Irish national flag carrier Aer Lingus was founded on 15 April 1936, with a capital of £100,000. At the time of its founding, Aer Lingus was associated with Blackpool and West Coast Air Service, a British airline founded in 1933 by Liverpool Aero club instructor Capt. John Higgins and two Merseyside businessmen. Having acquired the lease of Blackpool's Squire Gate Aerodrome, the UK airline was happy to partner with Aer Lingus providing the Irish startup with the capital to purchase its first aircraft.

The plane chosen to fly between Dublin and the mainland UK was a six-seat de Havilland DH.84 Dragon biplane, a successor to the single-engine de Havilland Fox Moth. The Fox Moth was such a clever design that many of the plane's components would be used later to build the de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth, a hugely popular military trainer.

About the de Havilland DH.84 Dragon

The de Havilland DH.84 Dragon was developed following a request from Hillman's Airways for a larger twin-engined plane o replace the Fox Moth. Using the same materials and construction techniques, the DH.84 Dragon first flew at Stag Lane Aerodrome on 12 November 1932. The prototype and the next four aircraft built all entered commercial service with Hillman Airways.

In April 1933, Hillman Airways placed the DH.84 on its London to Paris route. The Dragon could carry six passengers, each with 45 pounds of luggage, and had a fuel consumption of 13 gallons per hour. With its excellent fuel consumption figures and a reputation for reliability, the DH.84 Dragon proved to be a very attractive short-haul low capacity airliner and was soon in service worldwide.

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The first Aer Lingus flight was between Dublin and Bristol. Photo: Julian Herzog via Wikipedia

After having manufactured 115 DH.84s British production of the Dragon ended with the plane being replaced by the more powerful DH.89 de Havilland Dragon Rapide. The surviving drawings, tools, and jigs were sent to Australia, where a further 87 planes were built for the Royal Australia Air Force (RAAF).

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Aer Lingus uses the DH.84 Dragon for flights between Ireland and England

Initially operating under the name "Irish Sea Airways," Cork surveyor and aviation enthusiast Richard F O'Connor suggested that Aer Lingus would be more appropriate for an Irish airline. On 27 May 1936, five days after being registered as an airline, Aer Lingus flew its first commercial flight between Baldonnel Airfield in Dublin and Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, the United Kingdom. The aircraft piloted by Oliver Armstrong was a six-seater de Havilland DH.84 Dragon biplane (registration EI-ABI) named "Iolar," the Gaelic word for eagle.

Aer Lingus A320
Photo: Aer Lingus.

Later in the same year, Aer Lingus acquired its second aircraft, a de Havilland DH.86 Express biplane that it named "Eire." With a capacity to carry 14 passengers, the plane provided the first commercial air link between Dublin and London. The aircraft was then later used on Aer Lingus's route between Dublin and Liverpool.

Aer Lingus has a fleet of 54 aircraft

From its humble one aircraft beginnings, Aer Lingus now has, according to ch-aviation, a fleet of 54 aircraft made up of the following planes:

  • 31 x Airbus A320-200s
  • 3 x A321-200s
  • 7 x Airbus A321neoLRs
  • 3 x Airbus A330-200s
  • 10 X Airbus A330-300s

Have you flown on Aer Lingus? If so, please tell us what you think about them in the comments.