disneybride

Hi, I'm thinking of booking my first trip to Ireland and my flight choices are nonstop ORD to DUB on Aer Lingus, or connecting through ATL on Delta. Not really knowing either airline (I'm an AA girl), which would you recommend? I read on another thread that Aer Lingus may be going on strike due to contract renegotiations.

Anticipated travel is sometime in March.
Also, any other tips for Ireland would be great!
Thanks!

Globaliser

One consideration you should bear in mind is that Aer Lingus is leaving the oneworld alliance at the end of March 2007. Or, to put it another way, if you have oneworld benefits you can use through an AA account, you can still use them if you travel in March.

Others will know more about the travelling experience.

typhoon

EI is nothing to write home about, but then again neither is DL. All things being equal, I'd prefer a direct flight rather than transiting in ATL (queues, security ) . I wouldn't worry about strikes, if it does happen they'll look after you.

This being FT, however, I'd say to go with whatever is best for you for miles.

Remember St Patricks day is in March and incoming flights may be busy; also consider booking your hotels soon if you're planning to incorporate that weekend.

Hard to give tips as you haven't said what your plans are and how long you're staying. However if you are travelling around you might consider flying into DUB and out of SNN, rather than doubling back on yourself, it's not more expensive. Anyhow, hope you have a lovely trip!

bbkenney

You're an aagirl, your tag says Chicago, why wouldn't you take the AA nonstop? But if you do go via ATL, you arrive airside, you leave airside, no security lines.

chris18london

EI will still maintain FF benefits for partner airlines such as BA and AA I believe, and the ORD flights will all be codeshare anyway. Depends how strong your AA loyalty is, but if you do have status I would say its a no-brainer.

DanTravels

I actually just took EI124 on the 23rd. It's an A330, which is a nice plane, though it lacked the in-seat video-on-demand of A330s on some other carriers (Northwest for one). Flight was very pleasant overall, the load factor was VERY light (100 empty seats?) and due to a long layover in Chicago, I was first in line to check in, and wound up 1 seat back from the exit door. They showed some TV and about 2.5 movies, one of which I watched. Dinner options were decent, and the one I chose (chicken with rice and veggies) was tasty. They weren't really big on drinks service, though, so I'd suggest blowing a few bucks on the larger bottle of water after security at O'Hare if you have any interest in staying hydrated.

I'm SkyTeam elite plus, so flights on EI get me nothing, but the fare was just SO good I had to go with it this time.