Aer Lingus - New Business Class

Shammer16

Just seen a video of the new Business class that is to be rolled out on the Aer Lingus A330's throughout 2015. Have to say, it looks really nice.

Can't post a link because I haven't enough posts hover it is on the Aer Lingus facebook page and there is a section on the Aer Lingus website.

Jhcx

Aer Lingus Business Class Facebook Video

Looks decent enough. Mind you though i still havent seen the current one so... But cant help feel like there really trying after BA specially with the Silver Shamrock. No imagination. Anyway none the less it will be nice to see a new interior.

Tenger

Jhcx wrote: »

....But cant help feel like there really trying after BA specially with the Silver Shamrock. No imagination. Anyway none the less it will be nice to see a new interior.

They have had the 'grey shamrock' for quite a while now on their linen and inflight dining ware.

I always thought EI needed a Shamrock on a bulkhead wall on their aircraft. Since they got rid of the 'signature' seat covers their cabins look generic at first glance.

roundymac

Thompson Aero Seating from Northern Ireland are supplying the seats, 189 units on order. Other Irish suppliers are Inflight Dublin for the inflight entertainment and Botany Weaving also from Dublin for the fabric and carpets in business class.

Davy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx3oJI9jAwg

ShaneC93

This is a very welcome announcement.

Puts them on or atleast close to on par with British Airway's business class, their old long-haul business class was horrible in my opinion, more like a premium economy then anything else.

Fully-flat seats and on-demand menu ordering sound great.

If only they will now open a DUB-LAX flight up they would be perfect, can usually get their long-haul flights quite cheap via BA's avios points too.

Tenger

ShaneC93 wrote: »

...If only they will now open a DUB-LAX flight up they would be perfect, can usually get their long-haul flights quite cheap via BA's avios points too.

I would expect to see new routes to the US well before a return to LAX. (As indicated by media reports today and interview in March) Too much chance of cannibalising the loadfactor on the SFO route.

ShaneC93

Tenger wrote: »

I would expect to see new routes to the US well before a return to LAX. (As indicated by media reports today and interview in March) Too much chance of cannibalising the loadfactor on the SFO route.

Unfortunately SFO is still 5-6 hours away from LA via car or train and when it comes to whether I wish to fly DUB-SFO-LAX or DUB-LHR(or CDG/AMS)-LAX then it is the European connection everytime, much easier for sleep & energy purposes and usually not much in the cost.

A direct flight to LAX would be such a time saver for me anyway and cost wise too if paid for with avios.

whitebriar

ShaneC93 wrote: »

This is a very welcome announcement.

Puts them on or atleast close to on par with British Airway's business class, their old long-haul business class was horrible in my opinion, more like a premium economy then anything else.

Fully-flat seats and on-demand menu ordering sound great.

If only they will now open a DUB-LAX flight up they would be perfect, can usually get their long-haul flights quite cheap via BA's avios points too.

In all fairness though,there is no comparison between EI's existing almost fully flat seats and premium economy on BA or any airline.Ei's existing product with fine dining(as airline dining goes) free wifi etc is a far cry from poor premium economy.

The new fully flat seats just brings ex Dub Tatl flights up to the standard other hubs had years ago.
What this May do is force other ex DUB Tatl carriers to put on their fully flat services and some are even nicer than the new EI offering,so win win.

ShaneC93 wrote: »

A direct flight to LAX would be such a time saver for me anyway and cost wise too if paid for with avios.

Good luck with finding availability for those on the days you need if they ever start that route.
It's possible to get EI with avios at the moment to the states in J but difficult.
It's a leisure option only.
You wouldn't want to be needing to go for business on specific dates...

roundymac

What are the business seats like on the 757s compared to the 330s at present?

pclive

Looks like they are expanding business class back to door 2?

suasdaguna2

pclive wrote: »

Looks like they are expanding business class back to door 2?

With just 2 CCMs up front?

