Advice on flying from Ireland

[Oli]

Hi
flying with 3 boys (9,6,3) from Dublin or Belfast. Does anyone have any recommendations on who to fly with? Do any of the airlines servicing Ireland cater for young families (ie: tvs in seat backs, psp etc?)
I'm a bit concerned about the flight as I'm not sure I can keep everyone happy for that length of time. (including my husband who, although flies daily to work, gets rather stressed with travelling en masse)[msnscared]
Any suggestions? I'm all ears!!

O

[ncmurray]

You could get in touch with Aer Lingus directly to see what facilities they have for transatlantic flights. I think that most airlines will have some entertainment for kids, but you could always try to bring some of your own, especially some new things that they haven't played with before.

Another option might be to bring a portable dvd player? A DS console will pass many many hours, too.

I hope this helps.

Nuala

[Lisa C]

I think Aer Lingus is your best bet when traveling with children from Ireland. We have flown with them a few times with our three kids, they had seatback tv's and we were pleased with their service. They are also the only scheduled airline that go non stop to Orlando from Ireland and that is the deal clincher for me.

To keep the kids busy I would make up a backpack for each, with games, books, pens, snacks, DS etc. How about one for your husband too, with The Indo, Sudoku, DS Brain training.

Together with the excitement of the jouney, meals, films and going up and down the plane for walks and the loo you should find the time flies. [msnwink]

[Oli]

Thank-you for your advice. We're pretty limited flying from Ireland, we don't seem to have the choice that England does.[msnsad]

[wilfy]

We had some guests recently who flew from Dublin to Orlando with Continental. I think via Newark.

[domster]

The other route that sometimes comes up from Ireland is routing via London onto either Virgin or BA. It would be the same as a non -direct from Ireland. I think Aer Lingus do the direct. Not sure if this is a seasonal service or not.

[xtratime]

You may find that direct from Dublin can be a lot more expensive especially during school holidays. Going from Belfast/Dublin via London with BA or Virgin can usually save quite a bit especially fro a family.

[orlandodaze]

We have flown Delta via Atlanta, British Airways ,dublin to Gatwick , Virgin , Dublin to gatwick ,Air Canada . Dublin to Toronto then some days later Toronto to Orlando and of course Aer lingus . The bonus is its direct Dublin to Orlando nonstop . No seatback Tvs going or coming , and as I had a window seat I did nt have a hope of watching the movie , coming home the earplugs didnt work very well the crew on this particular flight were not exactly over friendly and the cabin manager kept telling us to keep those seatbelts fastened because of turbelance which never came . that was so unlike the crew we had the privilage of flying out with on march 13th with whom nothing was too much trouble . That crew were simply the best . I watched how they were with young kids and how they helped parents with babies and toddlers. So Oli really its the luck of the draw . But at 7.30 this morning we were home that is Du blin airport , and once I come to terms with being home its good having a direct flight .

[taylona]

Olive - was this recent? The Orlando route used to be a charter flight and is now operated as a scheduled flight with new Airbus aircraft.

[orlandodaze]

I just arrived home yesterday . The plane is an AirBus Industrie A330-300. Apart from up front there are no back seat tvs. you need to be in the middle rows to actually see the tv as there are no sets on either side . My daughter was in a middle row but she was too close to the tv and there was a glare so she too could not see it properly . Also there is no Premier service instead you can pay extra just for the wider seat up front but no champagne or extra frills .Our friend was offered an up grade at Orlando airport for $200.00. He took it but unfortunately some people up there had rather noisey kids so instead of the quiet and comfortable sleep he anticipated he was awake for 7 and a half hours in a roomy seat watching his own tv. He got no sympathy from us .[msnsmile]