Hello from Ireland, as Ive just completed the outbound portion of my quick Aer Lingus & Iberia A321XLR adventure. To kick off this trip, I flew Aer Lingus’ Airbus A321XLR business class on the 6hr50min flight from Minneapolis (MSP) to Dublin (DUB), on the jet with the registration code EI-XLR (hah!). I booked this ticket…
Continue reading: Aer Lingus A321XLR Business Class: Pretty Good, With Some Caveats
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
An Aer Lingus review from Ben, brilliant!!!
Much appreciate your insights, and I "look forward" to trying this in the near future because the A330 experience certainly leaves a lot to be desired.
Seems like they built and designed this plane for the current decade and not the next decade.
Ross should be teaching a freaking masterclass to all these American based flight attendant chumps who are lazy and way overpaid.
Also, if anyone is on the fence about (or simply curious about) Aer Lingus' A321 business product, you can get a nice preview of the hard product on the short hop from Dublin to London. It's only offered on a once daily repositioning flight but if you have some schedule flexibility, I highly recommend it.
One experience I’ve had on a few airlines (RJ in particular) is being in a 2-2-2 J product, getting an empty adjacent seat (phew), and then having someone (likely nonrev) upgraded into that adjacent seat at the last minute. Terrible way to cheapen the product. I wouldn’t fly with such airlines against unless the pricing were extremely competitive, since in my opinion, on a day flight, a 2-2-2 business class product with a neighbour is equivalent to premium economy.
That tofu dish looks great. Rare to see the veg option be something other than pasta, and with an actual protein in it/.
Fly quite a lot across the pond with Aer Lingus and was very disappointed on the Inaugural flight to Nashville recently.
The plane was cramped to say the least. I will probably favour AA or Delta in the future now even if it is a connection Stateside!
I was on the inaugural Nashville to Dublin flight on this aircraft. I had a throne seat. Although it was a little tight, I was able to sleep on my side. I’m 6’3” and surprisingly got a nice nap in.
The service was really good. It was a Senior crew and they had spent a fun few days in Nashville before flying back so they were eager to share their Nashville stories.
I had onion jam with my drinking biscuits and I told the FA that I had never heard of such a thing but it was delicious, so she brought me some more packs of onion jam to slip into my bag. Lots of proactive attention.
The meal wasn’t memorable but good. I didn’t have anything upon landing but some coffee as I wasn’t hungry.
The memorable part for me was my first time in TATL in a narrow body with lie flat. And it was great to take a TATL trip direct from my hometown without a connection. Plus, it was a big party at the gate for the inaugural flight and I got a swag bag from Nashville airport with some fun Aer Lingus branded things.
"However, 75% of passengers end up with a seat mate," - @Ben, I think you mean 67%
No, rows 1, 3, and 5 are 2x2 and only rows 2 and 4 are 1x1 thrones. Thus, 12/16 seats have a companion, or 75%.
Thank you Ben, for another school day in which I learned something very interesting.
Thanks also to the others who have posted their experiences of this product.
When I have to start to buy my own F or J seats I am unlikely to choose the Aer Lingus A321XLR.
"The plane was cramped to say the least."
What does that even mean? It was full? Not sure how flying Delta or American can change that for you.
Most of the 'frills' are fairly useless. I happily fly airlines like Lingus and TAP if they are cheaper.
-Lie-flat
-priority boarding/lane etc.
-Amenity kit
-good enough food (especially TAP)
I don't think Aer Lingus really needs to try that hard.
The European competitive landscape isn't actually that strong, unlike in Asia.
Aer Lingus has DUB as its most valuable asset, in that it offers US pre-clearance and has one of the best geopgraphical locations for Europe connections.
That said, I'm reasonably impressed by the experience and would be totally satisfied, especially if this was a basic 6 hour hop from NYC to DUB. They often anyways have some of the best fares.
I am a 2MMiler for Delta - but i am taking the inaugural IND-DUB this saturday. I have a throne seat so that will be good. I am hoping it is close to my Delta One but time will tell.
Thank you so much for your lovely review Ben! Things like this make it all worth while! Looking forward to welcoming you back on board again in the future. Ross
This is really the best of both worlds. 2 seats together are hard to come by nowadays for those of us who are not losers flying alone.
Awh thank you for such a lovely compliment Ben! Comments like that make it all worth while. It was a pleasure looking after you and I hope to welcome you back on board again some time soon. Ross
I guess that depends on the price and the itinerary. From my city (Toronto YYZ) to Ireland or Northern Ireland, Lingus has advantages not mentioned in Ben's piece or in any of the comments. I imagine some of these would apply in other cities EI serves as well.
- 45k Alaska Miles YYZ-DUB and no YQ
- Lingus Arrivals Lounge DUB
- no UK APD departing DUB
- reasonable availability on Alaskaair.com, released at reasonable times, not just 300 days ahead, and 2 days before flight
- It's not AC, not AA, not UA, not DL (jus' saying)
- easy free seat selection thru EI's WhatsApp support. Make request, then ignore chat until reply arrives. no waiting in a queue
I guess that depends on the price and the itinerary. From my city (Toronto YYZ) to Ireland or Northern Ireland, Lingus has advantages not mentioned in Ben's piece or in any of the comments. I imagine some of these would apply in other cities EI serves as well.
