I had a bit of time to kill before my connecting flight, so my first stop was to check out Aer Lingus’ arrivals lounge. The lounge is open to all Aer Lingus business class passengers arriving on overnight transatlantic flights.
The facility is located after immigration, in the baggage claim hall, to the right of belt six.
When you get into the baggage hall hang a sharp right, walk parallel to belt six, and then you’ll see the entrance to the lounge on the right.
Dublin Airport baggage claim
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge Dublin Airport exterior
At the reception desk I presented my boarding pass, and was asked if I wanted a shower.
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge Dublin Airport reception
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge Dublin Airport entrance
Just inside the entrance and straight ahead is the sitting area, which consists of just eight seats pushed closely together. The actual “lounge” portion of this is basically a broom closet.
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge Dublin seating
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge Dublin seating
Then there’s a very small buffet with an underwhelming selection. There’s a coffee machine, some packaged cookies, and some pastries in a case.
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge Dublin snacks
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge Dublin snacks & drinks
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge Dublin snacks
Then there’s a fridge with some soft drinks and juice.
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge Dublin drinks
The real reason to visit the lounge is because of the showers, of which there are six.
Aer Lingus arrivals lounge showers
Aer Lingus arrivals lounge showers
The shower rooms were quite nice, and featured a walk-in shower, sink, and toilet.
Aer Lingus arrivals lounge shower room
Aer Lingus arrivals lounge shower room
The water pressure was alright, though unfortunately the temperature of the water seemed to fluctuate significantly, which was kind of annoying.
Aer Lingus arrivals lounge shower
There were individual plastic toiletry bottles, as well as soap.
Aer Lingus arrivals lounge toiletries
In the far corner of the room was a coat hook where you could hang an item that you wanted steam-pressed. You simply hang it there, push the button, and then someone comes to collect it.
Aer Lingus arrivals lounge steam-pressing service
Aer Lingus arrivals lounge steam-pressing service
I took a quick shower, and then spent about an hour in the lounge catching up on work.
Interestingly the lounge was busiest when I first arrived shortly after 5AM, as that’s peak rush hour. However, by 6:30AM the lounge was empty.
It seems not many people use this lounge, because obviously they don’t have anywhere close to sufficient capacity to handle all passengers — there are eight seats and six shower rooms, while they have a handful of flights all arriving shortly after one another.
Aer Lingus Revival Lounge bottom line
An arrivals lounge is a lovely thing to have access to, as a shower goes a long way to making me feel better after an overnight flight. While it’s nice that Aer Lingus has an arrivals lounge, this is one of the most bare-bones arrivals lounges I’ve ever seen.
The lounge is tiny, and has a limited selection of food and drinks. The only redeeming quality is the showers.
So if you visit the lounge, make sure you come in with appropriate expectations. Unlike the Virgin Atlantic arrivals lounge at Heathrow, there are no massages and full hot breakfasts here!
If you’ve visited the Aer Lingus arrivals lounge, what was your experience like?
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