irishguy28

It is the final destination that determines the rate...

irishguy28

So there *is* a curtain, and it's not restricted to only Row 1.

thanks for the visual confirmation!

I haven't seen mini champagne bottles since the old days of flying back and forth between DUB & LHR in EI J 20-odd years ago!!

D6chap

Certainly more space than the row 1 of the A20/319 because of the bulkhead. I was underwhelmed on the BCN DUB flight though could be teething troubles.

DELLAS

pat jordan

Aer Lingus BHX –DUB (AER SPACE)
Aer Space is Aer Lingus’ new premium short haul travel product. It is available on short haul flights with the exception of those operated by Aer Lingus Regional: the ATR aircraft does not support the product. Aer Space earns the maximum tier points in the airlines loyalty programme: 50 tier points per segment, which could be useful for Tier progression.
The following features are promised:

• Middle seat free
• Private overhead storage
• Complimentary food and drink from Bia menu
• Lounge access
• Priority boarding
• Fast Track security
• Automatic standby for earlier flights
• Free changes and refunds

I used the Aer Lingus app on my smartphone to make the booking, and very easy process. Seat selection is available at time of booking, and the middle found it a front rows are marked as being unavailable. I chose 1A, one of my favourite seats. On-line check in is available up to 30 days pre-flight, and I took advantage of this to generate my boarding pass, both on my smartphone and a paper copy: always worthwhile as a back up!
I arrived at Birmingham International Airport at 12.30pm for my 3.10pm flight.
Fast track security.
In the past, my Aer Club Silver Tier sometimes granted me access to Fast Track Security in BHX. I was curious to see whether it and/or the Aer Space ticket would allow me access on this occasion. A quick scan of my boarding pass (on my smartphone) and the machine gave me a green sign and the gates opened. The security process was very efficient and I was airside within a few minutes.

Lounge
Aer Club offer access to No 1 Traveller Lounge in BHX. I have always found this to be a very pleasant lounge. There is the option to upgrade to the recently opened Clubroom Lounge for an additional £10. Given the Clubroom’s proximity to the Aer Lingus departure gates, and the enhanced food & drink I consider it to be excellent value.
I was warmly welcomed into the Clubroom and offered food & drink menus.

I took a seat at a very nicely presented dining table with elegant cutlery and napery. I ordered soup and beef burger from the menu, with a glass of sparkling wine to wash it down.

The soup was beautifully presented in a large dish with a bread stick and was delicious. The burger was served in a brioche bun with potato wedges and a salad garnish. It too was very tasty.

After eating, I settled in to a comfortable armchair beside a (much needed!) charging point for my phone and spent the remainder of my time reading.
The lounge staff are incredibly friendly and at no time was my glass empty. In addition, there was a selection of snacks: chilli crackers, nuts and salted pretzels to nibble on.

BOARDING
I was welcomed at the boarding gate, and invited to proceed to the priority boarding area. Within a few minutes Aer Club and Aer Space guests were invited to board, and we proceeded down a flight of stairs to find the door leading to the aircraft locked. A friendly Swissport agent opened the door to allow some ventilation and said the aircraft would be ready in a few minutes, which it indeed was. The boarding process was swiftly completed using both front and rear doors.
Cabin crew warmly welcomed me on board the Airbus A320 which was immaculate as is the norm.
Aer Space seats are clearly marked with blue anti macassars. I was seated in 1A, with nobody in 1C thus giving lots of personal space. Only one other passenger occupied the row opposite.
I was reminded that as seated in an exit row, all belongings had to be stored in the overhead bin. The bins over row 1 were clearly marked as being for that row only, thereby protecting the integrity of the AerSpace product.
Following a safety briefing from the cabin crew and flight information from the flight deck, we were shortly underway.
CATERING

As promised, I was given the choice to select food and drink from the BIA menu. I chose a Beef & Guinness slice which I was curious to sample. It was quite pleasant with a beer to wash it down.
Arrival DUBLIN
We landed on time in Dublin, and after a short taxi were on stand.
This was my first experience of AER SPACE. Did the product live up to its expectations and deliver the promised benefits?

• Middle seat free
As promised the middle seat was free, giving plenty of space for those in window and aisle seats.
• Private overhead storage
The bins over Row 1 were clearly reserved for Row 1 passengers.

• Complimentary food and drink from Bia menu
Full selection of Bia Menu on offer

• Lounge access
No 1 Traveller Lounge available in BHX, with the option to upgrade to Clubrooms.

• Priority boarding
This was in place
• Fast Track security
This was available
• Automatic standby for earlier flights
Didn’t apply in this instance.
• Free changes and refunds
Not applicable in this instance.

Conclusions

I was very impressed with my experience of Aer Space. Each of the constituents of the package was delivered and I found the short flight very pleasant indeed.

Aer Space, in my opinion, is a winner.

ROKNA

There won't be a curtain anytime soon, as the curtain rails start at row two on the C reg fleet, and are not fitted to later aircraft

Witnessed the Aer Space experience on Saturday, its not worth the money at all, I was happily seated in 2D, seats next to me empty, got priority boarding and seat through status and paid 5 euro for a sandwich, 79 euro...

