Your thoughts on Aer Lingus business class?

[lojo]

It's getting really close to flight booking time for us and I'm interested in hearing different opinions on upgrading to business class.

We'll probably be flying with Aer Lingus and as their Business Class tickets are significantly more affordable than most, I'm thinking I might treat myself as a birthday (once in a lifetime) treat. However, I can only afford one direction - and am driving myself nuts trying to decide what the pros and cons are of each option.

The flight times are:

Outward: 12:30, arriving 17:00 [9hrs 30mins]
Return: 19:10, arriving 08:35 (following day). [8hrs 25mins]

Which would you choose and why?

 

[Kath2003]

It's getting really close to flight booking time for us and I'm interested in hearing different opinions on upgrading to business class.

We'll probably be flying with Aer Lingus and as their Business Class tickets are significantly more affordable than most, I'm thinking I might treat myself as a birthday (once in a lifetime) treat. However, I can only afford one direction - and am driving myself nuts trying to decide what the pros and cons are of each option.

The flight times are:

Outward: 12:30, arriving 17:00 [9hrs 30mins]
Return: 19:10, arriving 08:35 (following day). [8hrs 25mins]

Which would you choose and why?

Going out there. Longer flight, you'll actually be awake for most of it and stand a chance of arriving feeling slightly less like you've been dragged through a hedge backward.

Going home you're going to feel wrecked no matter which class you fly in as you land at 3:30am! At best you might be able to get a little more sleep but even if you went properly hardcore snoozing and slept for 6 hours, you know how it feels to be dragged out of bed after 6 hours of sleep at 3:30am - grim!

So I'd enjoy it going out there and accept that you'll feel like hell on earth no matter which class you fly home in.

Though, personally, for a once in a lifetime birthday treat, I'd spend the money out there. Better hotel, a few nice meals out etc. make the money go a lot further than having a little extra room for 9 hours...

 

[stephensmum]

I'd go for the way there, you'll have special check in & leave the plane first, so quicker to get through imergration. Longer flight, more excited to get there. Maybe, you'l get upgraded on the way back.

 

[alebisi]

I'd do the return, because I would be with the Disney blues, tired from touring the parks. Having Business class would be the cherry on the cake (or ice cream).

 

[irisheyes123]

For me it would be the return flight the extra baggage allowance would come in handy for me and being able to lie down on the plane I might just be able to nap In all the years Im going I have never been able to fall asleep on a plane..... But whatever you decide it will be a lovely treat.

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

Mrs ABZDisneyFan & myself flew Aer Lingus Business Class to New York last year & we were both very impressed with the service.
The lounge in Dublin is not huge but is modern & has a nice selection of food & drink.
If you are flying from the UK, you can use the lounge on the way back as well while you’re waiting for your Dublin - UK flight, which proved very useful for us as our flight was delayed, the lounge has showers & a quiet area upstairs.
The flights themselves were fantastic, the seats do not go fully flat they are angled lie flat but we found them more than adequate for sleeping.
Leg room is superb & because of the shell design of the seats, even if the person in front fully reclines it does not impact on your space.
The food & drink on board is fantastic & the crew we had on both trips were top class.
We had The Edge (The guitarist) from U2 on our flight back from New York, I met him in the lounge at JFK & he was a perfect gentleman.
We were planning on booking with Aer Lingus again for our trip to Florida in November but I was able to book Club World with BA to Miami using air miles, which was better for us because we live close to Heathrow.
In summary, I would not hesitate to book their business class service again, go on treat yourself & book it.

 

[mackay_j]

I personally would not waste the money on the return trip as I know that I still wouldn't sleep -I have flown 1st class with BA and upper with virgin (for work as I sure as hell wouldn't pay thoses prices) and still didn't sleep so it was a complete waste of money to me. On the way out at least I would get to see the diff. However, we always fly the cheepest and any saving over a flight upgrade goes in the spending money pot for a dream treat while we are there- last time the diff paid for 2 nights in an universal hotel so we got the fol passes On other trips it covered discovery cove also Xmas diner at gaylordpalms with iceskating and the ICE show.