Bussywussy

I heard LAX,Dallas and another florida route are being seriously considered with 2 A330 coming in,1 already sourced

suasdaguna2

Bussywussy wrote: »

I heard LAX,Dallas and another florida route are being seriously considered with 2 A330 coming in,1 already sourced

Jeez that would be great. All I know is that SFO is jammers. If they are looking at LAX the demand for the west coast re future bookings must be through the roof. EI EWR is being bandied about as returning. I think they need a IGW 300 to satisfy demand.

hairybelly

would be nice if it wasnt so outrageously expensive!

Idbatterim

Please, please let there be a Vegas flight at some stage in the near future, even if one 3-4 times a week during the summer season!!!

Tenger

suasdaguna2 wrote: »

With just 2 CCMs up front?

30 seats with 2 crew.......definitely below par. I guess BA would have 3-4 in a similar area?

However I think United have 2 crew for their J Class on the B757, while EI only have 1 on their own B757's.

ShaneC93

Tenger wrote: »

30 seats with 2 crew.......definitely below par. I guess BA would have 3-4 in a similar area?

2 for 30 is below average, other airlines tend to go for one crew member per 10-12 business pax.

But compared to, for example, La Compagnie who are a new "low-cost" trans-Atlantic airline who have only 3 crew for 74 business seats, AerLingus are not too bad on that front.

Just fingers crossed it does not mean that meals will be served from a trolley, all on one tray

afatbollix

I've had 2 CW on a business class flight with BA to Lisbon. That must be mad for 2 all the way to New York! Must be manic.

afatbollix

hairybelly wrote: »

would be nice if it wasnt so outrageously expensive!

Thats the point!

Tenger

afatbollix wrote: »

I've had 2 CW on a business class flight with BA to Lisbon. That must be mad for 2 all the way to New York! Must be manic.

Shorthaul J Class is quite different to Trans-Atlantic J Class.


I'm not 100% but I think BA have 3 cabin crew on their A318 service from LCY-SNN-JFK which has 32 seats.

de biz

EI-DUO arrived back from Bordeaux Friday,EIN991,with the upgraded business class retrofit completed.

Tenger

de biz wrote: »

EI-DUO arrived back from Bordeaux Friday,EIN991,with the upgraded business class retrofit completed.

Saw the pic on the EI twitter account....looks sparkling....oh to get a test flight on her!

Seats look crammed in there, but with full recline am sure it will hardly be noticed.

EDIT:

Preset No.3 wrote: »

Is that a 1-2-2 config?

Sort of. Saw it posted elsewhere that it alternates 1-2-2 with 1-2-1

Preset No.3

Is that a 1-2-2 config?

donvito99

Preset No.3 wrote: »

Is that a 1-2-2 config?

Essentially, yes.

IMO needs much more green.

basill

They were from Portadown so what do you expect:)

Preset No.3

basill wrote: »

They were from Portadown so what do you expect:)

Living in the past much?

donvito99

basill wrote: »

They were from Portadown so what do you expect:)

EasyJet prolific customers no doubt.... :pac::pac::pac:

Tenger

Found this review from a travel blogger from last week:
http://travelskills.com/2015/03/25/trip-report-aer-lingus-new-business-class/

IRLConor

Tenger wrote: »

Found this review from a travel blogger from last week:
http://travelskills.com/2015/03/25/trip-report-aer-lingus-new-business-class/

It looks good. I'd love to have a go. My next trip (this weekend actually) I'm down the back but maybe next time I'll get to sit up front!

It looks like a definite improvement over the previous version and I really like the look of the seats the article dubbed "Captain Kirk" seats.

MJohnston

Flew on it a couple of times recently. The only "bad" seats are the right hand ones where it's doubled up because they both get less storage space than the doubled up middle seats. Probably the best seats would be 3K, 5K, or any of the single seats on the left hand side of the cabin.

It's a massive improvement imo, I've flown BA business before and it is definitely a good bit ahead of that offering in terms of comfort and modernity. One of the best things is the overhead air vents are still there, so you can get some air, whereas I always get really over-warm and sweaty on the BA lie-flats.

One negative is that the buttons to adjust the seats are far too sensitive, so you'll find your elbow touching them and moving you about quite a bit.

galwayjohn89

I'm flying EI Business SNN - BOS and then JFK - DUB. JFK flight will be the A330 new business. Is that photo above the B757 setup?

goingnowhere

Thats the 757

galwayjohn89

Suppose its hard to tell without another angle but looks like quite a poor setup. Suppose SNN-BOS is only 5 or so hours and EI soft product tends to be quite good. Would have been nice to have consistency throughout the fleet.

