Just found out that Aer Lingus will be offering nonstop flights between Seattle and Dublin 4 days a week starting in May of 2018. That is really good news for the Pacific North West!
A sample booking shows 'Saver' tickets (18 - 30 May) at $745.73 for the Non-Stop, return flights. At 9+ hours each way, though, you MIGHT want to spend a bit extra on Upgrades from the cheapest seats! 'Smart' runs about $40 more -- each way -- and includes a checked bag AND Seat selection. On the A 330, that means the option for a two-seat row, which is always a 'Plus' in MY book!
AL also just recently announced flights from Philadelphia, as well. Their new owners certainly seem to be aggressively 'growing' the Airline. There's been talks of Seasonal flights to Las Vegas, too.
Bob, The extra leg room and 2-seat row would definitely be worth the $80 on a 9 hour non-stop flight. And the free checked luggage on the way home would be ok too...although....they never get a chance to "lose our luggage" outbound; Murphy's law and all! Lol! Being forced to pack light is not a bad thing! The only downside is the drive to SeaTac: dreadful traffic on interstate 5. Haven't checked time schedules yet, but hopefully can make it a mid-day drive to airport in the lull between morning and evening commutes and then an evening/night flight out. Since we are in the process of selling our home and relocating closer to Seattle (farther from Portland) it will be a welcome option. The price at $870, would be often times $100-200 less than what we have previously paid for 1-stop-over flights. I have recently been taking a closer look at both Norwegian Air and WOW airlines. Not too crazy about what I see....except for the price. Almost all have 3-3 seating on the leg going across the puddle. Dan
Yes, the Norwegian flights seem less than ideal, given the 3-3 seating and extra $ for almost everything. Still, it's good to have the lower pricing as it puts SOME pressure on the Majors to keep themselves competitive!
I would actually be more tempted by the WOW Airlines flights, to be honest. Flying into Cork, after a few day's lay-over in Iceland might be a tempting factor.
$800 - 1200 seems to be a typical price range for me in Florida -- but, the AL (seasonal) flights from Orlando tend to run to the higher price (or more).
Sadly -- Most 'Deals' invariably revolve around DUB -- ONLY. Wish SNN and Cork could be worked into the 'Mix' . . .
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Bob
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We did the one day lay-over in Iceland. Should have done at least 2 and maybe three depending on how hard jet-lag hits you! Iceland is very beautiful andy highly recommended! If you could get over jet lag one day in Iceland, you could hit the ground running in Ireland!!!
Dan
Update: The Sea-Dub Aer Lingus route is a sure thing! Offering 4 flights/week: Sun-Mon-Wed-Fri summer schedule through Oct and then 3 days/week in off season. The introductory price is $599 if booked by May. Will be a shade over 9 hour non-stop flight departing SEA early evening arriving DUB mid day. Returning it leaves Dub mid afternoon arr SEA early evening. All and all, very good news! If/when our business sells (currently pending-fingers crossed) we plan to take the kiddos (2 sons & their SO) and GD this fall. I know a lot of folks who want us to adopt them! Lol!
It sounds like Aer Lingus wants to continue expanding routes in the US and wonder if PDX will soon be in the mix. Have heard good reports about the new routes from the east coast. We will offer the kids a 10-14 day trip (depending on their work schedule) and DW and I plan to be there a month. More details to follow! (Hopefully!) Regards Dan
Yeah Iceland is worth a multi-day stop. My wife and I visited for 5 days last year in May. It was stunning, especially the long drive we took up the coast out into the wilds. It's a huge island with stunning natural beauty. Very expensive though. If we go again we both agreed we'll stay outside of Reykjavik more.
Good to see Aer Lingus expanding though. A 9 hour flight direct from Seattle is a hell of lot better than a 6+ hour flight to the East Coast with a layover followed by another 6 hours. The arctic route really helps.
Yeah I'm sure Norwegian airlines and WOW are putting some pressure on the major transatlantic airlines. Aer Lingus has got a great advantage that they can exploit and that is the huge number of connecting flights they've got all over Europe from Dublin. WOW and Icelandair have been trying to do the same with Keflavik airport in Iceland. But I do find Aer Lingus very handy for visiting other parts of Europe as well. Very convenient direct flights from Dublin to places like Prague, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Rome, etc. This Thursday I'm flying Aer Lingus Boston to Dublin then onto Hamburg. Naturally stopping off in Dublin for a few days on the way back.
I agree, Dublin would be a great jumping-off point for mainland Europe (or return)! It seems "big businesses" are driving this whole process, at least in Seattle. With the likes of Starbucks, Amazon, Microsoft, and Expedia, there are over 6,000 employees of these companies working in Ireland. I'm sure those "lie-flat" seats will be in huge demand and very lucrative $'s for Aer Lingus!
Dan
Wish I could snag flights at that price. Current non-stop flights MCO to DUB (when available) are pricing out around $1300-1500 EACH.
The Delta flights from Atlanta to Dublin that we often take run that long, or longer. The 9+ hour flight isn't TOO bad -- even in Coach -- if in a two-seat row -- although we often 'splurge' on 'Comfort' class for at least the Out-Bound leg.
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Bob
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