Aer Lingus tops complaints (beats Ryanair)

ballooba

Many here seem to sing the praises of Aer Lingus. Personally I very rarely fly with them as I don't think they offer value for money. I never 'choose' to fly with them. I thought that I might be in a minority, but it seems that Aer Lingus fared badly in the complaints to the Commission for Aviation Regulation last year.

http://www.businesspost.ie/#!story/Home/News/Aer+Lingus+tops+aviation+regulator's+complaints+league/id/19410615-5218-501a-4085-5a52e0681387

jameshayes

ballooba wrote: »

Many here seem to sing the praises of Aer Lingus. Personally I very rarely fly with them as I don't think they offer value for money. I never 'choose' to fly with them. I thought that I might be in a minority, but it seems that Aer Lingus fared badly in the complaints to the Commission for Aviation Regulation last year.

http://www.businesspost.ie/#!story/Home/News/Aer+Lingus+tops+aviation+regulator's+complaints+league/id/19410615-5218-501a-4085-5a52e0681387

i'm the same, hate aer lingus, love ryanair... i'm the only pro ryanair person I know lol - sad.com

Xpro

I dont mind Aerlingus myself, sometimes you can get a good deal too, but Ryanair would be my preference:cool:

coylemj

I suspect that people have simply given up complaining about Ryanair since they thumb their noses to and hurl ridicule at any regulator who dares to take them on.

ballooba

Maybe people have finally copped on to Ryanair's model and how to 'play the game'. It's a great service if you know how to use it. I can imagine it's frustrating for people who need a lot of support to follow instructions.

charliehotel

coylemj wrote: »

I suspect that people have simply given up complaining about Ryanair since they thumb their noses to and hurl ridicule at any regulator who dares to take them on.

That's it exactly!

BeardySi

Flying with Ryanair is like eating in a Wetherspoons, you know it's gonna be cheap, basic and of questionable quality. You know what to expect in advance, so why complain?

Sadly Aer Lingus have engaged Ryanair in a race to the bottom in terms of quality of service, I used to love flying with them and being treated like a human being, doesn't happen so much these days. They have the outward look of a proper carrier, but operate like a budget, hence the complaints...

Personally I go with BMI or flybe when I can, and ryanair/easyjet/aerlingus when shedules or budgets dictate it...

charliehotel

Treadhead wrote: »

Sadly Aer Lingus have engaged Ryanair in a race to the bottom in terms of quality of service, I used to love flying with them and being treated like a human being, doesn't happen so much these days. They have the outward look of a proper carrier, but operate like a budget, hence the complaints

(Here I quote myself from another recent thread)

The notion of low cost air travel is, mostly due to Ryanair, now embedded within the psyche of the Irish consumer. Irish people want cheap flights. Aer Lingus directly competes with Ryanair on 44 routes in 2012. Although this is the very reason why Ryanair hasn't and won't be allowed to take over Aer Lingus, it is also the reason why Aer Lingus doesn't offer the full typical flag carrier service - it has to compete with Ryanair. Aer Lingus is a business and has to make money.

If Aer Lingus was like British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France etc. people wouldn't chose to fly with them because, as I previously stated, Irish consumers have adjusted to wanting the lowest fares - they simply wouldn't pay for higher fares. I think that this can be illustrated in the fact the the lowest fare to LHR with BA is now €60, Aer Lingus is €36 - Aer Lingus is in fact cheap!Therefore, it reveals that Aer Lingus is actually merely astute in adapting to the demands of the Irish market, which I believe is very commendable.

Aer Lingus offers the following that Ryanair does not:

-own-brand airport lounges at DUB, LHR and BOS
-different fare options ie. Low, Plus, Flex
-allocated seating for all
-fresh quality food onboard with an extensive menu
-pre-order meals
-seats that recline, with moveable headrests
-seatpockets
-an ethos of customer care
-longhaul flights
-AVOD IFE on loughaul
-Business class on longhaul
-powerpoints in Y class on A330
-Wifi in the A330 fleet by the end of the year
-Flies to central airports
-frequent flyer programme
-codeshares with a number of large airlines


To finish, Aer Lingus is merely doing a damn good job of meeting the very particular needs of its home market, Ireland.

L1011

People have learnt its pointless complaining about Ryanair. Also, Aer Lingus had a last-minute cancelled strike last year which would have created mass complaints.

