Aer Lingus DUB-AMS
Mar 1, 2015, 1:54 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2011
Programs: Aer Club Platinum, BAEC Silver, Star Alliance Gold, Flying Blue Gold
Posts: 123
Aer Lingus DUB-AMS
Booking and check in
Flights are booked on www.aerlingus.com , and three fare types are available: Fully flexible, Lowest and Plus. The Plus fare includes one checked bag, seat selection and earns Gold Circle points. I chose this option. Aer Lingus offer an advance check-in facility up to 30 days before travel: something I find very useful. However, it is not possible to use this facility on AMS-DUB flights. I am told that this is due to system requirements from KLM (Aer Lingus’ handling agents in AMS). So, I made do with printing my outbound boarding pass only.
EI 606 is scheduled for 11.00am, and I arrived at Dublin Airport T2 at approximately 08.45am. , allowing extra time to reach the airport as there were some heavy snow showers, with more of the same forecast. As I had no luggage, and my boarding pass already printed, I proceeded directly to security. One benefit of Gold Circle membership is the use of Fast Track security at Dublin Airport; I was airside in a few minutes.
Lounge (Dublin)
The Gold Circle Lounge in Dublin T2 is open to non members for 25euro, which can be booked on line or paid at the lounge. Gold Circle members can also bring additional guests for a charge of 250 Gold Circle Points. It is a large two storey area with good views of the apron.
There is a water feature which extends over two floors, and is impressive. The large windows give great views of the apron. Upstairs is a quiet area and has shower suites.
There is a business area, and complimentary wi-fi throughout the lounge. Most seats have power points close by, which is a useful feature in this age of mobile devices.
There are newspapers and magazines available for use in the lounge.
On this particular morning the lounge was quite busy. There was a mix of business & leisure passengers, with quite a few completing their paperwork for USA bound flights. The US Customs Pre-Clearance at Dublin had led to an increased number of premium passengers connecting through Dublin to US destinations.
I selected a seat in a quiet corner, had some cereals and pastries and dealt with some paperwork of my own. I had a good view of the apron where ground staff braved the elements to prepare aircraft arriving, and departing, and possibly the coldest part of all, the guys who were perched high on machines de-icing aircraft about to depart. It is all to easy for forget about these (usually) unseen workers, but they did Trojan work that morning.
The food on offer in the morning consists of:
• Fresh fruit salad
• Breads, scones, pastries
• Cereals
• Yogurts
• Cheese, crackers
• Muffins
• Savoury nibbles
• biscuits
A full range of soft drinks is available along with excellent coffee. Alcoholic drinks are not on always displayed until nearer lunch time, but today the wine was on the counter and the spirits followed shortly afterwards. I enjoyed a glass of Tempranillo with another pastry or two.
There are many flight information screens throughout the lounge, and as soon as I saw my flight show “go to gate”, I left the lounge and walked to the gate 410. This is a short walk from the lounge.
Boarding
Arriving at the gate, boarding was well in progress, and I was very quickly on board the A320.
As usual, cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers, and guided all to their seats. I was in my favourite (1A). I like bulkhead seats as there is no seatback in my face, and I am happy to pay for seating in this row.The forwardmost overhead bins are designated for Row 1 only, and there was ample space for my coat and bag.
This Airbus 320 seats were upholstered in grey leather, and the aircraft was immaculate. Boarding took a little time, and we pushed back just before 11am. The captain welcomed passengers and gave details of routing, flight times and weather. This was followed by a safety briefing.
While waiting to go to the runway, two aircraft were landing. An ATR was suffering from heavy crosswinds, but executed a perfect landing. The next aircraft was a majestic Aer Lingus A330, which only barely notice the crosswinds. It too landed safely, and then we were on our way. Remarkably we were almost unaffected by the crosswind and had a smooth take off and climb.
When we had reached our cruising altitude, cabin crew began preparing the in-flight service. There is a good range of food *hot and cold) and drinks available to purchase, and I had used the pre-order facility to order a cooked breakfast.
This consists of:
• two pork sausages
• bacon black and white pudding
• grilled tomato
• hash brown potato
• brown bread
• orange juice
• tea/coffee
A veritable bargain at 7.50euro, and using the pre-order guarantees a meal. The food was as good as ever, but the orange juice seemed to be of a lesser quality.
We landed in Amsterdam pretty much on schedule, then had a very long taxi (almost 30 minutes) to our gate. Aer Lingus tend to use Gate D 31, which is quite a walk from the exit.
I like to have both boarding passes in my hand before arriving at the airport, and before leaving Schiphol, I asked a very helpful KLM agent if it was possible to get my return boarding pass (my flight was several hours ahead), and I was guided to a self service machine, which was easy to operate, and in barely a minute, I had my return boarding pass.
