Airline advice for London to Dublin
 

We need to fly midday, midweek, one way with 4 people. We don't all need to sit together, although we would, for no extra charge.

I notice the options are:

• Aer Lingus LHR-DUB
• Cityjet LCY-DUB
• BA Cityflyer LCY-DUB

Without regard to price, which of the above would provide the best experience in terms of wait times, crowds, delays, and in-air service and comfort (in economy)?

With regard to price, I notice Aer Lingus out of LGW is half as expensive. What are the caveats?

Where abouts in London are you coming from? Travel to the airport should be a consideration.
Will you have checked baggage?
It is a flight of 1:15 ~ 1:25, so do not expect much in the way of on board service.

We are coming from halfway between LHR and LCY. No checked bags.

Transport to the airport by ?? (taxi, uber, tube, ?) This can take more time than the flight.
LCY may be easier for travel to the airport depending on your method of transport and/or you are near a tube route. LCY is a small airport ^
Note that the carry on baggage allowances for USA airlines and non USA airlines can be/is a lot different.
And as this is FT, is frequent flyer miles a consideration?

We really need to know the likely size and weight of your carry on bags.

BA - out of LHR and LCY - will have the most generous allowance. If you can lift it into the overhead, you'll be able to take it onboard (or, worst case, get it checked for free if the overheads are full). Forced checking is far more likely at LCY where BA operates Embraer E170/E190s and therefore overhead space is at a premium. BA offers both Business Class and Economy (but be aware there is no lounge at LCY and no blocked middle seat because of the 2-2 seating). In J you'll get a 3-course cooked meal, in Y a small snack (which could be a packet of nuts, crisps or biscuits, or a breakfast roll early in the day) and drink (which can include alcohol).

EI, out of LGW and LHR, is Economy only. Carry-on baggage is limited to 10kg, and EI have been known to weigh it - and they may well charge you if it's over, although I have no direct experience. If you eat or drink anything on board, you'll be charged for it - EI is to all intents and purposes a low-cost airline now, essentially no different to Ryanair.

Cityjet (WX) has a 12kg limit, and flies Avro RJ-85s - so there's less pressure on overhead space with the bigger bins. They also offer a free checked bag if you're over the weight limit. Again, free food and drink.

You can also use Ryanair (FR) from Stansted and Luton, but it sounds like that doesn't really fit your location as well.

So far as delays are concerned, both LCY and LHR are susceptible - due to capacity at LHR and weather at LCY. If that is an overriding factor, you need to be on FR ... but there are other downsides which might well overrule that!

I also notice you're a UA Gold. If you have a lounge pass as well, you might be influenced by the fact that EI flies from T2 at LHR, and there's a simply superb (yes, really ...) UA lounge in T2B. You can't use it by dint of flying EI given they're not a Star airline, but presumably you could on the basis of a United Club membership.

Can you be a bit more specific?

If you are halfway between LHR and LCY, wouldn't you also be equidistant from LGW (assuming you're not at the northern peak of an isosceles triangle in Hertfordshire)?

And also possibly on the train line for LTN! The two of which would bring FR into play.

Season also relevant. LCY can be hellish when winter fog arrives. That said personally I would pick BA ex LCY as the Embraer fleet is a little more comfortable than the Cityjet's planes and LCY a less irritating experience for the non-status passenger than LHR. BA will offer a drink and tiny snack. LGW is pretty grim though EI are fine in flight, with one of the better BOB offerings out there.

I prefer LCY for trips to London. Small distance to the DLR, that drops you in Bank.

I've most often flown to DUB from LCY. It's fine IF the flight's on time but a hell-hole when there are delays, with very limited space generally. LGW, STN and Luton are all truly horrible. T2 (EI) is much nicer than T5 (BA) but in-flight BA is nicer than EI. Note that you won't (at least until they re-do EI's program) get any TPs on EI.

Having done all of the routes you list, I would shy away of describing any of these options in such hyperbolic language and instead say they're all pretty much of a muchness for such a short flight, and suggest that to maximise your net experience, the four of you go for the 'half the price' option and invest the difference in enjoying yourselves in Dublin.

My bolding!

I quite agree with Oxon Flyer's sentiments. The flight is an hour and a half. In particular I'd say Gatwick is much improved these days (and it's easy to get to), and it's worth bearing in mind that Heathrow doesn't always exactly excel itself.

Lastly, this post on another FT forum contains an extract of an article from the Economist about the changing face of Ryanair. Though given their previous 'any publicity is good publicity' approach, I suspect some will remain rather wary of them for a considerable period to come.

That's the point. The flight is short, you will be stting in similarly sized seats in broadly similarly sized tubes. You'll either be given refreshments or be offered them for purchase.

The differentiator is the departure airport and the travel to it, which will take longer than the flight and, potentially, cost more. LCY and LHR are cheapest to get to by Tube / DLR. the others varying degrees but much more expensive

(My bolding.)

I'd suggest that in many cases, the cost difference in getting to the various (non-LHR & LCY) airports is somewhat shadowed by the cost difference in the actual flights.

The cost of travelling to these airports is greater, but it isn't astronomical.

The OP mentioned LGW, and that the Air Lingus flights were half the price of other's he'd looked at. I'd say that's a good option. The security process there has been improved greatly in recent years.

The fare from Victoria to Gatwick via Southern trains (not Gatwick Express) is £15.40 single, or if travelling off-peak (in this instance, after 09.30 weekdays or any time at weekends) then with the Groupsave discount of a third-off, four people would pay £40.60.

You can also use Oyster or contactless for travel to Gatwick now - if you travel on Southern or Thameslink trains (not Gatwick Express) the cost is £8 off-peak or £14 peak (which for Oyster/contactless means journeys starting on weekdays between 0630-0930 and 1600-1900).