Dub - BRU - DUB
Feb 9, 2016, 12:53 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2011
Programs: Aer Club Platinum, BAEC Silver, Star Alliance Gold, Flying Blue Gold
Posts: 123
Dub - BRU - DUB
Booking and check in
Aer Lingus’ new website is very user friendly and easy to navigate, even for a technophobe like me!
Selecting my flight to Brussels was no trouble.
There are three fare types available: Fully flexible, Plus and Low. For this particular trip, I chose the Plus fare option, which includes Gold Circle Points, one checked bag and complimentary seat selection (with the exception of rows 1-5). As I like sitting in row 1, I was happy to pay the extra fee: 5 euro per seat per sector.
I arrived at Dublin Airport Terminal 2 @ 12.00pm for my 13.50pm flight. Most of my flights are HBO, however, on this occasion I had a bag to check in, and I proceeded to the new Gold Circle check in desk at Dublin Airport. Formerly at the extreme right of the Aer Lingus check in area, it is now at the left hand side, and is clearly signed. A clever feature is a frosted glass screen surrounding the area. This creates a sense of privacy, something which VIPs would no doubt value, and a sense of occasion to us “ordinary” travelers!
One of my favourite benefits of Gold Circle membership is the use of the Fast track security lane. Security staff in Dublin Airport are very pleasant, and at the same time very thorough. There was only one other passenger in front of me, and I was airside within a couple of minutes.
Lounge (Dublin)
The Gold Circle Lounge in Dublin T2 is a large two storey area with large windows giving good views of the apron
Lounge staff are very welcoming and friendly.
There is a water feature which extends over two floors, and is impressive. Upstairs is a quiet area, where shower suites are located.
There are a number of work stations with PC s which are connected to a high quality printer. I used this facility during an earlier visit to check in and print boarding passes for this flight. Throughout the lounge there is an abundance of power points: very useful for charging mobile devices.
Short Haul flights are not called from the lounge, but there are several flight information screens. My flight was due to depart from gate 412 which is a short walk from the lounge.
The food & beverage on offer consisted of:
• Fresh fruit
• Breads, scones, pastries
• Yogurts
• Cheese, crackers
• Biscuits,
• Savoury nibbles
• Soup (Goulash on this occasion)
A full range of soft & alcoholic drinks is available along with fruit juices, tea and coffee.
I was delighted to see the return of small bottles of sparkling water to the lounge. I dislike large bottles, and always find that once the bottle is opened, the sparkle quickly disappears.
Aer Lingus now display allergen information beside all food products.
Full marks to Aer Lingus for providing high quality china, glassware and cutlery in the lounge.
Boarding & In Flight
All Aer Lingus gates at Terminal 2 now have separate lanes for general and priority boarding. These are clearly marked by large signs, and work very well.
The Airbus A320 was in pristine condition. Seats were upholstered in navy leather, and have adjustable headrests: very handy when having a snooze!
Cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers on board and directed us to our allocated seats. Connor, the senior cabin crew member asked me whether I had travelled in row 1 before. I assured him that I had. This was an effective way to ensure that Row 1 passengers understood the need to stow all belongings in the overhead bins. As with all Aer Lingus aircraft, the bins were clearly marked “row 1 only) and this seems to be enforced by staff.
Connor greeted all boarding passengers, and was particularly helpful and friendly.
The Captain introduced himself, welcomed passengers on board, and outlined our and expected flight time. This was followed by a safety briefing.
Once we had reached cruising altitude the inflight service began. As well as pre-order meals, there is a menu of drinks, food and snacks available to purchase. I had a scone and tea, which was very pleasant indeed.
Arrivals & Baggage collection
We landed on time at Brussels, and were on stand quickly. We deplaned via an airbridge, and it was a short walk to the arrivals hall.
Brussels Security
Brussels airport is a very large, bright and spacious building. Passport control was quick, and leads to a shopping area. This is turn leads to security, which was relatively quiet. My Gold Circle status does not include access to fast track, but with only a small number of passengers in front of me, I was airside in less than 10 minutes.
Lounge
Aer Lingus use British Airways lounge in Brussels. This a large area with good views of the apron. A good range of newspapers and magazines in available, including several English issue. There is a business centre with a printer. I found the (complimentary) internet access quite slow, but I was in a relaxed mode, this wasn’t an issue.
