Benefits of Aer lingus

TheMilkyPirate · 24-06-2013 04:19PM #1

Hi all were flying to the canary islands soon, We usually fly with Ryanair and they haven't been too bad but people always say they would much prefer to fly with Aer lingus if they could. It only works out at €7 more to fly with aer lingus so I'm just wondering what are the benifits of flying with them as opposed to Ryanair?

heebusjeebus · 24-06-2013 04:22PM

I'd easily pay €50 extra to fly AerLingus to Lanzarote.
You get a better service, pre-assigned seating and when I flew with them last month they upgraded me and my buddies to the emergency exit seats as they were mostly empty.

ComeraghBlue · 24-06-2013 04:25PM

baraca wrote: »

Hi all were flying to the canary islands soon, We usually fly with Ryanair and they haven't been too bad but people always say they would much prefer to fly with Aer lingus if they could. It only works out at €7 more to fly with aer lingus so I'm just wondering what are the benifits of flying with them as opposed to Ryanair?

go with Aer Lingus

munchkin_utd · 24-06-2013 04:38PM

seats recline, you get allocated seating for free, so in itsself a bonus and the rush to get a seat together just doesnt happen.
You can checkin at the airport for free too so no panic about accessing a printer in advance or loosing the boarding passes.
Luggage should cost less per item and you'll get 20kg as standard rather than 15.
If you havent a decent pair of headphones with banging techno music going, then the constant sales pitch of the ryanair stewardesses might be annoying.

I cant think of any other differences except that often people will fly Aerlingus over Ryanair as Aerlingus fly to where you want to go, not to where Ryanair is getting the most bribes/ subsidies/ sweeteners to fly to in the árse end of nowhere.

ballooba · 24-06-2013 04:46PM

Apart from snobbery, misplaced patriotism and maybe a little inertia there is not much to choose between the two. I usually fly Ryanair because the schedule and price suit me better.

Tabnabs · 24-06-2013 04:53PM

munchkin_utd wrote: »

seats recline,

Probably the worst reason to fly Aer Lingus. From personal experience, a guy sat in front of me on a flight to the Canaries and the first thing he did was recline his seat thereby eliminating any meagre legroom I had. On a four+ hour flight, this was horrendous.

Ryan Air departure times can also be more reasonable than Aer Lingus.

Eponymous · 24-06-2013 04:54PM

FR and EI fly into the same airports in the canaries and having used both in the last couple of years, there's little difference between the two in terms on in-flight interruptions for selling stuff etc.

FWIW, the last time we went down to Lanzarote we chose FR. Flights were actually working out about the same price when you accounted for the extras, but times suited better on FR and there were mad delays on EI the last time we'd used them thanks to people talking the pi$$ with their carry-on luggage and arguements about which bags needed to go in the hold as there was no room for them.

Also, I find the fact that seats don't recline on FR to be an advantage as my knees remain intact for the journey and are not at the mercy of some inconsiderate moron who thinks nothing of pushing their seat back with all their might and then seeming to use it as a trampoline for a minute or so while they get comfortable.

Jamie2k9 · 24-06-2013 05:06PM

Everything is more relaxed with Aer Lingus over Ryanair.

One major benefit which will annoy many people is that flying with Aer Lingus means there is no common chaves flying with you.

Aer Lingus crew don't wreck you head with the PA system selling every kind of ****e Ryanair do.

Layinghen · 24-06-2013 05:07PM

Use Ryanair a lot but if the price is more or less the same I would go for Aer Lingus. Main reason is the allocated seating, the joy of not having to stand in a queue for ages and racing for the back of the plane to try and get seats together is wonderful. The old legs aren't what they used to be:D

ScouseMouse · 24-06-2013 05:10PM

Aer Lingus if I have a choice.

I'm flying to Tenerife this saturday with EI and when I booked, they were a tiny bit dearer than Ryanair. Its true, there is not much in it, but EI still have it over FR.

Politeness, it doesnt cost anything.

Having an allocated seat is another.

Not needing sunglasses to see onboard with all the mad yellow.

Not enduring the stupid jingles for "we are on time"

Not being harassed with announcements over scratchcards, then again over smokeless cigs.

While I am sure EI can, and may, stop you over carryon luggage, I have seen FR being downright nasty and unpleasant. (Manchester flight few weeks back)

Coming back from Riga, I saw a girl dumping loads of stuff as her carry on was to big, FR staff didnt give a crap, I was at the next gate with Airbaltic and I was not impressed at their attitude. I know they were right, but they almost took pleasure in it.

All in all, in my experience, EI are more friendly and generally more pleasant.