Additionally, Aer Lingus are the bigger airline in Ireland. People outside of Ireland will complain locally, but Ryanair's pax figures cover all of Europe.

Hence the figures cannot actually be compared, but don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.

ballooba

charliehotel wrote: »

If Aer Lingus was like British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France etc.

If you're comparing them to those relics, then you're setting a low bar. Why not compare them to Singapore Airlines or Virgin? I've never flow Lufthansa, so i can't comment on them. Aer Lingus wouldn't be fit to shine Virgin's shoes.

ballooba

MYOB wrote: »

Additionally, Aer Lingus are the bigger airline in Ireland. People outside of Ireland will complain locally, but Ryanair's pax figures cover all of Europe.

Aren't the figures per million pax through Irish airports?

SBP wrote:

Of the 572 complaints the commission received in respect of departures from Dublin, Cork & Shannon airports, 234 related to Aer Lingus, representing 26.71 complaints per million passengers per annum. There were 147 complaints to the commission about Ryanair, representing 17.27 complaints per million passengers per annum. There were 18 complaints to the commission about Aer Arann, representing 20.93 complaints per million passengers per annum.

faceman

charliehotel wrote: »

-Wifi in the A330 fleet by the end of the year

Is this true? I figured they may have it on the A350 due next year but not the 330?

L1011

ballooba wrote: »

Aren't the figures per million pax through Irish airports?

Even if that's the case, Ryanair pushes pax through KIR and NOC in volumes that Aer Lingus don't get near. Additionally, FR's quoted passenger numbers are known to be a work of fiction as they include the ~15% of passengers who never turn up; no other airline does this.

charliehotel

faceman wrote: »

Is this true? I figured they may have it on the A350 due next year but not the 330?

Yup, all 7 A330 aircraft are being WIFI-enabled over the period Christmas-March.


See page 21 of link

http://corporate.aerlingus.com/media/aerlinguscom/content/pdfs/corporate/aerlingusgroupplcH1results2012presentation.pdf

charliehotel

ballooba wrote: »

Why not compare them to Singapore Airlines or Virgin? I've never flow Lufthansa, so i can't comment on them. Aer Lingus wouldn't be fit to shine Virgin's shoes.

Because they are not European carriers with short-haul networks - ie. like Aer Lingus.

Which Virgin airline do you refer to?

ballooba

MYOB wrote: »

Even if that's the case, Ryanair pushes pax through KIR and NOC in volumes that Aer Lingus don't get near. Additionally, FR's quoted passenger numbers are known to be a work of fiction as they include the ~15% of passengers who never turn up; no other airline does this.

You may have a point on the no-shows. But I'm not seeing your point with regard to complaints per passenger.

ballooba

charliehotel wrote: »

Because they are not European carriers with short-haul networks - ie. like Aer Lingus.

Which Virgin airline do you refer to?

I'm actually think of Virgin Australia. it's a real pity they have no European counterpart. An airline like that would put Aer Lingus to shame.

devnull

I've only ever made one complaint about someone and both were about Aer Lingus, once for giving my boarding pass to someone else and accusing me of having a fake passport, when it later turned out they issued my ticket to a person with a completely different name in error.

I know friends who have had issues with nonsense self serving diversions during work to rule two years ago where EI diverted a plane 700km away when the destination airport was closed because it was the nearest open airport that Aer Lingus served, meanwhile all other carriers such as BA, Luthansa all diverted to the nearest open airport.

These days I rarely fly EI, mostly FR simply because they're more punctual, less prone to strikes and have a more sensible diversion policy.

charliehotel

ballooba wrote: »

I'm actually think of Virgin Australia. it's a real pity they have no European counterpart. An airline like that would put Aer Lingus to shame.

And the reason why they don't have a European counterpart is because such an airline wouldn't survive in the the European market. The competition is very fierce. The Virgin Group got a taste of it with Virgin Express in Belgium, and they haven't returned since.

drdeadlift

jameshayes wrote: »

i'm the same, hate aer lingus, love ryanair... i'm the only pro ryanair person I know lol - sad.com

Do you love the boarding process where everyone stands in q extra early to be seated beside their fellow traveler,the girl that comes around trying to squeeze more money out of you saying your bag is too big, the trip to the remote stand to board the aircraft,the continuous sale advertisements over the PA which come across as jibber as the crew members accent isn't understandable then finally you get the flight where the cabin crew are all over the place due to either fatigue or inexperienced.
Flown with them five times already this year.Find it next to impossible to believe you love to fly with them,the pleasure just isn't there,if getting through poxy security lines Dublin Airport isn't bad enough you have to put up with more tripe moments ahead of you.
All the tickets were paid for too so im not being a hypocrite.

