What's your opinion of Aer Lingus & Virgin Atlantic?

[sayhello]

Who here has flown on Aer Lingus? Are they good? Their prices look pretty decent (comparatively), even though I may have to book a separate ticket to Boston to get there. (I need to call and see if there's any way they can book the CMH - BOS leg). Low price isn't enough if it's not a decent airline.

I'd really love to know what you all think of them.

I'm also contemplating Virgin Atlantic. Their prices aren't that good, but I've heard they're a good airline. (Their airfare is in line with most of the other "main" airlines). I'm not thrilled with having to wait until 60 days before the flight to be able to select seats... But we'll see.

Thanks for any opinions!

Sayhello

 

[Bobo912]

I've flown Aer Lingus once, but it was the very short flight this past summer from Edinburgh to Dublin, so my experience probably isn't relevant when considering a transatlantic flight. The flight itself was fine. The line at check-in was rather long and slow. I did have to pay for baggage and there was a charge to select our seats, but the flight was still cheap. I don't know if they do they same for international flights, but it's something to look out for.

 

[RSM]

Hi Sayhello--I fly Aer Lingus 2-3x per year from Boston to Shannon. I've never had an issue. I find the flight attendants/crew to be very friendly, bags have always shown up on time, and I've never had flight delays that have impacted travel or connections. The planes from/to Boston are generally pretty comfortable. I don't have to pay for bags as they are a star alliance partner (note; not a member, so not as many star alliance perks). So, if you can get a good price, I wouldn't hesitate to fly with them.

When we went to Italy a few years ago, we flew Aer Lingus. We were flying back on a Thursday from Rome through Dublin onto Boston. We found that if we flew from Rome to Dublin on Thursday, stayed overnight in Dublin, then went from Dublin to Boston on Friday, we saved ~$500/per person in airfare. Not sure why, but with 3 of us, it was certainly worth it. Not sure if anything like this is available in today's airfare market, but it may be worth a quick search.

I've never flown Virgin, so can't comment on that one.

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Who here has flown on Aer Lingus? Are they good? Their prices look pretty decent (comparatively), even though I may have to book a separate ticket to Boston to get there. (I need to call and see if there's any way they can book the CMH - BOS leg). Low price isn't enough if it's not a decent airline.

I'd really love to know what you all think of them.

I'm also contemplating Virgin Atlantic. Their prices aren't that good, but I've heard they're a good airline. (Their airfare is in line with most of the other "main" airlines). I'm not thrilled with having to wait until 60 days before the flight to be able to select seats... But we'll see.

Thanks for any opinions!

Sayhello

Hello

I'd suggest asking about VA in the UK part of the forum as a lot of posters use them to go to Disney.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=47

 

[sayhello]

Hello

I'd suggest asking about VA in the UK part of the forum as a lot of posters use them to go to Disney.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=47

Thanks, Carrie_Cat! That's an excellent suggestion!

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

Hi Sayhello--I fly Aer Lingus 2-3x per year from Boston to Shannon. I've never had an issue. I find the flight attendants/crew to be very friendly, bags have always shown up on time, and I've never had flight delays that have impacted travel or connections. The planes from/to Boston are generally pretty comfortable. I don't have to pay for bags as they are a star alliance partner (note; not a member, so not as many star alliance perks). So, if you can get a good price, I wouldn't hesitate to fly with them.

When we went to Italy a few years ago, we flew Aer Lingus. We were flying back on a Thursday from Rome through Dublin onto Boston. We found that if we flew from Rome to Dublin on Thursday, stayed overnight in Dublin, then went from Dublin to Boston on Friday, we saved ~$500/per person in airfare. Not sure why, but with 3 of us, it was certainly worth it. Not sure if anything like this is available in today's airfare market, but it may be worth a quick search.

I've never flown Virgin, so can't comment on that one.

Thanks, RSM, that's really good to hear. So far Aer Lingus has the best prices, so your input is encouraging. I'd rather fly directly to London, but I think I can live without that for an extra $400.

Do you know if there's a difference flying through Dublin vs Shannon?

Thanks,
Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

SayHello,
I'm not sure whether you are connecting in Ireland or not, but that makes a difference. (BTW, I fly Virgin pretty often and love them.) BEWARE the draconian baggage policy for connections!

In June, I flew Aer Lingus for the first time and had a rude awakening. They have a different baggage policy than other carriers I have flown on (Virgin, British Air, American, United) for the CONNECTING flight. Basically, Aer Lingus doesn't give you the international luggage benefit that the others do. Your connecting flight must meet the baggage requirements of the *regional* airlines (mind you the "regional" airline had Aer Lingus painted all over it and a very tiny "stobart air" on the side). A few days before my flight I was in a panic when I found out that the carry-on and personal item allowance on the international flight portion wasn't the same as the regional flight portion so my nicely packed and weighed baggage was WAY over the limit.