With this safely in my wallet, I went to the railway station to make my way to Amsterdam Centraal. A standard class return taking circa 15 minutes costs 9.10euro. The trains are quite new, very clean and for commuter trains are very comfortable.
Return
E1 611 is scheduled to depart @ 8.30pm, and I found myself back in Schiphol at 6pm. Having my boarding pass printer earlier, I approached KLM fast track, to which Gold Circle membership granted me access. I was warmly invited to proceed, and cleared Passport Control in barely a minute. Security checking does not take place until shortly before boarding.
Schiphol is always a pleasant airport, with a very good range of shopping and restaurants. There is a major building programme in the airport at present, and the shopping area is reduced. I look forward to seeing the results.
Lounge (AMS)
Aer Lingus use the KLM Crown Room (numbered 52 on the directional signs. This lounge is beside the apron, but the usual great views of the apron are gone due to the building programme. This is a very large spacious lounge, with a good selection of seating types. The predominant colours are brown, beige and grey.
There is a good range of magazines & newspapers reflecting the wide range of nationalities using the lounge, and a business centre offering complimentary internet access. There is also a smoking area.
There is a good range of food available in the evening:
• Soup (two flavours: cream of tomato and beef broth)
• Chicken thigh in black bean sauce with rice
• Pate
• Cheese
• Crackers
• Biscuits
• Cake
• Bread rolls
• Jars of sweets (mints and wine gums)
• Fruit
• Savoury nibbles
A full range of soft & alcoholic drinks is available, along with sparkling wine. I particularly like the fact that soft drinks and beer are served from dispensers. This guarantees that sparkling water is guaranteed to be fizzy, unlike when poured from an opened bottle.
The beef broth looked almost like a consommé which didn’t appeal to me, but the tomato soup was hot, thick and very tasty.
The chicken in black bean sauce was accompanied by rice was quite pleasant.
I spent a very pleasant hour and a half reading and resting, and sampling the sparkling wine! Given that the Aer Lingus departure area is 15 minutes walk from the lounge, I gave myself plenty of time to get there and to allow for possible security delays.
Aer Lingus currently depart from gate D31, and security is just before reaching this gate. There was a small number of people in front, and I was through within a few minutes. Though efficient, the security staff did not engage with passengers, making it a somewhat impersonal process.
Boarding
I found a sizeable number of passengers waiting to board EI 611. Boarding began around 8.10pm, and there is a secondary passport inspection before staff check boarding cards.
Boarding is called by rows, rearmost fIrst. There is no provision for Gold Circle Club members to board separately, but once the boarding began it moved remarkably quickly.
The Airbus 320 was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers. All Aer Lingus short haul aircraft are economy class and seats are configured 3-3. The seats are dark blue leather with adjustable headrests. Having selected row 1 there was no seatback in front of me, which I particularly like. The bins above row 1 on the Aer Lingus fleet are reserved for row 1 passengers; as nothing is allowed to be stored on the floor in Row 1, this is a small but important detail.
The flight was completely full, and cabin crew made regular announcements asking passengers to store smaller items underneath the seat in front so as to maximize available space in the overhead bins.
Inflight
The Captain gave a brief welcome and details of flight times, followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. There was also a recorded version of this in Dutch. We pushed back a few minutes late, but were airborne after a short taxi.
Aer Lingus offer a “Sky Deli” which offers a good range of snacks and drinks. I chose the “cheesy mister” (Aer Lingus’ version of croque monsieur) with a cold beer to wash it down.
We landed almost on schedule, and after a short taxi were on stand. There was no queue at passport control, and I was landside quickly.
This was a very enjoyable trip. On-board service was very good, and I was very pleased with the sky café. The uncertainty about IAG takeover bid did nothing to detract from the crews’ efficient, friendly and professional service. Well done to all concerned.
Flights are booked on www.aerlingus.com , and three fare types are available: Fully flexible, Lowest and Plus. The Plus fare includes one checked bag, seat selection and earns Gold Circle points. I chose this option. Aer Lingus offer an advance check-in facility up to 30 days before travel: something I find very useful. However, it is not possible to use this facility on AMS-DUB flights. I am told that this is due to system requirements from KLM (Aer Lingus’ handling agents in AMS). So, I made do with printing my outbound boarding pass only.
EI 606 is scheduled for 11.00am, and I arrived at Dublin Airport T2 at approximately 08.45am. , allowing extra time to reach the airport as there were some heavy snow showers, with more of the same forecast. As I had no luggage, and my boarding pass already printed, I proceeded directly to security. One benefit of Gold Circle membership is the use of Fast Track security at Dublin Airport; I was airside in a few minutes.