Do many others get the feeling whist lining up fro their fr flight why didnt i spend that bit more.

ballooba

drdeadlift wrote: »

Do many others get the feeling whist lining up fro their fr flight why didnt i spend that bit more.

I never line up and have seldom had an issue finding free seat pairs. Some people are happy with Ryanair's offering for the money. I only flew once with Aer Lingus this year and they very nearly took my head clean off by failing to properly stow galley lockers.

drdeadlift

ballooba wrote: »

I never line up and have seldom had an issue finding free seat pairs. Some people are happy with Ryanair's offering for the money. I only flew once with Aer Lingus this year and they very nearly took my head clean off by failing to properly stow galley lockers.

Your patience should be celebrated.

Cessna_Pilot

It's a long time since I've been on an Aer Lingus flight so can someone advise me how they board their aircraft? Do people not queue at all and just sit and wait to be called for their flight?

Skuxx

I havn't flown with them for a few months, but from what I remember you are allocated a seat, and they board the a/c in seat rows xx-xx, then yy-yy etc, I flew with Swiss 2 weeks ago and it was the same with them!!
I'm flying Swiss, Aer Lingus and British Airways all this weekend so it will be nice to see the comparisons!

With regards to RYR, I flew 3 flights with them last month, non were a particlarly pleasent experience, but at the end of the day it is what it is!!! And the flights were for nothing so defo no reason to complain I suppose!!

Dacian

alan1990 wrote: »

.....I'm flying Swiss, Aer Lingus and British Airways all this weekend so it will be nice to see the comparisons!

With regards to RYR, I flew 3 flights with them last month, non were a particlarly pleasent experience, but at the end of the day it is what it is!!! And the flights were for nothing so defo no reason to complain I suppose!!

Would be interesting to see your comparisons on the 3 airlines this weekend.

As regards the FR comments, if the price is right you can get exactly what you paid for. A win win equation for both parties.

Terrontress

charliehotel wrote: »

-own-brand airport lounges at DUB, LHR and BOS

Not available to the vast majority of their travellers.

-different fare options ie. Low, Plus, Flex

Which you have to pay quite a bit for. Basically just bundling of added cost options.

-allocated seating for all

If you want to ensure your family sits together you pay for it. Ryanair you queue early.

-fresh quality food onboard with an extensive menu

Which you pay separately for and "fresh", "quality" and "extensive" are subjective terms. Terms I wouldn't use.

-pre-order meals

Of the costly fresh quality extensive type.

-seats that recline, with moveable headrests

Yip, Ryanair don't have that

-seatpockets

Nor that.

-an ethos of customer care

Difficult to quantify. I'd say Ryanair argue the same.
-longhaul flights
Not really relevant on the routes Ryanair fly.

-AVOD IFE on loughaul

Again, not relevant in comparison with Ryanair.

-Business class on longhaul

Again, not relevant in comparison with Ryanair.

-powerpoints in Y class on A330

Again, not relevant in comparison with Ryanair.

-Wifi in the A330 fleet by the end of the year

Again, not relevant in comparison with Ryanair. Not relevant in comparison with anyone as it is a promise for the future. Will the wifi be free to access?

-Flies to central airports

Many high frequency routes are shared, eg DUB - LGW

-frequent flyer programme

useless for the vast majority of passengers

-codeshares with a number of large airlines

No benefit to passengers.

To finish, Aer Lingus is merely doing a damn good job of meeting the very particular needs of its home market, Ireland.

So there you have it. Reclining seat backs - not sure if the guy behind you will think it a benefit - and seatpockets. Somewhere nice to store the Cara magazine, sick bag, menu and the last passenger's soiled tissues.


Don't get me wrong, if the price is right then Aer Lingus is fine. But they are not superior to Ryanair in any way, shape or form and nor are Ryanair superior to Aer Lingus although I think Ryanair is now easier to escape a card admin fee than Aer Lingus.

BeardySi

Terrontress wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, if the price is right then Aer Lingus is fine. But they are not superior to Ryanair in any way, shape or form and nor are Ryanair superior to Aer Lingus although I think Ryanair is now easier to escape a card admin fee than Aer Lingus.

