To jumpstart my trip to the Maldives, Jen and I planned to spend a few nights in Doha. To get there, we booked a pair of tickets using United Mileage Plus from JFK to Doha with stopovers in Manchester and Cairo. The first flight would be with Aer Lingus, while the later two legs were with Egypt Air.
Overview
Aer Lingus is the flagship carrier of Ireland and flies a fleet composed of a mix of Airbus A330, A321, and A320. Our flight was a little over 6 hours and would be on an Airbus A330. The Airbus A330 operated by Aer Lingus is set up with a similar configuration to Brussels Airlines with business class in alternating 1-2-2 and 1-2-1 while economy is in a 2-4-2, with a few rows at the very end of the plane in a 2-3-2. Each planes has 30 lie flat business class seats and 287 economy seats.
Pre-Departure, Check-in, and Boarding:
Check in at JFK was smooth with a dedicated line for business class passengers. Since we were at the airport pretty early, there was almost no one at the check in area. The airline operates out of terminal 7 in JFK. JFK is one of my least favorite airports to clear security as there is no dedicated line for TSA Pre. Instead, I was told to show the screener my boarding pass in order to keep my shoes on.
After clearing security, Jen and I made our way to the Aer Lingus lounge. Terminal 7 is quite small with a handful of international flights and Alaska using the terminal. There’s no real lounge options other than Aer Lingus and Alaska lounges. The Aer Lingus lounge was solid and provided a nice place to rest before boarding our next flight.
Boarding was a bit messy and felt like a free for all as the flight was delayed by 30 minutes. Once we got to the plane, Jen and I quickly found our seats.
The Cabin:
Aer Lingus operates their Airbus A330 in an alternating configuration of 1-2-2 and 1-2-1. This is similar to what you can expect on a few Brussel Airlines planes as well. Jen and I took the middle section so we both had direct aisle access. I personally don’t mind this sitting configuration, but it could be troublesome for solo travelers who may not have direct aisle access.
My view of Brussels Airlines Business Class
Each seat was equipped to lie fully flat and felt comfortable. Compared to reverse herringbone seats, I find that front facing seats have a slightly wider footwell.
Food
Although our flight was a little over 6 hours, Aer Lingus offered two meal services. After takeoff, dinner was served and a second light meal was provided about an hour prior to landing. For a shorter overnight flight, I slept through the second meal service, but luckily Jen was able to try their breakfast.
About 15 minutes after takeoff, we reached cruising altitude and drinks were served. Shortly after, the flight attendants came and took our meal orders. Jen went with the Beef dish, while I had the pasta option. We both selected the smoked trout as our starter which was solid. My pasta dish was ravioli with a white wine sauce, while Jen had a slow-roast brisket with mash potato. To finish, I had a cheese plate. Both of us were also served dinner with warm bread.
Service
Service was solid on this flight. I think there were no complaints and the staff was nice. I had little interaction with the staff, but they did check in on me a couple of times while also proactively offering drink refills. Solid seems to be best way to describe Aer Lingus service.
In the lounge, I did need to make a seat adjustment and the Aer Lingus lounge staff was absolutely wonderful. I felt like Aer Lingus staff members were genuinely nice and friendly.
Entertainment and Amenities
The movie selection was adequate but I couldn’t find anything that caught my eye. I was also extremely tired and ready to get some shut eye. The IFE was fast and the picture quality was good. Overall, the entertainment selection was on par with most international carriers.
At each seat was a water bottle and amenity kit. Call me a hoarder, but I do enjoy collecting amenity kits from different airlines. Aer Lingus offered a very poor looking sack for their amenity kit that contained the bar minimum. This was similar to what you may expect from a U.S Transcontinental flight. I was a bit disappointed, but there would be more chances to snag a better kit on other flights during my journey to the Maldives.
Overall
This my first time flying Aer Lingus and it was overall just simply solid. I didn’t have any complaints and the catering was passable. On the flip side, I think the amenity kit could use a lot of work and the boarding experience could have been a bit smoother.
Overall a solid job and I could definitely see myself flying Aer Lingus again if the opportunity arises. I won’t go out of my way to book this airline, but I certainly won’t avoid it.
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