Airline/Airport/Travel questions and queries

Tenger · 08-10-2015 11:11am #1

Please use this thread for questions along the lines of:

When can I check in online?
What IFE is on my flight?
How easy are connections at an airport?
What service should I expect on my next flight?
What is my baggage allowance?
Why can't I buy smokes going to the UK/Europe?
Will my flight bumpy?
Can I walk around the airplane?
etc
etc

Make sure to read any answers before you post as your question may already be posted. Dont expect an immediate response, this forum is not a helpdesk.

JCX BXC · 08-10-2015 7:35pm

Where did the last thread go?

Anyway I will reiterate what I said, I hope people feel free to ask questions in here, theres alot of knowledgeable people on this fourm who would be happy to answer questions!

McWotever · 08-10-2015 9:10pm

Carnacalla wrote: »

Where did the last thread go?

Anyway I will reiterate what I said, I hope people feel free to ask questions in here, theres alot of knowledgeable people on this fourm who would be happy to answer questions!

I asked a question yesterday, it was answered but the thread deleted.

Tenger · 10-10-2015 9:54pm

McWotever wrote: »

I asked a question yesterday, it was answered but the thread deleted.

There was an issue with the merging of some question threads to the original, this is the improved version (read no messed up my me)

What was your question

Dozy11 · 20-11-2015 3:45pm

flying dublin to JFK and onto LAS end of february

have had conflicting answers from my travel agent

all flights with delta

1) are my bags going all the way through?
2) will i have to change terminals in JFK
3) what is the ife like on delta?
4) is it worth $100 each to upgrade to comfort plus seats?
5) they said just print off the code they gave us and this is all our flights??? Booking reference so ticketless????

Tenger · 22-11-2015 11:56am

Dozy11 wrote: »

flying dublin to JFK and onto LAS end of february

have had conflicting answers from my travel agent

all flights with delta

1) are my bags going all the way through?
2) will i have to change terminals in JFK
3) what is the ife like on delta?
4) is it worth $100 each to upgrade to comfort plus seats?
5) they said just print off the code they gave us and this is all our flights??? Booking reference so ticketless????

1)Probably. Delta agents in DUB will check your bag to final destination. As you pre-clear US Customs in Dublin you wil not have to carry your bag across/customs in JFK.
2)Yes. According to wikipedia DUB-JFK operates to terminal 4 while JFK-LAS operates from terminal 2. Perhaps Delta run a terminal to terminal shuttle? I dont know. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_International_Airport#Airlines_and_destinations
3)Not sure.
4)Not sure as never tried it.
5)Yup. Your booking reference is your ticket essentially. You might like to printoff the whole itinerary but the booking reference is the only essential bit.

JCX BXC · 26-11-2015 12:02am

Is there any good shops for gifts upon arrival into Dublin airport (after 11pm)?

Pat Dunne · 26-11-2015 12:11am

Carnacalla wrote: »

Is there any good shops for gifts upon arrival into Dublin airport (after 11pm)?

You can check all the opening times on www.theloop.ie

You could shop on the way out and collect on your return?
http://www.theloop.ie/t/ShopCollect

JCX BXC · 26-11-2015 12:13am

Pat Dunne wrote: »

You can check all the opening times on www.theloop.ie

You could shop on the way out and collect on your return?
http://www.theloop.ie/t/ShopCollect

Thing is I'm already away so that's not an option.

Pat Dunne · 26-11-2015 12:21am

Carnacalla wrote: »

Thing is I'm already away so that's not an option.

Hmm... I hardly call Wrights a gifts shop on the way out to the carparks in T1 or WH Smiths in T2. 'Fraid it looks like you are up the well know creek.

Inquitus · 05-12-2015 5:58pm

Can anyone explain why when flying in from the US to T5 to connect onwards to Dublin, also from T5 you have to go through security again.

I take this route fairly often and the immigration, boarding pass photo and especially security can suck up up to an hour and make short connections a bit risky, especially given the almost guaranteed 20-30 mins of holding once you arrive above London at the end of your transatlantic flight.

When flying American they tend to give you an express pass which mitigates it by reducing the queue time drastically, but BA just seem to leave you to fend for yourself, and having to leg it from one flight to the next after an overnight transatlantic flight isn't exactly what you need.

LXFlyer · 05-12-2015 7:14pm

Inquitus wrote: »

Can anyone explain why when flying in from the US to T5 to connect onwards to Dublin, also from T5 you have to go through security again.

I take this route fairly often and the immigration, boarding pass photo and especially security can suck up up to an hour and make short connections a bit risky, especially given the almost guaranteed 20-30 mins of holding once you arrive above London at the end of your transatlantic flight.

