Thanks for sharing this video with all of us UA-camrs. What a horrific experience. You handled this well. I would have been livid and sent a letter to the Airport Authority of Chicago who runs and/or oversees the allotment of gates and lounges to the airlines foreign and domestic, Aer Lingus of course for changing equipment and downgrading when you paid for business class not just the over the pond leg but from Dublin to continental Europe Munich, Germany and then the Airport Authority for losing your luggage just too much to bear. I hope that by this time you have been credited with all the mishaps and horrific, stressful, torture test that they have put you through. All the best.
Interesting to watch - I flew Aer Lingus BC almost 4 years ago - out Dublin to Boston, back Chicago to Dublin. On the way out I was on a 330-302 so it had the new seat layout. I can't remember on the way back but the seat layout wasn't so different as to make me think that it was different to outward flight. Didn't even realise there was a remote for the TV - lol. Very generous with the drinks and food (I had ordered the cheese but the cheesecake looked good and as they had some spare so I got one of those as well - oh and snacks in the serving area should you want anything extra). On the way back I flew up on an early flight from Charleston and had a 6hr wait in Chicago - unfortunately the lounge didn't open for several hours so I found a quiet corner and got on with some work. Finally the lounge opened and it was OK. BC between Charleston and Chicago was just a larger seat, more leg room, free coffee and a muffin - not much really. Lounge in Dublin was OK to get breakfast in. My onward flight from Dublin was with AL to Manchester. BC on that flight was getting the extra legroom seat over the wing and nothing more. Including 2 trains from Manchester to home - return trip was more than 24hr and even with layflat seats I didn't manage to sleep - luckily the grey goose was plentiful. Price - Manchester to Charleston rtn - out M to D, D to Boston, B to C; rtn C to Chocago, C to D and D to M; ~£3k - this compared to my colleague who flew LHR to Charleston direct with BA costing £5k.
Thanks for sharing. I was hoping they would stop with this surprise 2x2x2 seat setup since they caught me off guard with it in 2019. I was expecting to have one of the nice "Captain's Chairs" or "Thrones" on the right side, but surprise! At least I had the two seats to myself flying to Miami and back. One nice thing I noticed in your video is that they've added the privacy screen since 2019. Based on the seats United had in 2009 (which no longer exist), the privacy screen is a nice feature to have if you end up with an annoying person next to you. (I had a guy sitting next to me back in 2009 from Newark to Stuttgart who wouldn't stop talking, and got into a little "Discussion" with the flight attendant. The service was actually good, but..... You can't always pick who flies. 😀 ) Maybe I'll fly Aer Lingus again in the next year. 😀 It is going through US Customs in Dublin before getting on the plane to the US. 😀
I've traveled that route about 30 times over the years with Aer Lingus and they're generally pretty good. TIP: Get yourself a cheap Bluetooth transmitter, pair it first and then take it with you and plug that into the headphone jack of the aircraft and you'll connect with no issues. Buy the cheap one's because 7 times out of 10 you'll forget it when you're getting off the plane 🙂
Nice review. I did business class on this flight in reverse, Dublin to Chicago. Just so you know business class isn't really a thing on inter European flights as the flight durations are so short. The best you'll get is a row with 3 seats with the middle seat blocked off.
Yes! You are absolutely right about business class in Europe. Although compared to the US, you generally get a meal in business class in Europe where you don't in the States (you are lucky to get a small "snack" for free), and the plane that we were scheduled to fly on had a really nice 2-2, 1-1 layout in business class, which was unheard of for other inter-European flights for us. Hence our disappointment...
Lost luggage is not the fault of the airport, it’s the baggage handlers. You may find they are Aer Lingus in Dublin, assuming it wasn’t lost in USA, which may be a big assumption?
Wow... what a lot of disappointments with Aer Lingus... you were amazingly good natured as you weathered so many setbacks. I remember flying this airline out of New York several decades ago... when there was a first and business class. Remember the brown bread and smoked salmon in the lounge... and in first class being served champagne in Waterford Crystal. Priceless memories!
Aer Lingus no longer uses Terminal 5 at O'Hare. They fly to terminal 3 now and I find it better because you don't have to take the airport transfer train from terminal 5 to terminal 3 to get the train to downtown Chicago.
