Aer Lingus is Ireland’s flagship airline. It has a proud tradition of supporting Irish tourism while bringing the diaspora home. The airline serves destinations across Europe, North America and the Caribbean.
The airline’s fleet favors Airbus, with A330 planes on long-haul routes and A321neo on medium-haul flights to North America. On short-haul routes, Aer Lingus operates A320 family planes. Regional flights are on ATR 72-600 turboprops.
I’ve always enjoyed my Aer Lingus flights, not just because of the cabin product, which meets a good standard. The airline’s cabin crew has always been welcoming and friendly, which can make such a difference.
Classes and services on long-haul flights
Aer Lingus offers two classes of service on its widebody planes and the long-range A321s. It has a single class of service on other narrowbody planes and the regional fleet, though you can book a special front-row fare, which offers some nice perks.
Business class on long-haul flights
I find Aer Lingus business class on long-haul flights quite comfortable. Besides a great seat, you get lounge access and other perks that make the higher fare worthwhile.
Overall, the airline’s business class seats are better than average – 22” wide, with a 6’5” lay-flat bed. The cozy duvet bedding ensures a good night's sleep.
To keep travelers refreshed, Aer Lingus offers an amenity kit with essentials, including a toothbrush, toothpaste, lip balm, hand cream, eye mask, socks, and earplugs.
Seating tips on Aer Lingus Business class
Aer Lingus arranged business class cabins differently from other airlines, allowing couples a window seat while ensuring singles get all-aisle access. To do this, the airline mixed up the cabin layout, alternating between 1-2-2 and 1-2-1 rows, with six rows in the cabin. This leaves only 2K, 4K and 6K with a window and no direct aisle access.
Aer Lingus used the same strategy on the A321neoLR, though I find the result is somewhat less favorable. This 2-2 1-1 cabin has only four single seats. The others are doubles. That means window seat passengers need to climb over the person beside them. If traveling alone, I’d forgo the view on this plane in favor of aisle seats.
Also, while the single seats offer more personal storage, the footwell is narrower. Taller passengers may feel a bit crowded at the feet when trying to sleep.
Economy long-haul flights
I’ve found Aer Lingus economy cabins are somewhat more comfortable than others for long-haul flights, mainly because the seats are wider. The separation between seats might make taller passengers feel a bit cramped. For a 5-hour or so flight, I find it’s not bad, and the fare is significantly less expensive than business class. Still, I’m sharing some tips to find better seats.
Better seating on Economy flights
On Aer Lingus’s A330 planes, economy seats are in a 2-4-2 configuration, with the last four or five rows in a 2-3-2. Seats are 17.7” wide and 31" apart. I prefer this to planes with triples by the windows, since I’ll usually book a window seat. The downside of the view is you’re trapped when your companions are sleeping, and it’s less awkward to get out and stretch my legs on a twin seat than on a triple. As a short person, legroom is less of a priority for me, but I will still pay to pick a seat because I don’t want to be randomly assigned to the middle four.
On the Airbus A321neoLR flying routes to and from the US, you’ll find economy seats in a 3-3 configuration. They are also 17.7” wide and 31” apart, though exit rows 14 and 15 offer more legroom.
Aer Lingus short- and mid-haul flights
Flying Aer Lingus on short- and mid-haul flights is about the same as flying with other European flagship carriers in terms of comfort, though tall passengers may find it a bit tight. The airline’s A320-family planes are set in a one-class 3-3 configuration with 17” wide seats set 30” apart.
If you want more comfort, I’d suggest booking the AerSpace fare tier, which has dedicated seating in the front row. It’s a standard Euro-business class with the middle seat blocked.
Aer Lingus flies the A321neoLR on some longer European routes, which offers wider seats, more legroom, a 9” in-flight entertainment screen and power outlets. On the A321neo, the AerSpace fare gets you the long-haul business class seat in a private cabin. Other perks include a more generous baggage allowance, flexibility for flight changes, fast-track through security, and lounge access where available.
