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LAST WEEK AER Lingus Regional launched its Donegal to Dublin flight service.
Photographer Michael Kelly was on board the maiden voyage and captured this gorgeous shot:
We’ll just leave that there to savour.
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We really do live in a beautiful country.
And Donegal is about the most beautiful (I’m not from there)
3.45 min flight from Cork to Dublin, that’s the fastest one via London. Slightly longer at 4.20 via Amsterdam. I suppose it’s not normal to have the countries most populated cities and counties connected via a direct route. Sure the road is very good these days they say! So good that I’ve had to travel at 1am to catch a 5.30 flight and return 4 days later at midnight, pay the extortionate parking fee and continue on my merry way eys hanging out of my head on iced up roads with freezing fog and petrol bill to booth. I suppose I could have gone up a day earlier and stayed in a hotel and also on the way back pumping my money into it all, sure I don’t have any responsibilities at home, who does eh? What’s another 2 days?
@Tom: A direct route between Dublin and Cork has been determined by the Government to be financially viable, so it doesn’t benefit from the subsidy that Donegal does.
Its up to the airlines to figure out how to make it work, and get you from terminal to terminal faster than the M7 or Irish Rail.
You have just made it even more beautiful.
When will the PRC accept that the demand isn’t there, and the alternatives are faster and cheaper. Why would you consider flying via London or Amsterdam? Irrelevant.
@ Mc Garnicle, would hardly consider flying via Amsterdam or London, sarcasm obviously list there. There are more reasons than visiting or doing business in Dublin for a regional small aircraft connection from Cork to Dublin. It was there before Ryanair as they do come in bully everyone into submission then up sticks and run because you won’t bring down your landing costs. At one stage Ryanair and Aer Arran were doing 2 flights daily each. With the amount of seats between those 4 aircraft can you honestly tell me there is no market for 1 small regionsl aircraft to fly this route daily?
Dublin to Cork isnt horrific to Drive and one of those big red or green buses brings you to the airport for a tenner. What we need is a Belfast -Shannon or Belfast- Cork route. I have to drive it every second week and its horrific.
If there was any chance of a profit to be made on a transatlantic connecting flight to be made by EI regional do you not think they would be doing it?
Yeah but the M7 or irish rail or even bus eireann get you city centre to city centre you have to travel to and from both airports
@Joe
Im fairly sure there are multiple private bus operators that can take you from Cork City to Dublin Airport.
Citylink is one
Beautiful. But that headline is totally wrong – the flight has been operating for years, it’s just that the Government contract recently was awarded to Aer Lingus Regional who took it over from the previous operator!
Who was the previous airline/operator on this route?
Flybe and Scottish airline Loganair.
The route isn’t financially viable so it’s awarded a government (PSO) subsidy. That contract comes up for renewal every few years and so it gets awarded to the bidder offering the best value for money for the taxpayer. This time around that’s Aer Lingus Regional (ex Aer Arann).
I see that the headline has been *quietly* updated. Nice to know that you keep tabs on the comments, @Órla !
This is the second time The Journal have got this wrong. I’ve been taking flights to Donegal from Dublin every few months for the last ten years! It’s not the first flight!!
Very nice work Michael.
©Michael Kelly did well etching his name into the landscape, kinda like crop circles.
I see that view from my kitchen windows every day..not so close up though. Beautiful in the summer.
where are all the bungalows?
Behind them there hills… much of Donegal is ruined with one-off housing. See: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fe/One_off_housing_in_Donegal.jpg
Seems well enough hidden to me. Stunning pic.
Ah sake. Took this flight two weeks ago on Flybe & took deadly pics of Errigal, I’m after missing the bleeding boat on this one
didn’t even know donegal had an airport!! how come you can’t fly from cork to donegal or cork to dublin even?
Fantastic shot
I had a beautiful aerial view of Donegal also, it was last Sat night from the upper tier of the Hogan and the view of them getting stuffed by the Dubs was magnificent
See you in the championship….. Again
BOOM! nice work Caomhan
Donegal has amazing scenery.
You could previously fly Dublin-Donegal, Donegal-Dublin anyway….
Is it true that all 15 Donegal footballers were in the rear of the cabin at the one time?
Shame about the @MichaelKelly slapbang in the middle!
have your say