Thanks for the review of Aer Lingus business class. I’m considering booking business class but I know the route is usually fulfilled by these older a330-300 that use to be Qatar airways planes. Your review really helped with my decision. Sorry you didn’t get the service you were initially expecting.
Such a shame you didn't get to experience the new aircraft because they're both excellent. I've done a few trips via Dublin to the east coast USA and it's always excellent, especially the crews. The lounges in JFK, Newark and Dulles are brilliant. However, as you found, connecting in Dublin with less than 90 mins usually means lost luggage for me. They always find it again but it's quite annoying. Won't stop me flying through there though.
Yes you are right! It was one of two A330s that they purchased from Qatar Airways. It seems that all they did was re-upholster the seats and left the rest as is...
Very similar thing happened to me. I reserved a throne seat in business for a flight on an A330-300 and they changed the flight to an A330-200 with the 2-2-2 config and I ended up having to sit down next a stranger as the flight was full (he was on his phone right up to take off and then working on a laptop all night on an overnight flight, typing loudly and muttering to himself !!). Zero privacy and my IFE wasn't working. Not flown them again and not sure I will until they reconfig all their transat planes or get new ones.
I think this business class seating is from ex QATOR planes the leased out,They use to be a good airline since IAG took over,Planes used to fly from Manchester to the USA,Instead of BA planes,Also cancelled the A350 orders,Aircraft are getting a lot older too.
EIEIL AND EIEIK are both former Qatar planes that came into EI service last year...... The only change aer Lingus made to the planes since getting the planes is the paintjob obviously and refitted all seats on the plane with green covers....
It is such a shame they did not install the business class product on their other planes in these new aircraft before putting them back into service...
To be honest it was really good timing. We booked only a few days before the flight and it seems that the flight was not full - so they would rather charge only a few extra Euro for us than to upgrade some premium economy passengers for free 😉
The lounges in Chicago are terrible. Haven’t tried the lounges in terminal 3 now since aer Lingus moved, will be doing so shortly. Terminal 5 lounges in Chicago are a disgrace. Have had equipment change with aer Lingus goo, it’s disappointing. The staff have always been fantastic, the price though is letting aer Lingus down. They have skyrocketed.
This is an A330-305 it's the plane I was on from Orlando to Dublin. It was so uncomfortable. I've had more comfortable economy seats. The staff where great though.
T5 is miserable (other than the new DL addition) at ORD. Embarrassment to Chicago. The terminal was a bad design from the start being so narrow. Stange comment on the delay from the pilot since ORD isn't slot controlled for take off and landings.
EI-EIK & EI-EIL, the ugly ducklings of the Aer Lingus fleet at the moment. Luckily they’re supposed to be getting a full refit in both classes this winter. Cheese board looked disappointing to be honest.
Thank you for the comment! The cheeseboard really was disappointing. The food was actually pretty good otherwise! And yes, hopefully the next time we fly Aer Lingus we will get the newly retrofitted cabins!
It's been reported elsewhere online, the business class seat Aer Lingus use has a heavy backlog of orders so they were awaiting those to be available. Economy expected to be updated with the latest long haul seat from Recaro + new entertainment system. Refits usually happen between January-March. @@boeinga370
Unfortunately the lounges at terminal 5 are going to be pretty terrible until the new Global Terminal 2 is built with brand new lounges for the international airlines.
Thanks for sharing this video with all of us UA-camrs. What a horrific experience. You handled this well. I would have been livid and sent a letter to the Airport Authority of Chicago who runs and/or oversees the allotment of gates and lounges to the airlines foreign and domestic, Aer Lingus of course for changing equipment and downgrading when you paid for business class not just the over the pond leg but from Dublin to continental Europe Munich, Germany and then the Airport Authority for losing your luggage just too much to bear. I hope that by this time you have been credited with all the mishaps and horrific, stressful, torture test that they have put you through. All the best.
