy, executive chairman of Emerald Airlines, commented on the news, saying, "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.”

Over 1.5 million seats on EA's Summer 2023 schedule, which includes new routes from Belfast to Jersey and Newquay as well as more frequent service on well-liked routes including Dublin-Southampton and Dublin-Jersey, are currently available for purchase.

Additionally, the airline has increased the number of flights on high-frequency routes like Belfast-Manchester, Belfast-Birmingham, Belfast-Glasgow, and Dublin-Edinburgh. The new routes and elevated frequencies are part of EA's larger growth strategy, which will be realized over the upcoming months with the delivery of more aircraft, the addition of more capacity, and the elevation of elevated frequencies.

From Dublin Airport DUB, passengers flying on EI's regional route network can easily transfer to a number of flights on the larger EI transatlantic network.

Now is the ideal time to make travel arrangements, as many of its clients want to book early to benefit from the greatest deals.

Featured image: Aer Lingus Regional (Emerald Airlines) OY-YDN ATR 72-600. Photo: Alberto Cucini /Airways