Will I Risk Flying Aer Lingus?

Mr E

I have to go to Chicago next Monday and need to book tickets. I can fly direct from Shannon (on Aer Lingus), or I can fly via Newark on Continental...

I know Aer Lingus aren't going anywhere (they should be around for the next fortnight at least!), but I'm concerned about strikes. Once the unions get their teeth into today's cost cutting proposal, is there a possibility of strike over the next week?

jonny68

Generally id go with whatever is the cheapest option myself, Aer Lingus wouldn't be one of my fav airlines they have gone rapidly downholl in recent years, still they pi*s all over airlines like Ryanair.

P. Breathnach

The unions have been very careful with Aer Lingus, in particular about not escalating things quickly. The chance of a strike being called is as small as they can make it; the chance of a strike happening at such short notice is approximately zero.

Greenmachine

jonny68 wrote: »

Generally id go with whatever is the cheapest option myself, Aer Lingus wouldn't be one of my fav airlines they have gone rapidly downholl in recent years, still they pi*s all over airlines like Ryanair.

Ryanair vs Aer lingus Can't say I would hold them any higher than ryanair.

killbillvol2

Greenmachine wrote: »

Ryanair vs Aer lingus Can't say I would hold them any higher than ryanair.

Service is about the same. If anything Ryanair are probably more punctual.

OP, I think you should be ok for Monday. Strikes require a ballot.

shane86

Headin to Oz partly with AL (few hours in Frankfurt, then late night with Quantas) just had to (prob) throw away 25 on a one way to Frankfurt with Ryanair (15 plus their hidden charges). Better safe than sorry, Im insured for the next available Quantas flights but still, Id be snapping if I ended up missing a few days of my one month in Oz for the sake of 25 euro.

Mr E

Thanks for the replies, folks.

Its more of a convenience thing than anything. One direct flight vs. one with multiple legs is a no-brainer (even if it is A.L.). And they are streets ahead of Ryanair IMO...

Savman

Yeah Ryanair's route to Chicago is brutal :rolleyes:
Let's at least compare apples to apples.

killbillvol2

shane86 wrote: »

Headin to Oz partly with AL (few hours in Frankfurt, then late night with Quantas) just had to (prob) throw away 25 on a one way to Frankfurt with Ryanair (15 plus their hidden charges). Better safe than sorry, Im insured for the next available Quantas flights but still, Id be snapping if I ended up missing a few days of my one month in Oz for the sake of 25 euro.

Ryanair don't fly to Frankfurt. They fly to Hahn which is nowhere near your Quantas connection (minimum 2 hours).

mark 2008

I'd defo advise you not to book Aer Lingus at the moment. It'll probably be all out war betwen the unions and the management for the next 6 months. In my opinion Aer Lingus should actually be required to inform passengers at the time of booking that their main union is balloting for strike action, so at least people know and can decide before they make a booking.

Benedict XVI

Mr E wrote: »

I have to go to Chicago next Monday and need to book tickets. I can fly direct from Shannon (on Aer Lingus), or I can fly via Newark on Continental...

I know Aer Lingus aren't going anywhere (they should be around for the next fortnight at least!), but I'm concerned about strikes. Once the unions get their teeth into today's cost cutting proposal, is there a possibility of strike over the next week?

You should be fine, as stated strikes usually need ballots, notice etc, if it was a wildcat strike the union would really shoot themselves in the foot

Savman wrote: »

Yeah Ryanair's route to Chicago is brutal :rolleyes:
Let's at least compare apples to apples.

Well the first poster to mention Ryanair never misses an opportunity to express his/her displeasure with them, IMO it's a bit old at this stage.

shane86 wrote:

Headin to Oz partly with AL (few hours in Frankfurt, then late night with Quantas) just had to (prob) throw away 25 on a one way to Frankfurt with Ryanair (15 plus their hidden charges). Better safe than sorry, Im insured for the next available Quantas flights but still, Id be snapping if I ended up missing a few days of my one month in Oz for the sake of 25 euro..

