mary_228

Our family is planning to visit our daughter in Dublin over Easter next year. It's too late to get 40K ORD-DUB seats on AA (or Aer Lingus) but we can go to either LHR or MAN for 40K. Any thoughts on which will give us the "better" transit experience? And the airport most likely to have cheaper fares to Dublin?

schmare

Personally, I'd always prefer connecting in MAN over LHR if I had the choice. LHR is prone to delays and long lines. Additionally, connections can be far from each other, making connections a hassle.

From MAN you'll have a few options for flights to DUB - either Ryanair or Aer Lingus. You'll have a few more options from LHR, but I wouldn't expect there to be a huge price difference.

Remember that the baggage allowances on the flights from either LHR or MAN to DUB will be much lower than on your transatlantic flights, so be sure to consider excess baggage charges if you'll be bringing a lot of luggage.

Finally, if you haven't done so already, call AA to check on award redemption on partner airlines. Perhaps you can add the LHR/MAN - DUB segments as part of your award ticket.

Aviatrix

If you have a lot of stuff you could consider flying to MAN and continuing by train and ferry - no weight restrictions there.

E3A-Sentry

Beware of the LHR hell.I would route through MAN.Ryan Air should have the cheapest fares from there on to DUB.
Does AA not fly to Shannon anymore?if so,that is the way to go-from there either AirLingus or again RyanAir to dublin.

cheers

NWA747SNN

MAN is your best option. Smaller airport, less hassles with crowds and queue's. Much easier to transfer between terminals. The carrier on the transatlantic portion -AA-is the "governing" airline. This means that AA's baggage rules apply on the EI leg from MAN or LHR-DUB. AA pulled out of SNN. ORD-DUB is the only option on AA metal from the US to Ireland.

Another option to consider are the EI metal AA codeshares from the east coast. BOS, JFK and by then MCO, which starts at the end of this month. In BOS you would have to change terminals by bus, at JFK by easier Air-train.

dgwright99

I booked last week, and I just went back and rechecked - AA has 40k coach awards ORD-DUB available for most days either side of easter.

DUB has MUCH lower taxes and fees than going through any UK airport.

NWA747SNN

Great point about the taxes. It is a UK departure tax so if try to avoid UK on the way back.

mary_228

The taxes are a real disappointment - about $120 pp going thru MAN. Don't know how much more than DUB would have been, but then to have to buy tickets to DUB currently over $200 on AE, these award tickets are going to cost me a lot! Meanwhile, I see that I could fly USAir to DUB with a stop in PHL for $577. Kind of makes me wonder if I should hang on to my miles.

DGWRight99: Thanks for checking for award availablity today on my behalf. You mentioned seeing 40K dates around Easter. I just double checked, because of course they could release more seats at any time I suppose, and I see only 3/11 and returning only possible on 3/26. I can't leave before 3/20, but if you've found more dates, please give me the link! I am looking for four seats, so that may be part of our disconnect. BTW, how much are the taxes on your flight?

NWA747SNN: Your suggestion about using AE from the east coast was interesting. Would I have to buy tickets to BOS of JFK in that case? MCO is out of the question because of spring break volume driving up prices to that ariport.

Aviatrix: I was wondering about other transport from MAN to DUB and thought a ferry or train ride could be an interesting part of the travel experience. Can you tell me more about those options?

NWA747SNN

Mary could you post the dates that will work for you, length of stay etc.

mary_228

We'd like to arrive in Dublin on 3/21 (Good Friday) and return home (ORD) on 3/29 or 3/30.

chrissxb

please continue to follow this thread in the UK&Ireland forum

regards

chrissxb
moderator
europe forum

Jenbel

In addition to Ryanair and Aer Lingus, you also have Luxair flying the MAN-DUB route - it's a nice service.

To go by ferry you could go to Liverpool (P&O ferries, 8 hours, including an overnight sailing) or Holyhead (Irish ferries, 2-3 hours) and then get the ferry from there to Dublin. Liverpool is not far from MAN by train (probably maximum an hour) and you should be able to get a train from the airport, although it's likely you'll have to change. Holyhead also requires a train, again with a change, and is a little bit longer - 2-3 hours. Irish ferries offer a train/sail package.

mary_228

Thanks for the info on trains and ferries. I think I will have to focus on flying so we can get there quicker. In my ideal scenario, we would arrive in Dublin in the morning, have my daughter meet us at the airport and we would drive off in our rental car to Galway or some other scenic spot for the long Easter weekend.

House

Another point to note, if you are heading to the West of Ireland, is that you can fly nonstop from MAN to Galway or Knock (in County Mayo). You could then either rent a car there or have your daughter do the driving across Ireland to meet you.

MAN-NOC (Knock) is served by bmi baby www.bmibaby.com on Boeing 737 aircraft

MAN-GWY (Galway) is served by Aer Arann (www.aerarann.com) on ATR regional propellor planes (quite large, take around 70 passengers)

Schedules are a bit patchy so you may find this works in one direction and not the other.

UncleDude

There are presently 2 Coach award seats available DUB-ORD on the 28th if you move everything a day forward, this would avoid high UK-APD as you could fly ORD-MAN -seperate ticket MAN-DUB then DUB-ORD, unfortunately your term "Our Family" does not indicate how many AAward seats you are seeking 2 or more.