We've just booked for our October half term visit '05 with Aer Lingus and was wondering if anyone had comments regarding this service.
Particular concerns are the luggage allowance (we fly out of Manchester to Dublin so are limited to 20Kg each on this flight!!).
Also the timing of the service i.e. links to the Manchester flight on return and going out!!
Any info appreciated!!
Neil
Carla used this flight in dec, why not DM her?
I was one of the first to book the new service, back on 20 September.
Here's what I wrote in another area about my experience:
I used them on 4 December and returned on 18 December. Going out was fine. Immigration at Dublin was a bit chaotic as I don't think that anyone had warned the Americans that an extra flight would be going to Orlando!!! We queued for ages, plane took off late, but apart from that no problems at all. By the following Saturday they had sorted everything and there were no queues.
Coming back home is a different matter all together!! The plane lands at Shannon before going on to Dublin. This is where you could have problems. We sat on the plane, on the tarmac, for nearly an hour. As a result of this we missed our connecting flight from Dublin to Birmingham**. Even if they hadn't waited so long at Shannon, it would still have been very much touch and go whether we caught the next plane or not.
(**We queried the flight times when we booked, but were told that all would be well. We were never told that they could charge us for a new flight though if we missed the original flight, so beware, and it might be worth changing to a later flight before you go.)
Instead of being on the 9.50am from Dublin to Birmingham we had to wait for the 3pm flight, which left late. It was a very long and tiring day and we didn't get home until 6.30pm. Whenever we fly from Gatwick, even with the drive from Gatwick to Bicester, we still get home around midday and from Heathrow we're home by about 10am.
The Aer Lingus staff also switched our Birmingham flights at no cost, however they did warn us that they had every right to charge for a new flight, since we hadn't arrived on time. The Birmingham-Dublin-Birmingham route is scheduled but the Dublin-Orlando-Shannon-Dublin route is classed as a charter so you can't get a through ticket.
The flights themselves were great. Nice staff, food wasn't bad. However, you only get a main meal and if you want any other snacks, at any time, then you have to buy them. They have Premium seats, which they didn't know about when I booked, but I've no idea how much extra these cost.
Overall the flight experience was OK. You go in and out of Terminal A at Orlando, so miss most of the crush with the other GB flights, because they all go in/out of Terminal B.
I wouldn't use this route again though unless it was quite a bit cheaper than any other route. Since coming home is a non-direct flight, and the final leg could potentially have big and/or expensive problems, then personally I'd rather change planes somewhere on the US Eastern seaboard, if I couldn't go direct. Once they wake you in the morning, you know that it's nearly all over!!
This route is great providing you live in Ireland, or your connecting flight to the UK mainland doesn't leave Dublin anytime before about 10.30am. Anything earlier than this and you'll have trouble making it and run the risk of having to pay for another flight. It's probably a very viable alternative for Scottish owners and guests to save them going via Gatwick or Rekjavik etc.. There were quite a few flights to Glasgow and Edinburgh from Dublin.
Hope this helps.[msnsmile2]
PS: It was the fastest immigration experience that I have ever had!! Index fingers scanned, photo taken and "Bye & have a great vacation" from the lady.[msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2]
berrysmiles
05-01-2005, 11:38
I've Just read Carla's comments about the Aer Lingus Direct flight from Dublin to Orlando MCO. Now you know what we in Ireland have had to go through for years to get to Orlando. Usually we had to have an overnight stay on the out bound journey and frequently a 10 hour stay in Gatwick or where ever on the return journey. This flight has reduced our travel tim by up to 20 hours each way. Thankl you Aer Lingus I think its Brilliant!
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
05-01-2005, 12:28
Slightly off topic but any idea if Aer Lingus's DUB-LAX service stops over at Shannon as we are travelling on it in a couple of weeks.
Technically no but Aerlingus does have aa annoying habit of changing its mind!! However it hasn't happened to me on the LAX route... YET!
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
17-01-2005, 00:28
Excellent - thanks David [msnsmile2]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by David
Technically no but Aerlingus does have aa annoying habit of changing its mind!! However it hasn't happened to me on the LAX route... YET!
[/quote]