Sampling an Aer Lingus Regional ATR 72 from Belfast City to Leeds Bradford

You can read about my trip to Northern Ireland and what led me to fly on Aer Lingus Regional (or, Emerald Airlines UK if you’d rather), on my Airbus A319 trip report from Leeds Bradford to Belfast International.

About Emerald Airlines

Despite being established in 2020, Emerald Airlines’ roots go back decades to Aer Arann, which was once a stalwart within the Irish aviation scene.

Established in 1970, as their name suggests, Aer Arann initially focused on connecting the Irish mainland with the Aran Islands using a fleet of Britten-Norman Islanders. In the nineties, the airline opted to expand and, following a short period of operating the Short 360, Aer Arann underwent major growth, procuring over thirty ATR 42s and ATR 72s. These turboprops were deployed on an expansive network of routes within Ireland, and to overseas destinations such as the Channel Islands, France, the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom.

Sadly, all was not plain sailing, as Aer Arann’s expansion occurred in tandem with the massive growth of Ryanair, with whom the airline had to compete on several routes, not to mention the major financial downturn of the late 2000s. In 2010, Aer Arann amended its strategy, placing less of a focus on operating its own services and instead partnering with Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus and operating services on their behalf as Aer Lingus Regional. This new operation was to focus on connecting regional airports, primarily across Britain, with Aer Lingus’ hub at Dublin Airport, targeting those connecting to and from the airline’s North American services.

Whilst this new strategy sustained Aer Arann for a while, sadly, the airline continued to struggle. Major management changes saw the logistics firm, the Stobart Group, take a large stake in Aer Arann’s parent company, resulting in Aer Arann rebranding as Stobart Air in 2014.

In 2014, Stobart Air further diversified its operations by commencing flights on behalf of regional airline Flybe. This saw Stobart Air base aircraft and crew in the Isle of Man, London City and Southend, operating flights to destinations across France, the Isle of Man, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (you can read about my flight from Manchester to Southend here!). Whilst this continued for some time, the demise of Flybe in early 2020 meant that, overnight, much of Stobart Air’s operations came to a halt, with Aer Lingus Regional operations pausing several months later. Unfortunately, this total halt of operations sounded the death knell for Stobart Air, and it entered liquidation in 2021.

Despite the demise of Stobart Air, there remained a need for Aer Lingus to serve regional airports across the United Kingdom. These had proved their worth in attracting connecting passengers and serving markets too slim for their Airbus A320 Family fleet. Thus, by the time Stobart Air’s fate became clear, plans were already underway to establish a replacement carrier to plug this gap.

Utilising Stobart Air’s equipment and many of its former staff, this new carrier came in the form of Dublin-headquartered Emerald Airlines. Despite several key similarities, unlike its predecessor, Emerald Airlines was to solely focus on operating services for Aer Lingus under the Aer Lingus Regional brand. Commencing operations in February 2022, almost overnight, Emerald Airlines’ ATR 72s became commonplace at many of Britain’s regional airports, as well as Brest, Cork, Donegal, the Isle of Man and Jersey. Meanwhile, in 2023, Emerald Airlines was awarded a ten-year franchise to operate Aer Lingus Regional services.

However, the airline was not to solely focus on the hub-and-spoke model of carrying connecting passengers, and turned its attention to Northern Ireland. The demise of Flybe, which operated a reasonably sized base at Belfast City Airport, left a gap in the market and caused the airport to lose a significant number of services to regional airports across the United Kingdom. Seeking to fill this gap, Aer Lingus Regional and Emerald Airlines turned their attention to Northern Ireland and opted to establish a base at Belfast City Airport. To do so, they established Emerald Airlines UK. This was to consist of eight UK-registered ATR 72-600 aircraft based at Belfast City Airport. Like the Dublin operation, these were to operate for Aer Lingus Regional; however, unlike this, the sole focus would be on carrying point-to-point passengers. Since then, Emerald Airlines UK has commenced services from Belfast City to Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Newquay and Southampton.

Pre-Flight Experience

Travelling for work, I had no role in selecting or booking flights and was instead simply sent my flight details and booking reference number. Once I received this, I loaded my flight into the Aer Lingus app. However, unfortunately, I had no option to add any additional extras, such as selecting a seat.

