07/09/2021
Ireland's national aviation regulator, the IAA (Irish Aviation Authority) has granted Emerald Airlines an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC).
Image: Gabriel Magachow, Flickr
Emerald is set to take up Aer Lingus' regional franchise operations after the collapse of Stobart Air earlier in 2021. Whilst Emerald Airlines was scheduled to serve under a franchise agreement with Aer Lingus beginning in January 2023, this timescale has been brought forward after the collapse of Stobart, with the operator likely to commence operations in late 2021. Emerald Air's operations are set to commence using the ATR72-600. A proving flight operated on 3 September 2021 utilised EI-GPP, a 5.4-year-old aircraft which has previously served with Flybe, SAS and the former Stobart Air.
It is likely that Emerald Airlines will operate a very similar profile of sectors to Stobart. Data from the flights module of IBA's InsightIQ aviation intelligence platform, we can identify the top 15 city pairs operated by Stobart's ATR72-600 fleet from January 2018.
Dublin Airport (EIDW) represents the highest volume of flights operated by Stobart, and thus most likely by the new Emerald Airlines. Using data from InsightIQ's flights and fleets modules, we can see that 44% of flights operated between Dublin and UK airports since 2018 were operated by Stobart Air. The ATR72-600 is the second most utilised aircraft on such routes after the Being 737-800 (driven by Ryanair operations).
*UK airports mentioned in the table above and the flight data recorded since Jan 2018
*UK airports mentioned in the table above and the flight data recorded since Jan 2018
It is reported that Emerald Airlines will use the callsign 'Gemstone'.
IBA's InsightIQ analysis platform flexibly illustrates multiple asset, fleet and market positions, actual and potential, to inform client choices and identify acquisition opportunities. Immediate access to crucial aircraft, engine, lease rate and fleet data eases appreciation of historic and future aircraft concentrations and operator profiles.