Aer Lingus Launches Flights From Dublin To The Isle Of Man

Ireland’s newest carrier Emerald Airlines launched flights between Dublin and the Isle of Man on March 16th. The exclusive operator of Aer Lingus Regional will add more routes to its network to cater to a growing demand for family, leisure, and business travel to short-haul destinations. With the launch of the Isle of Man flight, the carrier wants to capitalize on the sector that has no competition.

New route

On March 16th, Emerald Airlines commenced its services between Dublin (DUB) and Isle of Man (IOM), a day before St. Patrick’s Day. The carrier will fly between the two destinations on all days except Saturday, with flight EI 3212 departing at 9:20 am and arriving in the Isle of Man at 10:10 am.

The ATR 72-600 with the registration EI-GPN, which flew the inaugural flight on this sector on Wednesday, took just 27 minutes to complete the journey. A quick scan of the Aer Lingus website shows a one-way average fare of around €65 booked a month in advance. Commenting on the announcement, Ciarán Smith, Head of Commercial at Emerald Airlines, said,

"Today’s announcement is a much anticipated one. As the demand increases, travellers are looking for more convenient and affordable options for travel between the Isle of Man and Ireland, and we want to facilitate just that. I am sure this popular route will see passengers take advantage of the leisure and business opportunities it presents"

Catering to increasing demand

Bagging the contract for the Aer Lingus Regional franchise was a significant move for Emerald Airlines to capitalize on the business opportunities for short routes out of Dublin. The Isle of Man is one of the other routes, including Exeter and Newquay, where the carrier faces no competition.

To celebrate this new route, Aer Lingus Regional also announced that it has added extra capacity for Irish motorcycle fans traveling to the Isle of Man TT Races. The airline has added 1,400 additional seats to cater to passengers looking to attend the famous event in May-June. Dalton Phillips, CEO at daa, the owner and operator of Dublin Airport, also feels that the service to the Isle of Man is great news for business and leisure passengers in both directions, adding,

"There is huge pent-up demand for travel, especially to short-haul destinations, and our team is delighted to have worked so closely with their counterparts in the airline to make this latest new route a reality."

More to come

Emerald Airline’s launch was brought forward, covering the Public Service Obligation (PSO) route from Dublin to Donegal in February. The carrier will focus on regional UK routes from Dublin utilizing ATR-72-600s (it has two in its fleet currently) well-suited to lower-cost short flights.

Some other routes soon to be launched and available for booking include Glasgow, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Newquay.