Emerald Airlines

Emerald Airlines is an Irish regional carrier based at Dublin Airport, operating as the exclusive franchise partner for Aer Lingus Regional with a fleet of ATR 72-600 turboprops. Founded in 2021, it flies routes across Ireland and the UK on Aer Lingus's behalf and has expanded to bases including Belfast.

Flying for Emerald Airlines

For a newly qualified European pilot this is one of the more accessible first jobs on the continent: Emerald recruits First Officers with a minimum of 250 flight hours, a current EASA frozen ATPL and a current EASA class 1 medical, having trained through a modular or integrated course at any IAA-approved ATO. Candidates need the unrestricted right to live and work in Ireland. Direct Entry Captains need a great deal more — around 2,000 hours total, of which at least 1,000 on multi-crew commercial aircraft above 5,700kg and at least 500 recent hours in command.

The airline publishes a stable 5:2:5:3 roster pattern with a pension, life insurance, loss of licence cover and permanent contracts, which is worth noting because roster stability is exactly what a first airline job often lacks. At 250 hours a candidate has no airline record to be judged on, so the aptitude, simulator and interview stages are the whole of the assessment.