On a recent trip, I flew dub manchester with Ryanair as it was 22 euro single while EI was 70 euro. On the return they were roughly equal so I chose EI.

mosesgun · 24-06-2013 05:20PM

Aer Lingus 100%. For all the reasons given above. Flew with the family to Fuertaventura a month ago with Ryanair. All fine but you'd only put up with their crap if they were significantly cheaper. Personally, I'd pay a bit extra for the much more relaxed experience of Aer Lingus.

Murt10 · 24-06-2013 05:32PM

Lads,

Those of you old enough to remember the pre Ryanair days, will remember when it cost over £300 for a return flight on the Dublin/London. You got this special reduced rate provided you booked 3 months in advance and stayed a Saturday night.

Aer Lingus and BA had a nice little duopoly on the route. They were blue in the face telling us over and over that they could not do it any cheaper. The average take home wage at the time was well short of £100 pw. At the time it was the dearest cost per mile for any route, anywhere in the world.

Thousands and thousands of Irish people were not able to come home for Christmas & holidays etc as they couldn't afford to spend a months pay on the trip alone and as for bringing a family!!!

Stereomaniac · 24-06-2013 05:34PM

I can't remember the last time I was on an Aer Lingus flight. But that is just because any time I go anywhere I am trying to get there and back while spending the least amount possible.

alexonhisown · 24-06-2013 05:35PM

I try to avoid flying with aer lingus if possible. Too many strike threats.

Layinghen · 24-06-2013 05:39PM

I remember those days well and we on this little island of ours have a lot to thank Ryanair for. Having said all that in the past few years going on a Ryanair flight has got more and more unpleasant. I do fly with them a lot and know how to obey the rules to try and get through the journey with no hassle. It was just the joy of going back to travelling on an Aer Lingus flight showed what a little bit of leeway can do to making travelling a less frazzling experience.

Yamanoto · 24-06-2013 06:08PM

I've witnessed a fair few occasions where EI staff have surpassed themselves in providing a level of care & attention that'd simply be unimaginable if travelling on Ryanair.

Frontline staff still seem to be given a little scope to exercise discretion in cases where common sense and compassion are called for. With the other crowd, travelling with them just feels kind of adversarial to me, even if you're fully compliant with their T&C's.

Boombastic · 24-06-2013 06:14PM

Flew Aer Lingus recently. haven't flown with them in a while. Host/Hostess carrying on a private conversation about what happened the night before on a night out - going in to great detail wile the passengers boarding (these where the host/hostess half way down the plane). 3 people checked the passengers before take off. Not one of them noticed the guy in front of me had his seat reclined for take off, even though one of them had their hand on it at one stage. Very unprofessional crew.

killbillvol2 · 24-06-2013 06:37PM

Yamanoto wrote: »

I've witnessed a fair few occasions where EI staff have surpassed themselves in providing a level of care & attention that'd simply be unimaginable if travelling on Ryanair.

Frontline staff still seem to be given a little scope to exercise discretion in cases where common sense and compassion are called for. With the other crowd, travelling with them just feels kind of adversarial to me, even if you're fully compliant with their T&C's.

Aer Lingus has plenty of faults (host/hostess gossiping is something I've come across a few times) and I've rarely had an issue with Ryanair.

That discretion you mentioned, though, is the one huge difference. I recently enquired in Heathrow if I could get on an earlier flight than the one booked (I would have paid, within reason, and said so). A quick phone call and I was on the earlier flight with no charge.

P. Breathnach · 24-06-2013 06:47PM

Murt10 wrote: »

Lads,

Those of you old enough to remember the pre Ryanair days, will remember when it cost over £300 for a return flight on the Dublin/London. You got this special reduced rate provided you booked 3 months in advance and stayed a Saturday night.

Aer Lingus and BA had a nice little duopoly on the route. They were blue in the face telling us over and over that they could not do it any cheaper. The average take home wage at the time was well short of £100 pw. At the time it was the dearest cost per mile for any route, anywhere in the world.

Thousands and thousands of Irish people were not able to come home for Christmas & holidays etc as they couldn't afford to spend a months pay on the trip alone and as for bringing a family!!!

Yes, I'm old enough to remember that. I'm also old enough to remember turbo-prop planes on all Ireland-UK routes. That's history, and has little to do with what happens when one books a flight in 2013.

Another history lesson: it was not Ryanair who broke the EI/BA duopoly; it was the EEC, as it was then known. Peter Sutherland, rather than Michael O'Leary, is due the recognition for the opening-up of the market.

coylemj · 24-06-2013 07:10PM

Murt10 wrote: »

Those of you old enough to remember the pre Ryanair days, will remember when it cost over £300 for a return flight on the Dublin/London. You got this special reduced rate provided you booked 3 months in advance and stayed a Saturday night.

