Review: Aer Lingus Business Class Airbus A321XLR (MSP-DUB)

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).

I was looking forward to this flight for a couple of reasons. For one, it would be my first flight on the brand new Airbus A321XLR, which is a plane that will become increasingly important for airlines in the coming years. I was also looking forward to seeing how Aer Lingus’ business class is holding up, as I hadn’t flown it in six years.

That being said, I wasn’t expecting anything revolutionary. I had flown Aer Lingus’ Airbus A321LR business class back in 2019, and it has a very similar hard product to what you’ll find on the updated version of the jet (it’s essentially the same seats, but with updated tech).

So, how was the experience? I’ve gotta say, I thought the flight was great overall. While the seats aren’t cutting edge, the tech onboard has been nicely upgraded, and I’d describe Aer Lingus’ soft product as being competitive, but nothing amazing. Perhaps the highlight of the flight was the efficient and friendly service, as the lead flight attendant on this flight could teach those at many other airlines a thing or two.

How I booked my Aer Lingus business class ticket

I booked my Aer Lingus business class ticket from Minneapolis to Dublin using British Airways Avios. Specifically, I booked the following segment for 50,000 Avios plus $143.30 in taxes & fees:

4/28 EI88 Minneapolis to Dublin departing 6:59PM arriving 8:30AM (+1 day)

I even picked up those Avios with a 30% transfer bonus from a transferable points currency, so I really only paid 39,000 points for that ticket. That value is tough to beat, eh?

Aer Lingus business class lounge & boarding

I had spent the night at the InterContinental Minneapolis St. Paul Airport. I headed over to the terminal in the afternoon, and found the Aer Lingus check-in desk, which opened 3.5 hours before departure.

Usually I’d just get a mobile boarding pass, though Aer Lingus has some weird glitch when it comes to seat assignments. I had booked just three days before departure, and when I tried to select a seat (both by phone and online), I was told it was too late to make that selection, and I’d have to do so at check-in.

But then when I went to online check-in, it still wouldn’t actually let me select a seat. Therefore I decided to stop by the desk, so that I could get a seat assignment. At that point I was also told I could use the Escape Lounge, which is the lounge that Aer Lingus sends its premium passengers to.

The Escape Lounge is totally okay, but also unremarkable. I ended up just spending a bit of time here working, and then got some steps in the terminal.

My flight was departing from gate E12. The weather in Minneapolis was really bad, to the point that there was a tornado watch, and flights had to be stopped multiple times. Due to the weather, the inbound aircraft was delayed by around 30 minutes, so that also delayed our departure, since there’s not much ground time for this turn.

Boarding was initially scheduled for 6:14PM, 45 minutes before departure. However, in the end, boarding didn’t end up starting until 6:55PM. Passengers self-identifying as needing extra time were invited to board first (which consisted of dozens of passengers), and then business class passengers were invited to board.

Aer Lingus A321XLR business class cabin & seats

I boarded through the forward left door, where I was greeted by two friendly flight attendants, and upon turning right, I found myself in business class.

Before I even talk about the onboard product, let me mention that as someone who reviews flights, cabins like this on narrow body planes can be so much tougher to photograph, given the amount of foot traffic through the cabin during boarding.

Anyway, Aer Lingus’ A321XLR business class cabin consists of a total of 16 seats. The airline has staggered seats, alternating between a 2-2 and 1-1 layout. Specifically, the airline uses the Thompson Aero Vantage platform, which is quite popular with airlines. However, Aer Lingus doesn’t have doors at any of the seats.

Business class goes from row two to six, with rows three and five being the solo “throne seats,” and rows two, four, and six, having pairs of seats on each side. I didn’t end up getting a throne seat this time, but that wasn’t an issue — I sat in 6A (the window seat on the left side in the last row), and thanks to the light load, I had the whole last row to myself.

