Tell me about Aer Lingus...

[Tash87]

Pricing up options for next year and found a great price for flights from our local airport to Dublin then onto Orlando with Aer Lingus.

Have any of you guys used them before? I'm sure I remember seeing some info on here before but can't find the thread.

Do they have backseat entertainment? Meals? Free drinks? Can you pre-book seats? Overall experience info would help a great deal on whether to consider this as an option.

Thank you

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hi last year I flew Aer Lingus To LAX California and I have booked the same again this year. I have flown that route with various other airlines and honestly , not just cos Im Irish, I prefer Aer Lingus long haul.

The first benefit fly Aer Lingus Dublin to USA is the Pre Clearance. This means that you actaully go through USA Homeland Security checkpoint in Dublin Airport. This is a special service only a few countries in the world have. This is the procedure
1. Check in at Aer Lingus desks in Dublin Terminal 2
2. Go up the escalators and go through regular security, remembering to have your baggie of liquids under 100ml out of your hand luggage.
3. Enjoy the shopping and food in Terminal 2
4. About 2 hours before your flight, there will be an announcement that Pre Clearance is open for your flight. This information will also show on the departure screens.
5. To get to Pre Clearance follow the signs down to the departure gates
6. At the bottom of the escalator, you will see big signs for Pre Clearance. You go down the steps to the lower level.
7. At the bottom of the steps there is another security area. This time you just need to take any electronic items, such as phone, laptops etc out of your hand luggage.
8. After the security there are 2 options, you can use the self service machines or you can go straight to the person in the booth. Last year I tried to use the self service machine but I timed out and had to go to the person in the booth.
9. Either at the self service machine or with the person in the booth, you do the finger print and eye scan and they ask you the security questions and stamp your passport. There are helpers at the self service machines.
10. Once through security, there is a bar and coffee sandwich and a small duty free.
11. You then just go to your gate and board the plane.
12. When we got to LAX we just went directly to the bag reclaim area.

Do they have backseat entertainment?

Yes, on the LAX flight there was. To me it was the standard backseat options, wide range of recent, classic and childrens in different genres, music, games etc

Meals?

Yes. I was on 3pm departure from Dublin. About 3 hours into the flight we got a standard economy long haul meal, with 2 options. The food style is Irish, so would be similar to the style of food served on BA long haul or Virgin Atlantic

Free drinks?

No free alcoholic drinks. About 2 hours into the flight, they came through the cabin with the drinks service. I got free orange juice and water but I had to pay €6 for one of those small bottles of white wine. They tell you to order drinks at this time for your meal, as they dont do a drinks service when doing the food service.

Can you pre-book seats?

Yes. I bought my June 2017 Aer Lingus Dublin to LAX flights in January 2017. At the time of booking I was able to book my seats at no extra charge. I have my seats booked for both my outward and return flights.

I have flown Aer Lingus shorthaul around Europe many times and there is a huge difference with the long haul to USA.
The seats are roomer, there is the seatback entertainment, the food and drinks. The checked bag luggage weight is 23kg and there is no extra charge for checked bags. There is no extra charge for pre booking seats. If you have dietary requirements, you can ring them and request one of the special meals.

Finally some things to remember.
1. There are 2 terminals in Dublin. Are you flying Aer Lingus to Dublin from your local airport or a different airline? Aer Lingus UK flights arrive at Terminal 2 but most others arrive into Terminal 1.
2. Will your 2 flights be on the same booking or separate booking? If the 2 flights are on the same booking, when you check into your local airport you will get the Aer Lingus boarding card and your luggage will be checked straight through to Orlando. When you land in Dublin, you just follow the internal transfer signs. You still might have to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 but there are internal transfer corridors.
if your flights are on separate bookings, then you will have to collect your luggage after your flight arrives in Dublin, and check in at the Aer Lingus desks. Again you will need to allow time if your flight lands in Terminal 1.

 

[Tash87]

Oh my goodness, thank you for all that info!

You've answered every question and more . When we are ready to book I will definitly be booking this route as long as it's still a good price. At the moment it's £1000 cheaper than other airlines with a bonus of flying from our local airport ( with Aer Lingus ). We are looking to go October 2018 so obviously can't book yet . Fingers crossed for a good rate

 

[BadPinkTink]

You are welcome, if your travel dates are for October 2018, then keep an eye when booking opens. I usually book in January for June travel dates. Aer Lingus usually have a January seat sale , where they discount and promote the USA routes. I would wait until January 2018 to book.