Is there wifi on their 757?

NSAman

Flew on New Business Class only a little over a week ago. I was actually shocked. ORD-DUB.. the area was not cleaned there was crusted something on the shelf in front of me.

Service was slow I have to say. The seats are much more comfortable with much more storage space than the previous seating. One little complaint, the headrest didn't seem to move. The lay flat bed worked perfectly and I managed to get some sleep which normally alludes me on flights.

It is an upgrade, however, long over due but will take any improvement that Aer Lingus can give the traveller.

Tenger

Vuzuggu wrote: »

Suppose its hard to tell without another angle but looks like quite a poor setup...... EI soft product tends to be quite good. Would have been nice to have consistency throughout the fleet.

Is there wifi on their 757?

I have heard a handful of people saying that the B757 seats as quite comfy as recliners, flat beds not being as important on the shorter routes. This does not however mean that they weren't disappointed with the difference in advertised seats and actuality on the B757.

Soft product is good, however, the newer service seems to be slower than before. They added complexity a couple of years ago but didn't add more bodies to help. And going Eastbound fast service is preferred to allow maximum rest. I think EI should simplify Eastbound and leave the Westbound as a more realxed fine dining experience.
Their new inflight menu is launching around now, no idea what changes they have planned for it.

I heard that 1 B757 was going to get Wi-FI as a test bed....not sure if that will actually happen however.

knockon

Yes - the advertised seat has no mention of the 757, only the 330. The website has no mention of 757 J class which is a bit ridiculous considering they have 3 on t/a and yes United have 2 Cabin Crew on their Business First cabin for 16 Seats.
http://www.aerlingus.com/inflight-experience/comfort-and-entertainment/longhaul-business

Tenger

knockon wrote: »

Yes - the advertised seat has no mention of the 757, only the 330. The website has no mention of 757 J class which is a bit ridiculous considering they have 3 on t/a and yes United have 2 Cabin Crew on their Business First cabin for 16 Seats....

I think EI have 1 crew member for 12 J Class on the B757. The other 3 are in Y.
I remember last year some EI spokesperson came up with the memorable phrase of "4 cabin crew compares favourably with similar capacity aircraft operating transcontinental in the USA" Talk about dodging the facts! Lets compare a US domestic A320/B737 to their B757 T/A operation!!

knockon wrote: »

......The website has no mention of 757 J class which is a bit ridiculous considering they have 3 on t/a ....

I think EI need to place a giant asterisk near the pic of those new seats

knockon

Thats right. management and IMPACT locked horns over cabin crew on 757 and numbers ..... http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/aer-lingus-to-close-shannon-cabin-crew-base-1.1571800

And I see Omni are doing their own Flight and Cabin crews for the 12 weeks which the 767 will be used out of SNN during the Summer by EI. It does make sense really considering the short time period the aircraft is being utilized. http://www.clarecourier.ie/article.asp?id=4419

galwayjohn89

What flights will the 767 be flying? And what business seats are up front?

galwayjohn89

Tenger wrote: »

I think EI need to place a giant asterisk near the pic of those new seats

They really do. The B767 seats look like they won't recline that much at all. Aer Lingus is getting a bit of a reputation for bending the facts.

L1011

Vuzuggu wrote: »

What flights will the 767 be flying? And what business seats are up front?

Just SNN-BOS. I don't know is the business class has been fitted to the bird in question yet so that'd be hard enough to answer. However I wouldn't be too surprised if they're the same as the 757 - second hand refurbed Virgin seats as far as I remember, as there'd still be some knocking around and they clearly are OK for use in 757/767 frames.

JCX BXC

Carnacalla wrote: »

http://beaerospace.com/products/seating-products/business-class/millennium/

These will be the J class seats used by Aer Lingus for the 767

I posted that in the thread "Aer Lingus Fleet Discussion 2015" a while back. They appear to be new.

