Originally Posted by
EuropeanPete
- I'm probably not going to try to requality as BA Gold. I'm behind on the year and BA seems to be particularly expensive and uniquely bad at the moment. Maybe I do a last minute tier point run, probably not
- I will buy the expensive tickets on Aer Lingus until I get Silver and then there don't really seem to be huge benefits beyond that so might or might not dial it back a level or two
- I'll fly Ryanair to Poland, but it is what it is
I had two more questions in case anyone is inclined to indulge me a bit more:
- What's Aer Lingus like with cabin baggage? My standard weekly commute is with a Rimowa Cabin bag (European size) and a Tumi shoulder bag. I've read here weighing isn't that much of a concern - What are the odds of being forced to check and is it dependent on status/ ticket type? If you have to check going into DUB, how long does it take to get it back?
- What is the taxi situation like at DUB? Again, the newspapers suggest there can be long queues which is not really for me. Are there options to have a man with a sign waiting which don't cost unreasonable amounts of money to get to the centre? Seems like nobody ever thought that fast public transport options would be a good idea
Thanks again. Maybe see some of you in person at some point in the future
With BA you'll soft land to Silver anyway, so you'll still have lounge access. Also remember that on flights from Dublin to London Heathrow and Dublin to London Gatwick, as a BA Silver or BA Gold card holder, you will get lounge access with Aer Lingus in Dublin (only on those routes). You also get lounge access as a BA Silver or BA Gold to the Aer Lingus lounge in T2 at Heathrow flying to Ireland.
You might want to go up to Platinum at Aer Lingus, if the cost is neither here nor there for you, though if you do decide to stick around in Ireland, there are a lot of benefits to being Concierge, as well as intangibles such as generally better treatment all round. Aer Lingus is a small enough airline that being a high level frequent flyer makes you part of a small group, rather than one of a couple of hundred thousand in an airline like BA.
Can't say much on the baggage as I never fly with baggage on Aer Lingus. When I fly into Dublin on BA and have baggage, it can be a little wait, 10 minutes maybe 15, until bags start appearing on the carousel.
I usually get a coach to and from the airport. AirCoach and Dublin Express are both frequent enough and do the job. That being said, I am sure there are ways to get a car and driver organised. I usually always get a taxi when coming back from Australia and I have never had to queue, but that being said, I've seen quite a few queues for Taxis at the airport that look quite long. Perhaps give it a whirl with Taxis in the beginning and if you see a massive queue, get a coach. Either way, it's only half an hour to the city.