In the interests of fairness...

Aer Lingus have much better interiors with more legroom and no hideous yellow or ads everywhere.

Aer Lingus flights aren't a constant barrage of sales announcements selling crap nobody buys unless they're too drunk to have gotten on the flight in the first place.

ballooba

It strikes me that people are saying that Ryanair customers have given up complaining. Yet, Ryanair still enjoy their custom. So people aren't complaining and they aren't voting with their feet. Ryanair must be meeting their expectations for the price. Gaudy interiors, intrusive cross-selling and all.

charliehotel

Terrontress wrote: »

Not available to the vast majority of their travellers.

DUB and LHR are the first and second most popular airports for EI customers, respectively. Lounge access at both DUB and LHR can be purchased by any EI customer so you are wrong.

Terrontress wrote: »

Which you have to pay quite a bit for. Basically just bundling of added cost options.

The different fare options suit different types of customers ie. the Flex fare for business customers who desire flexibility with their flying etc. Again Aer Lingus adapting its offering to the needs of customers.

Terrontress wrote: »

If you want to ensure your family sits together you pay for it. Ryanair you queue early.

Nope, with Aer Lingus you can check in from 30 hours before takeoff and select seats for free.

Terrontress wrote: »

Which you pay separately for.

Is this a bad thing? Giving customers the option to have reasonable-quality food is a good thing these days, instead of what many EU flag carriers do and offer only a free coffee and a biscuit - all for a much higher fare.

Terrontress wrote: »

Of the costly fresh quality extensive type...Will the wifi be free to access?.

Typical Irish mentality, wanting everything for nothing. People, Aer Lingus is a business - not a charity.

A note on the ''extra costs'' - EI's fares are reasonably low compared to full service competitors eg. DUB-LHR lowest fare with BA is €60, EI €36. Therefore, after paying extra money for extras it is often still lower in cost.

Terrontress wrote: »

Not really relevant on the routes Ryanair fly.

Again, not relevant in comparison with Ryanair.

Precisely, so this is something that Aer Lingus offers which Ryanair doesn't offer.

Terrontress wrote: »

Many high frequency routes are shared, eg DUB - LGW

EI fly to LHR, CDG, FRA and AMS - the 4 largest EU hubs. FR don't.

Anyway what does high frequency have to do with central airports?

Terrontress wrote: »

useless for the vast majority of passengers

It's a facility available to use and which FR passengers have no equivilant.

Terrontress wrote: »

No benefit to passengers.

The most nonsense point you have made. Codeshares allow passengers to connect onto a wide range of destinations outside of the Aer Lingus network, something perhaps you haven't done but many do. FR doesn't offer this.

charliehotel

Treadhead wrote: »

Aer Lingus is fine. But they are not superior to Ryanair in any way, shape or form

Treadhead wrote: »

Aer Lingus have much better interiors with more legroom and no hideous yellow or ads everywhere.

Aer Lingus flights aren't a constant barrage of sales announcements selling crap nobody buys unless they're too drunk to have gotten on the flight in the first place.

Yup so Aer Lingus is in fact superior.

Tea 1000

drdeadlift wrote: »

Do you love the boarding process where everyone stands in q extra early to be seated beside their fellow traveler,the girl that comes around trying to squeeze more money out of you saying your bag is too big, the trip to the remote stand to board the aircraft,the continuous sale advertisements over the PA which come across as jibber as the crew members accent isn't understandable then finally you get the flight where the cabin crew are all over the place due to either fatigue or inexperienced.
Flown with them five times already this year.Find it next to impossible to believe you love to fly with them,the pleasure just isn't there,if getting through poxy security lines Dublin Airport isn't bad enough you have to put up with more tripe moments ahead of you.
All the tickets were paid for too so im not being a hypocrite.

Do many others get the feeling whist lining up fro their fr flight why didnt i spend that bit more.

I'd largely agree with this. I just hate queue's, get semi-stressed immediately when I see 150 people all in along line, only ever see up to around 20 RYR pax sitting patiently. The 737's are louder inside than the A320's too, and I can't figure out why RYR go for gaudy interiors. Leaving them unpainted would be nicer and cheaper. Seats much better on EI also, and just a more relaxed atmosphere.
Having said all that, price comes first, and usually RYR wins, so I'm happy to put up with them. Loving flying with them is certainly an incorrect statement from my point of view however!

