I did a search, but it seems that Aer Lingus is only mentioned in comparison with Ryanair. :)

Doing some checking, it appears that they have some very attractive fares around Europe; stuff like 1 euro to LGW, 10 euros to AMS, and so on.

In the US, I've flown Southwest and JetBlue, and in Europe I've flown SkyEurope. In most cases, the flights and level of service were just fine. I've heard some rumblings about Aer Lingus, but what's the real deal? What kind of a chance am I taking by booking with them? Note that this would be coach service (do they even have premium seating?), and really in lieu of the train/bus, so I'm not looking for any sort of luxe experience.

Hello,

Aer Lingus offers transatlantic service from many US cities including BOS, JFK, ORD and more - in this case they offer two classes of service, Business and Economy.

For UK / Europe flights, however, there's only one class of service and, indeed, it is pretty much a "typical" low cost carrier. Ryanair tried to take over AerLingus last year (they already own a significant portion of AerLingus' shares) but European antitrust regulators would not allow it. I think the battle is still ongoing.

More about the quality of service soon... since I am flying to Ireland with them this week-end ! ;)

Cheers,
J-

The onboard service intra-europe with Aer Lingus is pretty standard - clean, friendly, food for sale, sufficient but not generous legroom. Watch out for the baggage charges (ie not included in the ticket price €8 e/w each bag). Also, they'll look after you in the case of irregular ops. You're not taking any big chances here. All Airbus fleet - mostly 320s in Europe, 321s to LHR. AAdvantage miles available to some extent.

Ryanair is roughly the same except the planes are a hideous canary yellow on the inside and you are completely screwed in case of irregular ops. Fleet is all 737s - mostly the new 800 series with the massive wingtips exDUB. Let me repeat the main point - you are completely screwed in case of irregular ops.

Since this is in lieu of train/bus experiences - Aer Lingus will please.

I flew Ryanair to Gothenburg, Sweden in January and got decent service (not amazing, just decent and not much legroom) for 45 euros round trip - and I thought "Wow, this is GREAT".

But then I tried the same for a weekend visiting a friend in Hamburg, Germany and due to "technical issues" (on a brand new plane) the plane never left the airport - and neither did we. Oh yes, they did offer to rebook us on their next flight - three days later ! Stuck there with no alternative, with my week-end fading away along with the two prepaid, non-refundable 4* hotel nights in Hamburg, I swore I'd never fly Ryanhell again.

Needless to say, they just ignored all the European directives on passenger rights and we got no compensation whatsoever - since the events were "beyond their control". Apparently this is standard practice for them - to claim nothing is ever their fault and not pay you anything (the web is full of examples from disgruntled customers)

Go Aer Lingus ! ;)

Cheers,
J-

The onboard service intra-europe with Aer Lingus is pretty standard - clean, friendly, food for sale, sufficient but not generous legroom. Watch out for the baggage charges (ie not included in the ticket price €8 e/w each bag). Also, they'll look after you in the case of irregular ops. You're not taking any big chances here. All Airbus fleet - mostly 320s in Europe, 321s to LHR. AAdvantage miles available to some extent

Since this is in lieu of train/bus experiences - Aer Lingus will please.

I completely agree. I've been flying Aer Lingus for most of the year for business.
The upside to Aer Lingus is that you do get an assigned seat, though just recently they started charging for picking that seat in advance! You can do standard things like check in online, or in some airports (such as DUB), you can check in at a kiosk. As stated, there is a baggage charge, though if you pre-book your baggage its cheaper than doing it at the airport.
The planes are in good condition, and comfortable, the flight attendants are friendly and efficient. Intra-Europe they do charge for food/beverages if you're so inclined, but you are welcome to bring your own onboard with you. They also have a frequent flier program. I also agree that while they are not extra spacious, I do not feel like i'm jammed into the seat in front of me either.
Also, much like US carriers there's a fee to change your ticket (I believe its 25 euro), but they're very accomidating and the flights are quite cheap most times as they are competing with the likes of Ryanair and other LCC's. But also as stated, they will take care of you if something happens - whereas most times with Ryanair you're very much out of luck.