Online check-in opened up 48 hours before departure, and, being a domestic service, I found the check-in process to be quick and easy, and within a few taps, I had checked myself in and was issued a boarding pass for my flight. My only complaint about this process was that I was unable to select my own seat, either for free or for payment. Fortunately, the check-in gods worked in my favour, and I was assigned a window seat, Seat 16A to be precise.

The Journey

Following two nights in Northern Ireland, I woke up in central Belfast to grim and drizzly conditions. Whilst much of Britain was basking in sunshine and experiencing unseasonably warm February temperatures of eighteen degrees, sadly, these had not reached Belfast!

Located just three miles from the city centre, sitting next to Belfast Harbour, Belfast City Airport is definitely one of the more centrally located airports that I have passed through. For those who do not fancy the hour-long walk from the city to the airport, regular buses ply the route from stops across the city centre to the airport, offering a convenient, cheap and speedy means of reaching this. However, needing to visit the airport for work on the morning of my flight, I would be provided with a taxi to take me from the hotel to the airport, and thus, I did not need to consider how to reach the airport by public transport.

Following a morning of work, at around midday, I darted in and was greeted by a fairly bright and airy space. On one side of this, a line of twenty check-in desks could be seen, with each of the five airlines serving Belfast City Airport enjoying its own branded space. However, at that time, only those of Aer Lingus and British Airways could be seen staffed. There also seemed to be a number of automated check-in machines for those without a boarding pass, yet not seeking any in-person interaction.

As you would expect, given the size of the airport, landside, there weren’t all too many facilities, with just a Caffè Nero and a WHSmith offered for those looking to pass the time, whilst several vending machines selling an array of soft drinks and snacks could also be seen. Briefly glancing around, this part of the terminal seemed calm and peaceful, with staff appearing to outnumber passengers at that time. Having checked in online and with no bags to check-in, following a quick toilet stop, I headed several steps over to the entrance of security and tapped myself in.

With few passengers, unsurprisingly, just one of the three checkpoints was open. However, in spite of this, I was able to make my way straight up to this, and, having the next generation scanners, there was no need for me to remove anything from my bags before sending this through the scanner. Following a full body scan, without the need for any additional checks, I continued onwards and made my way up the escalators to the airside area.

As with many airports, once through security, all passengers must traverse a zig-zagging route through the local World Duty Free store before reaching the main waiting area. With no last-minute souvenirs to purchase, I sped through this and soon reached the main airside waiting area. Not being the largest airport in the world, and designed for speedy trips rather than long waits, the waiting area is not particularly large, although given the lack of passengers at that time, this was not an issue, finding there to be ample space to sit and wait. Furthermore, just like the landside area, this seemed to be reasonably clean and tidy, thus leaving me with little to complain about other than a lack of plug sockets.

In terms of facilities, the airside portion of the terminal is home to two chain coffee shops – a Caffè Nero and a Starbucks, two bar-restaurants, and two shops (excluding duty free) – a WHSmith and a local goods shop, Curi.o.city.

Aviation enthusiasts will be pleased to hear that large windows offer a good view out onto part of the ramp and runway. Thus, after a short wander around the small terminal, I plonked myself down at a window and turned my attention to the happenings outside. At that time, a sharklet-fitted British Airways Airbus A320 could be seen being pushed back for its return journey to London Heathrow, and was soon replaced by five Emerald Airlines UK ATR 72-600s arriving from Birmingham, East Midlands, Glasgow, Manchester and Southampton, with an EasyJet Airbus A319 arriving later on from London Gatwick. Breaking the monopoly of airliners that afternoon, as I neared the end of my stay, a German-registered Embraer Phenom 300 touched down from Zurich.

Having seen nearly 2.4 million passengers pass through its doors in 2024, Belfast City Airport is comparable in busyness to Aberdeen and London City. However, the airport is served by fewer carriers and, bar KLM Cityhoppers’ Amsterdam services, serves only domestic destinations. That Wednesday, my flight to Leeds Bradford would be one of 41 scheduled departures. As you would expect, hometown carrier Emerald Airlines UK had the greatest presence, with twenty departures to Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Southampton. This was followed by EasyJet with ten flights, British Airways with seven, and BA CityFlyer and KLM Cityhopper with two flights apiece.

Inside the terminal, as time passed and the early afternoon rush neared, more and more passengers arrived. However, when boarding for EasyJet’s 1415 service was announced, the number of passengers milling around decreased, mainly leaving those heading off on Emerald Airlines UK’s services to Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford and Manchester.

