The beauty of a post-COVID world where people are still not traveling a lot is the multitude of cheap fares that can be found even in last-minute trips.

Well, that’s what I did two weeks ago; I decided to go to Dublin, stay the night there and return to Italy by flying on the 737 MAX.

And there I went: the first leg, Rome/Fiumicino to Dublin, was flown by Aer Lingus, Ireland’s flag carrier, in an A321. I was interested to fly the airline after trying out its nemesis in the Irish market, Ryanair.

The booking process was quite simple; Aer Lingus’ website is quite cool and easy to navigate on, and in no time I had my ticket in hand.

Online check-in was easy as well. One thing that called my attention upon check-in – but that I only went to realise upon boarding – was that the row in front had seats blocked in a way that they were organized in a 2-1/1-2 configuration, even though this flight didn’t have any Business class for sale.

It could only mean one thing: they were sending the A321LR in the transatlantic set-up, with full-on Business class.

If I wanted those front seats, though, I had to pay about EUR90; and because I didn’t realise those were the Business class seats, I thought the price was absurd so I took a «normal» seat on the back.

I arrived in Roma Termini train station after a hop on the Frecciarossa high-speed train from Chiusi/Chianciano Terme and headed to the platform where the Leonardo Express – the train shuttle to Fiumicino Airport – left. Fiumicino is quite far from downtown Rome, so Trenitalia offers this train service every 15 minutes, the trip taking around half an hour.

Schedule was a little bit tight, but once I got in the terminal and saw the departures screen, I realised there was no rush. At first, a delay of an hour and ten minutes was displayed.

Soon I received an SMS from Aer Lingus saying that my flight was delayed because a medical emergency made our aircraft divert to London Gatwick. Well, nothing much the airline could have done about it, so as much as a delay is dreaded, that was not exactly their fault.

I took the time, then, passed customs and took the airside shuttle to the non-Schengen boarding area.

I kept looking at FlightRadar24 and the flight never took off from Gatwick, and later the delay was updated in the screens, over the three hour limit set by the EU, after which passengers are entitled for food and a phone call, a fax and perhaps a smoke sign message.

So accordingly, our gate agent told us to gather there and get our vouchers. The sandwich was good at least – though apparently I needed to pay an extra because I had passed the voucher quota.

Soon enough our gate changed and I kept tracking the flight on FlightRadar. Eventually the plane got out of Gatwick towards Rome, in a way that the delay would be just over three hours. I’m sure we were better off than the poor passengers that had to divert to Gatwick, though.

Anyway, flash forward to 15h02 and EI-LRC landed in Rome, almost four hours delayed.

According to Planespotters.net, the frame was delivered to Aer Lingus brand new in October 2019, in the transatlantic configuration of 16 Business class seats and 168 Economy seats.

Just in case, I went to the gate and asked the load factor; the very cool gate agent said only 100 passengers were booked for this flight. I then asked if I could change my seat to the first row, and she said yes, but to notify the FA upon boarding.

The turnaround was lightning fast, and at 15h25 boarding was called.

I was greeted by the FAs and – surprise! – they allowed me to go up front. Even better, I was so happy to see the configuration was the transatlantic one – I really hadn’t realised until I got in the plane. Sweet!

All in all, the setup on Business was super cool, alternating between 2-1 and 1-2, in a way that some passengers have free aisle access and the ones who are traveling in doubles can also fly together. That’s clever, and remember, all in a narrowbody.

Space-wise, it didn’t look like one. Even the footrest did not affunilate that much, which made the setting perfect for comfortably sleeping.

Doors were closed at 15h49. The ground agents waved «arrivederci» to the crew and, as soon as the door was closed, the lead FA asked «what does arrivederci mean?».

Before pushback, the Captain apologised for the delay and explained that, besides the diversion into Gatwick, they lacked a maintenance specialist with a specific license to clear the aircraft for take-off. Very unfortunate, of course, but nothing they could have done differently.

Pushback started at 15h57 and taxi followed at 16h05, and 16h11 EI-LRC easily took off from Italy towards Ireland.

 

The flying was super smooth and the engine could barely be heard, as expected from a A321neo. This new generation of engines is so cool.

