Many moons ago Aer Lingus offered both economy and business class seating on both their European short-haul network as well as their transatlantic flights. While paying for a business class seat between Dublin and London may seem a bit nutty, there are destinations within the short-haul network where it starts to make sense. And when you combine that with the number of people who are using Dublin as their hub into or out of Europe then not having a “premium” product was a shortcoming.
As of September 2019, however, Aer Lingus will be bringing back a form of business class seating on select European routes. Of course they’re not calling it “business class”, but AerSpace, but when you look at what they’re offering it’s comparable to what you’d get with KLM, Lufthansa or British Airways:
- Middle seat free
- Private overhead storage
- Complimentary food and drink from the Bia menu
- Lounge access
- Priority boarding
- Fast Track security
- Automatic standby for earlier flights
- Free changes and refunds
It’s not going to be available on all routes, but for now, at least, it’ll be available on the more popular ones:
UK Routes:
Dublin, Cork, Shannon & Belfast -> London Heathrow
Dublin & Knock -> London Gatwick
Dublin -> Birmingham
Dublin -> Manchester
Mainland Europe:
Dublin & Cork – > Amsterdam
Dublin & Cork -> Barcelona
Dublin & Cork -> Lisbon
Dublin & Cork -> Munich
Dublin & Cork -> Paris
Dublin -> Berlin
Dublin -> Dusseldorf
Dublin -> Frankfurt
Dublin -> Milan Malpensa
Dublin -> Milan Linate
Dublin -> Geneva
Dublin -> Zurich
Dublin -> Brussels
Dublin -> Madrid
How much will it cost?
That seems to vary quite a bit by route, time etc., I tried to check pricing on a few routes and while the new AerSpace cost more the price difference wasn’t “insane” on the routes I checked.
For flights on the routes mentioned after September 1st you’ll now be able to choose between 4 fares:
- Saver – their entry level no frills option. Carry on only
- Plus – priority boarding, checked bag and seat selection included
- Advantage – all of the above plus lounge access and fast track security
- AerSpace – More space and comfort as well as food and stuff included (as noted above)
The price of a “saver” fare one way can be as low as €30 – 50 on many routes, while the AerSpace fare will weigh in around €140 – 180 each way (based on my checks).
I flew the new EI Aer Space cabin to Brussels. I think there is a market for a small
premium cabin on allot of routes that don’t have the facility. I thought the snacks
from the Bia Menu were somehow off point- A pleasant part of premium travel
is a nicely made up tray, even if it’s very simple. A Styrofoam cup of coffee and
a snack from the buy-on-board menu doesn’t cut it!