Have fun whatever you choose

 

[lojo]

Thanks for all your responses, it's always interesting to get other people's perspective, especially when they've been there, done that. I appreciate you taking the time.

I've picked out the pros for choosing BC in each direction:

Going:
Longer flight - better value for money
Off plane first, and presumably luggage off first too.
Fresher on arrival - can sleep all day when we get off the cattle truck on the way home, but wouldn't want to sleep through first day on holiday.

Coming back:
Bigger luggage allowance...... shopping!!!
Night flight - best chance of decent sleep (I can sleep anywhere, but it tends to be very disjointed).
Something to look forward to at end of holiday.

Did I miss anything?

I think I am veering towards the flight out, but I have been known to change my mind from time to time .

I know what you mean about spending the money on treats while there, but travelling long-haul in something other than a cattle truck has been on my bucket list for years, and I'm not getting any younger.

PS I am all too familiar with the through a hedge backwards feeling.

 

[lojo]

Sooooo excited - just booked our flights! Went home this evening to play around with options and discovered the return date had been released a few days sooner than I was expecting.

I didn't change my mind - going business class on the outward journey - after weighing up the options supplied by your good selves. If I win the lottery, I can always upgrade the journey home.

Now the planning really begins.......

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

Fantastic news, I think you've made the right decision.
You will get more enjoyment & "bang for your buck" on the way out, the separate check-in, the lounge, the priority boarding & that great feeling of turning left when you walk on to the plane.
The seat & the space that you have will blow you away, there is nothing quite like sipping a nice glass of champagne as you sit back in your nice comfortable seat waiting for everyone else to board.

I've not posted enough on here to be able to include a link to a trip report from Airliners.net that has some photos of the business class cabin & the seats that will give you a rough idea of what to expect. It’s from JFK to DUB & from 2010 but apart from that it should be the same as what you will get.
I'll see if I can PM it to you, if not try Googling "Airliners.net trip reports aer lingus business class" & hopefully you should get it.


The only negative to all of this is that you will never want to fly at the back of the bus again.
Before our NY trip last year Mrs ABZDisneyFan had never flown long haul business class & is now hooked, hence our BA Club World trip this year.

If you have any more questions, please let me know & I'll be glad to help.

 

[lojo]

Thanks for the tip - I had seen some pics of the seats before, but this is a really good, photo filled report on the whole experience.

It's funny, but because I haven't booked accommodation or anything else in Orlando yet, all my excitement is channelled into the outbound flight. Glad our flight isn't too early, would hate to miss out on 'free' alcohol. We've selected second row window seats (don't really need the extra space at the bulkhead given how much space all the seats have). It doesn't look like there would be much difference whichever seat you pick - or do you think otherwise?

I'd be interested in anyone's experience of going through preclearance in Dublin's terminal 2 - we had a miserable time in 2008 in terminal 1 and they didn't even do full clearance then (surly officials, endless queuing, and deprived of one of our passports until boarding closed, which left us stressed and anxious, not a good way to start a holiday).

 

[irisheyes123]

Thanks for the tip - I had seen some pics of the seats before, but this is a really good, photo filled report on the whole experience.

It's funny, but because I haven't booked accommodation or anything else in Orlando yet, all my excitement is channelled into the outbound flight. Glad our flight isn't too early, would hate to miss out on 'free' alcohol. We've selected second row window seats (don't really need the extra space at the bulkhead given how much space all the seats have). It doesn't look like there would be much difference whichever seat you pick - or do you think otherwise?

I'd be interested in anyone's experience of going through preclearance in Dublin's terminal 2 - we had a miserable time in 2008 in terminal 1 and they didn't even do full clearance then (surly officials, endless queuing, and deprived of one of our passports until boarding closed, which left us stressed and anxious, not a good way to start a holiday).