Whenever I've connected on Virgin or British Air (through London) or even Air France through Paris, you were allowed to have the same carry-ons for the regional portion as the international portion (one personal item and one 20-22" carry-on). This was NOT the case for the connecting flight on Aer Lingus. The bag was much smaller (15") and NO personal item. It was ridiculous. Customer service was horrible. Here is the chart. http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinformation/baggageinformation/cabinbaggage/

It was really a shame since the inflight experience was great. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again if I were flying to Ireland, but I will never fly them again to Scotland (or England)! I was going on a 14 day trip and every pound and inch of bag space counted.

 

[RSM]

Thanks, RSM, that's really good to hear. So far Aer Lingus has the best prices, so your input is encouraging. I'd rather fly directly to London, but I think I can live without that for an extra $400.

Do you know if there's a difference flying through Dublin vs Shannon?

Thanks,
Sayhello

Flying through Dublin would provide more choices as it is a much larger airport than Shannon. When I fly into Shannon it is due to its proximity to Cork where I do business. I have flown Boston to Dublin to London before without an issue. However, it was all on Aer Lingus 7XX jets, so we didn't have the issue with carry on luggage that CaliforniaGirl09 described. I tend to have the issue where a roller board needs to be gate checked more in the US than I do internationally. It seems like many of United's short hop/regional flights are on a bombardier which has enough overhead space for a backpack if you are lucky.

 

[sayhello]

SayHello,
I'm not sure whether you are connecting in Ireland or not, but that makes a difference. (BTW, I fly Virgin pretty often and love them.) BEWARE the draconian baggage policy for connections!

In June, I flew Aer Lingus for the first time and had a rude awakening. They have a different baggage policy than other carriers I have flown on (Virgin, British Air, American, United) for the CONNECTING flight. Basically, Aer Lingus doesn't give you the international luggage benefit that the others do. Your connecting flight must meet the baggage requirements of the *regional* airlines (mind you the "regional" airline had Aer Lingus painted all over it and a very tiny "stobart air" on the side). A few days before my flight I was in a panic when I found out that the carry-on and personal item allowance on the international flight portion wasn't the same as the regional flight portion so my nicely packed and weighed baggage was WAY over the limit.

Whenever I've connected on Virgin or British Air (through London) or even Air France through Paris, you were allowed to have the same carry-ons for the regional portion as the international portion (one personal item and one 20-22" carry-on). This was NOT the case for the connecting flight on Aer Lingus. The bag was much smaller (15") and NO personal item. It was ridiculous. Customer service was horrible. Here is the chart. http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinformation/baggageinformation/cabinbaggage/

It was really a shame since the inflight experience was great. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again if I were flying to Ireland, but I will never fly them again to Scotland (or England)! I was going on a 14 day trip and every pound and inch of bag space counted.

THANK YOU!!! I was looking at connecting through Ireland to London! That would be a HUGE issue. Even though my carryon is called an "International Carryon", the dimensions (I just looked it up) are 19.5" x 15.5" x 9". I'll do some more research before I settle on that. It's looking more & more like my flights are going to be $1765 or so. Darn it!

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

Flying through Dublin would provide more choices as it is a much larger airport than Shannon. When I fly into Shannon it is due to its proximity to Cork where I do business. I have flown Boston to Dublin to London before without an issue. However, it was all on Aer Lingus 7XX jets, so we didn't have the issue with carry on luggage that CaliforniaGirl09 described. I tend to have the issue where a roller board needs to be gate checked more in the US than I do internationally. It seems like many of United's short hop/regional flights are on a bombardier which has enough overhead space for a backpack if you are lucky.

All the flights I'm seeing through Dublin to London are on their Airbus A320's or A330's. It looks like the 7XX jets are a contractor called, funnily, Air Contractors. It's $100 more to fly there through Shannon, and I'm not being given any option to fly back through Shannon, which seems odd.

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

THANK YOU!!! I was looking at connecting through Ireland to London! That would be a HUGE issue. Even though my carryon is called an "International Carryon", the dimensions (I just looked it up) are 19.5" x 15.5" x 9". I'll do some more research before I settle on that. It's looking more & more like my flights are going to be $1765 or so. Darn it!

Sayhello

You're welcome. It was a HUGE issue for me as well and caused a stressful few days. I, too, have an international carry on--which is slightly smaller than the USA carry-ons, but the no personal item and smaller carry-on was a huge surprise. Had I not found out the couple hundred dollars we saved booking Aer Lingus v. Virgin would have been gone in exorbitant bag fees (I want to say $100 per extra bag--in my case it would have been my carry-on since I wouldn't give up my purse!). I was lucky I checked.

For two days I searched for a really light roller bag that fit their carry-on dimensions. I looked online and in local stores and found absolutely nothing that was close. The funny thing is that I looked in Scotland when we arrived, and it wasn't a common size there either! After going to a couple department stores we finally found one that was close to the dimensions at Debenhams (sp?). The sales people were shocked by the Aer Lingus size, too! The small ryan air-esque cabin bag for them is a little bigger (50x40x20): http://www.tripp.co.uk/products/2292-tripp-pillo-ii-2-wheel-cabin-suitcase-indigo than the Aer Lingus Bag req't (48x33x20)!