 

[Diz22]

Just an alternative view. We flew Manchester Dublin Orlando in August 2016. 3 adults 1 child. I had been tracking prices and virgin had gone through the roof. Aer Lingus were cheaper and clearing immigration in Dublin was a bonus at that time of year. At the time MCO was a newish route and Aer Lingus were updating their software - I was unable to book seats in advance. Flight was on time, facilities at airport were good although expensive as currency is euro.
Aircraft was clean but dated and seat back entertainment was basic with little choice compared to virgin.
I am ex aircrew so tend to notice things. I found the crew to be at best friendly and sometimes rude.
Meals ok, soft drink service infrequent.
We arrived and we were in Disney, well universal for a few days first
Return flight was my worst travel experience ever.
We were flying home via Boston, first leg operated by Jet Blue, with an AI flight number ( makes a difference) we arrived at MCO to find our tickets had been cancelled despite me having confirmed them 18 hours earlier.
The check in desk took a while to sort it out and off we went.
Things went from bad to worse and when we finally arrived in Boston Aer lingus staff insisted they had no responsibility for us as we were Jet Blue passengers -this was said as they stood, en masse, at the jet blue desk with a sign stating a code share with set lingus.
We had boarding cards, luggage tags, bags had been checked through to Manchester and when they finally accepted we were booked on the flight they told us the flight was full!
To cut a long story short, if I hadn't had the experience as a passenger and as crew we would have had to purchase another ticket from Boston!
They allocated my 10 year old a seat on his own rows away from us, obviously we juggled things around, but no help from crew !
The worst thing was the attitude of the crew, they were so rude and unpleasant to ALL passengers, openly laughing at an elderly lady who asked them to help her with her cup of tea.
I was disgusted and will never, ever fly with them again even if they give their flights away!
Phew, sorry for the rant!
If you are travelling Oct 2018 accurate prices are unlikely to be available at present. If you are out of school holiday time flights will be competitive.
Sorry but I would avoid aer lingus

 

[Tash87]

Oohh, that's thrown a spanner in the works .

When did you have this experience?

I've had bad experiences with Virgin Atlantic and suffered from rude cabin crew but not as bad as that!

We have to go in school holidays and I cannot get prices for 2018 yet just comparing it to this oct to get a rough idea. We've always flown VA but their prices are just ridiculous. Not booking anytime soon but getting an idea of what is a good deal/expensive.

 

[BadPinkTink]

@Tash87 I wouldnt let the above experience put you off, I flew June 2016 Dublin to Califonaia with Aer Lingus. There is a huge difference between the DIRECT Dublin to Orlando / LAX Aer Lingus flights and the indirect flights with an internal codeshare flight operated by a different airline.

The Aer Lingus flight crews on the direct Dublin to Orlando / LAX flights are Irish and European staff, trained in Aer Lingus Dublin. USA Aer Lingus staff may not have the same cultural and social understanding of European passengers needs, wants and expectations.

When flying on codeshare flights, operated by a different airline, you are the resonsibilty of the operating airline, NOT the codeshare partner.

Just make sure that you are on a DIRECT flight outward and returning to Europe and you wont have any of the above issues. Issues like the above case happen cos people try to do things on the cheap. I know, I flew indirect to LA for many years and I have all sorts of adventures similar to the above case.

 

[Diz22]

Oohh, that's thrown a spanner in the works .

When did you have this experience?

I've had bad experiences with Virgin Atlantic and suffered from rude cabin crew but not as bad as that!

We have to go in school holidays and I cannot get prices for 2018 yet just comparing it to this oct to get a rough idea. We've always flown VA but their prices are just ridiculous. Not booking anytime soon but getting an idea of what is a good deal/expensive.

This was August 2016, last year.
It was all Aer Lingus ticketed with Irish crew.
I know all crew can be off hand and make no excuses for tiredness, jet lag etc. I flew long haul for many years and had I been in charge of any sector of the return flight the crew would have been in serious trouble!
I usually fly virgin from MAN and agree prices have been crazy. On a positive note there are some reasonable/cheapish prices for our May/June trip and I think there is plenty of time before October 18 for things to change.
I don't want to put you off aer lingus, I just wanted to pass on my experience.
As I said outbound was bearable and there was no direct flight available for our return date.
All crew were Irish/European,although I think that is irrelevant and as I said our booking was with Aer Lingus.

 

[Diz22]

@Tash87 I wouldnt let the above experience put you off, I flew June 2016 Dublin to Califonaia with Aer Lingus. There is a huge difference between the DIRECT Dublin to Orlando / LAX Aer Lingus flights and the indirect flights with an internal codeshare flight operated by a different airline.

The Aer Lingus flight crews on the direct Dublin to Orlando / LAX flights are Irish and European staff, trained in Aer Lingus Dublin. USA Aer Lingus staff may not have the same cultural and social understanding of European passengers needs, wants and expectations.