Cessna_Pilot wrote: »

It's a long time since I've been on an Aer Lingus flight so can someone advise me how they board their aircraft? Do people not queue at all and just sit and wait to be called for their flight?

Usually I only see around a third of the passengers queuing up for an EI flight, versus 90% of RYR.
Recently booked a flight with EI, because despite RYR being much cheaper, they flew to a not-so-nearby airport, and the cost of renting a car from that airport was 3 times the cost of the main airport. So all in, including car hire and return flights for two, the EI costs were less.
Having said all that, EI would still be rip-off merchants if it weren't for RYR!

vibe666

i fly quite a lot and have never had any problems with aer lingus, but after the 3rd time of being screwed over by ryanair, i decided i'd had enough and took them to the small claims court and they settled before it even went to court.

only cost me about €16 to lodge the case online and was done within a week, despite almost a month trying to deal directly with ryanair and getting nowhere.

BeardySi

charliehotel wrote: »

Yup so Aer Lingus is in fact superior.

I never said they weren't. It might help if you actually read what folks are saying rather than jumping down the throats of anyone who has the temerity to express an opinion on your clearly beloved airline which may disagree with yours.....

Cookiemunster

ballooba wrote: »

It strikes me that people are saying that Ryanair customers have given up complaining. Yet, Ryanair still enjoy their custom. So people aren't complaining and they aren't voting with their feet. Ryanair must be meeting their expectations for the price. Gaudy interiors, intrusive cross-selling and all.

Exactly. I think some people on here hate Ryanair cause its the cool thing to do. Anyone who doesn't hate them is apparantly either MOL himself or a pup off him.
I fly with both and the only difference I see is that AL assign you a seat. Both charge me €15 each way to check in a bag, both charge me €6 to use my credit card, both charge me €5 for tea and a crappy sandwich.
Although Ryainair do have the advantage of allowing me to check in 15 days before I fly rather than 30hrs so I and check in for my return flight before I go.
People say there no leg room. I'm 6'1 and have never had a problem with the legroom on a Ryanair flight. Unlike BMI, BA, Easyjet.
As for people complaining about the decor. Are you for real??? Ryanair are a means to get from A to B cheaply. Nothing else.
Which one I fly with depends simply on where I want to go and how much its costs. Nothing else. I don't care who has friendlier staff (I've seen very rude AL staff and very friendly Ryanair staff and vice versa), I don't care what make the plane is and I don't care if the airports aren't in city centers (as if Heathrow or CDG are actually close to the city centres)
Ireland is only a tiny minority of Ryanairs passenger load. They are one of the largest airlines in Europe and if they are a bad a some here make them out to be, then they must have the whole continent whipped.

vibe666

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Exactly. I think some people on here hate Ryanair cause its the cool thing to do. Anyone who doesn't hate them is apparantly either MOL himself or a pup off him.

i don't hate them (personally, hate is a very strong word bandied about far too much who don't know what it truly means to hate someone or something), but i do genuinely dislike their business practices and will do everything i can to avoid using them wherever possible.

bluecode

The old debate, as it happens I don't fly that much on airlines, an ironic consequence of being a pilot so I don't have much in the way of comparisions.

But I really have no preferences. If I need to go somewhere. I check and compare. As it happens Ryanair oftens wins the argument. First they fly to and from places, other don't. On another previous occasion price is the key. On one holiday to Cannes. The choice was the more convenient Nice (EI) or the less convenient Marseilles (FR). Ryanair won because overall it was €700 cheaper even considering car hire etc. That €700 was better off in my pocket than Aer Lingus'.

As for how you're treated. Never had a problem but have seen people get themselves into trouble because they don't read the T&Cs or are to stupid to understand them. Too bad for them and irritating for the rest of us who play the game properly. There's no excuse for an overweight bag anymore. Every shop in the country has a little baggage scale for sale. It's fits neatly in any suitcase. As for carry on being too big. All airlines have that now. Unless this is your first time travelling you can't fail to know about it.

Sometimes I do think the rather less than friendly and flexible attitude you sometimes find in Ryanair absolutely unneccessary. But at least they're upfront about it. You quite often get the same treatment from EI and others while they still maintain the fiction of how friendly they are.

I don't care much about queues because the aeroplane won't leave without me once I'm in it.

Whatever the issues with flying these days. It's a lot better than the days when flying was so expensive, you got the boat to England. Better Ryanair than that.