When flying American they tend to give you an express pass which mitigates it by reducing the queue time drastically, but BA just seem to leave you to fend for yourself, and having to leg it from one flight to the next after an overnight transatlantic flight isn't exactly what you need.

Simply put - the UK authorities insist on checking everyone that passes through London Heathrow.

goingnowhere · 06-12-2015 1:00am

The trick is to ensure you use the UK Domestic/Ireland area at flight connections as that cuts the queue for the queue for security

Rules in the UK are all arriving from non UK airports must reclear security

MuffinsDa · 06-12-2015 10:51pm

quick question for those in the know: is Are Lingus ceasing CPHDUB on 25th of March, or is simply a case of them not having announced the summer schedule yet? It's not bookable beyond 25/03/16.

http://info.flightmapper.net/flight/Aer_Lingus_EI_627

If it's a case of summer schedule not being out yet, when will it be announced / made bookable?

highlydebased · 06-12-2015 11:09pm

Afaik it's canned

Redditor · 07-12-2015 12:03am

Hi,

I booked a flight for an older relative and she can't be persuaded that the boarding passes I printed for her will get her onto the plane.

The ones they had for years has a bit at the bottom that was torn off at the gate.

Can anyone tell me what the story is with the new passes? Do they rip any off the page on the way through? Haven't been on Ryanair since last year myself.

Apologies for the trivial query, but she might give over if I can tell her what will happen at the gate.

Thanks.

Pat Dunne · 07-12-2015 12:16am

Redditor wrote: »

Hi,

I booked a flight for an older relative and she can't be persuaded that the boarding passes I printed for her will get her onto the plane.

The ones they had for years has a bit at the bottom that was torn off at the gate.

Can anyone tell me what the story is with the new passes? Do they rip any off the page on the way through? Haven't been on Ryanair since last year myself.

Apologies for the trivial query, but she might give over if I can tell her what will happen at the gate.

Thanks.

Ryanair have stopped the practice of removing the lower half of the boarding pass sometime ago.

Just assure your older relative that the ticket will need to be scanned at the Boarding Channel/Security Gate Area and then at the Boarding Gate (Passport will also be required at Boarding Gate). Similar to what's done at the supermarket check out.

Based on my own personal experience traveling with elderly relatives, could I suggest that you book Fast Track
http://www.dublinairport.com/home.aspx
for you relative to get through the Boarding Channel / Security Gate Area. Depending on the time of day the main Boarding Channel area through to the Security Gate can border on mayhem, this can be quite stressful on an infrequent flyer. Whereas the Fast Track area involves no stress and the staff are most helpful.

You might also contact One Complete Solution, OCS,
http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/at-the-airport/reduced-mobility.aspx
these guys offer a great service and if your eldelrly relative is traveling solo, they can act as a travel companion from their office in the main departures area, until your relative boards the flight, including a golf buggy ride out to the Boarding Gates. Cannot recommend their service or their staff highly enough.

L1011 · 07-12-2015 12:17am

Pulled due to poor yield - four airlines on the route and 40 quid return fares booked at close in dates are not good things for profitability.

Redditor · 07-12-2015 12:20am

Just wanted to know 100% what the story was.

Thanks a million for that Pat.

Pat Dunne · 08-12-2015 12:03am

Redditor wrote: »

Just wanted to know 100% what the story was.

Thanks a million for that Pat.

I was printing a Ryanair ticket this evening and I noted that FR now have a new ticket layout. Well since October when I last flew with them.

A4 page now devided into quarter panels which you simply fold in 4, with the Ryanair blue an yellow bording pass banner to the front. Very handy indeed

JCX BXC · 08-12-2015 12:04am

Flew with them just over a week ago very handy indeed.

Inquitus · 11-12-2015 4:13pm

When will Aer Lingus be One World?

Tenger · 12-12-2015 10:30am

Inquitus wrote: »

When will Aer Lingus be One World?

NO idea really.
The integration into IAG will be the priority, this could take 12-18 months. IAG want their own set-up in place, then EI need to be proposed as a member, then the existing members have to vote. I guess a lot depends on the existing business model at EI. They have codeshares/interlining agreements with United, OW membership will alter these. Perhaps they will have to wait till these agreements are nearing the end?
I would hazard a wild guess for early/mid 2017 at the earliest.

strelok · 12-12-2015 7:33pm

not sure if I'm asking in the right place so sorry if I'm getting it wrong

heading to melbourne for xmas, going dublin - abu dhabi and then abu dhabi - melbourne. both flights (according to the tickets) are on a boeing 777-300er. aer lingus to Abu dhabi, etihad on to melbourne flying economy for both of them (

)

according to my googlings, both planes should have AC power in economy so I can plug a laptop in for the duration.. does anyone know if this is accurate? one of the websites I checked mentioned something about an rj45 socket for each seat too, does this mean it will have internet?

