Hello all,

Looking for a bit of advice with our Aer Lingus flights to MCO.We have been caught up in the MAN base closure for our upcoming trip. We booked Business tickets via Alaska and it has been a nightmare to sort out but we finally have flights in place via DUB.

I wondered if you could shine some light on a couple of things which are unclear:

1. We are ticketed in Business but obviously there are no business seats on the MAN To DUB flights. As we appear to be ticketed Business then I am presuming we can still use fast track and the lounge at MAN?

2. I understand that 51st&Green is currently closed at DUB. Does anybody know if there is a more definite opening date that “Spring 2026”? I noticed on the DUB Airport, 51st&Green is prebookable from 1st April so I am presuming it will be open then?

3. If 51st&Green is closed, I know there is a dedicated seating area and that I will not be able to access the Aer Lingus Lounge on this leg without AerClub status?

4. On the return stopover at Dublin, I’m really unclear whether or not we will have lounge access. Will I have access to the Aer Lingus for the return stopover as we wouldn’t have access to the pre-clearance lounge.

5. Due to the lateness of getting this sorted, we lost our seat reservations on the original direct flights. There were no seats sat together on the outward transatlantic flight and we were told that Row 1 is under airport control and could only be allocated at the airport. However, on another call they did allocate us Row 1 for DUB to MCO. However, on the return flight we are sat apart. We are travelling with a young child and I am registered disabled so I have tried to get them to allocate Row 1 on the return flight but they said this is under airport control and can only be allocated at check-in. Our child is sat in front of my partner and I am two rows back which is really not ideal. I wondered if anyone knew how easy it would be to get Row 1 at check-in and would I need to avoid checking in online and get to the airport super early?

6. Finally, for the MAN to DUB flight, do I arrive two or three hours before?

Thanks all, this has been a very stressful experience!