Aer Lingus or American?

GoWhest

What do ye think is the best option for a one way to San Francisco;

Aer Lingus - Direct flight but €100 dearer than American. I've never flown with Aer Lingus before and I've heard some negative things.

American - 1hr 45 layover in Chicago. I've flown with these before and found them pretty good. Plenty of food, drink and good selection of entertainment. The flight was only about half full both ways and the crew organised the cabin so everbody had an empty seat beside them which made the jorney really comfartable.

Delta is much dearer than the others and United has a 5 hour layover in Newark so I've ruled them out.

I'll be returning from Texas so I'll have to connect somewhere on the way home anyway. Americans return is slightly more appealing - 2.5 hour layover in Charlotte versus a 4 hour layover in Chicago with Aer Lingus

schemingbohemia

I'd definitely think direct is better. I'd want to be saving significantly more than €100 to stop off. Are times of flights much different? You'd probably spend a few quid in the near 2 hours you'd be hanging around in Chicago.

cactusgal

schemingbohemia wrote: »

I'd definitely think direct is better. I'd want to be saving significantly more than €100 to stop off. Are times of flights much different? You'd probably spend a few quid in the near 2 hours you'd be hanging around in Chicago.

You have to pay for all your drinks on Aer Lingus, even on transatlantic flights. Plus, their frequent flyer program is sh*t. I'd go with American.

JCX BXC

cactusgal wrote: »

You have to pay for all your drinks on Aer Lingus, even on transatlantic flights.

You mean alcoholic drinks?

cactusgal

JCX BXC wrote: »

You mean alcoholic drinks?

Yes, sorry you have to pay for all alcoholic drinks. I travel long haul a lot, and AL are the only carrier I've encountered who charge for beer wine etc. Pretty stingy as their tickets aren't cheap.

hairyprincess

Did you price Delta through Expedia? They can sometimes be cheaper. I haven't flown with American but I would always pay the extra to fly with Delta over Aer Lingus. They are a far superior airline, lovely staff, free drink and great food.

AngryLips

You will definitely get a widebody aircraft with Aer Lingus with inflight entertainment and on board wifi, you will get to fly direct, and you will get to avoid transiting through a US airport (google how awful that can be if you're in any doubt).

dudara

American often use regular body (3-3 config) aircraft on their Irish routes. The last one I was on didn't have any personal entertainment system either. It was a horrendous flight.

On the other side, AL have a modern, comfortable fleet (comfy as long haul economy goes anyway).

I'd personally fly AL. Plus it will be a direct flight, which has benefits. A 115min layover could very quickly get eroded if there were delays and/or terminal changes

redcup342

GoWhest wrote: »

American - 1hr 45 layover in Chicago. I've flown with these before and found them pretty good. Plenty of food, drink and good selection of entertainment. The flight was only about half full both ways and the crew organised the cabin so everbody had an empty seat beside them which made the jorney really comfartable.

O'Hare is a pain in the hole, delays are frequent as it's a very busy hub.

I'd pay the 100 euros extra to fly direct rather than risk my bag being lost or flight being delayed and missing my connection.

Last time I flew via O'Hare our connection was in a different Terminal so you had to exit the Terminal to go to the other one, meaning any duty free you have to stick it on a baggage belt before you go out the exit, they didn't explain any of it up front so had to stick it in our hand luggage and queue up to check that in as well.


Plus O'Hares terminal is awful, everything is expensive

mloc123

dudara wrote: »

American often use regular body (3-3 config) aircraft on their Irish routes. The last one I was on didn't have any personal entertainment system either. It was a horrendous flight.

On the other side, AL have a modern, comfortable fleet (comfy as long haul economy goes anyway).

I'd personally fly AL. Plus it will be a direct flight, which has benefits. A 115min layover could very quickly get eroded if there were delays and/or terminal changes

Agree, flew American once.. never again. Always fly AL now for US... free alcohol is not high on my list of requirements when flying.

dori_dormer

O hare is a horrible airport as said above. I wouldn't risk a layover there unless it was at the 3hr mark. The weather is so temperamental there that there is constant delays landing and taking off. I've had 2hr layovers where I've missed my connection. They close the doors to board but leave you sitting on the runway for another hour. And it's a crap airport to be stuck in for 24hrs.
Also you sometimes have to collect and move your bags to another belt for some ridiculous reason.
Go direct, will be way less hassle

jetsonx

American Airlines make Ryanair's inflight service seem like the Dorchester Hotel.

Anytime I've flown with them their flight-deck crews seem competent and professional but its
downhill after that. Their FA's rudeness borders on the comical. Sh!te food. Not recommended.