- 45k Alaska Miles YYZ-DUB and no YQ
- Lingus Arrivals Lounge DUB
- no UK APD departing DUB
- reasonable availability on Alaskaair.com, released at reasonable times, not just 300 days ahead, and 2 days before flight
- It's not AC, not AA, not UA, not DL (jus' saying)
- easy free seat selection thru EI's WhatsApp support. Make request, then ignore chat until reply arrives. no waiting in a queue
- no additional miles (if booking with AS miles) for onward flight within Ireland
@ Ross Kennedy -- Hah, too funny, Ross! Sometimes crews end up finding posts when I mention them, but usually it's weeks later. This has to be a new record. Thanks again for the great service, and hope to fly with you again!
Just flew DUB-CLE to see if it would be worth it on returns from Europe. The answer was sort of. Irish security pulled over about 1 of every 3 bags for secondary check. Took so long to get through their security didn't think we had time to visit the Emerald business lounge, so hoofed right to the US pre-clearance line.
Upon arrival saw the line snaking through to security. To the right was a sign directing business class customers, crew and such. Popped into line, first to the counter, then waved through. Damn! Would have had enough time if we'd know we would get through so quickly! Ended up at 51st and Green which was perfectly utilitarian to grab a drink and snack.
Agree totally with the seats and service on the flight. Economy looked nearly full, while biz had 4 of 16 seats taken. Have a dietary restriction, so had to call to register the restriction, but it was recognized and honored with all the meal choices which was appreciated.
Best part is landing in the US and not playing luggage transfer games to get to the next flight.
Nice review.
"see, I didn’t get the fish dish — you’re welcome!"
Forget about what others say Ben, eat whatever you want!
If I booked with Alaska miles I can request seat selection through EI’s chat? Thank you for this tip! I’ve been procrastinating a phone call and considering just gambling with seeing what we get assigned.
Any evidence that they person beside you was non-rev?
Personally I would think a non-rev passemgwe would be better behaved than someone who was upgraded via cash or miles.
@ben I'm very curious as to what "bottle crumble" is now. Was that a typo or an actual menu description?
I’d no idea! Near the end of the flight I kind of had a suspicion that Ben was doing a review so I googled yesterday and seen it
I had a sneaking suspicion near the end of the flight you might be doing a review so I was keeping an eye on Google afterwards just in case didn’t expect such lovely comments though, thank you again it really does mean a lot to hear your work is appreciated
Can count on a few fingers the number of unpleasant Irish folks I've met in my entire life. Some of the best times I've had have been with Dubliners in NY. Can't wait to visit the country one day. I could have sworn Aer Lingus added RDU as a destination but I don't see it currently on the airport's roster.
It’s not diluting the product. You did not purchase the seat beside you to meet your travel expectation. Fate gifts you the empty seat beside you. “The product” does not provide for empty seats unless you purchase it, many offering a discount.
Did you check out the Aer Lingus arrivals lounge in Dublin? It's in the baggage claim area. Small, but does the trick.
Oooof I would never plug a laptop directly into a power system on an aircraft. Besides the power surge dangers you have no idea what else is connecting over that cable.
Hi Ben, I wonder if the footwell of the “throne seats” (1-1) is as small as on the A321LR? Since my feet don’t fit, I can’t really go to full flat position on the LR.
Enjoy your tofu but next time a little more detail on the main course alternatives, please. Or a menu.
@ Fred M -- This is just a preview, and soon I'll have a full review of the flight, including the menus.
We are contemplating Delta Premium vs Aer Lingus Business, as hubby nearly made it to MM status, but changed careers just short. Soooo - which would you choose, now having done both?!
RDU service begins April 2026! As someone else said, "The Innovation Hub"! Equipment will be the Airbus A321XLR.
I know this is way late from the original review, but there seemed to be a ton of business class award space using BA Avios over the holiday period (Dec 26) at reasonable rates with minimal co-pays. So 60K Avios + like $150 for biz one way from DUB to many US destinations. Nice to have award space during a relatively busy time period and it seems like the product isn't too bad.
We fly Aer Lingus from Manchester UK, for the first time for a 7wk trip to Florida, being usual Virgin and BA, then Air France business class passengers.
Loved everything about it, staff very attentive on route out to Orlando, food was ezcelkent, plane clean and very comfy, sat in first row 2, with hubby which was nice to seat together. Virgin configuration we sat behind or across. Great WiFi on board.
Loved flying into terminal 3, much quieter and calmer, and sailed thru security.
However in return journey, checking in staff were surly and angry, due to us combining our luggage allowance into 2x32 instead of the 3x23. Staff member at check in rude about bag being heavy and not fair on staff on ground as he was ‘very little’. Her words.
Then on the aircraft staff seemed a bit abrupt and rude, after issue with WiFi. He did come back and apologise saying ‘our heads are in a mess as we have just learnt we are losing our jobs’. While I fully got that, as a customer paying a lot for this service, it wasn’t professional or great.
That being said, because going out was so good, would consider giving them another go, to States, going from Dublin.