Solair

Personally, I would compare it to something like this:

Ryanair's a bit like shopping in Aldi.
Aer Lingus and many other former flag-carriers' short haul is a bit like shopping in Tesco or Dunnes / Sainsbury's
Virgin Atlantic / BA Long Haul - Bit like shopping in Superquinn / Waitrose / M&S.
Emerates, BA First Class, Virgin Upper Class etc --- More like having your butler shop in Harrods for you.

Airlines differ depending on market conditions. So, for example comparing a European carrier to an Australian domestic carrier is a bit like comparing a modern European carrier to one from the 1980s. The market in Europe is vastly bigger and more competitive with many many more players, open skies policies etc.

Comparing European short-haul to US short-haul is reasonable though and Aer Lingus does quite well in that comparison but Ryanair's a bit minimalist on the customer service front and really in a standard of its own along with Aldi and Lidl.

I took a few internal flights in Canada with Air Canada and they'd make Aer Lingus long haul look plush. You had to buy your own pillow and blanket, food was charged for and the interior of the aircraft looked tired and dated and that was on a flight from Toronto to Vancouver which is longer than Shannon to Toronto !

However, all that said, the flight was comfortable enough, the food was reasonably priced and the most important bit was the ticket was quite affordable. For a few hundred more quid, I could have flown BA and some really over priced unnecessary extras.

charliehotel

Treadhead wrote: »

It might help if you actually read what folks are saying rather than jumping down the throats of anyone who has the temerity to express an opinion on your clearly beloved airline which may disagree with yours.....

I am merely responding to your points, some of which are untrue. Trying to base your points on the untruth is not a fair argument.

Paulownia

Am I different to everyone else? when I'm going somewhere I find out who flies there and look them all up to see which is cheapest, and it is not always Ryanair!
They all have these cunning ways of seeming cheaper too so you need to be really careful.
I'm not really in favour of online shopping as in my experience the service to customers lacks humanity but with airlines it is the only way to go. When did you last speak to an airline on the telephone?
I have to say that also I have missed flights with both Ryanair and Aer Lingus and they have both bent backwards to facilitate me even though their reputations would indicate otherwise. Airline staff have to contend with a lot of rude passengers and if you are kindly and reasonable towards them they respond well. Personally I love Ryanair but try to avoid going to Paris via Beauvais where the airport staff are truly appalling and the facilities absolutely dreadful, it is almost as if they chose their staff for their unhelpfulness and they had employed a designer to build the most uncomfortable facilities imaginable

Terrontress

Paulownia wrote: »

Am I different to everyone else? when I'm going somewhere I find out who flies there and look them all up to see which is cheapest, and it is not always Ryanair!
They all have these cunning ways of seeming cheaper too so you need to be really careful.
I'm not really in favour of online shopping as in my experience the service to customers lacks humanity but with airlines it is the only way to go. When did you last speak to an airline on the telephone?
I have to say that also I have missed flights with both Ryanair and Aer Lingus and they have both bent backwards to facilitate me even though their reputations would indicate otherwise. Airline staff have to contend with a lot of rude passengers and if you are kindly and reasonable towards them they respond well. Personally I love Ryanair but try to avoid going to Paris via Beauvais where the airport staff are truly appalling and the facilities absolutely dreadful, it is almost as if they chose their staff for their unhelpfulness and they had employed a designer to build the most uncomfortable facilities imaginable

Oh definitely. I often fly between Dublin and London and, especially when you're close to travel date, Air France is cheaper than Ryanair AND Aer Lingus. Free bag, food, alcoholic drink, sweets on take off and land in the middle of London.
Air France outclass both Ryanair and Aer Lingus by miles!

L1011

Terrontress wrote: »

Oh definitely. I often fly between Dublin and London and, especially when you're close to travel date, Air France is cheaper than Ryanair AND Aer Lingus. Free bag, food, alcoholic drink, sweets on take off and land in the middle of London.
Air France outclass both Ryanair and Aer Lingus by miles!

All well and good except for the TINY seats. Should be 5-across on an Avro.

scudzilla

Flew with Ryanair many time and nevr had an issue, flew with AerLingus 2/3 times and they once left me stranded in Newcastle with not so much as a sandwich. Bastards

Ryanair for the win every time

mickoneill30

MYOB wrote: »

All well and good except for the TINY seats. Should be 5-across on an Avro.

