Aer Lingus Fleet/ Routes Discussion Pt 2 (ALL possible routes included)

BZ

Flew DUB-ORD last Saturday on EI-EIK. The aircraft had I would estimate 40 to 50 seats in economy that the IFE was not working on. Crew rebooted the system but to no avail so all us had a 9 hour flight with no IFE. The standard of food was very poor, crew were really nice and customer oriented bar one steward who seemed to see nothing wrong with embarrassing an elderly lady quite vocally in front of the cabin over a mistake with the call bell.

EIEIK is tired inside still has the Qatar curtains and seatbelts and of course IFE. Could really do with a cabin refit.

Geuze

Quick comment from somebody who is not a regular on this thread or forum.

I recently flew from SNN to Stansted with Ryanair, but took EI return from LHR.

I was surprised to walk through a first/business class section on the plane.

I presumed these don't exist on any Irl-UK flights?

The aircraft was an Airbus A321neo I think?

It has more plush seats than I expected, plus a screen in the back of the seat.

Clon63

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119896102#Comment_119896102

Its one if the transatlantic fleet but Aer Lingus use them to do some short hops including SNN LHR between transatlantic services. Last summer there were 3 DUB LHR and 1 SNN LHR rotations in the transatlantic fleet as well as A330s operating DUB to AGP and FAO each day between their transatlantic flights.

cson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119893402#Comment_119893402

Good reminder to have some content loaded on the phone/tablet as insurance in this case.

No US-Ireland carrier stands out foodwise tbh, I imagine the IFE system being down is precipitating criticism here. AF is probably the best catered Y product transatlantic I've seen. Volume of service probably better on the US3 than EI, its a 1 and done service in my experience with Aer Lingus whereas the US crews seem to be happier to throw out a few beers.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119896102#Comment_119896102

Your right it was a A321 neo. SNN has 2 based and one of them operate the early SNN LHR EI380/1 before heading onto JFK or BOS in the afternoon.

Noxegon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119896197#Comment_119896197

EI used to have a "Premium Meal" option on transatlantic, if you paid up front for it. That was actually pretty good; I used it a few times.

(And yes, I can actually post nice things about EI occasionally....)

BZ

The quality of food on the return leg MCO-DUB was actually really good both dinner and snack.

On the way out of DUB we received the equivalent of a cheap aldi microwave meal consisting of 3 small pieces of chicken , melted ice-cream and a tikka-masala wrap thing that was truly awful. Would of expected better on a flight from home base but they did redeem themselves on the return leg.

Locker10a

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119893402#Comment_119893402

This aircraft is dreaded by the crew I hear and due to a part’s shortage is listed to be retrofitted in 2024…. To long if you ask me but such is the delay apparently

Jack1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119896871#Comment_119896871

Lease for EIK/EIL is out in 24... Don't see them being extended hence no refits.

sailing

Aircraft parts are like hens teeth at the moment so retrofitting is a non runner.

As for seating I believe there is a huge lead in time for the Thompson seats, which are popular with most airlines these days. Made in Northern Ireland.

salmocab

I flew home from Lanzarote yesterday and there was no pocket in the back of the seats. It was very annoying and also meant there was no card with the food menu in it which means having to question the crew as to what’s there. Is this an oddment or something they are bringing in? Never noticed it on an EI flight before but wouldn’t be too much if a regular user.

Captain_Crash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119899019#Comment_119899019

The aircraft you flew on obvs has the newer slimline seats installed.

Shamrockj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119899019#Comment_119899019

There is a plan to remove the seat pocket from all A320’s even the standard seats you see on most A320’s only a few have it fitted already with the safety card folder in a pouch on the back of the headrest. Also sadly there is no cars magazine and no menu anymore it’s gone since 2020 and no plans to return. Menu only available on ei website.

Tenger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119898936#Comment_119898936

Thompson laid off 500 staff (from almost 2000) in mid 2020.

So as with so many things, scaling back up and supply chain issues will impact their ability to get back to 2018-19 productivity levels.

salmocab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119900049#Comment_119900049

Both of them are a pain, especially on longer flights the lack of a seat pocket is a pain. The lack of menu means nearly everyone has to ask the staff what’s available which is also a pain and slows things down not surprising though as I haven’t found EI to be good product in a long time just grand with customer service no longer a worry for them.

cloudhopper19

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119900145#Comment_119900145

They are adding QR codes for access to a digital magazine. It is also linked in there before you fly email. www.aerlingus-bia.com

salmocab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119902336#Comment_119902336

In fairness when I’m on a flight I’m not using the internet. It’s a poor plan from a customer service point of view but I’m sure it’s worth it to them.

