Irish First Bus subsidiary Aircoach is marking 25 years in business with a specially-liveried silver Plaxton Panther coach. The operator is also giving away 2,500 free seats throughout the year as a thank you to its passengers for their support over the years. Every month, on the 25th of the month, for the rest of 2024, the company will be giving away free fares to the first 199 customers who book, as well as through give-aways and promotions.
The company kicked off its celebrations by wrapping one of its coaches in silver to mark the silver anniversary. The coach was unveiled by Managing Director Kim Swan and one of the company’s long-standing staff, Tom Casserly, who has been working at Aircoach for almost 21 years.
The company began with a fleet of six coaches, and has expanded that over the quarter of a century of operations to 61. Its first route ran from Ballsbridge to Dublin Airport, and it later expanded to include a wider area of Dublin city and suburbs, followed by further expansion to Cork, Belfast, Derry/Londonderry and Galway. The company also anticipates welcoming its 40 millionth customer on board during the year.
Kim commented: “It’s remarkable to consider we are expecting to welcome our 40 millionth passenger this year. A figure which truly shows how many lives we’ve impacted over the last two and a half decades, getting people to and from the airport, to either come home to visit family or begin a travel adventure overseas. Here’s to another 40 million in the coming years!”
The operator has also recently announced plans to expand its route 705X, which runs between Dublin city, Dublin airport and Belfast city, Belfast International Airport and Derry/Londonderry. In response to increasing demand, eight additional daily services to and from Belfast have been added, providing an hourly service at peak travel times between Dublin, Dublin airport and Belfast, giving a total of 34 daily journeys.
The operator has also added a new stop in Maghera, adding a direct service from the Mid-Ulster community to and from Belfast and Dublin. Kim commented: “Both of these developments mark a significant milestone for Aircoach as we reinforce our position as Ireland’s favourite coach operator ahead of our 25th anniversary.”