Unusually for a BA lounge, there was no champagne. However, there was a very good range of wines, spirits and beer available, as well as soft drinks and tea/coffee.
Food was very limited:
• Cold cuts (continental style)
• Sliced cheese
• Salads
• Bread rolls
• Biscuits
• Crisps
While I could not fault the quality of the food, the range was very limited, and well below what is on offer in BA’s UK lounges.
I made myself comfortable, indulged in a Stella Artois and read while awaiting my flight. The flight information screens include the time it takes to walk to the boarding gate: in this case a mere 2 minutes. This is a small but useful touch.
Boarding
As with Dublin, there were separate lanes for general and priority boarding. Swissport are Aer Lingus’ handling agents in Brussels and I found the staff very friendly and efficient. However, the value of priority boarding is diluted when passengers are held on the walkway to the aircraft for approximately 10 minutes before actually boarding the aircraft.
As usual, Aer Lingus crew have a warm welcome for passengers, and this A320 was immaculate.
We landed in Dublin, and were on stand after a short taxi were on stand. It was a short walk to passport control, and in no time at all I was once again landside.
CONCLUSION
This was an excellent journey. Aer Lingus delivers a consistently high quality service, and with benefits such as priority security and boarding takes good care of it’s regular customers.
I was underwhelmed by the BA lounge in Brussels; I felt it was on a par with (but no better than) a Servisair offering.
Aer Lingus’ new website is very user friendly and easy to navigate, even for a technophobe like me!
Selecting my flight to Brussels was no trouble.
There are three fare types available: Fully flexible, Plus and Low. For this particular trip, I chose the Plus fare option, which includes Gold Circle Points, one checked bag and complimentary seat selection (with the exception of rows 1-5). As I like sitting in row 1, I was happy to pay the extra fee: 5 euro per seat per sector.
I arrived at Dublin Airport Terminal 2 @ 12.00pm for my 13.50pm flight. Most of my flights are HBO, however, on this occasion I had a bag to check in, and I proceeded to the new Gold Circle check in desk at Dublin Airport. Formerly at the extreme right of the Aer Lingus check in area, it is now at the left hand side, and is clearly signed. A clever feature is a frosted glass screen surrounding the area. This creates a sense of privacy, something which VIPs would no doubt value, and a sense of occasion to us “ordinary” travelers!
One of my favourite benefits of Gold Circle membership is the use of the Fast track security lane. Security staff in Dublin Airport are very pleasant, and at the same time very thorough. There was only one other passenger in front of me, and I was airside within a couple of minutes.
Lounge (Dublin)
The Gold Circle Lounge in Dublin T2 is a large two storey area with large windows giving good views of the apron
Lounge staff are very welcoming and friendly.
There is a water feature which extends over two floors, and is impressive. Upstairs is a quiet area, where shower suites are located.
There are a number of work stations with PC s which are connected to a high quality printer. I used this facility during an earlier visit to check in and print boarding passes for this flight. Throughout the lounge there is an abundance of power points: very useful for charging mobile devices.
Short Haul flights are not called from the lounge, but there are several flight information screens. My flight was due to depart from gate 412 which is a short walk from the lounge.
The food & beverage on offer consisted of:
• Fresh fruit
• Breads, scones, pastries
• Yogurts
• Cheese, crackers
• Biscuits,
• Savoury nibbles
• Soup (Goulash on this occasion)
A full range of soft & alcoholic drinks is available along with fruit juices, tea and coffee.
I was delighted to see the return of small bottles of sparkling water to the lounge. I dislike large bottles, and always find that once the bottle is opened, the sparkle quickly disappears.
Aer Lingus now display allergen information beside all food products.
Full marks to Aer Lingus for providing high quality china, glassware and cutlery in the lounge.
Boarding & In Flight
All Aer Lingus gates at Terminal 2 now have separate lanes for general and priority boarding. These are clearly marked by large signs, and work very well.
The Airbus A320 was in pristine condition. Seats were upholstered in navy leather, and have adjustable headrests: very handy when having a snooze!
Cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers on board and directed us to our allocated seats. Connor, the senior cabin crew member asked me whether I had travelled in row 1 before. I assured him that I had. This was an effective way to ensure that Row 1 passengers understood the need to stow all belongings in the overhead bins. As with all Aer Lingus aircraft, the bins were clearly marked “row 1 only) and this seems to be enforced by staff.