Aer Lingus and BA had a nice little duopoly on the route. They were blue in the face telling us over and over that they could not do it any cheaper. The average take home wage at the time was well short of £100 pw. At the time it was the dearest cost per mile for any route, anywhere in the world.

Thousands and thousands of Irish people were not able to come home for Christmas & holidays etc as they couldn't afford to spend a months pay on the trip alone and as for bringing a family!!!

That would be a great reason to not use Aer Lingus if Ryanair had adopted the (positive and friendly) customer-care ethos of South-West and not just their maniacal attention to cost control.

Yes, I remember the bad old days when a scheduled flight to London cost an arm and a leg but the people who now work for and indeed own Aer Lingus (including the taxpayer who owns 25%) are not the same people who screwed the travelling public back then.

blingrhino · 24-06-2013 07:14PM

If your travelling with kids then air lingus is a better option , even if its slightly more expensive .

cailinoBAC · 24-06-2013 07:26PM

I'm living near Malaga and fly home regularly. In the first year I flew home a few times with Ryanair as the prices were much cheaper. However I haven't flown home with Ryanair since last year. Any time I've looked the prices are not much cheaper and it's got to the stage that when I want to go home now I look at Aer Lingus, if it's reasonable I'll book it and I'll only look at Ryanair if Aer Lingus is more than I'd like to pay. It's hard to explain, it's just so much less stressful flying with AL. Maybe part of it is because I'm flying from Malaga and you get so many people coming back from holiday rather than any mix of business/holidaymakers. I hate trying to keep up with the baggage rules. There was a time when in Malaga airport you could take an airport shopping bag with you, even on Ryanair, the shops had apparently argued for this, then last summer they changed their minds on this but I only found when I was boarding. Also I'd messed up and got in the priority queue by accident and when I realised it I was right at the back of the normal queue, then had to do some repacking. Yes, everybody says it's simple once you stick to the rules. But it's a lot easier when you don't have silly rules that force you to stuff your handbag into your carry on, only to have to waste time on the plane taking it out again so that you'll have it during the flight.

Also, if flying in the morning during summer it's nice to have the tv, but I guess that's Malaga only!

ger vallely · 24-06-2013 07:35PM

Aer Lingus all the way if at all possible. I never used to be a nervous air passenger but a few flights with Ryan Air changed that. One particular flight where we almost came down on top of another plane was terrifying. The landing with Aer Lingus has always,in my experience, been very smooth.That alone is beyond monetary value!

24-06-2013 08:56PM

ryanair = cattleshed in the sky complete with cattle pen boarding mechanism.
air lingus = more civilised.

Outkast_IRE · 24-06-2013 09:00PM

A lot of the time for me anyway, aerlingus and Ryanair are almost the same price. In that situation I would pick aerlingus everytime

Murt10 · 24-06-2013 11:57PM

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Yes, I'm old enough to remember that. I'm also old enough to remember turbo-prop planes on all Ireland-UK routes. That's history, and has little to do with what happens when one books a flight in 2013.

Another history lesson: it was not Ryanair who broke the EI/BA duopoly; it was the EEC, as it was then known. Peter Sutherland, rather than Michael O'Leary, is due the recognition for the opening-up of the market.

There was a programme on RTE a couple of years ago called Chain Reaction.

As far as I remember from the programme, Ryanair, as a fledgling airline, initially launched a service from Dublin to Stansted. They charged very low fares and people started using them. All their flights were full.

Aer Lingus, seeing the writing in the sand, immediately started operating on the same route with better times, and were as cheap, if not cheaper than Ryanair. They were operating at a huge loss on the route, but wanted to quash Ryanair before it could gain any size.

Around the same time, there was some urgent Irish Government business, followed by a vote. A minister was in Japan at the time, and could not afford to fly home from Japan because of the high prices being charged by the national flag carriers. He missed the consequent vote. The Government was furious with Aer Lingus.

O'Leary sought a meeting with the late Sheamus Brennan who was the Minister for Transport. He asked the Minister, as the sole shareholder in Aer Lingus, to order Aer lingus to order them off the Stansted route for a period of 3 years.

Brennan issued the order and by the time the 3 years was up Ryanair was a success story flying from the UK all over Europe.

schemingbohemia · 25-06-2013 12:08PM

Murt10 wrote: »

There was a programme on RTE a couple of years ago called Chain Reaction.

As far as I remember from the programme, Ryanair, as a fledgling airline, initially launched a service from Dublin to Stansted. They charged very low fares and people started using them. All their flights were full.

