Aer Lingus business class, worth it?

S

Sarah Ryan

Registered User
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Has anybody ever flown business class with Aer Lingus stateside?
Worth the money?
Pay for extra leg room instead?
Nice but wouldn't do it again?
I did it loved it and now I'm screwed the next time I get on a plane?
Yolo??

I will be flying to Seattle next year, I'm going on an Alaskan cruise, pretty much a bucket list holiday and I'm toying with the idea of going business class just to really tick all the boxes.

I don't really like flying, I've done New York twice and I managed but I really could not have gotten off the plane quick enough.

To go business class there and back we are looking at around €4k. Our tenant is financing most of it so kinda winning already but if extra leg room and treatment yourself to an extra few drinks is just as good then I think I might divert that money into more excursions.
 
Did the bid for upgrade in the past:

It’s a nicer experience and makes the flight generally more pleasant and comfortable, everything is a bit nicer, more room, better food, less people trying to usethe bathroom etc etc. certainly it’s not ‘value for money’ though. I’m flying to states in September
and won’t bother with it again even though I can afford it much more than previously.
 
It's a question of costs and priorities for your money.

I booked economy and then bid in the auction and won it one way for about €300, I think, and thought it good value. The flight was delayed hours and so I was in the lounge which was great as the main area was jammed with people sitting on the floor.

I didn't get it on the way back and was a bit disappointed.

Then the next time I went, the actual price on the way out was not much dearer than economy so I booked business both ways. This might have been because it was months in advance. I got one of the seats on its own which was better than one of the two together.
 
@Brendan Burgess yes I would be getting the lounge anyway as we have used this both times and I thought that was definitely worth the money.

Right it looks like auction definitely needs to be something that is considered I didn't even realize that was something that you could do on these types of flights.

Holiday is in June 26th so I will touch in with the travel agent at the end of the month as they will be booking the flights for us.
 
Business class on short-medium haul (less than seven hours) never feels like great value when you are paying for it yourself - unless you are getting a bargain like the upgrade auction or the occasional early booking discounts which Brendan mentioned. You walk away afterwards thinking what you could have done with the money. Better to get Extra Legroom/Premium Economy and pay for a lounge if you don't have a card and use the money you save for other pleasures. It's different if you are flying long haul where it can make a big difference, especially if you are with one of the carriers who put a real effort into their business class offerings. For Seattle, I'd consider it depending on the carrier and the price differential, especially if it was a single Europe to Seattle flight which will be 10+ hours onboard.
 
@Fortune based on flights Dublin to Seattle with Aer Lingus next April 2026 (June schedule not out yet) it's around €4,200 return for two people.

It's more expensive going out than it is coming home so it might be that we just do it one way for the treat and to tick it off the bucket list.
 
To keep it simple, I looked at a one way flight to New York next January.



€1400 extra. Not worth it.

It's the same price every day around then.

Just checked Dublin to Seattle on 26th June. I doubt that there will be an auction.



Maybe booking the extra legroom and the lounge is a better use of your money.

Brendan
 
Fortune said:
I was thinking they may have dropped that bit. 25 years ago, a Merc would come to your house to bring you to the airport, and a Lincoln Towncar would drop you to your hotel, the the reverse on the way back
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Emirates still do it or at least they did a few years back when I was going to Singapore regularly
 
We did the Dublin Seattle trip last August, business class. It was fantastic, only our second time to do BC, first was Dublin to Miami earlier in 2024. It was worth it but we couldn't afford that very often. Mrs S is a nervous flyer but the added luxury helped her deal with it and she even slept a bit. My only reservation is that the seats are a bit hard and the toilets are standard, meaning no better than economy. The continuous flow of alcohol helps and the food was excellent.

The lounges are a nice perk. In Seattle, Aer Lingus uses the Turkish Airlines lounge. It's just after security, don't go up the escalator and don't take the monorail until after. Learned the hard way!!

We're flying long haul next year but we can, barely, only afford Premium Economy. First World problems, I know! ‍
 
"Emirates still do it or at least they did a few years back when I was going to Singapore regularly.."

Yes, a friend is going First(?) Class on Emirates and they're collecting them!!
 
If it is a bucket list trip and you can afford it then indulge and embrace it, that would be my sentiment.

Otherwise, you may come back from your dream trip thinking, "everything was amazing, I just wish I had chosen to go business class. I wonder what its like?"

So you may end deciding to go business class on your next trip.

But your next trip may to represent your family at the funeral uncle in Dundee who you may actually have despised, but out of 'respect' attend the service!
 
On the aer lingus planes where you turn left for business class, I loved it. Loads of room. Great service. Nice food. Nice wine.
On the new smaller planes to the US everyone turns right. You walk through business to get to economy. A curtain now separates business from economy. Reminds me of the Dublin/Edinburgh trips years ago.
Whilst walking through business to economy on our recent stateside trip, I thought business class looked quite cramped.

Economy was great. Very comfortable
 
I was once upgraded for free on BA from London to New York. Fully flat 6'6" sleeper, wasted on me for a westbound daytime flight. It ruined the redeye flight home in economy.
 
Sister Sara said:
uncle in Dundee
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My favourite uncle lives in Henderson Nevada so you know.....!!
Of course I hope I don't have to make that journey anytime soon!

Lots of information here thanks folks, we do have a bit of time before we need to make a decision.

I'll have to crunch another few numbers just to make sure I have every base covered, I don't want to miss out on an excursion from the cruise ship just at the expense of these fancy seats!
 
Fortune said:
I was once upgraded for free on BA from London to New York. Fully flat 6'6" sleeper, wasted on me for a westbound daytime flight. It ruined the redeye flight home in economy.
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Yes, that was how I felt when I won the auction to NY but not the return flight.

The return flight might be more important as I would usually leave America late in the day so I would sleep.

If I fly to NY mid morning, the ability to sleep isn't that valuable.

Brendan
 
Was lucky enough to get Business Class from LA to Dublin direct about 15 years ago - thanks to a friend who had surplus air-miles to share - or whatever other deal he had going at the time. When they handed me a wine-list - and a steak menu, I thought, "this is the only way to travel." The well-known Hollywood actress seated next to me was a bonus!

It's been downhill ever since...the ferry from Holyhead yesterday (with accompanying Irish "indigenous" folk being majorly disruptive in the bar) certainly brought me back down to earth!) Albeit the trip to Liverpool for Springsteen was well worth the grief.
 
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