Originally Posted by PHLisa

You shouldn't give up on Aer Lingus - apparently it's a case of hang up, call back sometimes with their call center. Or if you need to be creative, fly out of BOS or JFK on EI and get from ORD to the east coast some other way.

Originally Posted by mtkeller

You might try one way using UA miles from the US to Scotland as a one-way and then return from DUB using the Avios in Y. For the daytime flight, having the premium cabin isn't such an important thing.

Originally Posted by lwildernorva

With the US-AA merger, there's some uncertainty to suggesting a plan. US has run a seasonal service from PHL-GLA for a number of years and has continued this service this summer. At this point, no one knows which routes will go and which will stay, but if this route stays, you've got an avenue to build both US and AA miles that will eventually be combined. The downside: neither airline is or will be a UR or MR transfer partner. If you focus your efforts solely on US/AA, you'll get burned if AA decides to drop the route. And, keep in mind that if you use your AA miles for a transatlantic route, some of those routes are serviced by BA metal, meaning you'll incur fuel surcharges through BA.

Split itineraries with your wife with one child and you with the other or one of you with both children while the other flies solo may be a very good option. Finding four biz/first seats on any one flight is generally a difficult task in the best of times; summer travel only increases the degree of difficulty.

In addition, you should consider where you really need the lie flats of business/first: on the eastbound trip to Scotland/Ireland. I've happily flown EB in business and then taken coach on the way home. Especially for a family of four, the four across middle seats in coach on some flights could be a good accommodation for your WB trip. US currently does not allow booking one ways, but BA, AA, and UA allow one-way bookings, making it easier to get business when you really need it and stretching your points farther.

Given that UA is a transfer partner with UR, you can probably heap a significant number of points with them. You could even throw in your Starpoints, but at a horrible 2:1 ratio that would only yield 17.5K UA miles. A little over 300K UA miles could get three biz class seats to GLA through EWR from ORD.

BA is a transfer partner with both MR and UR so you could definitely pile up some points with them, if necessary. You already know about the fuel surcharges. I like BA and I fly them, but I find the use of their points best for upgrades to business on paid tickets, a route I suspect would cost you at least $4000 to buy the tickets to upgrade--I assume you don't want to do that.

That makes the Aer Lingus option possible. The seats are angled lie-flats, but there are good reports about the EI experience, such as One Mile at a Time trip from BOS-DUB with pictures and detailed descriptions and One Mile At a Time trip from DUB to BOS with more pictures.

Finally, with the BA-MR connection, I would keep my eye out for a transfer bonus promo. Amex has had bonuses from 30-50% the last couple of years. As the MR program has taken some hits, with Continental departing, DL messing with its awards program, and the loss of some hotel partnerships as well, I expect that you'll see another promo in the next four to six months. I wouldn't wait if you find you can make a booking and have sufficient points since you can't always guarantee how long the seats will last, but if you're not ready to book but think that EI (or even BA) might play a part in your plan to get to Scotland/Ireland, I'd wait to see if a transfer promo pops up. Although anything can happen, don't wait for any similar transfer bonus promos with UR--none has occurred yet, and given the bonus categories for spending Chase has pushed for its various cards, I wouldn't expect to see any such promo in the next couple of years, at least.

Originally Posted by pinniped

If it's a case where you can split 2 and 2, that will probably open up your selection quite a bit. Start looking at 11 months out, although the old advice that "everything will be available then" isn't quite a hard and fast rule.

When I've done searches on secondary cities outside of primary Star Alliance countries, I've sometimes had to do a lot of segment-by-segment searches to get what I wanted. For example, searching MCI-NCE at United.com might yield no availability, so I'll start by finding ORD-FRA or IAD-FRA...and then, lo and behold, workable segments on either end actually *are* available too. Probably less of an issue for you ex-ORD, but if United.com shows zilch on an ORD-EDI search, then break it up and search ORD-FRA, -MUC, -VIE, -ZRH, etc. Find your J seats. Then find your GLA or EDI segment from there.

I second mtkeller's recommendation...if you're going to end the trip in Ireland, the value of a cheap nonstop straight back home might outweigh the benefits of J awards back through Europe.

Originally Posted by sound48

That seems like a good option to think about, thanks. If I were to do that, what would you recommend for getting from Scotland to Dublin? I searched United and it seems all flights from GLA and EDI have long connection times to Dublin.

Originally Posted by brasov02

If you have the time, catch a train to Holyhead in Wales and take the ferry over to Dublin. Not sure about your luggage situation so that could be a bit of a hassle but if you had the time and energy it would be a nice adventure and a great way to see some beautiful country and enjoy a pleasant boat trip across the Irish Sea (especially if there's some sun). But if you don't have the time, the much quicker, and probably much more expensive, flight would obviously be the way to go. Although if you had some spare Avios, they might be of good use for that option...

Originally Posted by marquis930

Over the past year, I've traveled from Chicago to Dublin several times for work and have done so in business class on both United and Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus biz class is OK, but it is nowhere near as nice as United's, so, if you're going to use miles for your tickets, you'll be much better served by going with United.

I realize that business class is a plus regardless of the airline that you choose, but, if you're going to burn miles to get it, I'd argue that the experience should be as great as possible.

Here are a few differences that I've observed:

- As compared to a United flight with the updated business class section, the Aer Lingus business class feels "old". The pictures linked in a post above can give you a good view of that. It's sort of like EI is using planes that United would have used a few years ago.
- The Aer Lingus angled lie-flat beds are not as comfortable as those on United, which lie completely flat. Aside from the difference in angle, it feels like the padding on the seats is thinner on Aer Lingus, which accounted for most of the difference in comfort for me.
- The Aer Lingus entertainment system has about 1/4 as many options of movies and TV shows as on United. It may not be a huge deal because of the overnight flight, but, if you can't sleep and need movies to watch, you could grow frustrated quickly. Plus, the screens on the United entertainment systems are a few inches larger (measured diagonally), which is clutch when you're watching a movie/show in a darkened cabin.
- I've seen several glitches on the entertainment system on Aer Lingus, as well. For me, it's only been small things like having blown speakers in the EI headsets or the remote controls not working correctly (the touchscreens have worked fine though), but, in some cases, I've seen the screens/systems not work altogether for other passengers. I'm sure that this happens on United too from time to time, but I've never seen it myself.
- The food on both airlines was good, but the United entree options have been a notch above the Aer Lingus ones in my experience.

Some of the things in the list above may not be a big deal for some people, but I thought they might be useful to you. If the miles required for biz class on EI are much lower than on United, then go for it on EI because it likely won't be a negative experience. That said, United is definitely a step above.

By the way, the only direct flight between ORD and DUB on United is actually serviced by Aer Lingus, so keep that in mind when looking at your options for booking. If you stay on United metal for the whole trip, you'll have a connection in EWR. Don't let this deter you, the United Club in EWR is great and the difference in quality of the transatlantic flight will make the stop well worth it.

Originally Posted by sound48

Do you know which aircraft from United was the one you would recommend? I've seen a few different kinds when doing dummy bookings.
How would you compare United to Lufthansa? I've seen some flights through Lufthansa as well.

Originally Posted by sound48

That seems like a good option to think about, thanks. If I were to do that, what would you recommend for getting from Scotland to Dublin? I searched United and it seems all flights from GLA and EDI have long connection times to Dublin.