You Trip Report

	DATE	FLIGHT NUMBER	SEAT	AIRCRAFT
26 Mar 19	EI 174	38G	A320
CLASS	VIEWS	LANGUAGE	AUTHOR
Economy	90349	English ,Spanish	jetsetpanda

Prologue:

On my first visit to Dublin I was excited at the prospect of trying Aer Lingus for the first time on the return from DUB-LHR. A first experience with any airline is always a cherished event for an aviation geek and my trip with them coincided with the introduction of a new rebranded image for the carrier.

EI is an interesting carrier that was part of Oneworld from Dec. 1999 - Mar 2007. Presently it is owned by IAG Group - the parent company of BA and IB. It has no immediate plans to become a Oneworld member yet and it is interesting to note that this airline does not offer a J cabin on its intra-European network but offers it only on its transatlantic flights.

I took the 747 bus from my hotel to T2.

T2.

Inside the terminal.

EI check in counters.

24 hrs. before departure I checked in online and reserved a window seat in the back of the plane. For some reason I couldn't print my boarding pass at the kiosk so the agent sent me to a Travel Pass counter which was empty.

Kiosks.

Aer Lingus lounge entrance.

Reception. The lounge has two floors connected thru a staircase (there is no lift).

Lower level lounge.

Airplane model.

Computers in the lower level.

Lower level lounge.

Back of lower level lounge.

Buffet.

Scones.

Jams (Orange and Strawberry).

Liquors.

Fruit salad butter and cheeses.

View from lounge.

Upper level.

Chairs on the hallway and facing the showers.

Beverage station on upper level.

Cookies.

View from second flr.

My snacks.

Plane spotting at the gates.

EI A330

DUB & EI.

The new image of EI on an A320.

Going to the gate.

My plane.

Gate.

Crew arriving.

Crew boarding.

Ready to board.

Greeting at the door.

Cabin.

My seat.

Row across.

Seat pocket materials.

More spotting.

EI fleet.

Take off.

Bye DUB.

BOB Service. Two sets of carts began the service from opposite ends and met in the middle. I thought this was very efficient delivery and ensured that everybody got their choice.

BOB menu on the back of magazine.

Bacon Sausage and Ballymaloe Relish Baguette with ginger ale for Eur 6.50 - better value than what U.S. carriers offer. The sandwich was served hot.

Bacon Sausage and Ballymaloe Relish Baguette.

Arriving in LHR.

Thames river and London Eye.

Thames river.

Hyde Park.

General Post Office (GPO).

Spire of Dublin.

Ha'Penny bridge.

Christ Church Cathedral.

Interior of Christ Church Cathedral.

Fish and chips @ Kingfisher.

Lamb shank @ The Lotts.

========== Dublin Arpt (DUB) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 9/10

Access and parking: 9/10

Services and activities: 8/10

General cleanliness: 10/10

========== Aer Lingus Gold Circle Lounge ==========

Staff Service: 9/10

Entertainment: 7/10

Business Center: 8/10

Food: 6/10

Lounge Design: 7/10

Spa and Bathroom: 8/10

Wifi: 9/10

========== Aer Lingus - Airline ==========

Cabine comfort: 9/10

Crew: 10/10

Entertainment: /10

On-time performance: /10

Appetizer: 0/10

Starter: 0/10

Main Meal: 10/10

Main Meal-2: 0/10

Cheese: 0/10

Desserts: 0/10

Alcohols: 0/10

Mid-flight snack: 0/10

Breakfast or light meal before arrival: 0/10

========== Heathrow (LHR) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 7/10

Access and parking: 9/10

Services and activities: 9/10

General cleanliness: 10/10

Summary:

The Aer Lingus Lounge in T2 is a comfortable place to spend a few hours before your flight. I paid EUR 30 (USD 33.95) for a pass and i thought that it was well spent. I was there in the afternoon and the lounge never felt uncomfortably crowded. The buffet offered a limited amount of snacks consisting of fruit salad, scones, cheeses, cookies, Minestrone soup, bread and crackers.

I had a positive experience with Aer Lingus and found the staff to be professional and efficient. The BOB program was reasonably priced and I appreciate that there is hot food available. The only disappointment is that drinks offered aboard are not free

10 Comments

Thomas — Apr 15,2019

Thanks Amigo for this report. NIce spotting. See you soon in Dublin ! Not that I'm stingy but I prefer to take few drinks from the lounge to avoid paying in the air. Cheers !
Reply

jetsetpanda — Apr 17,2019

Hi Thomas. I was lucky to get great spotting on this trip. Good thing that I chose a window seat on the right side of the plane and was rewarded with one of the best landings I had in all my travels. Thanks for commenting.
GRMY — Apr 16,2019

Thank you Adan for this TR.
Beautiful lounge !
Nice seat and good meal but it's BoB menu...

Reply

jetsetpanda — Apr 17,2019

If BOB is good then it is less painful to pay for it. ;) I had to do it for the team and get a sampling of their product. If only in the US we can get hot food for BOB. Thanks GRMY.
Casper — Apr 16,2019

Lovely Report Adan. A true pleasure reading you. still 30E is quite a lot. Thanks for sharing your whole report.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Apr 17,2019

Salut Casper.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your visit and comments.
Flyera — Apr 16,2019

Nice Report dear Adan and welcome to YTR ! Weird that EI does not offer a business product within EU.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Apr 17,2019

Hi AAFlyer.

I read that EI might implement J on intra-European flights in the future but on certain flights for connecting J pax on their transatlantic flights. From what I understand it will be a true J cabin but catering will be the same as BOB menu with the difference that they will be free. We'll see.

Thank you for your kind words.
Capoune — Apr 17,2019

Hello and thank you for this report.
The lounge looks nice.
EI is like BA with legacy fares for a low-cost flight...
Thank you!
Reply

jetsetpanda — Apr 17,2019

Hi Capoune. That's true, you would think that EI would offer lower fares but that is not always the case. Thanks for the visit and comments.

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