Worth it though. They let you take loads of cabin baggage. If you take too much they put it underneath for free and the flight to London is not much more than an hour.

L1011

mickoneill30 wrote: »

Worth it though. They let you take loads of cabin baggage. If you take too much they put it underneath for free and the flight to London is not much more than an hour.

Used them plenty of times, the seats are the only issue I have with them. LCY is probably my favourite airport for practically everything also. Pity we never got a similar one here...

brandon_flowers

MYOB wrote: »

All well and good except for the TINY seats. Should be 5-across on an Avro.

Honestly?? I mean the flights are less than 2 hours and the seats are plenty big enough unless you are some sort of behemoth.

And this thread is funny in many ways. Aer Lingus are not a typical EU flag carrier because they have a very small passenger base to work with. Ryanair have a far bigger passenger base, different business models.

Both offer pretty dismal service as far as I am concerned so tit-for-tat point scoring between what Aer Lingus and Ryanair offer is futile. Thankfully I only need to use them when other airlines are unsuitable. It's funny that even when it is my own money I use LH or SR to get home from Nice to Dublin.

L1011

brandon_flowers wrote: »

Honestly?? I mean the flights are less than 2 hours and the seats are plenty big enough unless you are some sort of behemoth.

I'm too large (height/shoulder width, not weight I hasten to add) to drive a Toyota Corolla. WX seats are too small to be comfortable for me - or I suspect the person beside me.

Terrontress

MYOB wrote: »

mickoneill30 wrote: »

Worth it though. They let you take loads of cabin baggage. If you take too much they put it underneath for free and the flight to London is not much more than an hour.

Used them plenty of times, the seats are the only issue I have with them. LCY is probably my favourite airport for practically everything also. Pity we never got a similar one here...

You can check in at LCY with 25 minutes to share and 80% of the time get 2 seats to yourself, either at a check-in desk or on the self service terminal.

What I love most about LCY is how quick it takes to get through. You can have collected a bag and be on the DLR platform within ten minutes of the plane touching down.

Solair

scudzilla wrote: »

Flew with Ryanair many time and nevr had an issue, flew with AerLingus 2/3 times and they once left me stranded in Newcastle with not so much as a sandwich. Bastards

Ryanair for the win every time

That's just pot luck. Ryanair can also leave you stranded (I've been there!)

scudzilla

Solair wrote: »

That's just pot luck. Ryanair can also leave you stranded (I've been there!)

The main issue i had with Aer Lingus was back in Jan 2008, maybe somebody could tell me if i had a case against them.

Wife and i had flown over to Newcastle to see UFC 80.
Flight out went grand, returned to Airport on the monday to come home, early afternoon flight, and it started snowing......and snowing.

We checked in, went through security and 10mins later the airport was closed, 10 mins after that our flight was cancelled.

Aer Lingus offered us a free transfer onto the next available flight to Dublin, which was the Thursday, no good at all, they then offered us a flight later that evening, but from Manchester, or 1 the next morning from Manchester.

They would not provide any transport at all to Manchester, we took the early next day option, and paid 70stg each for a train ticket to Manchester, and stayed in a travelodge, another 60quid.

Sent a complaint/compensation form to aer lingus but never ever heard anything back

L1011

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:046:0001:0007:en:PDF is the legalities of what their responsibilities were.

Your complaint would be in relation to the re-routing "under satisfactory conditions" I suspect. Conditions didn't sound satisfactory.

Long time ago now but can you remember who the handling firm were? EI wouldn't have their own handlers in NCL and its possible the handlers were just grossly incompetent in the first instance. Not responding to complaints, however, is 100% an airline issue.

scudzilla

MYOB wrote: »

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:046:0001:0007:en:PDF is the legalities of what their responsibilities were.

Your complaint would be in relation to the re-routing "under satisfactory conditions" I suspect. Conditions didn't sound satisfactory.

Long time ago now but can you remember who the handling firm were? EI wouldn't have their own handlers in NCL and its possible the handlers were just grossly incompetent in the first instance. Not responding to complaints, however, is 100% an airline issue.

I can't remember the handling agent, in hindsight i should have chased it up but i just gave up.

Wasn't only me, about 100 people were in the same boat, most took later flights from Manchester, the least they could have done was lay on a few coaches, but due to the weather we had to get a train from Newcastle to York, change there, York to Leeds, wait in Leeds for 3hrs queing for a bus as train line was flooded. Then bus from Leeds to Manchester.