It didn't look like AL was policing it, but I wasn't going to take a chance and be hit with the ridiculous charge. A very unpleasant experience all around--the customer service people were horrible. A shame, too, since the in flight experience was great.

 

[tiggersam00]

We have flown Aer Lingus several times and yes, there baggage policy is stricter then most. However, our ticketing agent in Dublin told us to make sure we tell the baggage agents that we were connecting via Dublin on an international flight, not judt flying within the EU and the international baggage policies were applied

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

We have flown Aer Lingus several times and yes, there baggage policy is stricter then most. However, our ticketing agent in Dublin told us to make sure we tell the baggage agents that we were connecting via Dublin on an international flight, not judt flying within the EU and the international baggage policies were applied

Sounds like you had a much nicer agent! We were specifically told the opposite when we called. I thought it might have been the rep but my friend called back and was told the same thing. The rep pointed me to the website (the link I posted above) which says it applies to connection. I thought it had to be wrong, too. But I wasn't going to take a chance at those prices!

 

[sayhello]

We have flown Aer Lingus several times and yes, there baggage policy is stricter then most. However, our ticketing agent in Dublin told us to make sure we tell the baggage agents that we were connecting via Dublin on an international flight, not judt flying within the EU and the international baggage policies were applied

Sounds like you had a much nicer agent! We were specifically told the opposite when we called. I thought it might have been the rep but my friend called back and was told the same thing. The rep pointed me to the website (the link I posted above) which says it applies to connection. I thought it had to be wrong, too. But I wasn't going to take a chance at those prices!

I was talking to an agent at Aer Lingus and asked this question (among others). At first I was given the same answer as CaliforniaGirl09, that I would be charged for an overweight bag. When I expressed dismay, she went away for a few minutes, then came back and told me that the carry-on would be gate checked on the regional flight. Which I experience all the time, since I end up flying small regional planes all the time to JFK or wherever to catch my international flights. So I'm OK with that. There's no charge for gate checking, and you get your bag back plane-side.

Still weighing options...

Sayhello

 

[GAN]

In searching for tickets for a trip we took a few months ago, I did notice that Aer Lingus had aggressive pricing. But it seemed like most of those had a layover into the next day or had a total flight time of say 20-hours ....which wasn't worth(to us) saving a couple hundred.

 

[queenmother]

We got a great deal on Aer Lingus twice, flying from Chicago to London via Dublin then To Rome also via Dublin, and varied the layover to accommodate an 8 hour touring day the first time. We didn't notice a problem with the carryon luggage on the European shorter leg at all, but I think we just took back packs on board and checked the larger luggage through. Both times were for cruisesl We were happy with the good price and service. Dublin is a nice efficient airport and you can do the US customs in Dublin saving time on the way home.

 

[SailingSeas]

We have flown Aer Lingus several times and yes, there baggage policy is stricter then most. However, our ticketing agent in Dublin told us to make sure we tell the baggage agents that we were connecting via Dublin on an international flight, not judt flying within the EU and the international baggage policies were applied

This was the same as what we have experienced. We fly out of BOS to Europe, love Aer Lingus, and fly through Dublin to our destinations. On the return, the weight has been the biggest factor, and yes, I've been kicked out for that 50lb borderline limit. Bring a scale. I have only had to gate check once for my international carry on, but the plane had no overhead storage so we all had to do that.

Gan, they offer the aggressive pricing to hopefully allow you to stay a bit in Ireland. It's a great way to add another country to your trip, if you have the time. We sometimes will take it on the inbound, but try and get home right away.

I like being able to go through US pre clearance in Dublin; makes the return to BOS very nice.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have not flown on Aer Lingus myself, but my son used them on a flight from the US to France a year ago, and they lost his checked bag. He didn't get it back for more than a month, after he returned home. It was a real pain, as he and his wife were visiting friends and relatives in several countries and he had no clothes! He was eventually reimbursed for all of his new clothes and toiletries.

 

[GAN]

Gan, they offer the aggressive pricing to hopefully allow you to stay a bit in Ireland. It's a great way to add another country to your trip, if you have the time. We sometimes will take it on the inbound, but try and get home right away.

I like being able to go through US pre clearance in Dublin; makes the return to BOS very nice.

I may just give that a try -being part Irish and with a cousin outside Dublin it's probably a good idea. Maybe on the next trip to Europe ...The only deterring factor are my Delta air miles and I've almost got 2 tickets.

 

[SailingSeas]

I may just give that a try -being part Irish and with a cousin outside Dublin it's probably a good idea. Maybe on the next trip to Europe ...The only deterring factor are my Delta air miles and I've almost got 2 tickets.

Egads, Gan, if you have 2 international tickets to Europe, I'd forget my cousins and the layover too! LOL