When flying on codeshare flights, operated by a different airline, you are the resonsibilty of the operating airline, NOT the codeshare partner.

Just make sure that you are on a DIRECT flight outward and returning to Europe and you wont have any of the above issues. Issues like the above case happen cos people try to do things on the cheap. I know, I flew indirect to LA for many years and I have all sorts of adventures similar to the above case.

I think I have answered your points above.
All Irish/European crew , not an American in sight!
BTW, my 'cultural needs' are quite simple in that I expect to be treated, fairly, with politeness and with a pleasant attitude. Of course, in return I am polite, fair and do not expect anything other than what I paid for.
The booked return trip was with aer Lingus, no codeshare involved.
Indirect is not necessarily 'on the cheap'
However, lets agree to disagree, the fact that I and my family will never fly with them again frees up seats for others!

 

[Woodview]

We fly Aer Lingus , and will be again in May, Direct from Dublin to Orlando.

Never had a problem ...... we fly economy .

Seat selection is free .. ( some seats you Do have to pay ) , during the booking process .

Seat back entertainment .... you can look up what films are available , on the web site .Free headphones.

Free soft drinks ......... & choice of 2 meals types

Duty Free ...... can be bought in " Duty Free Shop " AFTER security BUT before Immigration Check in

There is a decent eating place at the duty free area .

There is about a 10 min walk time from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2

Your Luggage will / should be booked through to Orlando MCO from UK departure airport

....................

We live in Cork so we take bus to Dublin Airport for this connection & as we travel to Orlando

2 times a year & have done so for the last 8 years .

.....................

We travel to Europe at least 4 times a year with Aer Lingus.

 

[Tash87]

Thanks for all your advice guys

I will definitely book with Aer Lingus if they are still considerably cheaper, the bonus for us is that we can fly from our local airport 30 mins away instead of travelling to Gatwick, which is such a pain for us to get to. Also the pre immigration is a huge bonus.

Having said that, if virgin came out the same price as Aer Lingus I would book them but I can't see that happening

 

[saintrob]

We flew with Aer Lingus a couple of years ago on the return leg but in their business cabin as it was actually cheaper than Virgin. The flight was superb and the crew was one of the best I've ever encountered. They couldn't do enough for us - food and drink were also excellent. If Aer Lingus operated a direct flight from Manchester I'd use them more regularly.

 

[Tash87]

That sounds interesting, I'll have a look into business class and see what that comes out at.

I've only ever heard good things about them, apart from the comments above.

 

[LiquidSunshine]

Hi Tash,

We flew with Aer Lingus in Sept Orlando to Dublin and back, direct, and we both really liked the service.

The US pre-clearance at Dublin airport is brilliant, the planes were both clean and comfortable, the food was good (for airplane food!), and you can pre-book seats when booking your flights.

We are booking our flights again with them
For later this year because we liked the service and the prices are good!

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

We've flown a few times with Aer Lingus in business class & can't fault them, if you book far enough out there are usually some great deals to be had, we fly from London & have never had an issue, the pre clearance in Dublin is huge bonus.
We actually prefer the Aer Lingus business class product over BA, the staff are way superior as is the food & wine, we've not tried the new seats but everything we have heard is positive.
We wanted to fly with them this year but had a load of BA avios points that we wanted to get rid of so are flying with BA in Club World to New Orleans for a few days then heading to Orlando for 10 days at the Yacht Club before flying back from MCO.

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

Sorry, duplicate post. :-(

We've flown a few times with Aer Lingus in business class & can't fault them, if you book far enough out there are usually some great deals to be had, we fly from London & have never had an issue, the pre clearance in Dublin is huge bonus.
We actually prefer the Aer Lingus business class product over BA, the staff are way superior as is the food & wine, we've not tried the new seats but everything we have heard is positive.
We wanted to fly with them this year but had a load of BA avios points that we wanted to get rid of so are flying with BA in Club World to New Orleans for a few days then heading to Orlando for 10 days at the Yacht Club before flying back from MCO.

 

[Tahariel]

We wanted to fly Aer Lingus and had it all booked, but then 2 months before our journey they changed all the flight times, so that we couldn't catch our connections on either journey anymore (we would have flown both legs with Aer Lingus). Had to re-book with a different airline this shortly, which was not great at all. Since then I've been hesitant to try them again

 

[Woodview]

The Aer Lingus direct flight times from Dublin to Orlando & return have not changed very much for several years .

A few minutes difference sometimes.

Out at 14.10 hrs Back 20.30 hrs into Dublin 09.50 hrs

 

[onetoescape]

Traveled in January. Massive positives are immigration the flight itself was ok just what you would normally expect however you need to pay for drinks. I was bombarded with upgrade offers for like £200 return and I should of took it.