[Anonymous]

[eirtraveller]

Now that Aer Lingus has introduced its new commuter routes from the UK – including Cardiff, Doncaster, Edinburgh, Durham etc. – you can easily fly to the US from these areas. It seems to me it could be a lot easier than rail-linking it to London and dealing with all that hassle. From these smaller airports to Dublin airport (now a very easy airport to navigate and very quiet these days), clearing US immigration in Dublin on most flights, and walking straight out at NY, ORD, BOS etc. looks good.

The fares are very competitive, like £1700 biz return all in, and Aer Lingus has a really good Biz product now – angled, yes, but comfortable, good AVOD, and above all a very small biz cabin on the A330s, with really excellent staff.

I wonder if anybody will use these options?

[WilliamRead]

Although not having used this service myself, my sister can vouch for all the advantages cited by eirtraveller. In particular, the siting of US Immigration at the Irish airport means that 1-2 hours is saved by not having to queue in the USA; on arrival the passenger collects any luggage and walks out of the airport. Surprisingly, this advantage seems to be missing from the Irish Airports Authority website, and is rarely, if ever,mentioned in advertising etc directed at the UK traveller.

[TemboOne]

Unfortunately both Aer Lingus and Aer Rianta seem to have lost sight of the fact that not everyone destined for North America is heading for the United States.

The lack of any scheduled Aer Lingus service between Ireland and Canada makes Ireland useless as a connecting point for U.K. originating passengers. There is no earthly way that passengers between the U.K. or Ireland and Canada want to deal with the hassles of transiting the U.S.

Aer Lingus last served Canada around 1976 when strict rules forced them to use Montreal as a gateway! I guess someone failed to tell current Aer Lingus management that the rules have changed.

Indeed this this was highlighted on stage a few years ago when singer Roger Whittaker mentioned that it unbelievable that there was no direct Aer Lingus service between Canada and Ireland (he faced the choice of either flying from Canada to his home near Shannon connecting via either London or the U.S.)

Apologies to those who may feel this is drifting off-topic, but it had to be said!

[DavidRenton]

Aer Lingus has a good Premier Transatlantic product. the benefits of pre-clearance are to be found when you arrive in EWR or JFK behind 5 other flights and you don’t have pre-clearance – 1 hour later, you may be close to the front of the queue. Dublin have improved their baggage delivery time, and facilities are improving airside. The business lounge at DUB is still basic – there’s a lot to be said for flying VA from LHR – other airlines should take note of their clubhouse.

[Travellator]

American do Chicago
Continental do Newark
Delta do New York

Also ex DUB

[TemboOne]

Thank you Travellator.

Unfortunately you missed my point.

Travellers between Canada and Ireland do not want to have to deal with the hassles of U.S. Immigration, nor be forced to use U.S. carriers.

Currently there is no year-round schedule service between Canada and Ireland. AC operates a limited all-economy service in summer.

Right now the majority of passengers between Ireland and Canada prefer to backtrack via LHR rather than use EI to BOS or JFK enroute to YYZ or YUL.

[Phileasfoggtmc]

Not sure what TemboOne is pursuing – a good and valid point about the merits of travelling to the US from eirtraveller – no mention of Canada. Come to think of it no mention of Australia, Taiwan etc – all to do with supply and demand!

[TemboOne]

My apologies Phileasfoggtmc – point well taken!

I have become so ingrained over the years to so many in the UK incorrectly using the word “America” to describe a country that I neglected to note that Eirtraveller had actually used the term “US” for U.S.A.

As far as supply and demand are concerned, that’s simply a non-starter. The demand is there, as AC, BA and KL can attest due to the volume of through YYZ-DUB traffic they handle.

[VintageKrug]

Pre-clearance is a good feature of Aer Lingus’ product. And you can still earn (some) BA Miles on Aer Lingus flights.

But retro Business Class is not my idea of fun. A wedgy bed doesn’t really help get a good night’s sleep. The Gold Circle and the Anna Liva lounges in DUB were among the worst I have ever encountered for overcrowding and poor facilities (seem to recall the Gold Circle lounge is used for TransAtlantic flights).

Here is an overview of their Premier Business Class offering:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abk3h0oSfXU

[eirtraveller]

These points are well made although that video is a few years old – FYI all the planes have been retrofitted with new seating and cabins, and many of the A330s are brand new.

Although we often compare our trip-options simply by ‘seat type’ or even ‘airline’, I find on my travels it can be much more complicated that just: do I get a flat-bed or not? In this instance, flying to the East Coast of the US (a pretty short flight really) , I find the experience of these A330s with angled-flat seats (only 20-24 seats per plane only) with the really good service Aer L offers often better than, say, a BA 777 flight or certainly an Air France debacle (must admit to not having a love for AF), or perhaps having to go thru Heathrow.

If I was going to the West Coast, I think I would opt sooner for BA or VS for obvious reasons….and to Australia, well, even more interesting options there.

[starflyer]

Just to remind potential pax that there is no guarantee that pre-clearance will happen in Dublin. As eirtraveller has said on “most flights”. On some days the facility is limited due to limited stands available for it. The new terminal at DUB should make that a thing of the past at the end of the year.

Incidentally the same benefits are available for pax travelling on US and CO to the US (again not all flights do the pre-clearance in DUB) who codeshare with BD. No beds though on either of those in C.

[Author]

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