Aer Lingus Regional
IATA ICAO Callsign
EI EAI
EAG
GEMSTONE
GREENSTONE
Founded26 January 2010 (2010-01-26)
Commenced operations28 March 2010 (2010-03-28)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer program
Fleet size17
Destinations14
Parent companyAer Lingus
HeadquartersCloghran, County Dublin, Ireland
Websitewww.aerlingus.com

Aer Lingus Regional is an Aer Lingus brand which has been used for commuter and regional flights. Aer Lingus Regional scheduled passenger services operate primarily from Ireland to the United Kingdom, France, and the Channel Islands, and also from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Services were operated by Stobart Air until the company informed Aer Lingus in June 2021 that it would no longer be in a position to operate the franchise.[2] The contract for the franchise was then awarded to Emerald Airlines and services resumed in early 2022.[3]

History

Foundation

The possibility of the brand, and associated operating arrangement were first announced on 6 January 2010, when Aer Lingus hinted to the media that it was interested in expanding its UK services with the help of what was then Aer Arann. It was also mentioned as solely a Cork expansion with no mention of Dublin, with Aer Lingus saying bulk seats would be bought on Aer Arann planes without an actual financial take-over.[4]

On 26 January 2010, it was confirmed that Aer Lingus and Aer Arann would launch a new franchise agreement. On that same date, new routes from Dublin to Doncaster-Sheffield and Durham Tees Valley were announced by Aer Lingus Regional, in addition to a new route from Cork to Glasgow.[5] It was also decided that previous Aer Arann routes to Cork would all be transferred to Aer Lingus Regional. Aer Arann services to Blackpool and Cardiff from Dublin would be transferred to Aer Lingus Regional also.

Operational approach

Though Aer Arann and Aer Lingus founded Aer Lingus Regional together, Aer Arann operated all flights and managed those flights with Aer Arann flight crew on board. All aircraft were painted in Aer Lingus Regional livery, and both airlines anticipated new routes being announced as the new venture between the two airlines grew.[6]

Growth

On 14 March 2012, Aer Arann confirmed that it would streamline its own-branded services into Aer Lingus Regional from 25 March 2012. Routes that transferred to Aer Lingus Regional following this included ones from Dublin to the Isle of Man and Kerry, Waterford to London-Luton, London-Southend and Manchester.[7] The airline later suspended all services from Waterford.[8] On 11 July 2012, Aer Arann announced that it intended to purchase 8 ATR 72-600 aircraft to help replace and expand its operations. The first of these aircraft were delivered in late April 2013.

Stobart Air

On 20 March 2014, Aer Arann announced its intention to re-brand and form Stobart Air to allow the company to seek further franchise agreements. There was no change to the operation of Aer Lingus Regional services.[9] On 27 November 2014, Stobart Air was awarded PSO contracts between Dublin-Donegal from 1 February 2015. The existing Dublin-Kerry route was also extended to 2017. On the same date, all services to/from Shannon were confirmed to be axed from 5 January 2015, and the base there closed on the same date.[10][11] The airline later resumed services to/from Shannon.[12]

In January 2018, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, announced that Stobart Air would continue its two PSO routes, Dublin to Donegal and Kerry, until January 2022.[13] That year saw the airline adding an additional 70,000 seats during its winter season, with 580 flights a week.[14]

COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all international flights were first reduced to a limited schedule and then temporarily suspended from 28 March until further notice. The two domestic PSO services continued, to maintain "vital links".[15] Due to the lack of flights, Stobart Air temporally laid off most of its 400 employees, with only 16% of Stobart Air's workforce to be retained, primarily to operate the domestic Irish routes.[16]

Changes

When he was announcing the end of first quarter results for IAG, Chief Executive Willie Walsh revealed that a different provider might operate the routes once the Stobart Air contract expired at the end of 2022.[17] Aer Lingus Group, together with Stobart Air, announced on 23 July 2020 that it was to establish a base at Belfast–City Airport with 6 new routes to Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Leeds/Bradford and Manchester with 5 based ATR72-600 aircraft and over 200 weekly flights planned to operate.[18] The news was welcomed by airport and government officials in what was described as "an extremely challenging environment" during the coronavirus pandemic.[19]

Following a competitive tender process, it was announced that Stobart Air had not been successful in retaining the Aer Lingus Regional Franchise. From January 2023 a new operator would take over, with Emerald Airlines as the preferred option.[20]

On 11 June 2021, Stobart Air informed Aer Lingus that it was terminating its franchise agreement, as the company was to be placed into liquidation, resulting in the cancellation of all Aer Lingus Regional flights, affecting 12 routes. Aer Lingus subsequently announced that it would operate five of these routes for the time being, and that BA CityFlyer would operate two for at least a week.[21] The former fleet of ATR planes was placed on the market by Stobart's principal shareholder.[22]