Anyway, those traveling solo may want to select one of the throne seats, if available. These are generally the first to be assigned, so they typically go to those booking the earliest, as only 25% of the seats are configured this way. These are nice because they offer direct aisle access while also having a window view, which isn’t the case at 75% of the seats in the cabin.

These throne seats are awesome, in the sense that there’s a large console on each side of the seat, and you also have quite a bit of privacy. However, the footwell in these seats is quite narrow, since it’s located between the two seats in front.

Most passengers will find themselves in one of the pairs of seats. Usually I quite like these seats if I’m traveling with someone, since you can enjoy the flight together. I’m much less of a fan of these seats if I’m seated next to a stranger, especially on an overnight flight. That wasn’t an issue on this flight, though.

As far as seat features go, these seats boast 47″ of pitch, 22″ of width, and convert into 77″ fully flat beds.

One of the advantages of the A321XLR over the A321LR is the entertainment screens, as Aer Lingus’ latest jets have 18″ 4K UHD touchscreen displays.

Between seats, there’s a center console where you can place things (it’s not particularly large), and it also has a reading light, and some exposed storage space.

The tray tables pop out from the center area, and they’re actually stored vertically, so that setup creates a privacy shield of sorts between seats. The tray tables can be folded in half, so you can decide whether you want to use the whole thing, or just half of it.

Along the center console, you’ll also find a panel with seat controls, plus an entertainment controller. I didn’t use the controller much, since the monitor is touchscreen, and isn’t that far from the seat.

In the center area, you’ll also find USB-A and USB-C charging ports, plus a headphone jack.

Then underneath the center console are AC power outlets, plus some more storage space, though it’s not necessarily that functional.

One of the benefits of the non-throne seats is that the footwell is a bit bigger than in the throne seats. I still wouldn’t describe it as spacious, but I was ultimately able to get quite comfortable.

Since this was a brand new A321XLR, it had Airbus’ signature Airspace cabins, with huge overhead bins, plus modern overhead panels with reading lights.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find individual air nozzles at each seat. Interestingly, they were positioned separately from the main consoles.

Aer Lingus business class amenities

Waiting at each seat upon boarding was an amenity kit, which was definitely on the basic side. It had socks, eyeshades, earplugs, a dental kit, a pen, and Jo Browne lip balm and moisturizer.

There was also a pillow and blanket at each seat. While I wouldn’t consider this to be the world’s best business class bedding, I liked the items that were provided. This included a thick pillow, and a soft and substantial duvet. Since I had the entire last row to myself, I could grab some extra bedding as well, and get super comfortable.

There was also a menu and drink list waiting at each seat.

Next, there were a pair of headphones, which weren’t particularly high quality. However, since the A321XLRs have bluetooth audio, that doesn’t bother me, since I’d rather use my own earbuds anyway.

Interestingly, there were no pre-departure drinks, which was also the case on my last narrow body long haul flight on Aer Lingus. It seems that Aer Lingus sometimes offers pre-departure drinks, so does anyone know what drives the decision? Are they only offered when departing Dublin, only on wide body aircraft, or what?

Aer Lingus A321XLR business class entertainment

Aer Lingus’ A321XLR business class entertainment hardware is very good, with 18″ 4K UHD touchscreen displays. These screens are plenty big, and beautifully crisp, and you can pair the entertainment with your own headphones, thanks to bluetooth audio.

Not only that, but I found the entertainment selection to be excellent, with hundreds of movies and TV shows, which is a much bigger selection than I remember seeing in the past. I counted around 420 movies and around 250 TV shows. I don’t want to suggest it’s the world’s best entertainment, but most people should have no issues staying entertained.

Beyond movies and TV shows, there was a selection of music, games, and of course the map feature.

I ended up watching a couple of episodes of “Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby.” It’s funny, I’ve never seen the show on the ground, but over the years, I think I’ve seen just about every episode onboard a plane. In this case, I watched the episode about the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, which is an intriguing property.