Aer Lingus, seeing the writing in the sand, immediately started operating on the same route with better times, and were as cheap, if not cheaper than Ryanair. They were operating at a huge loss on the route, but wanted to quash Ryanair before it could gain any size.

Around the same time, there was some urgent Irish Government business, followed by a vote. A minister was in Japan at the time, and could not afford to fly home from Japan because of the high prices being charged by the national flag carriers. He missed the consequent vote. The Government was furious with Aer Lingus.

O'Leary sought a meeting with the late Sheamus Brennan who was the Minister for Transport. He asked the Minister, as the sole shareholder in Aer Lingus, to order Aer lingus to order them off the Stansted route for a period of 3 years.

Brennan issued the order and by the time the 3 years was up Ryanair was a success story flying from the UK all over Europe.

I don't see how Aer Lingus could be blamed for an expensive journey from Japan at short notice as they've never flown there - that story just doesn't ring true.

I basically chose on price and time and will pick either EI or FR depending (I think people always seem to forget there are other airlines, particularly BA for Heathrow who beat both on times and fares last year for a trip I was going on).

Generally EI are more pleasant to fly with but also more likely to be late.

veetwin · 25-06-2013 12:22PM

I'm a big Ryanair fan. They really have changed the travel habits of everybody. People now have no problem popping over to the UK or Europe at a fraction of the cost it used to be. They now all travel with hand luggage only. You will usually travel on time and in a new aircraft. Have travelled with young kids to Spain with FR and couldn't fault them.

However I'd still pick Aer Lingus for a trip to the canaries. You are treated a little bit better and not constantly bombarded with electric fags and scratch cards. Aer Lingus are better but only if the fare is the same as FR

coylemj · 25-06-2013 12:27PM

schemingbohemia wrote: »

I don't see how Aer Lingus could be blamed for an expensive journey from Japan at short notice as they've never flown there - that story just doesn't ring true.

+1 And Ryanair have done nothing to improve the lot of the individual who needs to travel at short notice. I worked for a multinational and a colleague had to fly from the UK at short notice a few years ago, he was charged £200 sterling by Ryanair to fly from Manchester to Dublin and what really bugged him was that he then had to pay for the shyte cup of coffee.

Mick O'Leary has freely admitted that people flying between the UK and Ireland to attend funerals are a source of big profit for him.

Ministers get paired when they are out of the country on official business, it would be unknown for a minister to suddenly need to travel half way around the world to attend a vote in the Dail. A member of the opposition would be nominated as a 'pair' and he/she would not vote while the minister was absent on business.

ScottSF · 25-06-2013 02:28PM

For a long flight to the Canaries I can mostly agree that Aer Lingus is a slightly better choice. Being able to pick a seat at check-in time and also being able to carry a "personal item" helps save time and money.

Now on the other hand for a short weekend flight break, I almost always prefer Ryanair. Why? They are motivated to get you there on time while I tend to get the impression that Aer Lingus staff are in no hurry whatsoever. When I'm visiting London or Madrid (for example) for the weekend, my main priority is low price and on time which is where Ryanair excels. I also agree with the statemetns above about the advantage of non-reclining seats issue on Ryanair, but then again on a multi-hour flight reclining may be an advantage.

I do sincerely wish that Aer Lingus finds a way to offer a truly premium product and not try to compete mostly on price with Ryanair. Why can't they offer a free drink, pick seats in advance and not just at check in, offer more legroom, a free checked bag, free entertainment at every seat, or..., etc... something, anything to say they are not just a low cost carrier that flies to many of the same places as Ryanair but a bit friendlier. Virgin America does a great job with that and many of the major legacy carriers at least offer a free checked bag, drink, and often entertainment.

garv123 · 25-06-2013 04:31PM

I flew with AL to Amsterdam twice the last 2 new years, Both times we were given emergency seats because "ye´re tall and look like ye could do with the extra legroom"

The first time I had checked in online, the girl tore up my ticked and gave me the emergency seat one, my friend checked in beside me and when I spoke to him as we walked away she asked were we travelling together, I said yes, she asked for his ticket, tore it up and printed off another one beside me.

Couldn´t have been nicer.

Flew with Ryanair to alicante 3 times and back twice over the last 3 months and returning home again thursday. They are the furthest away gates in the airport and are so strick about their baggage onboard. They´ll take duty free bags off you and charge you for them if they do not fit in you´re bag.

Ryanair charge 35euro for a 20kg bag each way vs 15 for aerlingus for 20kg..

Id fly with aerlingus anyday if their flights were near the same price.

Benefits of Aer lingus

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