The Irish government sought an airline to operate the two PSO routes on a temporary basis before a new tender for a long-term contract.[23] Emerald Airlines remained the preferred option and, as of July 2021, was expected to launch its services in 2022.[24] Emerald was confirmed as the Aer Lingus Regional franchise operator in August 2021,[25] and on 17 December 2021, its operations under the brand were announced to launch on 17 March 2022.[26] Prior to its planned launch, Emerald was granted a PSO route between Dublin and Donegal, accelerating the brand's relaunch of operations to 26 February 2022.[27]

Destinations

As of August 2023, Aer Lingus Regional operates or has previously operated to the following destinations:

Country City Airport Notes Refs
FranceLa RochelleLa Rochelle – Île de Ré AirportTerminated
RennesRennes–Saint-Jacques AirportTerminated
IrelandCorkCork Airport
DonegalDonegal Airport[27]
DublinDublin AirportHub[26][27]
KerryKerry AirportTerminated
ShannonShannon AirportTerminated
WaterfordWaterford AirportAirport closed
Isle of ManDouglasIsle of Man Airport[26]
JerseySt HelierJersey AirportSeasonal[26]
United KingdomAberdeenAberdeen Airport
BelfastGeorge Best Belfast City AirportHub
BirminghamBirmingham Airport
BlackpoolBlackpool AirportAirport closed
BournemouthBournemouth AirportTerminated
BristolBristol Airport
CardiffCardiff Airport
Doncaster/SheffieldDoncaster Sheffield AirportAirport Closed
East MidlandsEast Midlands Airport
EdinburghEdinburgh Airport
ExeterExeter Airport
GlasgowGlasgow Airport
Leeds/BradfordLeeds Bradford Airport
LiverpoolLiverpool John Lennon Airport
LondonLondon Southend AirportTerminated
Luton AirportTerminated
ManchesterManchester Airport
Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle International Airport
NewquayNewquay Airport
NottinghamNottingham Airport
SouthamptonSouthampton Airport
TeessideTeesside International AirportTerminated

Fleet

As of August 2023, Aer Lingus Regional — operated by Emerald Airlines — operates the following aircraft:[28]

Aer Lingus Regional Fleet
Aircraft In service orders Passengers Notes
ATR 72-600 17 0 72 Operated by Emerald Airlines.
Total 17 0

See also

References

  1. "AerClub - Aer Lingus". aerlingus.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  2. Goodbody, Will (12 June 2021). "Some Aer Lingus Regional flights to resume tomorrow". rte.ie.
  3. "Aer Lingus Regional service set for relaunch by October".
  4. "Aer Lingus ready to do Cork deal". Breaking News. 1 June 2010.
  5. "AerArann.com - Home - AerArann.com". Archived from the original on 10 December 2005.
  6. "News Channel - Homepage - flightglobal.com". Flightglobal.com.
  7. "AerArann.com - Home - AerArann.com". Archived from the original on 5 May 2012.
  8. "Aer Arann, operating as Aer Lingus Regional, to suspend services from Waterford Airport - News - AerArann.com". Archived from the original on 20 January 2013.
  9. "Aer Arann set to rebrand as Stobart Air". RTE.ie. 20 March 2014.
  10. Stobart wins PSO contracts Archived 2 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Stobart Air to cease operations at Shannon Airport in new year". The Irish Times. 28 November 2014.
  12. "AerLingus Adds Shannon – Birmingham Operation from June 2015". Routes Online. 9 April 2018.
  13. "PSO Routes Awarded to Stobart Air". FlyingInIreland.com. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  14. "Aer Lingus Regional to increase capacity for winter 2018". Stobart Air. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  15. "Aer Lingus Regional operator reduces schedule". rte.ie. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  16. "Union criticises Stobart Air over staff layoffs". www.aerotime.aero. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  17. "Other carriers approach Aer Lingus in bid to operate its regional service". independent. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  18. "6 new routes from Belfast City Airport". Aer Lingus Group DAC. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  19. "BELFAST CITY AIRPORT SECURES SIX ROUTES TO THE UK". Belfast City Airport. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  20. "McCarthy clinches contract for Aer Lingus Regional". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  21. Goodbody, Will (12 June 2021). "Aer Lingus regional flights operated by Stobart Air cancelled". RTÉ News. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  22. Kaminski-Morrow, David (14 June 2021). "Parent of collapsed Stobart Air trying to place ATR fleet with other operators". Flight Global. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  23. Dunn, Graham (15 June 2021). "Ireland takes steps to reinstate former Stobart domestic flights". Flight Global.
  24. Davies, Phil (5 July 2021). "New Aer Lingus Regional operator tipped for autumn take-off". Travel Weekly.
  25. Casey, David (4 August 2021). "Emerald Airlines confirmed as Aer Lingus Regional operator". Routesonline. Informa Markets. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 4 Dyson, Molly (17 December 2021). "Aer Lingus and Emerald Airlines accelerate regional launch plans". Business Travel News Europe. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  27. 1 2 3 "Ministers Ryan and Naughton announce Emerald Airlines as the new operator on the Government funded Donegal – Dublin PSO air route" (Press release). Irish Department of Transport. 7 January 2022.
  28. "Our Airline Partners - Aer Lingus".

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