Interesting to watch - I flew Aer Lingus BC almost 4 years ago - out Dublin to Boston, back Chicago to Dublin. On the way out I was on a 330-302 so it had the new seat layout. I can't remember on the way back but the seat layout wasn't so different as to make me think that it was different to outward flight. Didn't even realise there was a remote for the TV - lol. Very generous with the drinks and food (I had ordered the cheese but the cheesecake looked good and as they had some spare so I got one of those as well - oh and snacks in the serving area should you want anything extra). On the way back I flew up on an early flight from Charleston and had a 6hr wait in Chicago - unfortunately the lounge didn't open for several hours so I found a quiet corner and got on with some work. Finally the lounge opened and it was OK. BC between Charleston and Chicago was just a larger seat, more leg room, free coffee and a muffin - not much really. Lounge in Dublin was OK to get breakfast in. My onward flight from Dublin was with AL to Manchester. BC on that flight was getting the extra legroom seat over the wing and nothing more. Including 2 trains from Manchester to home - return trip was more than 24hr and even with layflat seats I didn't manage to sleep - luckily the grey goose was plentiful. Price - Manchester to Charleston rtn - out M to D, D to Boston, B to C; rtn C to Chocago, C to D and D to M; ~£3k - this compared to my colleague who flew LHR to Charleston direct with BA costing £5k.
Thanks for sharing. I was hoping they would stop with this surprise 2x2x2 seat setup since they caught me off guard with it in 2019. I was expecting to have one of the nice "Captain's Chairs" or "Thrones" on the right side, but surprise! At least I had the two seats to myself flying to Miami and back. One nice thing I noticed in your video is that they've added the privacy screen since 2019. Based on the seats United had in 2009 (which no longer exist), the privacy screen is a nice feature to have if you end up with an annoying person next to you. (I had a guy sitting next to me back in 2009 from Newark to Stuttgart who wouldn't stop talking, and got into a little "Discussion" with the flight attendant. The service was actually good, but..... You can't always pick who flies. 😀 ) Maybe I'll fly Aer Lingus again in the next year. 😀 It is going through US Customs in Dublin before getting on the plane to the US. 😀
Thank you for sharing your trip.
Oh ! I love that windows are in the lavatories !!! 👍👍How nice !! The best lavatories on planes !! As well as that chocolate tart !! 👍💜🥁🐉🎤🎶✈️🇨🇮💞
Yes we love the windowed loo as well! 😆
@@theseasonedexpats Lol. I really loved it !! Thank you so much for your reply !! 👍 💜🥁🐉🎤🎶✈️💞
I've traveled that route about 30 times over the years with Aer Lingus and they're generally pretty good. TIP: Get yourself a cheap Bluetooth transmitter, pair it first and then take it with you and plug that into the headphone jack of the aircraft and you'll connect with no issues. Buy the cheap one's because 7 times out of 10 you'll forget it when you're getting off the plane 🙂
Nice review. I did business class on this flight in reverse, Dublin to Chicago. Just so you know business class isn't really a thing on inter European flights as the flight durations are so short. The best you'll get is a row with 3 seats with the middle seat blocked off.
Yes! You are absolutely right about business class in Europe. Although compared to the US, you generally get a meal in business class in Europe where you don't in the States (you are lucky to get a small "snack" for free), and the plane that we were scheduled to fly on had a really nice 2-2, 1-1 layout in business class, which was unheard of for other inter-European flights for us. Hence our disappointment...
thanks for the video. Didn't know Aer Lingus had those seats!
To be honest, we didn't either! We had only seen reviews of the newer business class seats!
Lost luggage is not the fault of the airport, it’s the baggage handlers. You may find they are Aer Lingus in Dublin, assuming it wasn’t lost in USA, which may be a big assumption?
Thank you for the answer, great videos.
Wow... what a lot of disappointments with Aer Lingus... you were amazingly good natured as you weathered so many setbacks. I remember flying this airline out of New York several decades ago... when there was a first and business class. Remember the brown bread and smoked salmon in the lounge... and in first class being served champagne in Waterford Crystal. Priceless memories!
Aer Lingus no longer uses Terminal 5 at O'Hare. They fly to terminal 3 now and I find it better because you don't have to take the airport transfer train from terminal 5 to terminal 3 to get the train to downtown Chicago.
Thanks for the review of Aer Lingus business class. I’m considering booking business class but I know the route is usually fulfilled by these older a330-300 that use to be Qatar airways planes. Your review really helped with my decision. Sorry you didn’t get the service you were initially expecting.
It was our pleasure, thank you for the nice comment!