Did you seriously consider the Ryanair Frankfurt-Hahn option and then get the bus to real Frankfurt or were you unaware of the difference ?, if the latter it may have been a very expensive mistake.

Mr E

SIPTU are ballotting members today, so we'll see what they do.

My boss has pretty much told me not to chance it though (he got stung a few times in the last year or two by AL strikes and issues and had to arrange alternative flights home...)

P. Breathnach

If it's a work trip and your boss says not to use Aer Lingus, that's it.

I say your boss is wrong. SIPTU are rattling their sabres, that's all. It's part of an elaborate ritual.

Fratton Fred

what about Ryanair to Manchester and BMI to Chicago?

ncmc

Mr E wrote: »

I have to go to Chicago next Monday and need to book tickets. I can fly direct from Shannon (on Aer Lingus), or I can fly via Newark on Continental...

I know Aer Lingus aren't going anywhere (they should be around for the next fortnight at least!), but I'm concerned about strikes. Once the unions get their teeth into today's cost cutting proposal, is there a possibility of strike over the next week?

I just want to add that Continental are a really nice airline to fly with. we flew Shannon to LA via Newark and found them great. They have seatback TV's with a choice of about 20 movies and 20 tv shows, the food is quite good (for airline food) and the cabin crew are nice. We found the connection in Newark easy peasy, to me it seemed like a very straight-forward airport to get around. A direct flight like Air Lingus is always nice, but if you're worried, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Continental.

Texas

I'm really worried that Aer Lingus are going to strike, I have tickets to fly to the US with them next week

Does anyone know:

If they do strike do I get an refund?

Any recommendations for travel insurance that covers strikes etc?

Thanks

shane86

Benedict XVI wrote: »

Did you seriously consider the Ryanair Frankfurt-Hahn option and then get the bus to real Frankfurt or were you unaware of the difference ?, if the latter it may have been a very expensive mistake.

I knew there was two, but the Ryanair flight, if I need it, is early morning. Have about 11 hours to make it to the next airport by road if needs be.


Yis had me sh1tting for a second, thoughts that I might have booked a flight to Frankfurt on Oder (which is near Poland) started to creep in :eek:

Expansive mistake? tbh Id far rather pay 25 plus German bus fare to avoid lying around an airport all night waiting for the next flight and losing time off my holiday.

Not to mention it leaves at 11:30 at night, meaning if I can manage a 12 plus hour kip on the plane it wont tremendously **** up my sleeping pattern when I arrive.

sabrina99

I have the same concerns as due to fly to LA with Aer Lingus next week, all I know is that from looking at aer lingus's website they do not appear to give refunds if flights cancelled due to industrial action.
Does anyone know if there is minimum notice period required before strike action?

Benedict XVI

shane86 wrote: »

I knew there was two, but the Ryanair flight, if I need it, is early morning. Have about 11 hours to make it to the next airport by road if needs be.


Yis had me sh1tting for a second, thoughts that I might have booked a flight to Frankfurt on Oder (which is near Poland) started to creep in :eek:

Expansive mistake? tbh Id far rather pay 25 plus German bus fare to avoid lying around an airport all night waiting for the next flight and losing time off my holiday.

Not to mention it leaves at 11:30 at night, meaning if I can manage a 12 plus hour kip on the plane it wont tremendously **** up my sleeping pattern when I arrive.

Ah now I see, in your first post you said 'a few hours', 11 is a lot more than I few, hell you could even get a hotel in Mainz or Frankfurt and have a kip for a few hours with the time you have.

P. Breathnach

sabrina99 wrote: »

Does anyone know if there is minimum notice period required before strike action?

I am fairly sure that the law requires at least a week's notice. And that is after a proper ballot has been conducted, so the minimum lead time is however long it takes to conduct the ballot plus a week.