In exactly 2 months the 767 will be on its way to Boston with its first passengers. I wonder will it arrive with the seats fitted or will EI do that themselves?

galwayjohn89

Really not a fan of the inconsistency of the business class fleet. I know they're short flights but I'd be pretty disappointed without lie flat flying back from the states.

JCX BXC

Vuzuggu wrote: »

Really not a fan of the inconsistency of the business class fleet. I know they're short flights but I'd be pretty disappointed without lie flat flying back from the states.

Welcome to the world of Shannon Airport!
We get awful inconsistencies from Aer Lingus and get attacked when we complain.

On another note, has anyone done a speed test on EI WiFi? I'd love to see how high the ping is.

L1011

Carnacalla wrote: »

Welcome to the world of Shannon Airport!
We get awful inconsistencies from Aer Lingus and get attacked when we complain.

Shannon gets a cost-appropriate service for its far lower demand.

If all EI had was A330s with lie-flats SNN would likely have a single plane, summer-only service if even.

JCX BXC

L1011 wrote: »

Shannon gets a cost-appropriate service for its far lower demand.

If all EI had was A330s with lie-flats SNN would likely have a single plane, summer-only service if even.

The inconsistencies in the Aer Lingus service is unacceptable no matter how low the demand. Demand is not an issue in that case.
Shannon this summer will have 6 daily TATL flights with 5 757's and 1 767. That's not far lower demand.

I'm also not asking for an A330.

L1011

Carnacalla wrote: »

The inconsistencies in the Aer Lingus service is unacceptable no matter how low the demand. Demand is not an issue in that case.
Shannon this summer will have 6 daily TATL flights with 5 757's and 1 767. That's not far lower demand.

I'm also not asking for an A330.

A better product will cost more and clearly EI have decided its not justifiable with the demand at SNN.

You're not being "attacked" when actual cold, hard facts that you dislike are being explained to you.

And yes, 5 757s and a 767 a day is far lower demand for TATL than Dublin will will have multiples of that.

JCX BXC

L1011 wrote: »

A better product will cost more and clearly EI have decided its not justifiable with the demand at SNN.

Throwing any old seat in there isn't acceptable.

You're not being "attacked" when actual cold, hard facts that you dislike are being explained to you.

I know the facts. Having a lower demand doesn't justify a sh*tty product in any sense. The American carriers have far better products. I'm not being attacked as such, but there is obviously a nice amount of hostility there when I'm answered to in such a condescending manner as you are doing.

And yes, 5 757s and a 767 a day is far lower demand for TATL than Dublin will will have multiples of that.

Its lower demand, but is not so desperately low that it warrents emphasis. Last year, United had more capacity in Shannon than Aer Lingus did. That's hardly devotion from a based airline.

L1011

Carnacalla wrote: »

Throwing any old seat in there isn't acceptable.

The 757 business class isn't "any old seat", its arguably better than what the 330 had until this season - and you weren't complaining about lack of consistency then!

Carnacalla wrote: »

I know the facts. Having a lower demand doesn't justify a sh*tty product in any sense. The American carriers have far better products. I'm not being attacked as such, but there is obviously a nice amount of hostility there when I'm answered to in such a condescending manner as you are doing.

Its clear that you either don't know or don't want to know the facts on this.

Have you actually used any of the J class products you're talking about?

Carnacalla wrote: »

Its lower demand, but is not so desperately low that it warrents emphasis. Last year, United had more capacity in Shannon than Aer Lingus did. That's hardly devotion from a based airline.

Its significantly lower - that's all that counted in that statement.

Airlines are not required to be "committed" to a base anyway, whatever relevance you thought that brought?

yer man!

I've used the SNN - BOS EI 757 a few times now and overall I have to say they provide a fairly good service, the in-flight entertainment is far better than the A330 and you can plug in your own headphones which is a major plus. The food is grand however you seem to get less and less of it every year. I flew Delta to NY last year and I have to say the product they offered (for the same price) was far far superior, unlimited free alcohol, hot towels, as much food as you can eat, free eye patch sleepy things, pretty good in-flight entertainment and a proper amount of cabin crew so you were well taken care of. The AerLingus experience just feels toned down and done on the cheap. Maybe it has something to do with the American Airliners possibly getting more profit out of their Business class than EI can.