Flying to Ireland

arad · Newbie

Flying to Ireland

Michele Erdvig · Host

arad,

Welcome to the forum! That is a pretty good airfare. However, the airlines tend to have sales coming up in the winter. Perhaps you should wait a few months to compare prices.

I have not flown Aer Lingus transatlantic recently. From the feedback I have heard it really depends on the type of plane and how new (or old) it is. Most people agree that the coach seats are cramped and not the most comfortable. American may be more up to date.

Michele

CowboyCraic · Guru

Hello Arad,

I have to agree with Michele on waiting for a few months, check agian in mid December for rates.

Having just returned from Ireland in July and flying roundtrip on Aer Lingus, I would have to say that Aer Lingus' service is a mixed bag. The flight over was definitely not very pleasant. A few of the attendants were quite snippy. The seating was quite cramped even for someone as small as I. I had to skip both meals, as they could not assure me that there were no mushrooms, even though there was a notation on my flight info indicating severe allergy. However, on the flight back, the attendants were quite pleasant, the seating was less cramped and I was served a meal specifically prepared for me.

I have always had wonderful service on American Airlines, whether flying domestic or international. If British Airways flies into Shannon or Dublin on your travel dates, they are phenomenal and usually run some good deals around the first of the year.

It has been my preference to fly in and out of Shannon as the airport is so much easier to negotiate customs, picking up your rental vehicle and getting out onto the main road. One bad experience at the Dublin airport was enough to sour me.

When you start researching Car rental, take a look at Auto Europe. I booked our vehicle through them in January of this year. You prepay half when booking and half two months before your scheduled pick up. I have never had a better rental car experience. The vehicle was onsite at the airport in Shannon and we were in and out in under fifteen minutes.

You are traveling at a wonderful time. There will be very little tourist traffic. Have a fantastic trip!

arad · Newbie

Thank you for your input - it's appreciated!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Arad,

We are always happy to help. You might want to sign up for airline newsletters. They will inform you of any sales and specials in them. Just go to the websites of your airlines of choice to sign up.

Michele

China Cat · Veteran Member

We travelled to Ireland in late June. I should have booked the ticket in February or May when I could get $500 from Boston. I waited, and ended up paying much more. I think Michelle is right, the best prices seem to come just after Christmas. that said, the price you are seeing is not bad.

also, one more vote against Aer Lingus. While I had little problem with the service or food, teh seats on the plane were probably the most uncomfortable I've been in for years. it was almost impossible to get any sleep on those hard, cramped little things. I believe American is better, if the price is similar that's what I'd pick...that said, make sure you look carefully...that they aren't the same flight, do American and Aer Lingus codeshare?

oopsy · Senior Member

I actually think $570 round trip from Chicago in May is pretty good, and I would probably take it. That being said, I've only headed over 2 times, both from Chicago. The first time was 4 years ago and I believe (not 100% on this) that we paid about $500 pp, purchasing tickets in January. This year, we went on AA frequent flyer miles, but I did check price of tickets frequently for others who might have joined us, and I'm not sure I every saw them below $550 for a May trip this past year. Of course, I didn't check them daily, or even weekly.

We really, really did not like our AA trip this year. I typically fly AA. I was on a flight to NYC a few weeks before our Ireland flight. I remember being surprised at how comfortable the new adjustable head rests and the flight in general seemed to be. I was unpleasantly surprised to get on the plane for Ireland, have no adjustable head rest, and feeling I had less leg room. I was more uncomfortable than usual. Oh well, the flight is but a short part of the vacation!

Happy plannin

oopsy

lighthousefan · Member

arad-

Not sure about the prices. We just returned yesterday via Aer Lingus Chicago to Shannon. Our flight over was great-service wise. Weather was rough-no fault of Aer Lingus. Food was great- seats were ok. Attentiveness of stewards was fantastic. On the way home, food was good- not as much attention from the stewards. It was fun to have Galeic/English speaking pilots. Good luck and have a great trip!! Heidi

Roy · Guru

On our recent trip this past August, because of a series of mishaps at Reagon National, we missed our connecting Aer Lingus flight to Shannon. We were ale to get on a AA flight later that night. We flew Aer Lingus back.

The 757 AA plane was old. The flight was adequete, no more, no less. The Aer LIngus flight home was much more pleasant. The food and service were better. I don't remember the seats being comfortable on either flight.

Roy

wojazz3 · Guru

The one time I flew overseas with Aer Lingus, they kept the cabin lights on all night making sleeping pretty tough. I didn't help that there was a screaming toddler across the aisle from us. That of course wasn't the fault of Aer Lingus.

Bill