For the outbound portion of my trip across the Atlantic on the Airbus A321XLR, I flew Aer Lingus’ Airbus A321XLR business class on the 6hr50min flight from Minneapolis (MSP) to Dublin (DUB).
Continue reading: Review: Aer Lingus Business Class Airbus A321XLR (MSP-DUB)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Thanks for the review. For me, the side-by-side business class is a non-starter. I've done it in older cabin configurations and it is an absolute hassle. Sure, someone can deal with it. But, given a choice, I'll choose another carrier.
Me too. A beer mid-afternoon on a short-haul is delightful, but on a longer flight I'll stick to the softies.
With business class product, space is the number one reason people buy it.
The foot space (height and width) are very important for comfort, and I would love to see that information in addition to the length of the seat when fully flat.
Here's an idea of a blog post business class seating comparison for foot space. 🙂
Does anyone know whether Aer Lingus tends to release additional business award seats closer to departure? I secured one for my wife for a trip next year, but would need another one for myself. It seems that EY only opens up one business class seat when the schedule is loaded. Thank you
@lee , i do agree. The exception to this is I tend to mostly travel with my wife so this config, especially on day time trips is quite nice since we can enjoy some wine and chat throughout the flight.
When we travelled for the first time on the AC 787s I asked the FA how to put down the partition in the middle, he said as a joke that I needed to let my wife enjoy the flight (and also that they don’t go down)
But it’s Dublin from a secondary city. Seems to me like half the use case here (of this flight and perhaps the narrow body XLR in general) is families traveling on vacation. Friends traveling together to live it up in Dublin. I’ve never had a problem sitting in old style B6 mint with the family in this configuration, in fact, it is often preferable. The nice thing about this configuration is that there are both solo and couple seats. Would like to see more not less of this, personally. Don’t think the seat configuration had anything to do with a light load factor, I think it’s the route.
As penance I suppose Ben will have to fly from the West Coast of America to enjoy those elevated breakfast options. I think we all forgive you for missing the muesli. Meanwhile the delay worked in your favor - you got a much better take off time to try and get some red eye sleep. Glad you took advantage and slept well! Knowing how badly you sleep, that’s actually a pretty significant data point!
Seat Assignments on EI: use their WhatsApp support from their Help page online. The process is straightforward. You send your request (specifying the exact seat you want; check ExpertFlyer Seat Map first!) and forget about it, until they reply (somtimes prompt, sometimes next day). I've never failed to get the seat I wanted.
Yes but they don't wait til last-minute all the time. Sometimes they release a week or two before flying. Wise to set alerts in seats.aero or wherever.
Throne seat is not "side by" anything. There are several in the cabin, ideal for solo traveller.
@DenB: thank you, that is reassuring. I do check it several times a day, and will continue to do that.
I had one AA award ticket booked for the same route (with two connections though) as a back up.
I think I have an answer to the no PDB question. It looks from your picture, EI was leaving from an American Airlines gate in MSP. My guess is that AA told them they could use the gate, but don't offer PDB so there is up front service consistency between the airlines.
Ei don't do PDB on narrowbody on 321. That's my experience from a few trips this year.
Ei elites will get priority for any additional rewards seats to be released. An elite can request to be waitlisted for additional rewards seats once standard allocation is exhausted.
I’m all for a good travel review but lately most sites go overboard with photos….who but anyone with severe OCD needs photos of airplane toilets and mattress pads? Someone who has never set foot on an aeroplane?
I believe they always offer pre departure drinks on the widebodies but not on the 321s because all passangers board at the front and to offer it on the 321 would just block up the aisle and delay departure which nobody wants.
If I am not mistaken, this is the 2nd recent review raving about Ross. Great to see consistency in his excellent service. The meal choices seem minimal but the breakfast offering seems top notch for me.
I think you gave Aer Lingus a pass on not having WiFi. MSPDUB is a big med tech market with work being done on the long flight a reasonable expectation. As long as they don’t abuse the pre warning with frequency. They should give a voucher to business class clients.
@Tim Dunn: hearing loads are soft on both DL and EI on MSP. DL likely a point of sale edge. Really a one carrier daily route as opposed to 2 with partial overlap.
