Aer Lingus

[little miss s]

Has anyone ever used Aer Lingus? I'm looking at flying from Barcelona to Austin on May 2nd and they have a pretty cheap rate. I'm a little nervous about using a foreign carrier though. The route goes Barcelona to Dublin, Dublin to NY, NY to Austin, does that sound to out of the way to head toward Dublin instead of right to the U.S.?

[greatam]

Has anyone ever used Aer Lingus? I'm looking at flying from Barcelona to Austin on May 2nd and they have a pretty cheap rate. I'm a little nervous about using a foreign carrier though. The route goes Barcelona to Dublin, Dublin to NY, NY to Austin, does that sound to out of the way to head toward Dublin instead of right to the U.S.?

 

The AerLingus rates can't be beat. And most foreign carriers offer FAR superior service over US carriers on international flights.

 

And the very best thing-you will clear US immigration in Dublin, NOT JFK. So no long waiting lines in NYC. Go DIRECTLY to baggage claim, get your luggage, clear customs and recheck for your flight to Austin. Depending on the carrier to Austin, you MAY have to change terminals at JFK.

 

There are US immigration officers at both Dublin and Shannon. It is VERY easy, the airports are small and everyone is friendly. Signage is in English and most everyone speaks English. You hit a home run with your plans.

[FlyerTalker]

Since AerLingus is an Irish airline, headquartered in and hubbing through Dublin, it makes perfect sense to go there first before hopping across the pond. AerLingus will only fly as far as JFK -- the flight from JFK to AUS will likely either be on jetBlue or Comair (Delta Connection) if a non-stop. Take the jetBlue (B6) flight -- otherwise you will be very uncomfortable in a CRJ for almost 4.5 hours!! B6 uses an Embraer 190 on that run; a much better aircraft for that kind of distance. Or do a connect on a major through Houston/Dallas/Atlanta to minimize your CRJ time.

 

AerLingus one-way fares are a great deal for cruisers on TATL crossings.

[billybob123]

Take the jetBlue (B6) flight -- otherwise you will be very uncomfortable in a CRJ for almost 4.5 hours!!

 

Agree with the rest of your post, but here I disagree. I would NOT choose Jetblue for the sole reason that they don't interline luggage, so the OP would have to collect the bags and then recheck them at the counter in JFK, which would include a very uncomfortable terminal change. I would stick with Comair, especially since the JFK-AUS flights are on CRJ-900s which are infinitely more comfortable than the CRJ-100 and 200s.

[greatam]

which would include a very uncomfortable terminal change. I would stick with Comair, especially since the JFK-AUS flights are on CRJ-900s which are infinitely more comfortable than the CRJ-100 and 200s.

 

Any way you look at it, OP will have a terminal change. Aer Lingus uses terminal 4, Delta/Delta Express, etc. uses terminal 3, and JetBlue uses 6.

 

Even though Aer Lingus has cut the official connection with OneWorld, their interline agreements remain in place. An AA flight would definitely include the interline luggage exchange, but becomes problematic at DFW (AA is using DAL for most AUS flights). Delta may or may not interline the luggage.

 

Doesn't the international terminal at JFK still have the recheck baggage desk, which will go to any airline, so long as the ticket is written as one continuing flight???? I don't fly much out of the OneWorld alliance, so haven't tried luggage exchange on a "non partner" airline for a loooong time. But just after 9-11, flew in on LAN and transferred to AmWest. The luggage arrived in PHX.

[little miss s]

I'm always amazed at the wealth of knowledge on these boards and today is no exception. I'll keep checking back for additional input, but the fact that I could clear customs in Dublin is fabulous news. I'll definitely take a closer look at Aer Lingus.

 

Thank you very much.

[FlyerTalker]

You will do an immigration pre-clearance in DUB -- however, you will still have customs formalities in New York. It does eliminate one line at JFK, though. Re-read Greatam's post and you will see that it says you will go through customs after claiming your bags.

[pollux]

I have used Aer Lingus the last 5 years one way from my TA crossings.

They are almost the only air line which will sell a one way tickets.

Last Oct. I came out of Amsterdam and the plane left one hour late.

In Dublin it was a rush and run to get through the US customs but the plane had waited for me.

Great airline good service. And no customs check in Los Angeles. Great.

Going to book again for my Med cruise in April.

Any one else on the Splendour April 26th?

Please register on Meet and Mingle.

[jasl]

Good to know about Aer Lingus, we'll be flying them in October to meet our ship in Venice. Great fare.

I know this is off topic, but are you from Amsterdam by any chance???? The Pollux was a three master training ship in the fifties.

[pollux]

Yes, Jas. My son graduated from that ship in 1970.

[giblert]

Has anyone ever used Aer Lingus? I'm looking at flying from Barcelona to Austin on May 2nd and they have a pretty cheap rate. I'm a little nervous about using a foreign carrier though. The route goes Barcelona to Dublin, Dublin to NY, NY to Austin, does that sound to out of the way to head toward Dublin instead of right to the U.S.?

 

Aer Lingus is a 70+ year old airline tracing its roots back to the mid 30s, and is the national airline of Ireland. You've already discovered they're one of the very few European airlines that offer inexpensive oneway tickets. As for your routing, It really doesn't add much distance (236 miles according to this http://gc.kls2.com/cgi-bin/gc?PATH=BCN-DUB-JFK%0D%0ABCN-JFK ), and gives you a wonderful option for a couple of day stopover in Dublin as Aer Lingus will allow that in your travel plans.

[megr1125]

Just stumbled upon this.....want to get to Ireland...anyway...good info about this airline-gives what looks like a lot of options if we head across the pond for a cruise....reasonable options for flights home, and the chance to hang out in the land of some of my family! thanks greatam, FT and others!

[tcocktail]

Does Aerlingus really check the weight on the cary in bags. Thirteen pounds is not very much weight to carry on.

 

For future reference. Aerlingus now has an interline bag agreement with JetBlue. Once through customs at JFK just take your bags to the transit desk.