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Post Info TOPIC: Best Airline for FLYING to Ireland from LOS ANGELES....


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Best Airline for FLYING to Ireland from LOS ANGELES....


What is the best airline for flying from Los Angeles, California to Ireland?


I need comfty seats, fluffy blankets, soft pillows, , excellent food, and I need to sit with my family in pre-booked seats.    Okay, I'm exaggerating!  Actually, I need reasonable seats (I read that one person had the hardest seats of any airline flying Aer Lingus from Chicago?)  I need to be able to pre-book seats, which I understand is possible even on Aer Ligus if you book directly with the airline...Most of all I need an airline which will give me my aisle seat, which I always book long in advance, due to claustrophobia.  I don't fly on airlines which won't pre-book my seats due to this problem.


Anybody want to share their experience, good or bad?  I need to book my tickets soon for the family.  Isn't flying fun?



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Melissa,


I'm just off an 8 1/2 hour flight so can sympathize with you. There is of course nothing like flying business or first class for all the perks you mentioned but since that is not often in the cards for most of us, we must make do with what is available.


I haven't personally flown Aer Lingus internationally in around 15 years but I have heard good feedback from others lately. Generally, I take United to London or Delta directly from Atlanta to Ireland. The less segments the better I like it.


Since you are flying from LA it makes sense to fly with Aer Lingus since they have non-stops to Ireland. You can pre-book your seats by calling them ahead of time. You might want to mention to the person in reservations that you absolutely must have an aisle seat because of claustrophobia. (I hate enclosed spaces myself...aren't those plane toilets the pits?)


Michele



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"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

Click links for Michele's Book or Custom Ireland Itinerary

Visit Michele's Irish Shop for unique Irish gifts and beautiful photos of Ireland.



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Fun in the toilet stall


Michele, hope you are recovering from jet lag nicely. Can't wait to hear about your latest discoveries.

Thanks for your input about flying out of L.A. What do you mean, I love those cute little airplane toilet stalls, munchkin size, I'm always getting back in line for another turn! Have you ever tried to use the teeny tiny sink in there? Oh, bad idea unless you're desperate. I bring little individually wrapped hand wipies instead.



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RE: Best Airline for FLYING to Ireland from LOS ANGELES....


Hi Melissa,

We are planning our Ireland trips at approx. the same travel times. We are going mid to late June. When do you plan to purchase tickets? I'm not quite ready yet.... Also, what exactly does pre-booking mean??? Also, do you use an agent or plan to purchase online?

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To: IrishEyes Re: Flying


Hi IrishEyes, you are fortunate, I just had lunch with a friend who flies to Ireland a lot and she said July is more crowded than June. So you are able to go at a less crowded time, that's great. It is looking like July is better for us, though I had originally hoped to go in June.

I am planning to purchase tickets this month for July 2006. However I should mention I'm not an expert on this by any means, but for trips to other countries, I like to book my tickets in October, November, or December for June/July travel. I am NOT one to wait for those possible last-minute sales, because I am a nervous flyer, and need the comfort of knowing I've booked my aisle seat long in advance, and that my family will be sitting together.

I gather info about flying from other travellers on-line. Then, I either book the flights myself on-line, or else, if it seems complicated, I use my AAA travel agent. Before I visit my AAA travel agent, I have already checked prices on-line so I know what is the going rate. I trust her completely, but sometimes there might be sales that an agent can't take advantage of which I might find on my own...especially if they are temporary prices only available for a few hours in the middle of the night!

When I book flights on-line, I follow the prices for several weeks, in the day-time and late at night, before booking. I check on more than one web-site and for more than one airline. Sometimes prices are lower if you book on-line at odd times...for example I had been following prices for flying San Diego to Costa Rica for weeks (months), when on New Year's eve, right before New Year's, the prices went down, so I snatched the tickets up before the clock stroke midnight!

When we went to Italy, I believe I booked earlier, as Italy is more popular...I think I booked in October or maybe in November for our June trip to Italy.

When I say pre-booking, I only mean that I need to have specific seat reservations. Hubby has booked us in the past on airlines that don't assign you a specific seat in advance, so you don't know where you are sitting until you check into the airport. I won't fly like that anymore, it makes me too nervous! (I get claustrophobic if I can't have my aisle seat.)

That is why I like this particular AAA travel agent who I occasionally use. she is very patient and understanding with me, and understands my fears. She is willing to work with me. She'll tell me if she thinks something won't suit me. She will even check for me how big the plane is and what the seating chart is like. She also knows things like if certain airlines have been cancelling a lot of flights, for example.

But sometimes it's fine to book tickets myself on-line. Depends on how complicated your flight arrangements are going to be.

Good luck to you, hope we both have great trips!






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RE: Best Airline for FLYING to Ireland from LOS ANGELES....


Melissa,


Thanks for the extensive info for Irisheyes!


Michele



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"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

Click links for Michele's Book or Custom Ireland Itinerary

Visit Michele's Irish Shop for unique Irish gifts and beautiful photos of Ireland.

Anonymous

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Melissa,

I typed you up a whole long post and now it's gone!!! Thank you so much for all the helpful info. I'll try to recreate it.

Michelle, Was the forum DOWN this am, or was it jjust me???

irisheyes


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Irisheyes,


Sorry you post went missing! I don't know if the forum was down this morning because I was not online then. What I always do before clicking on the "Submit Post" button is highlight and copy all my text so if something like that happens I can just paste it into another post without losing anything. Actually the old forum did that quite a lot so that's where I learned to err on the side of caution when making long posts.


Michele



__________________

"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

Click links for Michele's Book or Custom Ireland Itinerary

Visit Michele's Irish Shop for unique Irish gifts and beautiful photos of Ireland.



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When the internet burps


Irisheyes, I think I "lost" a post today too but it was only a short one. I thought I was just losing my mind but maybe the internet burped this morning. Looking forward to chatting with you. (NOW that Michele has settled my mind on where to stay near Dublin, I can sleep easier tonight. Instead of choosing between Slane, Trim, Skerries, Swords, Malahide, and Slane, I have narrowed it down to just Malahide and Dublin! Thanks, Michele!)

Michele, I am only in my son's Nerdy Beginner's Computer class, so I am not sure where you mean you can highlight and paste your text to someplace in case the internet loses your reply? I just learned this week how to bookmark sites! My son is teaching me but he is threatening to quit because he thinks I'm becoming too dangerous...

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RE: Best Airline for FLYING to Ireland from LOS ANGELES....


Melissa,


So you are a dangerous woman! I don't think you son can actually quit simply because he is your son. He's forever stuck with you, and you with him.


Here's how to copy and paste on this forum 



  1. Click inisde comment box

  2. Right click

  3. When box pops up click "Select All"

  4. The text will be highlighted

  5. Right click and click on "Copy"

  6. You can then paste your message anywhere: email message, another forum, word document as long as you don't copy something else, which may erase the first copy.

  7. To paste somewhere else (or if your message accidentally gets erased) left click where you want to put it, then right click and choose paste

There are other ways to do it too but once you have done it a few times it becomes second nature.


Now you may become even more dangerous!!


Michele


 



__________________

"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

Click links for Michele's Book or Custom Ireland Itinerary

Visit Michele's Irish Shop for unique Irish gifts and beautiful photos of Ireland.



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Thanks for the pasting lessons, Michele. I'll never catch up with these youngsters, but there's always room to learn something new.

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