Trip Report: Aer Lingus, Boston to Dublin
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)
As part of my European trip, I was going to spend time in
Dublin. When looking to travel between
the U.S. and Europe, flying to Dublin has proved to be one of the low cost
options. There are many airlines that
fly between US and Dublin, but Aer Lingus was offering some of the best rates –
and since I want to try new airlines – I booked with Aer Lingus.
My original flight path was from New Orleans to Boston on
JetBlue, Boston to Dublin on Aer Lingus, Dublin to Chicago on Aer Lingus, and
then Chicago to New Orleans on United (I later had to change the return due to
work so instead of Aer Lingus came back on American Airlines - check out that
blog post here). Everything was booked
through Aer Lingus as they have a lot of partnerships and codeshares with various
airlines. It was extremely easy to book
and navigate through the Aer Lingus site.
On the site you can see which option best fits you, and if another day
has a cheaper option. After selecting
the flights, you can then choose other options for the flight. Free checked baggage was included in my
ticket, along with free seat selection.
Aer Lingus provides complimentary meals, or you can upgrade your emails
for a price. You can also add lounge
access, hotels, and car rental at the time of booking. Overall, it was easy to manage the flights
and manage the options.
Aer Lingus also partners with many airlines so within one
ticket you are able to seamlessly transfer between airlines. For my ticket, I had partnered with jetBlue
as they were my first carrier I was unable to check-in to my flight. I was told I had to receive the boarding
passes from the Aer Lingus counter in Boston.
In Boston, Aer Lingus has a number of flights to and from both Dublin
and Shannon. My flight was scheduled to
depart at 9:20pm and around 8p the staff started making announcements
requesting anyone who had connections, or those who had printed their boarding
passes at home, to come and verify and collect their boarding passes. They also made announcements that boarding,
which was scheduled to start at 8:30p, was now going to be delayed. Even though we started to board late, and it
was a generally full flight, boarding was efficient and we were able to push
back within 5-10 minutes of the departure time.
The aircraft on this route was an Airbus A330-300 which can
seat over 287 in economy in a
2-4-2 layout.
The legroom was pretty decent on the plane, as long as the person in
front of you did not recline. If they
did not recline, then the legroom was pretty good; however, if they did decline
then the legroom cut down dramatically.
I was seated in an aisle on the 2-seat section on the other side of the
cabin in the first economy section – there were two economy sections and one
business class section. Once boarding
finished, there was an empty 4-seat available behind me so I moved there. As I said, even though we boarded late,
boarding was quick and we pushed back generally on time. The flight attendants were on hand to greet
passengers, and when it was time to screen the safety video they came around to
ensure everyone was awake and paying attention to the video (almost like you
were back in school).
The flight time was scheduled at 5hr30min so it is not a
long flight. The seats are generally
comfortable, although there is not that much padding so you feel the stiffness
by the 5th hour. The
headrests are adjustable, and as I said before the legroom was decent. Each seat had a blanket, a pillow, and a
headset waiting for the passengers. In
the seatpocket were the safety card, throw-up bag, airline magazine, and
another magazine which doubled both as the duty free shop as well as the buy
on-board snack shop. Each seat did have individual PTV’s, which were small but
seemed updated. No USB ports were
available and I could not find plug outlets beneath the seat. Even though the screens were touchscreen,
they were not very sensitive and it took a while to respond – it was easier to
maneuver with remote. The remote was
located in the armrest, as were the headphone jacks. The remote also contained the buttons for the
light and call button. Selection in the
PTVs was definitely limited, especially in the TV section. While there was a decent selection of movies,
and this selectin would be enough to get through the short flight, there were
not enough selection of TV programs available to get through the entire
flight. It was also sometimes hard to
see the screen.
