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• Booking Dublin: A Change of Plans

After staying at the Hyatt Regency in Boston, and hanging around in Bean Town for the better part of the day, we headed to the airport around 6pm for the 9pm flight. Check-in and security went quickly, and after only about 20 minutes, we were in the Aer Lingus Gold Circle Lounge in Terminal E waiting to board. After enjoying the small lounge for a short while, we boarded around 8:20pm.

First impressions

There’s something so great about experiencing a brand new product. Aer Lingus recently refreshed their business class cabins (late April, according to the booklet at the seat).

We were assigned to seats 3D and 3G, both aisle seats in the middle of the cabin. I had 3G.

First impressions were… WOW. It looks so fresh. The cabin is done up in shades of gray with splashes of emerald and lime green, which is gives it a very distinct, chic look. They made sure to put their clover branding all over everything – it was done well and added cohesion. It looked and felt very modern, and I was positively giddy to have this flight experience.

The plane was an Airbus 330-300 and right away, I started to feel a little more Irish.

It was a dark overnight flight, so forgive the graininess of some of the photos below!

The seat

They did a great job here. The aisles are 5 seats across, and most have aisle access. You can luck out and get a contained seat all to yourself (no one next to you), or if flying with a companion, can choose to sit next to them. (3K looked particularly cozy in its own little nook). All of the seats on the left side of the cabin are single seaters, all of the middle aisle are two-seaters, and the third row is a mix of both.

It’s a lie-flat seat. There were bottles of water tucked into a pocket in the storage compartment, reading lights, and lots of built-in seat functions operable via a touch pad.

BOS-DUB is an overnight flight, so I definitely took advantage of the lie-flat seat. Your feet go into a little compartment as the seat folds down (kinda the norm for new biz products).

In addition, the seat is quite wide and comfy. There is not a divider of any kind between the two-seaters, just FYI. Those seats really are made for companions. Not that it would be awkward to sit next to anyone, but it’s not a private seat at all. The fact that almost all seats (80% of them) have aisle access is wonderful.

Soon after takeoff, the flight attendants distributed amenity kits and menus. The amenity kit had an eyeshade, socks, lip balm, facial moisturizer, toothpaste and toothbrush, and mouthwash.

Meal service

As soon as we sat down, the flight attendants came ’round with pre-departure champagne.

Since this was an overnight flight, we were served dinner, and then breakfast in the morning. Menus are below.

I had the Italian red wine and the chicken dish for dinner. The wine was very good – both options looked equally appealing, but I wanted to give this one a try. The chicken was actually great. Very moist and flavorful. I really enjoyed it – more than I’ve enjoyed in-flight food in a long time. Whoever designed this menu put a lot of thought into it, and the dishes really translated well into “the sky” – at least the couple of things I tried.

I don’t eat pork, so I had to forgo the bacon roll for breakfast, so I had a little fruit and a coffee for breakfast.

The service regarding the meal was very well-paced. Everything came out in quick succession, and the flight attendants were gracious with their service. Not overbearing at all, but still really attentive.

In-Flight Entertainment

They really shone here.

The IFE screens are HUGE, and take up nearly the entire back of the seat in front of you.

They movie and TV selection were really in-depth. They had both recent hits and classics, and lots of episodes from Game of Thrones and House of Cards. They also had a lot of Irish movies and things shot there (duh). I watched “Wild” with Reese Witherspoon – it was pretty good!

I was tempted to watch another movie, but then decided to go ahead and fold out the lie-flat seat and catch a few Zzzzs. 🙂

I didn’t get a shot of the bed folded out as it was pitch dark on the plane by then. But suffice it to say that I fell quickly asleep and woke up pretty darn close to the Emerald Isle.

How I Did It

I booked this flight with 50,000 Avios for a round-trip ticket, and searched for the award space on United.com. Last I checked, there was still some space left in November, but the price has now shot up to 75,000 Avios for a round-trip ticket due to the recent Avios devaluation.

It’s quite a good product, though, and might be worth it if you want to fly directly to Ireland (from Boston).

Bottom line

Very impressed. There was a booklet in the storage compartment that said the refresh went into effect in “late April.” I look this flight on April 28th, so perhaps I am one of the first people to experience the new business class product?

It’s a beautiful refresh and I really must applaud Aer Lingus for the attention to detail, care, and thought they put into their new business class cabins.

For such a short flight over the pond (just shy of 6 hours), one doesn’t really need a lie-flat seat, but it’s certainly always welcome.

This might be one of the freshest, nicest cabins in the sky right now. If anything, it gives the major European carriers a run for their money, and is now suddenly the best way to get to Ireland.

Kudos to Aer Lingus. I don’t know when I’ll be in Ireland again, but I’d give some serious thought to paying more Avios for this product (especially when they have an Amex transfer bonus).

Has anyone else flown the new Aer Lingus business class product yet? How does your experience compare? Let me know in the comments below!

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