In-flight dining
Aer Lingus’s in-flight dining is fairly good, and you won’t have much trouble finding something you’d enjoy, though it’s not quite a restaurant quality. However, you must pay for meals and snacks when flying in Europe.
Business class in-flight dining on long-haul flights
The airline’s business class in-flight dining is generous, featuring international dishes and a touch of Irish flavor (I love the cheeses). The airline serves two meals in business class during the flight and a lighter third meal on longer flights to the US. It also offers a variety of beverages and nibbles. When I’d rather sleep, I’d order a lighter meal to be served early. When flying out of New York-JFK, dining at the restaurant in the airline’s lounge is a special treat.
Economy in-flight dining on long-haul flights
Aer Lingus will serve a meal and a snack on transatlantic routes to the US. One thing I’d suggest for improvement is that the airline only serves orange juice for breakfast on flights from the US to Dublin and Manchester. I advise packing a breakfast bar or something similar to get you going before landing. You can enjoy a warm breakfast sandwich on longer flights from Chicago, Orlando, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Economy in-flight food and beverage on short-haul flights
Aer Lingus sells food and beverages on most intra-European flights. The offer is reasonably good and includes some hot sandwiches and even an Irish breakfast of bacon and sausage with bread (no eggs). Overall, the prices are about what you might pay for food and beverages at the airport.
Wi-Fi and power
Aer Lingus offers high-speed satellite Wi-Fi on most of its long-haul fleet, except for a few A330s, and on all of the A321neo flying mid- and long-haul flights. However, the A321neo only offers a Wi-Fi service option, not a separate messaging and SMS network. Unless I’m working, I generally just use connectivity to keep in touch with family through messaging, but you can still do that with a Wi-Fi connection. The only real difference is the price is higher for Wi-Fi.
The Aer Lingus Wi-Fi connection fees are reasonably affordable, though the messaging-only service is the cheapest. You can buy Wi-Fi passes for 4 hours or for the whole flight, though you can’t connect until 20 minutes after takeoff, and the service goes off 20 minutes before landing.
Business class passengers on long-haul flights get free Wi-Fi.
You will find plenty of room to work and relax while awake in long-haul business class. With universal 110V AC and USB-A sockets, you’ll have no trouble keeping your devices powered in flight.
There is no Wi-Fi available on the planes flying short-haul and regional flights, and there are no power outlets either. In most cases, I’d pass the time reading or looking out the window on these flights. I usually carry a spare power unit if my phone needs recharging en route.
In-flight entertainment
Aer Lingus' in-flight entertainment is on the higher end overall. The long-haul business class features a 16” high-definition touchscreen display and noise-reducing headphones, while the economy class has 9” screens, plus USB and AC power outlets.
I find the airline offers a fairly good selection of new-release movies, programs, music, games and even LinkedIn learning courses. With the Aer Lingus app on your smartphone, you can pre-select your in-flight playlist. If, like me, you’ve ever regretted the in-flight entertainment being cut off right in the middle of a good movie, you can use the Aer Lingus app to pick up where you left off on a later flight.
Aer Lingus lounges
The Aer Lingus 51st&Green Lounge at Dublin Airport is past US pre-clearance, which is convenient since the border service is now quite crowded during peak hours. Get to the airport in time to go through the process and then relax in the lounge at the end of the pier by gate 406. It’s modern and cozy, with many comfortable spaces to gather and quiet spots to get some work done. It also has a great runway view if you enjoy plane spotting like me. Get a cup of joe from the Barista and just relax. The food and beverage selection is pretty good. Shower facilities are available.
In my opinion, one of the nicer features of traveling business class with Aer Lingus to Dublin is getting to the Revival Lounge in the Terminal 2 arrivals hall, near baggage belt six. If you have a meeting directly after landing, you can stop there and freshen up before heading out. The lounge even offers a steam pressing service for your shirt or suit while you shower.
Business passengers and elite loyalty program members can access oneworld partners’ VIP lounges, including American Airlines Flagship and Admirals Club lounges in the US.
This KAYAK-commissioned article is presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the article are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others. Find more perspectives in our user reviews below.