I've flown once, to portugal on ryanair, in the last ten years so I'm not at all familiar with what is typical on planes these days especially on long flights. sorry if these questions seem impossibly naive

JCX BXC · 12-12-2015 7:38pm

Tis not Aer Lingus your going to Abu Dhabi with anyway, its Etihad

strelok · 12-12-2015 7:53pm

Carnacalla wrote: »

Tis not Aer Lingus your going to Abu Dhabi with anyway, its Etihad

the ticket definitely says aer lingus. is that just some sort of ... i dunno... licensing thing?

fits · 12-12-2015 7:55pm

strelok wrote: »

the ticket definitely says aer lingus. is that just some sort of ... i dunno... licensing thing?

Its called a codeshare. Ticket sold by one airline but operated by another.

JCX BXC · 12-12-2015 8:01pm

Above is correct,

Aerlingus don't fly to Abu Dhabi nor do they have 777's. They flew to Dubai a few years ago in my recollection.

strelok · 17-12-2015 7:52am

anyone know if you can plug a usb stick/media device into the usb ports on the etihad 777-300er to play your own content on the seat tv's? or are they just for charging devices

IrishAir98 · 04-01-2016 12:31am

I just read somewhere that passengers travelling on domestic flights from DUB have access to fast track security is this true?

kala85 · 04-01-2016 12:55am

Yes it's called Dublin airport flash track as far as I know

DrPhilG · 04-01-2016 3:21pm

I hope this is the right place to post...

My wife and I are taking the father in law to New York for his birthday. Unbeknownst to him we are actually also taking him to Vegas.

As far as he knows it's just Dublin to NYC and NYC back to Dublin. But in actual fact we'll be boarding in NYC and going to Vegas for 4 nights and then back to Dublin.

My question is, how long can I keep the secret? My hope is that he won't cop on until we're sat at the gate waiting to board. I'll be managing the check in and handling the tickets and boarding passes, so I'm thinking that it will be fine to just print the boarding passes and give him the one he needs at any given time. He's not bit on long haul travel so it won't be hard to keep him relying on me to keep him right.

My worry is US pre-clearance in Dublin. Will he himself be asked at that point what his dates of travel etc are or will I just be able to fill out a form each and hand them over as a group?

Stheno · 04-01-2016 3:24pm

You know he needs an esta visa too which will require details of where he will be staying?

He will have to speak to the officers at pre clearance you can't so it for him

A Primal Nut · 04-01-2016 3:25pm

He'll have a customs form where has to enter his expected address in the United States. Most likely the immigration officer will ask him where he is going or what his final destination is. He should have all boarding passes with him just in case.

The only thing I'm not sure about is doing it as a group, particularly if your father-is-law is very old, I'm not sure how it works. But I would say he could ask your father-in-law questions or even if he does ask you where your final destination is and you say Las Vegas, your father-in-law might act shocked if he didn't know in advance, which may look strange to the immigration officer.

I once mixed up my right and left hand when they were asking for fingerprint and they took me away for separate questions because they thought I was nervous, so dealing with US immigration can be intimidating at the best of times, never mind when you are trying to hide something from someone in the group.

So you have to tell him before going to pre-clearance.

As far as I remember when doing the ESTA they also ask for expected address and flight details (although I guess you could do the ESTA part for him so your father-in-law might not know about that part, but of course what he says to pre-clearance should match what is on the ESTA so he has to know by then).

Ruu · 04-01-2016 3:29pm

Is this all one ticket? Dub to Vegas (one stop in NYC)? You will clear immigration once you land in NY I think. I would tell him before you land stateside.

DrPhilG · 04-01-2016 3:34pm

Stheno wrote: »

You know he needs an esta visa too which will require details of where he will be staying?

He will have to speak to the officers at pre clearance you can't so it for him

Already done the ESTA, it asks for an address while staying in the US and I have put in the NYC details there. It only gives the option for 1 address.

He's not that elderly and certainly not dependent enough for me to have to speak for him. Looks like I'm going to have to spill the beans earlier than expected.

DrPhilG · 04-01-2016 3:35pm

Ruu wrote: »

Is this all one ticket? Dub to Vegas (one stop in NYC)? You will clear immigration once you land in NY I think. I would tell him before you land stateside.

