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Transatlantic flights on Aer Lingus


rocklinmom
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Has anyone flown transatlantic on Aer Lingus recently? I am looking at their direct flight between SFO and DUB for a cruise next summer. They are the only direct option for us and I read a lot of conflicting reviews about them. Any info is appreciated :-)

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What kind of information are you looking for? Without specifics it's hard to pinpoint...

 

What class of travel are you looking at? (Aer Lingus only have economy and business class longhaul)

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Definitely economy since there are five of us. I would do the fare that includes checked bags and seat assignments. I'm just wondering about their onflight service, bookings (for example I see an additional administrative fee per person on the Dublin flight), delays and/or lost bags, etc. - the usual info about an airline if I'm considering spending a lot of money on them. And reliability of flights is important (or how they handle it) since we would be going to catch a cruise ship. We do go a day early, of course, possibly two.

And if anyone has had any major issues with them, would like to be aware.

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SFO - DUB is usually an A330 which we like (as a couple) as economy seating in 2-4-2.

The 'included' seat assignments are normally from row 31 and back. The rows forward of this and exit rows are an additional charge.

Food is meeh! and basic. But similar to most other economy class catering. Alcohol is payable on board. Can't remember about soda etc.

I believe that the Administration charge is included in the fare - well in Ireland it is (legal requirement).

Reliability of departure/arrival really depends on the incoming flight. As EI do not have an aircraft based in SFO any delay or tecchnical hitch to the incoming aircraft will impinge the on time performance of your flight. There was an incident earlier this year when the incoming craft hit a concrete bollard in SFO. The SFO -DUB flight was cancelled while a replacement aircraft was flown in. But, this could happen to any airline. They don't have spare aircraft sitting around doing nothing!

Anyway, a direct flight is worth it! What are your other options? via Amsterdam or London Heathrow? urrgh!

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Ah yes, I remember hearing about that incident at SFO. But it's true that it could happen to other smaller airlines there. I didn't know about the included free seats being row 31 and behind, I will check that out.

Other options I have found (all with one stop) are KLM (whom we have flown with twice before through Amsterdam and enjoyed), Air France (we have flown them home before through Paris and it was a tight connection, plus I believe the Women's World Cup will be there next June so could be more crowded?), and Lufthansa through Frankfurt and Munich. They are the most expensive, while KLM/AF are similar pricing to the closest Aer Lingus dates I can see so far. Everyone has released our travel dates except AL. Thanks for your info!

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Absolutely hate CDG, and if you need to change terminals it can be a disaster. AMS is ok and easy to navigate, but I would be inclined to think that the direct flight is best. Less chance of luggage going astray. If you return on a direct flight from Dublin to USA then you pre clear US customs and immigration in Dublin, so you arrive in SFO just like a domestic flight:D

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I have flown 3 or 4 times ORD to DUB on EI in the past 2 years. Once in business. All other trips in economy. Paid for premium seating once. I guess it was worth it. No extra legroom but the back of the plane is always packed and there are usually some spare seats in the paid seating section.

It is definitely cramped, food isn’t good, service mediocre at best. And bring plenty of water... they dole it out by the drop. The good news is they always departed and arrived pretty much on schedule and my luggage always arrived with me. They certainly wouldn’t be my first choice but I have used them because the price was right.

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And if anyone has had any major issues with them, would like to be aware.

 

I'd bet that somewhere, someone, has had a major issue with every airline. Beyond that, airlines are far more similar in coach than they are different. Pick the price and routing that works for you.

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Thanks all! And yes, what's with the water "rationing" on board? I see that complaint constantly about them. Guess I would have to invest in bottled water at the airports to take with us.

Definitely would appreciate the customs pre-clearance at DUB and skipping the customs mess at SFO when we get home.

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Thanks all! And yes, what's with the water "rationing" on board? I see that complaint constantly about them. Guess I would have to invest in bottled water at the airports to take with us.