At 1410, the departure boards updated to note that the 1440 flight to Leeds Bradford would depart from Gate 10, which is located at the very far end of the terminal. From the main waiting area, I headed down a flight of stairs and along the chilly ground floor corridor that runs along the apron and connects most of the airport’s gates. After a few minutes of trundling along, I reached the end of this corridor where several Swissport agents could be seen readying the gate in preparation for boarding. Unlike low-cost carriers, Aer Lingus Regional does not offer any sort of speedy boarding, and instead, passengers are split into two lines – those seated in Rows 1 to 10, and those in Rows 11 to 18, with the former group boarding first. Joining the latter queue, this soon grew, indicating that it would be a busy flight over to Yorkshire that afternoon.

Looking outside, ATR 72-600 G-CMFL could be seen basking under Belfast’s grey skies, whilst several ground crew could be seen preparing the aircraft for its afternoon jaunt to Leeds Bradford and back. As with all ATR aircraft, this particular example was assembled on the grounds of Toulouse Blagnac Airport. This took to the skies for the first time in August 2016, sporting a plain white livery and the test registration of F-WWEW, making it around nine and a half years old at the time of my flight. Following testing, the aircraft received the Irish registration of EI-FSL and was handed over to Stobart Air. This continued to fly with Stobart Air in an all-white colour scheme until the airline’s demise in June 2021. Following this, the aircraft was returned to its lessor, Nordic Aviation Capital and ferried to Billund, where it received the Danish registration of OY-YDU. After several months in storage in Denmark, in December 2021, the aircraft was ferried to Toulouse Francazal.

Following the establishment of Emerald Airlines, the aircraft was painted into Aer Lingus Regional’s livery and, like most aircraft under the Irish national carrier’s umbrella, this was christened with the name of a saint. Named St Ailbhe, or St Elvis in English, after the sixth-century Irish saint, and with its old registration of EI-FSL, in March 2022, this commenced flying with Emerald Airlines and was based out of Dublin. This was then handed over to Emerald Airlines UK in September 2025 and transferred over to the UK aircraft register as G-CMFL. This aircraft currently spends its days connecting Belfast City with airports across Britain, and that day had already undertaken rotations to Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds Bradford!

Once I was in line, a fair wait was required until boarding commenced. During this time, one of the Swissport gate agents passed down the line checking passengers’ boarding passes and identification documents, meaning that upon arrival at the gate podium, only the former needed to be scanned. Eventually, fifteen minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival time, those in the first boarding group were permitted to head out to the aircraft, followed by the second group a few minutes later.

Without delay, I soon made my way around the nose and port wingtip of Ailbe, before arriving at the sole passenger door at the rear of the aircraft. Once there, I cautiously made my way up the steep steps built into the inner side of the aircraft door and entered the minuscule galley at the rear of the aircraft. As soon as I stepped onto the aircraft, I received a warm and friendly greeting from one of the two flight attendants onboard – both of whom were donned in Aer Lingus’ distinctive green uniform. With nowhere else to go, no boarding pass check was required, and I thus immediately entered the turboprop airliner’s cabin.

Onboard, Emerald Airlines’ ATR 72s feature a standard configuration of 72 seats arranged in a 2-2 layout. These seats take the form of the standard ATR seats, seen in service with ATR 72 operators across the globe and feature a coathook, a small tray table, a literature compartment and a seatback pocket. Each of these was covered in a dark blue pleather cover, and, as was to be expected, lacked any sort of modcons. Turning to the seatback pockets, these featured a safety card and a copy of Aer Lingus Regional’s Bia menu.

Making it to Row 16 in a matter of seconds, I fought with my bag to fit this into the comparatively small overhead lockers before the aisle seat occupier stood up to let me in. Once seated, strapped in and settled, I began to examine the area around my seat. Glancing around, I was pleased to find this to be in a clean state, and I failed to spot so much as a rogue crumb or stain. However, this was not in the best condition and did seem to be a little worn and battered. Furthermore, the seat was firm and being quite tall, I found this to be far more cramped than on a typical Airbus A320 or Boeing 737; needless to say, by the time we landed, I was eager to stretch my legs!

As passengers boarded, a mixture of calming and jazzy music rang out over the cabin speakers, occasionally interrupted by a pre-recorded announcement advising passengers to take their assigned seats and providing information on where to stow bags. Furthering my very positive first impressions of the crew, throughout boarding, the flight attendant in the cabin was very proactive in helping passengers find space in the overhead lockers for their bags, appearing to play a round of bag jenga in the overhead lockers! Perhaps eager to head to Yorkshire, passengers boarded at a fair speed, and just ten minutes after boarding had commenced, the final passenger had made it to the aircraft at 1435.