Our scheduled departure time was 9:20p and we pushed back
generally on-time and then had a decent taxi to the runway before taking off
about 9:45pm. There was going to be a
beverage service, then meal service, then tea and coffee, and then duty
free. Most other transatlantic flights,
especially night flights, tend to start the service very quickly so that it can
be quickly finished and passengers can get the most amount of rest. I am not sure whether it was because of
turbulence, or this is how they operate, but the service did not commence until
at least an hour after take-off, so around 10:45p/11p. As the cabin lights were dimmed, and the crew
were taking some time, most passengers were asleep.
Around 11p, the crew turned on the cabin
lights to begin their service. The first service was a full beverage cart in which some
drinks were complimentary while others needed to be paid for. A packet of pretzels were served along with
the drink. Afterwards, the meal service
commenced but it was not right after – it took some time after the drink service
for the meal service to begin. I had
ordered a special meal so mine was brought out prior to everyone else’s – the
choices in the main cabin were either beef pot pie or chicken with
veggies. Along with the entrée, the meal
tray contained bread, salad, and water.
My meal tray also contained fruit for dessert, while others had ice
cream. The portion size of the meals was
tiny, but to be fair the airline had promoted it as a “half-dinner’. You could upgrade to a full dinner for a
charge before the flight. Afterwards,
tea and coffee were served.
After the meal trays were cleared, the cabin lights remained
on for a long time as the
crew was preparing for the duty free. Again, as compared to other transatlantic
flights, this was the most time I had seen the cabin lights on in a flight. The lights remained on for almost 2.5hrs –
which is long considering it was only a 5hr flight (with strong tailwinds the
flight time became shorter). After duty
free, the cabin lights were dimmed but we only had 2 hours left of the flight. About an hour later, flight attendants came
by (in the dark) and handed out boxes which contained a light breakfast. The box contained a small orange juice and a
muffin. No other drink service was
provided along with the breakfast – although water and other drinks were
available in the galley.
The cabin lights were switched on when we were starting out
decent into Dublin. The cabin was
prepared for landing and we landed into Dublin about 30 minutes ahead of
schedule, and then had a quick taxi to the gate. Immigration and customs was quick –it took
about 10 minutes- and I was out the airport and on the bus less than an hour
after landing.
Overall, it was an interesting flight with Aer
Lingus. The timing of the service was
still a bit odd and did not allow for maximum sleep, which is what most
passengers want on an overnight transatlantic flight. Given the short flight time, the airline
flights a nice service – decent seats, nice legroom, a PTV, free checked
baggage, and a light meal. Also, the
airline is very good at connections both within Ireland and with other airline
partners and this is very convenient.
Given all this, would I fly them again?
While they would not be my first choice, if I found a good deal (and
they usually have them from the US NE coast) then I would not hesitate to fly
them again.
I was going to be in Dublin for a short period between
flights, so I was looking for a place near the airport. IHG was having a sale and the Holiday Inn
Express was a good price - and I have never tried the brand internationally -
so decided to book this hotel. Closer to
my arrival date, I emailed the hotel and inquired about the hotel shuttle
between the airport and the hotel. I was
told that the hotel does provide a shuttle and that it is shared with the
Crowne Plaza that is right next door. 
The hotel is somewhat narrow so the lobby of the hotel was
not big. The lobby contains the check-in
desks, the bar & restaurant, the 'business center' and the place for the
free breakfast in the morning. Check-in
was quick and I received my key and went to my room. When I opened the door, the room looked more
like an Ibis hotel room rather than a Holiday Inn Express - it was a very
compact room. 
Free breakfast is included in all Holiday Inn Express hotels
so in the morning I tried the breakfast before I got on the shuttle back to the
airport. The breakfast was similar to
the ones served in the U.S., with some minor differences. The hot food included scrambled eggs and
sausage and cold food included a variety of cereals along with milk and
yogurt. Fruit was also available along
with coffee and juices. Pastries were
available – including a very good chocolate croissant – but overall the
selection was a bit limited as compared to the U.S. If this is something that the hotel is
highlighting as a perk, it needs to be improved. 
