Stobart Air has welcomed the announcement today that it has been awarded the contract to provide air services on the Public Service Obligation (PSO) Donegal – Dublin route.
The airline secured the route following an EU public tender competition. The announcement was made by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD.
The airline has also retained the Kerry – Dublin route and will operate both services under the Aer Lingus Regional brand.
Welcoming the announcement, Seán Brogan, Chairman of Stobart Air, said, ‘We are very pleased with today’s announcement.’
‘We put forward a very strong proposal for the Donegal-Dublin route. At the heart of our offering is our connectivity with mainline Aer Lingus services, particularly to North America. Passengers to and from North America will be able to connect seamlessly to Donegal. The passenger convenience, and wider tourism benefits of this for both regions are considerable.’
‘Donegal is a major tourist destination and the commencement of this route will ensure that we can continue to attract visitors from all over the world. We also highlighted the importance of promoting the Wild Atlantic Way, a wonderful tourist attraction in Ireland. It is vital from a business and economic point of view that there is a connection between Donegal and Dublin.’
‘Stobart Air has invested in new state of the art aircraft, ensuring that our passengers have a comfortable flying experience and that we can be depended on for reliability and value.’
‘Stobart Air has a strong track record on our existing Kerry-Dublin service, with passenger numbers growing month on month over the last 18 months. The Kerry to Dublin route grew 22% in October 2014 and the airline carried 197,000 more passengers between January and October 2014 than same period last year. We look forward to building on this success in Donegal over the coming years,’ Mr Brogan said.
‘We look forward to announcing further details of the new Donegal route in the coming weeks.’
The new combined contract will operate from 1st February 2015 until 31st January 2017.
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