Impossible to justify the 150 odd euro markup. It might be economy but most travel policies are not only economy but also cheapest available fare so unless EI can drive enough business from TATL (for which they are not making any direct extra revenue, just the hope of having something comparable to BA or LH to gain business)

ASHFlyer

I'd very much agree with you here. Not much benefit to people who are already AerClub members, except the additional tier points. Heavily overpriced vs. BA Club from what I see. I wonder if the implementation across network will mean better implementation of priority checkin and boarding across the network? At the moment, it still remains poor (particularly at LHR).

blagger

Shhhhh...!

ROKNA

I wouldn't complain its worth the money at those price points

Dambus

Shhhhh...

ROKNA

All 4 seats taken on the EI698 last night, none on EI699. Its mostly transfer business

Any route were there is demand will be A321 NEO in time as that has 6 rows...

DELLAS

Full to LHR the other day including one dead heading pilot.

Eoin Kilkenny

I did a return Dub-LHR in Aer Space on Saturday first flight in and last out.
Both Airports I was let into fast track security and Lounge by just showing BP
Middle seat blocked both ways and the little headrest covers were on
Full on way out - mostly transfers from what I could tell. 1/4 on the in bound, but a dead heading captain was upgraded during boarding.
Got the breakfast in the morning. Standard. The FA did encourage others if they would like something and told it was part of their fare. On the way back I just grabbed a coke and malteasers.
Overhead bins were marked for row one on the outbound only

I was booking quite last minute so for me the price-point difference was enough to warrant giving it a try

EK

MCMAHONSMR

Flew EI 693 DUS DUB on Tuesday 17th September in AerSpace. I figure I might as well add another reference point. Mediocre sums up my experience.

I checked in online the night before as I needed to pay a small fee to cover the extra weight I had in my bag (20kg was included but I had 24kg). Arrived at DUS at 0830 on the day of the flight to find two counters open for the 1020 departure. One marked "Aer Lingus" and the other marked "Bag Drop / AerClub." The "Aer Lingus" marked counter had approximately 70-80 people in it while the other one marked "Bag Drop / AerClub" had only 5 people in it. While "priority" check in is not ad advertised benefit of the AerSpace fare I decided to see how it would work when I approached the counter. First question was whether I was bag drop or AerClub (I was actually both) but I responded I was in AerSpace to see what the reaction would be. I was told that the line in question was only for bag drop or AerClub so I said bag drop, which was followed by "Did you already check in?" Answer was obviously yes. So I then asked if I had not checked in or was not AerClub I would have had to wait behind 70-80 people? Answer was yes. Seems quite silly to me. Also, there are no priority tags offered for AerSpace (also not an advertised benefit but just stating for the record here).

The boarding card was properly encoded so that I could use the fast lane at DUS, which worked out quite well. Lounge pass (which you have to print yourself) also worked fine in Open Sky Lounge.

Priority Boarding was offered at the gate, which was rendered wholly useless as it was a bus gate. Once on board the A320, the seat was as pictured above, except the head rests were covered with the leathery cover shown above from the CityJet photos. The middle seat remained free. Someone occupied 1C, but 1D and 1F remained unoccupied. Cannot understand why someone wouldn't want an entire row to himself, but that's not necessarily an issue with AerSpace.

In the air, however, the crew were clueless about AerSpace and didn't even attempt to try and understand it. When they started with the buy on board, I asked for the Irish breakfast, which they did not have. I then asked for the breakfast roll, which they did not have. So, I then asked what they did have and was offered a scone. I ordered a coffee and then was asked for EUR6. I responded that this was AerSpace and that the foods is supposed to be complimentary. I then got the patronizing speech from a FA that food on European flights is not free. I then pushed back and said that this is a new product that I'm not supposed to pay for food in this seat. Nope. Got more patronizing words like I am some kind of infrequent traveler. Eventually I said to the FA that she apparently did not get the memo about this and suggested that maybe she should consult one of her colleagues. After going to the back of the plane she came back to me and just said "Oh yeah, don't worry about it." I'm still not sure if anyone on the aircraft actually had been educated about the new product offering because her response seemed to indicate they just didn't want to bother with me. I didn't even want to ask for another coffee after this encounter, no less any food.

All in all, it was a very mediocre experience. Clearly, the crews have not received adequate training about the new product. While I received the benefits for which I paid, I can't say I'd go out of my way to book the product again. Quite frankly, having flown Eurowings on this route I'd actually prefer to fly them over Aer Lingus.

Dambus

Ouch. This is all pretty poor. Given the very extended delay to the launch of the product there was plenty of time to train staff. Maybe printing a copy of the AerSpace product spec to hand to the crew on boarding might be necessary....

Hadn’t realized that priority check-in was not included with an AerSpace booking. Surely this is huge / accidental miss? Presumably for those connecting to a Business Class trans-Atlantic flight priority check-in on the short-haul leg is at least automatic?