I really appreciate that Aer Lingus included allergens on their menu. I'm GF and pre-order when I can but that usually means that I'm served an allergen meal that is also dairy free, soy free, bland, low sodium, and sometimes Kosher too. Combining all of these things (really subtracting) generally results in really underwhelming food. If I knew I could simply avoid my allergen I would order on board. I just flew BA their sister airline and no such markings on their menu.
I've flown Aer Lingus narrow body business class four times in the last six weeks. The service is great, you're right.
I don't think the seats are 22" wide - that's the width on an A330. These are 20". The armrests slide down on the seats in pairs of two, giving extra width. In the throne seats, you're stuck with the narrow seat - they don't call it "coffin class" for nothing. When you brush against the sides, as you inevitably will, you will hit the controls reclining the seat. It's a shocking piece of design. I now avoid the throne seats!
“though unlike some other airlines, Aer Lingus doesn’t offer a side salad with the appetizer.”
They do but it seems only only flights to the US from Dublin, not the other way around.
Flew this past week on EI 120 from MCO- Dub. A few quick notes….purchased coach and was able to upgrade to business via Aer Lingus silent auction. Confirmed 36 hours in advance of flight. Could not select preselect a seat but was given 7A, a the on the A330. The Lounge was Plaza Premium in Terminal C. It was overcrowded and had a large sitting area blocked off for VIP customers…..there were none??? It was a terrible lounge. The other thing I will not while a good flight, I did have the breakfast and it was weak. A bacon sandwich in business class?? How about serving an am,elite or some other egg dish. Last positive was ability to earn AA miles and Loyalty points as an Aa EXP flyer..
Flew IAD - DUB last week The FA came by for drink order before meal, and brought a drink with meal - and then we never saw her again. She never picked up the breakfast “when do you want to be woken” card- and we had no service before landing . I was awake at least an hour before arrival prep started and was never offered coffee or water. Honestly - more like domestic first than international Biz - - and then the “ leave the arrival lounge in 45 “ added to our disappointment ( we were the only pleople in there lounge and were trying to pass 90” before our car booking due to early arrival). Flying back this week and not looking forward to it. Doubt I will book Aer Lingus again
Also - no amenity kit - and all dinners were offered “express” on one tray. Guiness brisket was dry and inedible.
Wish we had great service - it was not. Actually the worst service I’ve experienced in Biz in the last year. And it was the entire cabin. FA just disappeared.
Thank you very much for a great and detailed review. What I do not understand, is why Aer Lingus, would choose a business class seating arrangement with no direct isle access for many of its business seats, when other options are available, like what Iberia choose, with all business class seats having direct isle access.
I know your pain. It infuriates me that vegetarian meals are often made vegan. I like cheese ffs.
Hi Ben,
I enjoyed your review. Coincidentally, this article appeared in the Irish Times today
How about an article on how to sleep on international flights without missing meals?
Greatly appreciated you noticing and spotlighting the service provided by Ross during this flight. Nothing makes a flight more enjoyable/memorable than an awesome and attentive crew.
Just flew Aer Lingus for the first time (EI69 DUB-LAX on 7/5/25). The lead flight attendant was unbelievably gracious, helpful, and professional despite being tested by 9 infants in the front cabin. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and beverage and the overall service. I was less enamored by the width of my seat (3A)...felt coffin like when trying to sleep on my back. My arm kept hitting the seat adjustment buttons. I was regualrly disturbed by people brushing by on their way to the restroom. The flight was an hour late while we waited for two late passengers who eventually were pulled from the flight....Aer Lingus needs to do better here. Their business class lounges in Dublin are also well below my expectations.
I don't think the pre-departure immigration in Dublin is much help to American citizens. In fact I found it all very annoying. You compress thousands of west bound people into a confined/tired sub-standard space at DUB then make them walk for 30 minutes to pull their luggage from an open public area in the arrival hall at LAX. Super weird.
Shame about the WiFi - Aer Lingus are one of the very few to offer free service to business class passengers, which is much appreciated.
Ross sounds brilliant. Have had some great cree on EI flights so you're inspiring me to keep an eye on prices. They were unfortunately priced exorbitantly high when I checked for a trip to NYC from the UK in December. The food didn't look bad either, and amenity kits have improved from when they seemed to temporarily have a cloth one. I tend to like Virgin Atlantic from here, but they need to up their game!