Flying to Europe in Comfort: Aer Lingus Business Class Review

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Lyn writes about how to fly free on Southwest and has a free guide that shows you step-by-step how to earn their coveted Southwest Companion Pass.  The pass lets 1 person fly nearly free with you for up to 2 years.  The Million Mile Secrets team agrees it’s THE best deal in travel.

But today, we’ve asked Lyn to share her experience flying business class on Aer Lingus on a recent trip to Rome.

Lyn:  My husband and I were blessed enough to take our first trip to Rome this month to explore not only the city’s incredible history, but as a Catholic Christian, to understand the beginnings of my faith.  I can’t begin to tell you how powerful the trip was and how everyone should add Rome to their bucket list.  How these people live among 2,000-year-old ruins strewn throughout their city as though it’s completely normal blows my mind!

But on with today’s topic…

To get to Rome, we flew Aer Lingus out of New York (JFK).  And of course, to get to New York City from Indianapolis, we flew…you guessed it…Southwest!

For once I actually paid for the ticket, because of their limited time promotion offering twice the points on any paid flights through June 30, 2018.  And because the tickets were really cheap.

We flew Aer Lingus Business Class for this particular trip, which was just my husband and I.  And here’s a full review of our flight.

Aer Lingus Business Class Review

We had a credit from Aer Lingus (we’d gotten it during our trip to Europe last year) that covered most of our base fare, and from there, we were upgraded to Business Class — hooray!

On Aer Lingus, you can upgrade to Business Class when flying to Dublin using Aer Lingus Avios points.  Upgrades start at 37,000 Avios one-way in their off-peak season, which runs about two-thirds of the year.  Or starting at 44,750 Avios during their peak season.

You can also book a Business Class seat in its entirety from East Coast cities like New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and even Chicago for 50,000 Aer Lingus Avios points one-way during their off-peak season.  Or 60,000 Aer Lingus Avios points one-way during peak season.  And you’ll also have to pay fuel surcharges, which varies based on your departure city.

Check out the Aer Lingus peak and off-peak season calendar here.

Aer Lingus flies from the following US cities:

• Boston
• Chicago
• Hartford, Connecticut
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Newark
• New York (JFK)
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Washington, D.C.

You can collect Aer Lingus Avios points by earning the bonuses on and using these credit cards (some earn transferrable points):

• Aer Lingus Visa Signature
• Iberia Visa Signature
• British Airways Visa Signature Card
• Chase Ultimate Rewards earning cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve

The information for the British Airways Visa card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The Aer Lingus Business Class Set Up

We found the Aer Lingus Business Class seats to be very comfortable.  They recline completely should you want to sleep (I tried but couldn’t!), or recline partially to relax and enjoy a movie.  The seat width is 22 inches, and they are 6.5 feet long.

Worker bee that I am, I worked a good bit of the time with the seat all the way up, but with my feet elevated with the movable footrest.  My husband is 6 feet 3 inches, so he appreciates the ability to stretch out his legs.

For me, the best part of the whole thing was having enough space to access all my “stuff.”

There was a lovely little cubby that had a perfect spot to stow my laptop, phone, magazine, and a book to read during takeoff and landing.  It also had an open “box” where I could set my water, chapstick, tissues, and, yes, peanut M&Ms (a must for me when flying :)) within easy reach.

There were also convenient spots to charge my phone and laptop throughout the flight.  And each seat has a TV touchscreen in the seatback in front of you where you can watch current and classic movies, Irish movies, TV shows, or listen to music.  Earphones are provided and worked well.

Aer Lingus Business Class Amenities

Every seat gets an amenity bag with lip balm, socks (which even my husband liked!), lotion, ear plugs, eye mask, and tissues.  The earplugs didn’t do much for me nor did the eye mask, but I gave it go!

You also get a bottle of water at your seat, and I’m sure they’d bring you more if you wanted.  We always carry a big bottle of water with us on every flight, as I’ve been stuck on a plane before for hours with nothing to drink.  And I’ve vowed never to let that happen again.

Needless to say, I didn’t need any more water!

Everyone also gets a quilted blanket rather than just a flannel throw.  On our first flight, they handed them out to everyone.  But on our second flight, we had to ask for one.  You also get free Wi-Fi, which worked fine for me throughout both flights.

The Food

Of course, they serve you food throughout the trip so much so that it seems like you’re eating something almost the entire time.  Though it does help the time go by!

They offer champagne or juice before take-off and then are happy to keep your glass full of wine the rest of the trip.  I absolutely love Bordeaux, so was thrilled that was a wine option on board rather than your typical generic Chardonnay and Merlot.

There’s a starter plate with small bites followed by a salad and dinner.  I chose the chicken option both times and thought it was perfectly fine.  My husband refuses to eat much in the way of any airplane food, so he opted for the cheese plate, which was a dessert option instead.

Dessert was the best part, with a cheesecake served on one flight and chocolate lava cake on the other. Yum!

Lounge Access

Another major perk of flying Business Class is that you can access the Aer Lingus lounges before take-off and between connecting flights.  We enjoyed the peace and quiet of the Aer Lingus lounge at JFK and knocked out a few more work tasks and phone calls before getting on the plane.

We were also able to use the Aer Lingus lounge in Dublin, where we changed planes before heading on to Rome, even though we weren’t flying Business Class on that next flight.

If you’re stopping in Dublin or New York (JFK), you can access the Revival Lounge upon landing where you can “freshen up” by taking a shower, have your suit and shirt steamed and pressed, and have a light meal before you get going.

Bottom Line

I would absolutely fly Aer Lingus Business Class.  And in fact, I’ll have a hard time going back to coach class after this experience. 🙂

We loved the extra space to spread out and have easy access to everything we needed.  It was easy to stay comfy throughout the flight in the reclining seats, with blankets, cozy socks, and with the movable footrest!

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