Definitely would appreciate the customs pre-clearance at DUB and skipping the customs mess at SFO when we get home.

Yes pre-clearance in DUB was nice but it takes a lot of extra time...so you'll spend it regardless. Most carriers out of DUB suggest a 4 hour pre flight arrival time....we got by with less this past June.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Yes pre-clearance in DUB was nice but it takes a lot of extra time...so you'll spend it regardless. Most carriers out of DUB suggest a 4 hour pre flight arrival time....we got by with less this past June.

 

Only did it once but it was absolutely fine for us. We landed at 11.05am in Dublin from an Aer Lingus Regional Flight. Went through Irish Immigration, through flight connections and US Pre-Clearance, and was at the gate for our Aer Lingus Flight to Newark at 11.55am! Was very impressed overall.

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  • 4 weeks later...
I’m doing Aer Lingus economy LAX to Dublin so is a carry on and backpack ok to bring on the plane and how much is a checked bag. I’m not understanding their website
Have you found the correct pages? It seems to be perfectly clear from them.

 

Cabin bags are dealt with on this page: https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-information/baggage-information/cabin-baggage/ - it should be the left-hand column ("Aer Lingus allowance") that applies to your flight. That tells you the maximum sizes and weights for the bag and the personal item.

 

Checked bags for trans-Atlantic flights are dealt with on this page: https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-information/baggage-information/checked-baggage/#/tab-1-transatlantic-flights - but whether and what you may have to pay depends on what type of fare you've bought. You'll see lots more detail further down the page under the heading "Checked Baggage Allowances - Transtlantic Flights", describing what you get with Saver fares, Economy Smart/Flex fares and Business/Business Flex fare, as well as the charges for each extra bag and for any overweight bag (more than 23 kg and up to 32 kg).

 

Does that make it clear?

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Reliability of departure/arrival really depends on the incoming flight. As EI do not have an aircraft based in SFO any delay or tecchnical hitch to the incoming aircraft will impinge the on time performance of your flight. There was an incident earlier this year when the incoming craft hit a concrete bollard in SFO. The SFO -DUB flight was cancelled while a replacement aircraft was flown in. But, this could happen to any airline. They don't have spare aircraft sitting around doing nothing!

 

Well, it depends on the airline and the location...and the aircraft, many times. Had the aircraft gone "tech" at DUB, you would have a better chance of Aer Lingus having a spare A330 than in SFO. But they're still a rather small airline, so no guarantee, but the chance is better. Just like an example that occurred to me - an AA 777-200 went tech in Shanghai and my flight back to O'Hare was cancelled. Had it been the other way around, and gone tech at O'Hare, they may have very well been able to find a new 777-200 with minimal delay since it's a hub of theirs (and, admittedly, they're a larger airline with more 777-200s than Aer Lingus has A330s). Instead, they had to re-route me via Hong Kong on Dragonair/Cathay Pacific...which admittedly was just fine as it has a much better business class than the old AA 772 business class :)

 

 

All that being said, the odds are still very small that anything like this would happen.

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Have you found the correct pages? It seems to be perfectly clear from them.

 

Cabin bags are dealt with on this page: https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-information/baggage-information/cabin-baggage/ - it should be the left-hand column ("Aer Lingus allowance") that applies to your flight. That tells you the maximum sizes and weights for the bag and the personal item.

 

Checked bags for trans-Atlantic flights are dealt with on this page: https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-information/baggage-information/checked-baggage/#/tab-1-transatlantic-flights - but whether and what you may have to pay depends on what type of fare you've bought. You'll see lots more detail further down the page under the heading "Checked Baggage Allowances - Transtlantic Flights", describing what you get with Saver fares, Economy Smart/Flex fares and Business/Business Flex fare, as well as the charges for each extra bag and for any overweight bag (more than 23 kg and up to 32 kg).

 

Does that make it clear?

 

THANKS !

 

For some reason the checked bags trans-Atlantic flights wasn't showing on my cell phone

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