Being a midweek mid-afternoon flight, I wasn’t too sure how busy this would be, however, the aircraft ended up being totally full. Turning to the demographics, many of those onboard seemed to hail from Northern Ireland and took the form of passengers who were both visiting Yorkshire, primarily for work, as well as those living in the region.
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Wasting no time, as soon as all passengers were seated, the overhead lockers were closed, whilst up ahead the cargo door could be heard closing with a loud whine. Looking through the seemingly large porthole to my left, outside, the Swissport team appeared to waste no time in removing the cones and barriers from around the aircraft before the cabin door was closed with a thud. When our scheduled departure time of 1440 rolled around, the Purser performed a lively welcome announcement. This consisted of the usual thanks, welcomes and warnings, as well as informing passengers that the flight was operated by Emerald Airlines UK. This then closed with a mention of Aer Lingus’ photography policy, which prohibits passengers from photographing or videoing operational procedures, crew members or other passengers.

Once the Purser had made their welcome announcement, the silence throughout the cabin was short-lived as soon enough, the pre-recorded safety announcement rang out, with the two flight attendants taking to the aisles to accompany this with a demonstration. As the safety demonstration was underway, the ATR 72’s right-hand Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127M turboprop engine could be heard powering into life in what seemed to be a fairly quiet and subdued manner, although I was confident that the noise and vibration would increase once we were rocketing down the runway!

At 1443, the aircraft was pushed away from its parking position, and soon, the six-bladed propeller of the other engine spun into life, ready to carry us across the Irish Sea. Following a few moments during which the crew passed through the cabin, ensuring that all was safe and secure, the brakes were released, and the aircraft made a very short taxi to the runway. Departing during a quiet moment, no holding was required before we powered onto the runway and performed a rather speedy backtrack to the end of this before turning around and lining up on the centreline of Runway 22.

Without pausing, at 1450, the ATR 72’s two engines spooled into life, and the aircraft commenced its rather sporty takeoff roll, pushing passengers into their seats as we accelerated parallel to Belfast Harbour. Just before reaching the terminal, the nose was pointed skywards, and we took to the cloudy skies of Northern Ireland, giving me a good bird’s-eye view of the British Airways Airbus A320 and Emerald Airlines UK ATR 72 that had just arrived from London Heathrow and Manchester, respectively, followed by the aforementioned Embraer Phenom.

From the airport, the aircraft climbed out on the runway heading, and whilst those on the opposite side of the aircraft would have been treated to good views of the city centre, I was instead offered vistas of Belfast’s southeastern suburbs. These included Ballyrushboy, Cregagh and Ormeau, with sights such as the Ravenhill Stadium and Belvoir Park seen before we entered the clouds. Once in the clouds, the aircraft banked before rolling out on a southeasterly heading as we cut across County Down. A minute or so later, a gap in the clouds provided a picturesque final glimpse of Northern Ireland, which took the form of fields and villages, as well as Strangford Lough and its cluster of islands in the distance.

That afternoon, the ATR 72 cut through the clouds with ease, encountering virtually no lumps nor bumps as we climbed up to our low cruising altitude of 17,000 feet. As we left the Northern Irish coastline behind near the mouth of Strangford Lough, a loud ding could be heard, permitting the two crew members to vacate their seats and prepare for the onboard service. This was accompanied by an announcement from the Purser who reminded us to keep our seatbelts fastened, advised passengers on where to find the sole lavatory onboard, and advertised the soon-to-commence buy-on-board service, promoting several of the combination deals in an attempt to drum up custom.

Those who board an Emerald Airlines flight expecting the same expansive Bia buy-on-board menu as on Aer Lingus’ Airbuses will likely be disappointed. Owing to the much-reduced galley space onboard the ATR 72, this is a more compact menu that features light snacks, hot and cold, and hard and soft drinks, also reflecting the fact that few are likely to want a full meal on a short sixty-minute hop! There are two versions of this menu, one for Emerald Airlines’ Dublin operation, which logically features prices in Euros, and another for the Belfast operation, which features prices in Pounds. However, that day, my seatback pocket featured the Dublin version of this, and so the items on sale and their prices did not totally match up to what was on board. In terms of the actual prices of the onboard offerings, these were in line with most other European carriers with a buy-on-board service, being neither extortionate nor cheap, with all items accompanied by the usual inflight markup.