Instead of using Aer Lingus’ on-demand entertainment system, I prefered reading a book I had brought, so I tried to maximise the three hours of flight in that great seat.

The seat had two different controls, one, more detailed, and another with preset settings.

Aer Lingus also offered wi-fi. Although the prices were reasonable, I was not sufficiently desperate to see my WhatsApp.

At 16h41 onboard service was started. Now apparently Aer Lingus offers only a buy-on-board selection – remember, though I was in a Business seat, that was still Economy class service – with no complimentary food.

Because the passenger by my side was friends with a friend of the lead FA, she offered us, as a courtesy, a bar of chocolate and some coffee.

Here I must add, the crew in my flight shined as true ambassadors of the brand. They were the same that diverted in Gatwick; according to what they said, they had shown up for work at 6PM, and there they were, still smiling and, above all, being professionals. Kudos to Aer Lingus on that.

After that small snack, I asked the FA which Irish booze they had to offer, and she said they had the Jameson, which I had never tried.

And boy, it was some good booze.

At that point we still had like two hours of flight, so I headed to check up the rest of the cabin.

Well, it can easily be said Economy class on Aer Lingus’ transatlantic A321neo also rules.

Because only 8 passengers occupied Business class and only 92 were in Economy, I managed to get an empty row in Economy to take some photos.

Space for legs seemed on average, these days there is not really much differentiation in this respect between airlines.

Overall, the cabin really looked nice and perfect for some rest with that mood lighting. Most passengers had their window shades closed, which meant the atmosphere was proper for that as well.

But for those who cannot get a minute of rest, the screen in Economy were also big. There were plenty of options available, much more than needed for a three-hour flight.

The views from back there were not bad, either.

And so was the view back at the front, with the Business class seat across the aisle free for me to snap a picture.

And last but not least, what’s not to love about Aer Lingus’ iconic logo.

Notwithstanding the short time of turnaround in Rome, the cabin was clean, including the tight bathroom by the forward galley. Maybe that’s because few passengers use this bathroom since it’s on Business class – despite the Economy class service, curtains between both classes were stowed.

Now back to my seat, we were already over Great Britain and I went back to reading my book, while I left the flight map playing on the enourmous screen.

A smooth descent was started at 17h28 – 16h28 Dublin time – and a very smooth landing at runway 28 of Dublin Airport followed at 16h54, with a delay of 2 hours and 54 minutes.

EI-LRC parked by the side of an Airbus A320 of Aer Lingus in Dublin Airport’s terminal 2.

To head to the city of Dublin was not particularly difficult, as the town’s well connected by its public transportation network. More difficult than hoping on the bus was finding a sale point of the city’s Leap bus card, but once it was settled, there I went.

And to top off the evening, I finally managed to get some actual food after hours, along with a pint of Guinness; definitely worth the wait.

Final Remarks

Well, of course we arrived almost three hours late in Dublin, but it was not really up to the airline.

But what was within their reach was done; they provided passengers a food voucher and the flight experience was nice, so it was possible to forget the frustration a little.

Aer Lingus really did a phenomenal job with their A321neo, be it in Business, be it in Economy class. The on-demand selection was great and, for those who needed, wi-fi was available at an OK-ish price. The buy-on-board selection, however, could have been a little bit better.

What really shined through, though, was the loveliness of the crew which, despite what must have been a stressful, tiresome day, never left that impression on any of the passengers. I’ll say it again, they acted as true ambassadors of the brand in a very inconvenient situation for the customers, but a situation that must have been even worse for them.

So, all-in-all, was Aer Lingus worth the price I paid?

Due to very specific circunstances of demand, I paid tenfold of what I could have paid Ryanair flying from Pisa – I assume the market is still very soft between Ireland and Italy, something that was clear from the poor load factor in my flight.

The timing of the Aer Lingus flight, however, was miles better, and I really wanted to try Ireland’s flag carrier. But in other circunstances I would never had paid such a difference.

However, booking with more anticipation I can find a smaller gap, of three times or thirty bucks. This is a premium I would definitely pay; as much as I enjoy flying Ryanair, flying Aer Lingus just felt so nice from start to finish, despite the inconvenience that – I stress out once again – was not their fault.

I cannot wait to get back to Dublin.