Dublin to NYC, stay 8 days. NYC to Vegas for 4 days. Then Vegas to Dublin with NYC connection.

DrPhilG · 04-01-2016 3:36pm

A Primal Nut wrote: »

He'll have a customs form where has to enter his expected address in the United States. Most likely the immigration officer will ask him where he is going or what his final destination is. He should have all boarding passes with him just in case.

From my experience I thought that the form asks much the same as the ESTA, i.e. what will your address be in the US, and it only gives one option. I've done a few trips before where we had 2 US destinations on the same trip, Vegas and Miami for example.

JCX BXC · 04-01-2016 3:46pm

Ruu wrote: »

Is this all one ticket? Dub to Vegas (one stop in NYC)? You will clear immigration once you land in NY I think. I would tell him before you land stateside.

Negative, you preclear in Ireland. You can't have half a flight precleared, and the other half not cleared.

highlydebased · 04-01-2016 5:57pm

I'd say you'll have to tell him. He'll have to be present for checkin and there is bound to be mention of "The bags are checked through to Vegas....."

As mentioned already he'll be asked the address he's staying at by border officials at preclearance, possibly multiple times. Everybody must go through this whether individually or as one travelling party, so it'll be hard to keep is a secret really

lfc200 · 04-01-2016 6:16pm

DrPhilG wrote: »

Dublin to NYC, stay 8 days. NYC to Vegas for 4 days. Then Vegas to Dublin with NYC connection.

If you are stopping in New York for 8 days there'll be no questions about the on travel to Vegas as the officials won't know about this!
I'd be thinking that you should be fine not telling him until he's in the airport on the way to Vegas!
Others may be able to clarify further though...

Stheno · 04-01-2016 6:19pm

lfc200 wrote: »

If you are stopping in New York for 8 days there'll be no questions about the on travel to Vegas as the officials won't know about this!

Eh I'd not be so sure about that tbh, last time I flew through the US i was just transiting to Canada, got all sorts of questions as to where I was going, how long, when was I flying back etc.

lfc200 · 04-01-2016 6:21pm

Stheno wrote: »

Eh I'd not be so sure about that tbh, last time I flew through the US i was just transiting to Canada, got all sorts of questions as to where I was going, how long, when was I flying back etc.

When you say transiting to Canada was it on the one ticket and bags checked through to final destination?

Stheno · 04-01-2016 6:22pm

lfc200 wrote: »

When you say transiting to Canada was it on the one ticket and bags checked through to final destination?

Yes.
In OPs case they are going for 12 days so they may well be asked what they are doing after 8 days in NY

Pat Dunne · 04-01-2016 6:23pm

Contact the US Embassy directly (in writing).

You are already getting a number of different answers, none of which are officially verifiable in advance of your party travelling.

lfc200 · 04-01-2016 6:27pm

Stheno wrote: »

Yes.
In OPs case they are going for 12 days so they may well be asked what they are doing after 8 days in NY

Very true, I suppose it depends on who you meet on the day in immigration whether they ask exact details etc...

Tenger · 04-01-2016 8:39pm

Stheno wrote: »

You know he needs an esta visa too which will require details of where he will be staying?

He will have to speak to the officers at pre clearance you can't so it for him

You must be upfront with the CBP officials. Any hint of deception will have you in for questioning.

Tell your father in law once you are airside....maybe have a Vegas themed gift to give him one you are settled in a cafe/bar airside and before you go down to CBP.

J.pilkington · 05-01-2016 5:27am

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Contact the US Embassy directly (in writing).

You are already getting a number of different answers, none of which are officially verifiable in advance of your party travelling.

Good luck getting anything other than a textbook reply a couple of weeks later

Pat Dunne · 05-01-2016 9:33am

J.pilkington wrote: »

Good luck getting anything other than a textbook reply a couple of weeks later

When the O.P receives the official text book answer from the US Embassy, so be it.

At least then he knows exactly to do in and what to expect in advance. Rather than saying at time of travel, "a fella on the internet, told me it would be grand", to a US Immigration Official.

Good luck explaining that one!

Atlantic Dawn · 05-01-2016 9:46am

If he loves surprises he will enjoy if not he might be annoyed. In these times of extra security a surprise as an explanation may not go down well if pre clearance see from his advanced flight declaration that his declared travel plans don't match his actual booking.

Charles Babbage · 05-01-2016 9:49am

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Contact the US Embassy directly (in writing).

You are already getting a number of different answers, none of which are officially verifiable in advance of your party travelling.

And what would you put in this letter? That you want to deceive the immigration officers?

Airline/Airport/Travel questions and queries

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