Soon, the two flight attendants pushed the small trolley up the slight slope to the front of the cabin and began working their way back down to the rear of the aircraft. Unsurprisingly, though, given the short duration of the flight, there appeared to be very few takers for refreshments, and so it did not take long until this service was completed. However, I did note that the crew were incredibly warm and friendly in their interactions with passengers, not hesitating to make conversation as they went about their duties.

As we crossed the Irish Sea, the aircraft levelled off, and the seatbelt signs were extinguished, although unsurprisingly most remained firmly in their seats for the duration of the flight. Below, thick clouds meant that nothing could be seen of the waters of the Irish Sea or the Isle of Man as we crossed this, heading southeastwards towards the English coastline.

Before I knew it, the aircraft was nearing the coastline of the county of Lancashire, at which point we began to descend. This was soon followed by a pre-recorded announcement with the usual instructions regarding seatbacks, tray tables and seatbelts, before the crew came around making the first of two rubbish collections. After a 23-minute crossing of the Irish Sea, the aircraft made landfall between the towns of Formby and Southport before journeying inland on a route that took us past the towns of Ormskirk, Chorley, Wigan and Bolton. Soon, one of the pilots made the only announcement of the flight, noting ‘ten minutes to landing’, at which point the two flight attendants passed through the aircraft, ensuring that all was secure and in place for our arrival into Leeds Bradford.

As we sped towards the Pennines, I was offered a brief glimpse of the houses of Burnley before the clouds rolled in once more as we trundled from the skies of Lancashire and entered those of West Yorkshire. Moments later, the aircraft passed directly over the village of Haworth, famous for being the home of the Brontës, before the clouds parted once more, revealing the town of Keighley. From there, the aircraft journeyed northwards towards Skipton; however before reaching this, we turned southwards and lined up for an approach to Leeds Bradford’s Runway 14.

As we descended over the Yorkshire moorland, the flaps and landing gear were lowered before the well-to-do town of Otley popped into view below. Sitting atop a hill, Leeds Bradford Airport is well-known for its frequent high winds and poor visibility, resulting in regular go-arounds and diversions. Living up to its reputation, as we crossed over Otley, the aircraft began to shake and shudder in the wind. After passing over Otley, the ATR whizzed over the Otley Chevin, a popular walking spot with good views of the Wharfe Valley and Otley.

Soon, the sight of Jet2’s operational headquarters, Low Fare Finder House, appeared as we darted over the perimeter fence and the tunnel that runs beneath the runway before returning to Earth with a firm bump at 1540, exactly fifty minutes after taking to the skies. Once on the ground, the aircraft braked reasonably gently before we took the last taxiway and vacated it to the left. Reminding us that we had indeed landed in Leeds Bradford, our journey to the terminal took us past plenty of Jet2 Boeing 737s, whilst inside the cabin, the Purser welcomed all to Leeds, thanked passengers and advised all to remain seated with their seatbelts fastened until we had come to a stop.

Four minutes after touching down, the aircraft came to a gentle halt at Stand 6, with the engines spooling down almost immediately. With an army of Swissport staff seen ready and waiting to tend to the aircraft, and with no stairs or jetbridge needing to be connected, no more than a minute later, the cabin door was opened, and disembarkation commenced. After thanking the flight attendant in the rear galley, I made my way down the aircraft’s built-in steps and made my short walk to the Common Travel Area arrivals entrance to the terminal, walking past the very small carousel there before entering the landside arrivals area just three minutes after we had arrived on stand. From there, I made my way out to the bus stop, delighted that I would comfortably make the 1600 service and not have to linger around for another thirty minutes!

Summary

I will admit that the Emerald Airlines UK ATR 72 did not offer the most comfortable ride, and I found the seat to be firm and cramped, more so than the EasyJet Airbus A319 that I had flown to Belfast two days prior. However, what really made the journey memorable was the fantastically warm and welcoming crew, both of whom were some of the friendliest cabin crew members that I have come across in recent times. Thus, I would say that overall, I had a fairly reasonable experience with Emerald Airlines UK and would be willing to fly with them again if the price was right. However, I would be a little hesitant to fly on board one of the ATRs on a flight that is over, say, ninety minutes or so.