Aer Lingus’ A321XLRs are also supposed to feature Wi-Fi. However, it was inoperable on this flight.

For those curious, you can find the regular Aer Lingus Wi-Fi pricing below. Pricing usually ranges from $3.99 for an hour-long chat pass, to $24.99 for a full flight Wi-Fi pass.

I do have to give Aer Lingus credit for at least sending an email before the flight warning that Wi-Fi wouldn’t be available.

Aer Lingus A321XLR departure from Minneapolis

Boarding wrapped up by 7:15PM, 20 minutes after it began. Boarding narrow body aircraft through one door isn’t very efficient, but fortunately the flight was quite empty, with just nine of 16 business class seats occupied, and probably a roughly similar load in economy (in terms of percentage occupancy).

While boarding was fast, that didn’t mean we were ready for departure. That’s because refueling only started at 7:15PM, and took quite some time. At 7:35PM, the captain was on the PA to add his welcome aboard, and apologize for the delay.

He told us of our flight time of 6hr50min, with his hope being that we’d push back by 7:50PM, and then have a 10 minute taxi to the runway, prior to starting our trip across the Atlantic. He also explained that we’d be avoiding some weather on departure, which wasn’t much of a surprise, given the tornado warning shortly before the flight.

At 7:45PM, the main cabin door closed, at which point Ross, the senior cabin crew, added his welcome onboard. There were four flight attendants onboard, and interestingly, it was an all-male crew (both in the flight deck and cabin). The safety demonstration was then performed, which was entirely manual.

At 7:55PM, we began our pushback…

…and then at 8:10PM, we began our taxi.

As expected, our taxi lasted around 10 minutes, and at 8:20PM, we were cleared for takeoff on runway 17.

Our climb out was smooth, and the sunset views got progressively prettier as we climbed out.

We passed a major weather system during our first 20 minutes of the flight. There wasn’t any turbulence, but the clouds in the distance were huge (and the pictures don’t really do it justice).

The seatbelt sign stayed on for around 30 minutes after takeoff, but was then finally turned off.

Aer Lingus business class dinner

Once we leveled off, dinner was served, and you can find the Aer Lingus business class dinner menu and drink list below.

Ross was working business class all alone on this flight, and he did a stellar job providing efficient and friendly service. The first round of drinks was served 30 minutes after takeoff. I know Aer Lingus recently added Whitebox Cocktails to its business class drink lineup, so I decided to order the Chipper’s Old Fashioned.

The drink was excellent, and I appreciate how airlines are increasingly offering pre-made cocktails that are actually quite good. This drink was served with pecorino, rosemary , and seaweed “drink biscuits,” which had a unique taste, and were a nice alternative to the typical nuts or snack mix served by other airlines.

35 minutes after takeoff, the starter was served. There were two choices, and I opted for the saffron poached prawns in a carrot ginger puree, with pickled red onions. That was served with a piece of bread, which had already been placed on the tray. I though the appetizer quality was pretty good, though unlike some other airlines, Aer Lingus doesn’t offer a side salad with the appetizer.

To drink, I had a glass of the South African white wine, which I enjoyed.

50 minutes after takeoff, the main course was served, and I selected the tofu in massaman vegetable curry, with pak choi and jasmine rice. I thought this dish was okay — it wasn’t terribly flavorful, but also wasn’t bad. Ross did an amazing job keeping drinks topped off.

Around an hour after takeoff, dessert was served. There was the choice of a vanilla custard and cinnamon apple tart with a crunchy vanilla butter crumble, or a cheese board with manchego and gouda cheeses. I asked if I could have both (just for research purposes, of course), and Ross said that wasn’t an issue. He even recommended a glass of port with dessert.

I was impressed by the pace of service, as the meal concluded within an hour of takeoff. I’d say the meal did the trick, and was pretty average for a transatlantic business class experience.

