Travel Goals

1. Climb to Everest Base Camp.
2. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
3. Learn to Scuba Dive.
4. Visit every continent.
5. See the Galapagos Islands.
6. Sail down the Amazon River.
7. Climb Ayer's Rock.
8. Ride the Trans-Siberian.
9. Go into space.
10. Go wild at La Tomintina.
11. See the sunrise from Mt. Fuji.
12. Gaze at Borobudor.
13. Visit the Pyramids
14. Safari in East Africa.
15. Go to the World Cup!
16. See Machu Picchu.
17. Join the Century Club.
18. Visit Antarctica.
19. Do development work.
20. See Petra Jordan.
21. Backpack the Eastern Block.
22. See the Northern Lights.
23. Vegas Baby! Vegas!
24. Greek Island hop.
25. Cycle Tuscany.
26. Visit India.
27. Lounge in the Seychelles.
28. See Morocco.
29. Oktoberfest!
30. Caravan across the Sahara.
31. Visit Tibet.
32. Fly first class.
33. Go to Israel.
34. Carnival!!!!
35. Mardi Gras!
36. Cannes Film Festival.
37. Sundance Film Festival.
38. Eat a sushi meal at NOBU
39. Pacific Island hop.
40. Spend a night in the Ice Hotel.
41. See Glacier National Park.

Learn a Foreign Language

Are you planning to travel around Europe? Why not learn Italian or French before you go to maximize your experience.

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On my recent flight to London, I flew the Irish carrier, Aer Lingus. For $350 dollars, they were the cheapest deal and they codeshared with my frequent flier program. (I’m a proud user of the Oneworld system.) I expected an awful flight as some of my Irish friends didn’t have kind words for the carrier but I found the flight to be just fine.

Aer Lingus used to be a major carrier but has since restructured themselves to be a low cost carrier offering cheap flights around Europe as well as connecting to the continent via their hub in Dublin. They recently partnered with the American carrier Jetblue to offer flights from anywhere in America to destinations Europe. Additionally, they frequently offer no fare flights to and from Ireland (just taxes!). I’m still not sure how they make any money this way but I’ll take it while the taking is good.

The Aer Lingus flight over was a lot better than my previous flight to Europe. However, sadly, this plane still didn’t have any personal viewing screens, a necessity in my view for any overseas flight, though in the future, I would like to see them on all flights- no matter the distance. No personal screens are a sure sign of an old plane and, as you can probably tell from the pictures, this was an old plane. I don’t hold this against Aer Lingus like I do Air Canada. Whereas Air Canada is a major carrier, Aer Lingus is “low cost” meaning amenities are few and far between. I expect perks from a big name carrier when I am paying a big name price but, from an LCC, I expect a cheap ticket and just a seat. Getting cheap flights to Europe, especially London, during the summer, is always hard. The next cheapest ticket for a one way was over $500 dollars. Round trips can run over $1000 but are generally around $800 to $900 during the summer. So $350 was a steal and, judging by the full flight, I’m not the only one who thought so.

The staff was really friendly and all smiles. Plus, they had those amazing Irish accents. How can you not like someone with an accent as wonderful as that?! You just can’t. Moreover, no one woke me up when I went to bed- I hate being woken up to “would you like any coffee?” Now, if I wanted coffee, I wouldn’t be sleeping, but I digress. The food was average. Typical airline fare. I had some chicken and veggies that were passable. Again, I wouldn’t expect gourmet food on a flight like this. It’s nothing bad but it’s not really anything good either. I did have a lot of legroom. I’m not a giant so usually do have room but I found that there seemed more than usual here.

Overall, Aer Lingus is not a bad carrier to fly. I’ve had more luxurious flights but, for the price you pay, Aer Lingus is the best offer around. I would fly them again as well as suggest them to other people, especially if the lowest price was all that mattered. Next to you fly to Europe from the states, take a look at the pride of Ireland, Aer Lingus.

8 Responses to “Airline Review: Aer Lingus”

1. Anthony on July 21st, 2008 3:49 pm

   That is when living in a mega-uber-city like Boston or New York comes handy: uber-cheap flights across the ocean. Three-hundred dollars?! Living in Orlando: not as cheap

2. Susan Forshner on July 21st, 2008 4:11 pm

   I agree with you - not the most glamorous flight, but it doesn’t claim to be and it gets you to where you need to be on a pretty decent budget. Though I have only flown from Cork to London, which is a very short fligt.

3. Theresa on July 21st, 2008 5:34 pm

   My first international flight was on Aer Lingus, so it holds a special place in my heart

4. Erica Johansson on July 21st, 2008 5:59 pm

   Haven’t flown with Aer Lingus (yet), but if it’s a cheap flight I’m looking for I know what airline to opt for. When I was looking for flights to the US from UK a while back I couldn’t find anything under $500.

5. Sand on July 21st, 2008 8:14 pm

   Glad you have a safe trip and I will keep them in mind for any transatlantic flight I book.

   I recently published a review of [url=http://whispertrail.com/2008/07/flying-with-tam-airlines/]TAM Airlines[/url] on my own site. If you are planning a flight to South America you should seriously check them out. We got fantastic service and the food was actually quite good. For an airline that is.

6. Mark H on July 21st, 2008 10:39 pm

   The Irish accent does it for me too. Is English spoken any more pleasantly than with that lilting tuneful Irish accent? Not that I;ve discovered….

7. Quickroute on July 22nd, 2008 3:09 am

   Here’s a bit of background for you. Aer Lingus used to be expensive with shabby service and had a virtual monopoly for flights originating from Ireland. Enter low cost carrier Ryan Air and things changed quickly. Aer Lingus almost went bust.

   Eventually they did what any other airline would do and copied the competition while upgrading the service so finally they are profitable and actually quite good again.

   They have incorporated the low cost approach for short haul flights as well as upping their service on transatlantic flights in order to survive. fyi - Ryanair are planning to open routes from Europe to USA for around 20 euros + taxes so let the good times roll!

8. wandermom on October 30th, 2008 5:27 am

   Love the “amazing Irish accents” comment.
   Trying very hard to keep mine.

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