Van.Bosch

Should be free WiFi access to that site with ability to order via app. Think Level use something like that.

Shamrockj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119900145#Comment_119900145

I agree. It’s really poor on both of the ‘ changes ‘ not good for customers that don’t know the products and not good for staff that have to list every product on board and slows down delivery. Imagine going into a restaurant and they had no menus and the staff has to verbally tell you every item it wouldn’t work but somehow EI management think it’s ok…

x567

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119902872#Comment_119902872

This seems to be the way forward. Have taken quite a few flights with AA, and a couple of South American airlines recently and they all had some form of free access to in-flight wifi for purchases and IFE on your own device; albeit as a trial on Avianca. The AA J-class mid-haul tray table was really cleverly designed to hold your device in a watchable position. So you probably can't just rip out the seat pocket and hope that all will be well...

Lifelike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119896871#Comment_119896871

I also flew on that aircraft a few weeks ago and there were the same issues with the IFE, although luckily my own screen wasn’t affected. Even if your screen works though there is no touchscreen function, it all has to be controlled via the remote control. There are also no games, unlike EI’s other A330s. There is a call button on the remote which you could press very easily by accident, as another poster alluded to. The cabin manager was clearly frustrated with the state of the plane and advised passengers to email complaints to Aer Lingus.

Right from boarding I overheard many passengers, even one young kid commenting on how poor the plane looked so EI really should look into doing something about it as it risks damaging their brand. The IFE on my connecting JetBlue flight was much better, with free WiFi and I even received an email from JetBlue upon boarding that my bag was loaded onto the plane!

VG31

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed EI often seem to be very conservative with the seat belt signs? On my last few European flights the seatbelt sign hasn't gone off for at least 20 minutes after takeoff. On one of them it took almost 40 minutes to be turned off and people just started getting up to use the toilets or open the overhead lockers anyway.

On my last flight from the US, the seatbelt sign was turned on at the tiniest amount of turbulence. It latest about 30 seconds but the sign stayed on for about an hour of perfectly smooth flight. The cabin crew didn't really try to stop people using the toilets at least.

Is it some sort of liability thing maybe?

I took a few flights with BA recently and the seatbelt sign always went off 5-10 minutes after takeoff and wasn't even turned on during some mild turbulence.

HTCOne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904818#Comment_119904818

Different regulators have different requirements for seat belt sign usage IIRC.

In reality we can blame the compensation culture for this. If the crew were made aware of some turbulence ahead either via SIGMET, PIREP etc and didn't stick on the sign and then a passenger or cabin crew fell over, spilled coffee etc then the airline gets sued and the Captain's job is at risk.

Locker10a

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904818#Comment_119904818

Pilots are afraid any incidents will come back on them, “was the seatbelt sign on” they’ll be asked …. Compo culture

Locker10a

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119900049#Comment_119900049

The crew were only delighted the magazines were gone during the summer of stock shortages, as passengers hadn’t much expectation of what was inevitably out of stock anyway… easier to offer what actually is available that apologise for what’s missing …

Locker10a

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119900049#Comment_119900049

Has that plan been shelved ?!

Shamrockj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119906743#Comment_119906743

It hasn’t. Only a few aircraft have it already but the plan is to have all of them fitted with the seat pocket sown closed . Here is a photo for example.

kevinandrew

I genuinely can't remember the last time Aer Lingus introduced a policy that could be considered passenger friendly.

The cabin bag fee, the smaller carry on dimensions, the lack of printed menus, the removal of seat pockets, the total lack of digital innovation, the removal of long haul pre-order, no dedicated stowage for AerSpace on the A320neos, the limited Bia stock, table linen missing in business, the new 'self-serve' amenity kits after weeks of them being missing etc.

It's all looking a bit shoddy and that's before you consider the state of EI-EIK & EI-EIL, the array of patchwork liveries, the door shamrocks peeling and staining yellow, the safety card sleeves not being stitched on straight and the continued poor lounge offerings.

There's a lot of work to be done just to bring the airline back to its pre-pandemic standards.

x567

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119908439#Comment_119908439

Have to agree with this. (See my much earlier post about IAG thinking hard about what their airlines are trying to be). Amazing really that, in the main, the EI crew keep us passengers happier than the airline perhaps deserves...

Noxegon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119908439#Comment_119908439

Didn't stop them sending a survey to me recently that among other things asked me to compare them against Emirates :)

At one point in the past EI had a good product, but no longer. I find it hilarious that Skytrax still thinks they're a four star airline.