School children taking the traditional summer trip to the Irish college are increasingly opting to fly to the Gaeltacht.
In a sign of the times, where the last bastion of old Ireland meets the Celtic tiger, students are spurning winding roads along mountain passes for a direct flight.
But while the muinteoiri colaiste believe it's all good as long as people are immersing themselves in the language and culture, the trend has angered environmentalists.
Frank Mor O Maolain, teacher at Colaiste Bhride, in Rannafast in west Donegal, said there was a notable upturn in the number of students arriving at nearby Donegal Airport.
"It's on the increase definitely," he said.
Some colleges reported up to 5 per cent of their summer students are now coming in by air, including Colaiste na Rosann, which advertises that it is only five minutes from the airport.
Others say the numbers are smaller but most have noticed more and more students coming, particularly from Dublin, on 40 minute flights into Donegal Airport.
"When you put petrol and everything else into it, it's probably not a bad option," said O Maolain.
"I had a parent last year who came up from Templeogue in Dublin with her two children. I picked them up at 1.30pm, we had lunch and she was back in Dublin
for 3.45pm.
"It would have taken her two days dropping her children off if she was coming up by car. It's definitely on the uptake."
Oisin Coughlan, Friends of the Earth, said the price is part of the problem in getting people to opt for more ecologically sound ways of travelling within Ireland.
"Buses and trains, which are in competition with the flights, don't get as much subsidies and have to pay tax on their fuel. That's just not fair," he said.
"There's is an element of personal responsibility here but also we have to change the incentive so it is always cheaper to take the less polluting option."