Aer Lingus A321XLR business class lavatory

After the meal, I checked out the business class lavatory, located at the front of the cabin, by the flight deck. Compared to many wide body jets, the A321XLR has a much tighter lavatory. It’s not as small as you’ll find on many 737 MAXs, but still, it’s not exactly spacious. On the plus side, it was modern.

The lavatory didn’t have much in the way of amenities, with the exception of VOYA soap and lotion.

Aer Lingus A321XLR business class bed

After the meal, I stayed up a bit longer to watch some entertainment, and I finally decided to go to sleep with a little over five hours remaining to Dublin.

At that point I reclined my seat into the fully flat position, so it became a 77″ flat bed.

I fell asleep with around five hours remaining to Dublin, and woke up… well, I’ll get to that in the next section.

Aer Lingus business class breakfast

Folks, as someone who reviews flights, I have a pretty easy job. You know, I’m supposed to try everything and take pictures of it. I failed miserably on this flight, though I hope the OMAAT community can find the grace to forgive me. Trust me, I’m more disappointed than you are.

Long story short, I woke up to the sound of the captain making his pre-arrival announcement, informing us we’ll be landing in 25 minutes. I was genuinely disoriented. I thought to myself “I just went to sleep, what’s going on here, the captain must be confused.” But then I looked at the map and opened the window shade, and I was quickly proven wrong — it was bright outside, and it was very green, so we were indeed over Ireland.

I’m such a light airplane sleeper, and I don’t think I’ve ever slept through a service before. So, what went wrong here? I’ve gotta be honest, I woke up with a bit of a hangover. I do tend to drink a bit on long haul flights, simply because I’m such a bad airplane sleeper, and a few drinks knocks me out quickly.

I guess I had the cocktail, two glasses of wine, and glass of port, over too short of a period, and didn’t drink enough water. So my apologies, as I’ll have to fly Aer Lingus again, just to experience the breakfast, if nothing else. For what it’s worth, you’ll find the breakfast menu below.

Aer Lingus business class service

Ross was working business class, and he really did a stellar job. He was friendly, attentive, efficient, anticipatory, and informal.

On a quick overnight flight, most people just want to be served a meal as efficiently as possible, and Ross did that, given that the entire meal service was done within an hour of takeoff, despite the seatbelt sign being on longer than usual.

Not only was he fast, but he was also incredibly attentive. I was amazed by the number of times he offered passengers drink refills, and service really felt personalized in a way that’s more in line with what you’d expect in first class than business class. That’s despite the fact that Ross was working both the cabin and the galley.

His attention to detail was impressive as well. For example, the A321XLR really doesn’t offer much privacy in the galley, and I saw him taking a cloth and making sure that drinking glasses were spotless prior to serving drinks out of them.

As far as I’m concerned, Ross should be leading flight attendant training at the airline.

Aer Lingus A321XLR arrival in Dublin

At 8:45AM local time, the captain announced that we’d be landing in 25 minutes, at 9:10AM. At that point we had already started our descent, and the crew began to prepare the cabin for landing.

The views on approach to Dublin were gorgeous, as it was a stunning spring morning.

We ended up touching down in Dublin at 9:05AM.

From there, we had a roughly 10 minute taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 9:15AM, around 45 minutes behind schedule.

I bid farewell to the crew, and then headed to the Aer Lingus Arrivals Lounge Dublin, prior to checking into my hotel for the night.

Bottom line

Aer Lingus’ A321XLR business class is a pleasant way to across the Atlantic. Generally, I’d describe the experience as being good but unmemorable, at least when you look at the competitive landscape.

I’d say the highlight of the flight was the great service, followed by the upgraded tech, like bluetooth audio, high definition monitors, and more. I also liked the bedding quite a bit. Meanwhile I’d say the food and amenities were average.

I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with Aer Lingus again, especially if the price or schedule were right. I’m still meaning to give the carrier’s A330 another try (and maybe next time, I can also do a better job with breakfast)!

What’s your take on Aer Lingus’ A321XLR business class?