Congratulations on booking your flights About pre-clearance In T2 both times I have been through it was empty Im sure it does get busy at times I just have not seen it... You don't bring your suitcases with you they show you a picture on a screen and ask are they your bags thats for the customs part we went through really quick both times ... Just a little tip buy what you need before doing pre-clearance as no shops the other side just a coffee shop and vending machine so not a lot of choice you go through security again after pre-clearance but you can bring liquids through that one Sorry if Im not making a lot of sense.

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

We booked row 2 on the way out & row 1 on the way back, we actually preferred row 2 as the TV screens are lower down & at eye level, the screens in row 1 are farther away from you & higher up on the bulk head.
IMHO you have made the right choice by going for row 2.
As far as pre clearance goes, we got the late afternoon flight to JFK so it was closed by that time but I’ve heard that the lounge dragons will make an announcement when you need to go down.
Once you get into the main departure lounge where the shops & food court are, follow the signs for the Airline Lounges & don’t be tempted to try & do pre clearance first, once you have done that you are technically on American soil & you can’t get back to the lounge.
Don’t be afraid to take advantage of the priority boarding as the queue to get on the plane will be huge, you paid for business class so go for it. It was not signed but was to the right hand side of the desk where they were checking boarding cards.
I think I said it before, but I was really impressed with the service that we received, the cabin crew on both flights were amongst the best I have ever had.
Have a great flight & as I said before let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[lojo]

Congratulations on booking your flights About pre-clearance In T2 both times I have been through it was empty Im sure it does get busy at times I just have not seen it... You don't bring your suitcases with you they show you a picture on a screen and ask are they your bags thats for the customs part we went through really quick both times.

That's excellent news - hope we get the same. My partner has the same name as someone on US 'alert lists', so I suspect we will have some delays, but if the queue to get there isn't ginormous, it shouldn't be too bad.

Just a little tip buy what you need before doing pre-clearance as no shops the other side just a coffee shop and vending machine so not a lot of choice you go through security again after pre-clearance but you can bring liquids through that one

Once you get into the main departure lounge where the shops & food court are, follow the signs for the Airline Lounges & don’t be tempted to try & do pre clearance first, once you have done that you are technically on American soil & you can’t get back to the lounge.

I knew that was the case for T1, but thought maybe T2 would have been a bit more hospitable since it was new. It's kind of funny actually, it's technically American soil but passengers are deprived of civilised refreshments, whereas when you get to American soil for real there's no end of food and drink 24/7.

We booked row 2 on the way out & row 1 on the way back, we actually preferred row 2 as the TV screens are lower down & at eye level, the screens in row 1 are farther away from you & higher up on the bulk head.
IMHO you have made the right choice by going for row 2.
As far as pre clearance goes, we got the late afternoon flight to JFK so it was closed by that time but I’ve heard that the lounge dragons will make an announcement when you need to go down.

Intuitively I picked the right row - hope that follows the whole way through my planning. I'm a bit cautious of relying on the announcements, as I've been on my way to the gate when boarding was announced and by the time I got there they were announcing for stragglers (yep, me). I want to follow your earlier example and be sitting sipping champagne while the rest of the plane boards.

Don’t be afraid to take advantage of the priority boarding as the queue to get on the plane will be huge, you paid for business class so go for it. It was not signed but was to the right hand side of the desk where they were checking boarding cards.
I think I said it before, but I was really impressed with the service that we received, the cabin crew on both flights were amongst the best I have ever had.
Have a great flight & as I said before let me know if you have any more questions.

They'll have to have a barricade to stop me taking advantage of priority boarding (see above!).

Incidently, is there priority given to business class passengers at the security queue at all?

Thanks again.

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

We flew in from London so other than the secondary security check we didn't come from landside, so I can't say for sure if there is a dedicated Fast Track / Business Class security line, there generally is one at most international airports so I'd be surprised if Dublin didn't have one.

 

[15isto2]

Do they have lie flat beds?

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

The seats are angled lie flat, so they do go flat but are at an angle to the floor as opposed to being flat like a bed if that makes sense, the foot rest at the bottom of the seat stops you sliding off.
We had no problem sleeping on them.