Such a shame you didn't get to experience the new aircraft because they're both excellent. I've done a few trips via Dublin to the east coast USA and it's always excellent, especially the crews. The lounges in JFK, Newark and Dulles are brilliant. However, as you found, connecting in Dublin with less than 90 mins usually means lost luggage for me. They always find it again but it's quite annoying. Won't stop me flying through there though.
Yes we were super upset that we couldn't experience that newer business class. We hope next time!
It's not lost, it just doesn't make the connection.
Great Video ! I think they bought that airplane from another airline which is why it’s different but I rather the other ones
Yes you are right! It was one of two A330s that they purchased from Qatar Airways. It seems that all they did was re-upholster the seats and left the rest as is...
Very similar thing happened to me. I reserved a throne seat in business for a flight on an A330-300 and they changed the flight to an A330-200 with the 2-2-2 config and I ended up having to sit down next a stranger as the flight was full (he was on his phone right up to take off and then working on a laptop all night on an overnight flight, typing loudly and muttering to himself !!). Zero privacy and my IFE wasn't working. Not flown them again and not sure I will until they reconfig all their transat planes or get new ones.
I think this business class seating is from ex QATOR planes the leased out,They use to be a good airline since IAG took over,Planes used to fly from Manchester to the USA,Instead of BA planes,Also cancelled the A350 orders,Aircraft are getting a lot older too.
Oh no you got 1 of the ex Qatar airways A330, this are due a cabin refit late this year.
EIEIL AND EIEIK are both former Qatar planes that came into EI service last year...... The only change aer Lingus made to the planes since getting the planes is the paintjob obviously and refitted all seats on the plane with green covers....
It is such a shame they did not install the business class product on their other planes in these new aircraft before putting them back into service...
did you get a refund for the economy bump?
How much was the flight?
where did you book youf flights also?
Are Lingus is a IAG yellow pack airline painted green.
The reason is because aerlingus switched you to EI-EIK Or EI-EIL And both of them were from Qatar Airways,
How did you get such a fantastic price?
To be honest it was really good timing. We booked only a few days before the flight and it seems that the flight was not full - so they would rather charge only a few extra Euro for us than to upgrade some premium economy passengers for free 😉
That lounge at ord t5 is just so sad looking
nice sir
The lounges in Chicago are terrible. Haven’t tried the lounges in terminal 3 now since aer Lingus moved, will be doing so shortly. Terminal 5 lounges in Chicago are a disgrace. Have had equipment change with aer Lingus goo, it’s disappointing. The staff have always been fantastic, the price though is letting aer Lingus down. They have skyrocketed.
Do you know which exact air craft you were on?
This is an A330-305 it's the plane I was on from Orlando to Dublin. It was so uncomfortable. I've had more comfortable economy seats. The staff where great though.
T5 is miserable (other than the new DL addition) at ORD. Embarrassment to Chicago. The terminal was a bad design from the start being so narrow. Stange comment on the delay from the pilot since ORD isn't slot controlled for take off and landings.
Agreed!
EI-EIK & EI-EIL, the ugly ducklings of the Aer Lingus fleet at the moment. Luckily they’re supposed to be getting a full refit in both classes this winter. Cheese board looked disappointing to be honest.
Thank you for the comment! The cheeseboard really was disappointing. The food was actually pretty good otherwise! And yes, hopefully the next time we fly Aer Lingus we will get the newly retrofitted cabins!
I flew on both of them in March and April and EIK was making a terrifying noise that no one could explain, only from over the wing area
How do you know they are being refitted
It's been reported elsewhere online, the business class seat Aer Lingus use has a heavy backlog of orders so they were awaiting those to be available. Economy expected to be updated with the latest long haul seat from Recaro + new entertainment system. Refits usually happen between January-March. @@boeinga370
Cheese board with only two cheeses. Hmmm....
That's pretty normal.
ORD Terminal 5 is such a boring and inconvenient experience.
thanks for the video - terrible value for money
Seats are not great
ScAer Lingus. TERRIBLE airline....GOOD Video however. Thanks for sharing.
Looks dirty and cheap. And that colour green...
Unfortunately the lounges at terminal 5 are going to be pretty terrible until the new Global Terminal 2 is built with brand new lounges for the international airlines.