Lounge (Dublin)
The Gold Circle Lounge in Dublin T2 is open to non members for 25euro, which can be booked on line or paid at the lounge. Gold Circle members can also bring additional guests for a charge of 250 Gold Circle Points. It is a large two storey area with good views of the apron.
There is a water feature which extends over two floors, and is impressive. The large windows give great views of the apron. Upstairs is a quiet area and has shower suites.
There is a business area, and complimentary wi-fi throughout the lounge. Most seats have power points close by, which is a useful feature in this age of mobile devices.
There are newspapers and magazines available for use in the lounge.
On this particular morning the lounge was quite busy. There was a mix of business & leisure passengers, with quite a few completing their paperwork for USA bound flights. The US Customs Pre-Clearance at Dublin had led to an increased number of premium passengers connecting through Dublin to US destinations.
I selected a seat in a quiet corner, had some cereals and pastries and dealt with some paperwork of my own. I had a good view of the apron where ground staff braved the elements to prepare aircraft arriving, and departing, and possibly the coldest part of all, the guys who were perched high on machines de-icing aircraft about to depart. It is all to easy for forget about these (usually) unseen workers, but they did Trojan work that morning.
The food on offer in the morning consists of:
• Fresh fruit salad
• Breads, scones, pastries
• Cereals
• Yogurts
• Cheese, crackers
• Muffins
• Savoury nibbles
• biscuits
A full range of soft drinks is available along with excellent coffee. Alcoholic drinks are not on always displayed until nearer lunch time, but today the wine was on the counter and the spirits followed shortly afterwards. I enjoyed a glass of Tempranillo with another pastry or two.
There are many flight information screens throughout the lounge, and as soon as I saw my flight show “go to gate”, I left the lounge and walked to the gate 410. This is a short walk from the lounge.
Boarding
Arriving at the gate, boarding was well in progress, and I was very quickly on board the A320.
As usual, cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers, and guided all to their seats. I was in my favourite (1A). I like bulkhead seats as there is no seatback in my face, and I am happy to pay for seating in this row.The forwardmost overhead bins are designated for Row 1 only, and there was ample space for my coat and bag.
This Airbus 320 seats were upholstered in grey leather, and the aircraft was immaculate. Boarding took a little time, and we pushed back just before 11am. The captain welcomed passengers and gave details of routing, flight times and weather. This was followed by a safety briefing.
While waiting to go to the runway, two aircraft were landing. An ATR was suffering from heavy crosswinds, but executed a perfect landing. The next aircraft was a majestic Aer Lingus A330, which only barely notice the crosswinds. It too landed safely, and then we were on our way. Remarkably we were almost unaffected by the crosswind and had a smooth take off and climb.
When we had reached our cruising altitude, cabin crew began preparing the in-flight service. There is a good range of food *hot and cold) and drinks available to purchase, and I had used the pre-order facility to order a cooked breakfast.
This consists of:
• two pork sausages
• bacon black and white pudding
• grilled tomato
• hash brown potato
• brown bread
• orange juice
• tea/coffee
A veritable bargain at 7.50euro, and using the pre-order guarantees a meal. The food was as good as ever, but the orange juice seemed to be of a lesser quality.
We landed in Amsterdam pretty much on schedule, then had a very long taxi (almost 30 minutes) to our gate. Aer Lingus tend to use Gate D 31, which is quite a walk from the exit.
I like to have both boarding passes in my hand before arriving at the airport, and before leaving Schiphol, I asked a very helpful KLM agent if it was possible to get my return boarding pass (my flight was several hours ahead), and I was guided to a self service machine, which was easy to operate, and in barely a minute, I had my return boarding pass.
With this safely in my wallet, I went to the railway station to make my way to Amsterdam Centraal. A standard class return taking circa 15 minutes costs 9.10euro. The trains are quite new, very clean and for commuter trains are very comfortable.
Return
E1 611 is scheduled to depart @ 8.30pm, and I found myself back in Schiphol at 6pm. Having my boarding pass printer earlier, I approached KLM fast track, to which Gold Circle membership granted me access. I was warmly invited to proceed, and cleared Passport Control in barely a minute. Security checking does not take place until shortly before boarding.
Schiphol is always a pleasant airport, with a very good range of shopping and restaurants. There is a major building programme in the airport at present, and the shopping area is reduced. I look forward to seeing the results.
Lounge (AMS)
Aer Lingus use the KLM Crown Room (numbered 52 on the directional signs. This lounge is beside the apron, but the usual great views of the apron are gone due to the building programme. This is a very large spacious lounge, with a good selection of seating types. The predominant colours are brown, beige and grey.
There is a good range of magazines & newspapers reflecting the wide range of nationalities using the lounge, and a business centre offering complimentary internet access. There is also a smoking area.