Connor greeted all boarding passengers, and was particularly helpful and friendly.
The Captain introduced himself, welcomed passengers on board, and outlined our and expected flight time. This was followed by a safety briefing.
Once we had reached cruising altitude the inflight service began. As well as pre-order meals, there is a menu of drinks, food and snacks available to purchase. I had a scone and tea, which was very pleasant indeed.
Arrivals & Baggage collection
We landed on time at Brussels, and were on stand quickly. We deplaned via an airbridge, and it was a short walk to the arrivals hall.
Brussels Security
Brussels airport is a very large, bright and spacious building. Passport control was quick, and leads to a shopping area. This is turn leads to security, which was relatively quiet. My Gold Circle status does not include access to fast track, but with only a small number of passengers in front of me, I was airside in less than 10 minutes.
Lounge
Aer Lingus use British Airways lounge in Brussels. This a large area with good views of the apron. A good range of newspapers and magazines in available, including several English issue. There is a business centre with a printer. I found the (complimentary) internet access quite slow, but I was in a relaxed mode, this wasn’t an issue.
Unusually for a BA lounge, there was no champagne. However, there was a very good range of wines, spirits and beer available, as well as soft drinks and tea/coffee.
Food was very limited:
• Cold cuts (continental style)
• Sliced cheese
• Salads
• Bread rolls
• Biscuits
• Crisps
While I could not fault the quality of the food, the range was very limited, and well below what is on offer in BA’s UK lounges.
I made myself comfortable, indulged in a Stella Artois and read while awaiting my flight. The flight information screens include the time it takes to walk to the boarding gate: in this case a mere 2 minutes. This is a small but useful touch.
Boarding
As with Dublin, there were separate lanes for general and priority boarding. Swissport are Aer Lingus’ handling agents in Brussels and I found the staff very friendly and efficient. However, the value of priority boarding is diluted when passengers are held on the walkway to the aircraft for approximately 10 minutes before actually boarding the aircraft.
As usual, Aer Lingus crew have a warm welcome for passengers, and this A320 was immaculate.
We landed in Dublin, and were on stand after a short taxi were on stand. It was a short walk to passport control, and in no time at all I was once again landside.
CONCLUSION
This was an excellent journey. Aer Lingus delivers a consistently high quality service, and with benefits such as priority security and boarding takes good care of it’s regular customers.
I was underwhelmed by the BA lounge in Brussels; I felt it was on a par with (but no better than) a Servisair offering.
Feb 9, 2016, 2:11 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,897
I was in the BA BRU lounge before Christmas and actually quite like it. Catering I would put on par with EI if not a bit better due to the salad and cold meat options.
I am not a soup fan so that addition in the EI lounge does nothing for me I am afraid.
When you see the amount of TATL flights that EI have these days one would think that the EI lounge would offer more in the way of sandwiches and hot snacks according to the time of day. It is a very weak point in the product which top tier regular flyers in Business TATL often comment on.
I am not a soup fan so that addition in the EI lounge does nothing for me I am afraid.
When you see the amount of TATL flights that EI have these days one would think that the EI lounge would offer more in the way of sandwiches and hot snacks according to the time of day. It is a very weak point in the product which top tier regular flyers in Business TATL often comment on.
Feb 10, 2016, 2:02 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: EI Aer Club Platinum; AF/KLM Flying Blue; IHG Rewards Platinum Elite; Hilton Honors Silver.
Posts: 135
One of my favourite benefits of Gold Circle membership is the use of the Fast track security lane. Security staff in Dublin Airport are very pleasant, and at the same time very thorough. There was only one other passenger in front of me, and I was airside within a couple of minutes.
Feb 10, 2016, 2:56 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: EIDW
Programs: Aer Lingus Concierge, Radisson Rewards Platinum, BW Diamond, Hilton Gold
Posts: 1,968
Its been a benefit for many years
There was an email from GC to members when it was added. Aer Club benefits will show fastrack security.
GC members should have fast track or equivalent at DUB, LHR, LGW, SFO and a few others
There was an email from GC to members when it was added. Aer Club benefits will show fastrack security.
GC members should have fast track or equivalent at DUB, LHR, LGW, SFO and a few others