KeaneJohn

Aer Lingus are to take over the handling of BA, BA Cityflyer, Iberia Express, Vueling & Level flights from Swissport at Dublin Airport wef 6 June 2024.

Further details will be announced regarding lounges etc but it looks like flights will go from 3, 4 or the South Gates. Some of the Swissport Staff may transfer over.

I’ve never used the Aer Lingus lounges and quite liked the old DAA lounge so don’t know if the quality will be better or indeed if it’s large enough to cope or if all the IAG lounge eligible passengers go to the DAA lounge in T2.

MaxFlyer

This is going to make connecting from Ryanair for positioning to the BA service a harder. Plus it’s a longer walk from T2 to the hotel shuttle pickup.

KeaneJohn

That was a mission in itself beforehand as well. Also, the AirCoach is usually full by the time it gets to terminal 2.

JD1905

I’d think that this can only be a positive thing - Terminal 1 is hell on earth. My upcoming flight I opted to fly Aer Lingus in Economy over BA in CE to avoid it.

c1223

Any idea if/how this changes B2B at DUB?

stifle

Book a seat online. The T1 dispatchers will know how many pax are booked from T2 and will ensure the requisite number of seats are left open. Or if routes suit, use the Dublin Express, which tends to be quicker too.
Early days yet but it should be smoother as T2 has sterile airside transfers which can avoid the need to reclear security. They also have dedicated passport control – with domestic departures available and no biometrics this can't be bypassed.
I agree. T1 is ancient and brutal.

corporate-wage-slave

A lot easier: there is a connection channel in T2, which there isn't in T1. So FR to BA will now involve a lot of walking and a busier security zone, BA to FR a lot of walking (and you're not supposed to use that channel but no-one will stop you), B2B won't quite as easy as AMS or CPH, but easier than BCN.

For the lounge question, there is another airport-wide lounge in T2 quite similar to the existing facility in T1, but there is also Aer Lingus' own lounge, which I suspect will be used now, and is somewhat better than the airport lounges.

nldogbert

if they are sticking with the lounge at T1, this means that the track to the lounge will be horrible and back. Unless they are going to switch lounges too. Do hope indeed that they switch to the EI lounge (which I do assume will be better as indicated by cws) as current lounge do tend to get busy at certain hours and finding a seat is PITA

Cheers!

Kgmm77

The move to T2 is a downgrade for regular flyers who just want to get in and out of the airport quickly IMO. If the flights use the South Gates it’s a flat out disaster.

andymcdonnell

While T2 is aesthetically a far more pleasing experience than T1, fast track security is much of a muchness and the Aer Lingus lounge (assuming BA passengers will now be using it) is worse from a food / beverage point of view than the current T1 lounge. Not sure if this is good news TBH

daftboy

I agree - T1 is basic but relatively efficient – fast track security is very good in my experience, and there are plenty of F&B options (I don’t care for the DAA lounge tbh). Swissport also have a fairly efficient set up at the 200 gates for the BA flights.

T2 is much more modern of course, but has longer walking distances. For BA flights, my guess would be LHR from 400 gates and LCY from 300 gates, albeit the latter will be a bit of an airside trek back to T1 (it may be possible to just pass through T1 security, not sure). LCY is probably the one to be cautious of – South Gates would definitely be a retrograde step here but it wouldn’t completely surprise me. (To the uninitiated, you need to get an airside bus to the remote South Gates)

EI320

Much depends on which stands BA will use at T2. The 400 Gates provide a better experience than T1, the 300 Gates will be marginally worse, and the South Gates will be much worse. I would be surprised to see BA relegated to the South Gates. I can see BA using a mix of 400 and 300 Gates depending on the time of day.

In terms of lounges, I would rank EI ahead of the T1 lounge for seating, views, and general ambience. It can be quite crowded between 05:30-07:30 but usually pleasant for the rest of the day. The F&B offering is much the same but with a slightly wider breakfast offering in T1.

deep_south

Shouldn't they have looked at "their current resourcing model" before they tendered for the contract.....?

Doesn't seem like a professional way of doing things? I guess they don't have a TUPE equivalent in Ireland.

surryson

read that and thought the same. I’ll put it down to poorly worded comms.

EvilDoctorK

Yes you can go through security at either terminal .. it doesn't matter .. you'll sometimes get a comment from the boarding pass scanners, but never seen them turning anyone away .. last weekend the people in front of me at T2 security were being told they'd better run after they went through as they had a Ryanair flight from the 1xx gates !

In most cases it makes sense to go through security at the assigned terminal, but if for example the BA flights were using the 3xx gates then going through T1 security would likely be faster .. EI lounge is nicer space than the DAA one with big windows and a lot more seating including on a balcony level that's often closed ... but catering in the DAA lounge is better imo ( fairly poor in the EI lounge )

To echo the comments .. as long as it's not the awful 'South Gates' don't think this makes too much difference [ Is there any long term plan to make a proper extension incorporating the South Gates area and make them into a proper extension to the terminal ? .. it all seems a function of the fact that the DAA squeezed T2 into a very small space and are now running out of expansion options ]