There is a good range of food available in the evening:
• Soup (two flavours: cream of tomato and beef broth)
• Chicken thigh in black bean sauce with rice
• Pate
• Cheese
• Crackers
• Biscuits
• Cake
• Bread rolls
• Jars of sweets (mints and wine gums)
• Fruit
• Savoury nibbles
A full range of soft & alcoholic drinks is available, along with sparkling wine. I particularly like the fact that soft drinks and beer are served from dispensers. This guarantees that sparkling water is guaranteed to be fizzy, unlike when poured from an opened bottle.
The beef broth looked almost like a consommé which didn’t appeal to me, but the tomato soup was hot, thick and very tasty.
The chicken in black bean sauce was accompanied by rice was quite pleasant.
I spent a very pleasant hour and a half reading and resting, and sampling the sparkling wine! Given that the Aer Lingus departure area is 15 minutes walk from the lounge, I gave myself plenty of time to get there and to allow for possible security delays.
Aer Lingus currently depart from gate D31, and security is just before reaching this gate. There was a small number of people in front, and I was through within a few minutes. Though efficient, the security staff did not engage with passengers, making it a somewhat impersonal process.
Boarding
I found a sizeable number of passengers waiting to board EI 611. Boarding began around 8.10pm, and there is a secondary passport inspection before staff check boarding cards.
Boarding is called by rows, rearmost fIrst. There is no provision for Gold Circle Club members to board separately, but once the boarding began it moved remarkably quickly.
The Airbus 320 was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers. All Aer Lingus short haul aircraft are economy class and seats are configured 3-3. The seats are dark blue leather with adjustable headrests. Having selected row 1 there was no seatback in front of me, which I particularly like. The bins above row 1 on the Aer Lingus fleet are reserved for row 1 passengers; as nothing is allowed to be stored on the floor in Row 1, this is a small but important detail.
The flight was completely full, and cabin crew made regular announcements asking passengers to store smaller items underneath the seat in front so as to maximize available space in the overhead bins.
Inflight
The Captain gave a brief welcome and details of flight times, followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. There was also a recorded version of this in Dutch. We pushed back a few minutes late, but were airborne after a short taxi.
Aer Lingus offer a “Sky Deli” which offers a good range of snacks and drinks. I chose the “cheesy mister” (Aer Lingus’ version of croque monsieur) with a cold beer to wash it down.
We landed almost on schedule, and after a short taxi were on stand. There was no queue at passport control, and I was landside quickly.
This was a very enjoyable trip. On-board service was very good, and I was very pleased with the sky café. The uncertainty about IAG takeover bid did nothing to detract from the crews’ efficient, friendly and professional service. Well done to all concerned.
Mar 1, 2015, 2:12 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,884
Glad you had a good trip. Pretty standard from my experiences on that route.
Did they change the coffee in the lounge in the last month? I have never had what I would call a decent coffee but then again when it comes to coffee I am a bit of a connoisseur so maybe setting the bar too high
When during the BOB was your pre order handed to you ?
KLM lounge is lovely I spent a few hours there not so long ago and found the catering pretty decent.
On my flight AMS-DUB they did indeed announce pre boarding for GC members so I guess this depends who is on the gate at the time.
AMS is indeed a building site so not at its best currently. It will be great to see it finished. ^
Did they change the coffee in the lounge in the last month? I have never had what I would call a decent coffee but then again when it comes to coffee I am a bit of a connoisseur so maybe setting the bar too high
When during the BOB was your pre order handed to you ?
KLM lounge is lovely I spent a few hours there not so long ago and found the catering pretty decent.
On my flight AMS-DUB they did indeed announce pre boarding for GC members so I guess this depends who is on the gate at the time.
AMS is indeed a building site so not at its best currently. It will be great to see it finished. ^
Jan 11, 2018, 2:21 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: EI Aer Club Platinum; AF/KLM Flying Blue; IHG Rewards Platinum Elite; Hilton Honors Silver.
Posts: 135
Is Fast Track available for Aer Club members at AMS? Last time I was there (April 2017) the person at Fast Track entrance insisted it was for Gold Circle members only and not aware that GC no longer existed.
Jan 12, 2018, 9:34 pm
#5
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: DUB/ORD/SIN/PVG
Programs: EI AerClub Concierge, EK Gold, BA Gold, BD Gold (Retired), HHonors Diamond, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold
Posts: 2,923
Flew AMS-DUB in November and there was no mention of fast track access when I checked in. In fairness there was no queue at security so also I didn’t ask.
(As an aside - love the AMS x-Ray machines that let you bring everthing, including large bottles of liquid, through security)
(As an aside - love the AMS x-Ray machines that let you bring everthing, including large bottles of liquid, through security)