When I am in Ireland, 2 - 3 months per year, I use Aer Lingus over Ryan Air for flights to France and Germany because they fly to the main airport e.g. CDG rather than Beauvais, and Frankfurt rather than Frankfurt - Hahn etc. The time you save more than makes up for any higher price they may charge over Ryanair and sometimes they are just as cheap nad cheaper. The other advantage already mentioned is that they will usually have more than one flight per day to main centres so they can and will rebook you easily if something happens your booked flight. I travelled once with them across the Atlantic and it was an excellent flight in economy: nothing fancy but everything was fine.

Aer Lingus is a decent long time carrier that is trying to become an LCC. They are doing a much better job of it then USAir. They been updating their fleet (Not LAX yet) and they offer a good less expensive gateway to Europe from the US

Do watch the luggage overage fees! I decided to buy a one way ticket ny to Dublin on Delta because it was really cheap then an onward flight to Paris on Aer Lingus. I misread the luggage rules and was THIRTY KILOGRAMS in excess and with no real options available had to pay an exorbitant sum (three times the cost of my ticket). What a disaster...

For a long time, Aer Lingus was one of only three major airlines which did not permit CD players (even of the MP3 type of in your computer) to be used. The other two were Alitalia and El Al.

El Al recently changed its policy but I don't know if Aer Lingus still has it in effect (Alitalia does).

For a long time, Aer Lingus was one of only three major airlines which did not permit CD players (even of the MP3 type of in your computer) to be used. The other two were Alitalia and El Al.

El Al recently changed its policy but I don't know if Aer Lingus still has it in effect (Alitalia does).The reasoning behind that simply escapes me.

A CD player? Dangerous? Interfering with a/c communications?

The reasoning behind that simply escapes me.

A CD player? Dangerous? Interfering with a/c communications?

There was a fear that the lasers would somehow interfere with the avionics.

Alitalia has no choice -- Italian law prohibits them (but for some reason allows them on foreign airlines operating in and out of Italy).

El Al had a company policy against them while the Israeli charter airline, Arkia, permitted them. The owners of Arkia took over El Al (and sold off Arkia) and they lifted the ban.

I don't know if Aer Lingus has a company policy banning them or if it is Irish law.

Both fly out of/into major airports (DUB to EDI), both have almost the same departure/arrival times that work for me.

Ryan is about $55-65 cheaper (total for two people). Plus Ryan has several flights per day on this route.

But Aer Lingus certainly seems to be getting the nod on this board. Should I pay the extra $$ to fly Aer Lingus?

Both fly out of/into major airports (DUB to EDI), both have almost the same departure/arrival times that work for me.

Ryan is about $55-65 cheaper (total for two people). Plus Ryan has several flights per day on this route.

But Aer Lingus certainly seems to be getting the nod on this board. Should I pay the extra $$ to fly Aer Lingus?
See comments above about Ryanair and 'irregular operations' then (assuming you are from US) consider the miserable 15kg baggage allowance with FR. You pays your money....

See comments above about Ryanair and 'irregular operations' then (assuming you are from US) consider the miserable 15kg baggage allowance with FR. You pays your money....

Both have similar baggage fees and low baggage weight/size limits. And both have similar costs tacked on per ticket for the *handling fee*. FR tacks on a credit card fee also.

IE is 20kg for a checked bag plus 5 euro in advance. And their carry-on rules seem worse, They allow a larger bag 56x45x25 but it can't weigh more than 6kg.

FR checked bag is max 15kg plus 6 euro in advance. Carry-on limit 55x40x20, max 10kg.

Is the service that much better on IE to pay the extra cost for a one hour flight? Or perhaps should I ask, is the service and potential problems that much worse on FR to make it worth paying the extra cost for IE?

...Is the service that much better on IE to pay the extra cost for a one hour flight? Or perhaps should I ask, is the service and potential problems that much worse on FR to make it worth paying the extra cost for IE?

After a few years of sporadically flying both (although for any IRL-UK flights, I've moved almost entirely to bmi) I don't see the service to be much different. They're both reasonably decent and offer you about what you've paid for. Except for flying out of DUB when you get stuck in the FR Portacabins of Doom (tm).

Potential problems? Well let's just say that it takes a lot of consideration before I'll fly Ryanair for anything other than ORK-DUB. I've never been stranded before, but have had both close calls and known friends to miss some pretty major flights because of something relatively minor. For getting from A to B, though, if the price is right your odds of success are fairly good.

The other option you have is AerArann. They fall somewhere between EI and FR, pricewise, and unless you have a problem with ATRs, they're as nice a carrier as either of the others.