Emerald Airlines announced that it had reached a significant milestone on Monday. The carrier, an exclusive operator of Aer Lingus’ regional network, celebrated carrying one million passengers.

The milestone comes as the airline recently announced its schedule for this summer, which will put an additional million seats on sale. Emerald also plans to increase frequency on its most popular routes amidst a change in leadership set to occur later this year.

Who were the lucky passengers?

The Brady Family happened to be traveling on flight 3304 from Dublin Airport to Southampton Airport and were the lucky passengers to put the cap at one million. Emerald awarded the family four complimentary round-trip tickets that can be used on flights anywhere in Aer Lingus’ regional network.

The airline only started less than a year ago when it took responsibility for Aer Lingus’ regional operations. The inaugural flight occurred on February 26, 2022, from Dublin to Donegal. Connor McCarthy, Emerald’s Executive Chairman, spoke about the airline reaching 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!”

Emerald Airlines Celebrates One Millionth Passenger
Photo: Emerald Airlines

Looking into the future

Emerald is already planning for its schedule in the months ahead. The airline said over 1.5 million seats will be on sale this summer, and new routes will debut from Belfast to Jersey and Newquay.

Additionally, the carrier will increase the frequency of popular flights, such as doubling seats on the Dublin to Southampton and Dublin to Jersey routes. By Summer 2023, the airline will fly 25 routes, 15 from Dublin and 10 from Belfast, with over 580 flights per week.

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Other favored routes also had more flights added to their frequencies: Dublin-Glasgow, Dublin-Edinburgh, Belfast-Manchester, and Belfast-Birmingham. The airline said the new routes and additional frequencies form part of its wider expansion strategy.

As Emerald has seen significant growth since operations began, the carrier expects its expansion strategy to come to fruition over the coming months as it expects additional aircraft deliveries, added capacity, and increased frequencies. The airline also mentioned that passengers could connect seamlessly to several routes on the more comprehensive Aer Lingus transatlantic network from Dublin Airport.

Aer Lingus Regional (operated by Emerald Airlines) ATR 72-600 on the tarmac.
Photo: Peter Krocka/Shutterstock

Change in leadership

Amidst growth plans, the airline is set to have a new CEO as McCarthy will move to the role of executive chairman. According to the Irish Times, CAE Parc Aviation managing director with 15 years of experience in the industry, Keith Butler, is poised to take over as chief executive of Emerald.

Butler was reportedly involved when Aer Lingus worked to develop Dublin Airport into a transfer hub between European and transatlantic flights. As Executive Chairman, McCarthy will develop more opportunities for Emerald and work with its partners in the International Airlines Group.

Source: The Irish Times