I traveled on Aer Lingus from London to Dublin to visit Ireland for Easter break and later flew to Toronto on Aer Lingus A321LR Transatlantic.
Heathrow was extremely crowded as travel is bouncing back. The Aer Lingus lounge at Heathrow is new with nice furniture. It has very limited food options (only soup and biscuits). The apron and runway view is hindered by the blinds in front…what a shame.
Flying Aer Lingus A321LR London to Dublin
To my surprise, I received an upgrade to Business Class onboard the new Aer Lingus A321LR. The flight to Dublin was a short 55 minute hop. The flight has a proper long haul Business Class but is sold as Economy Plus.
The code of Aer Lingus A321LR is 32Q in booking engine. The new A321LR flies at least once or twice daily between Dublin and London, in addition to the evening A330 widebody service.
The Business Class has 16 flat seats with 4 seats being single seat that you don’t share with anyone. (‘throne seat’ in row 2A/K and 4A/K).
I received a sandwich and cup of tea for the short 51 minute hop.
Visiting Ireland 🇮🇪
After landing in Dublin, I went plane-spotting at Dublin Airport. The next day I drove around the Irish countryside to visit Galway, Cliff of Moher and Shannon. The scenery and people are both lovely in Ireland.
After 2 wonderful days in Ireland, it’s time to be back at Dublin Airport to fly to my next destination; Toronto, Canada.
Video
Dublin Airport – Aer Lingus Lounge
I visited the Aer Lingus Lounge at Dublin Airport, it has a great view from the 2nd floor. Limited food options. There is US Pre-clearance at Dublin Airport, but this doesn’t apply to flights to Canada.
Onboard the A321LR
Aer Lingus has decent Business Class products and I particularly enjoyed the meal onboard.
The Aer Lingus crew did a good job to finish serving lunch within 2 hours despite a full cabin. Strangely, there is no Guinness available, the crew was cheeky saying “due to the pressure inside the airplane, it will taste different so we don’t serve it!”
There is a decent movie selection and free Wi-Fi for Business Class passengers. Economy passengers can purchase them.
Given the whole flight was fully booked, I could not get hold of the single throne seat and felt a little disappointed initially. However, soon I found out the pair seat has a bigger footwell when the seat goes fully flat. So, this advantage meant a better sleep even though you’re sharing with a neighbour. For the single throne seat, the footwell size is smaller and it is very hard to move ‘inside the box’. I slept a sound 3 hours.
My Verdict
The A321LR/XLR will become a regular sight on TransAtlantic flights in the near future. While my experience on Aer Lingus A321LR Business Class has been positive, I remain concerned about flying economy on a narrowbody for more than 6 hours. I hope airlines can provide better legroom or a double armrest. Every inch counts on long-haul flights. Below is a list of a few pros and cons of flying the narrowbody A321 Transatlantic:
Pros:
It opens up more direct travel possibilities. It also saves time without connecting at busy hub airports.
Cons:
The single-aisle takes longer to board, and may not have as much space as a widebody airplane. Airlines seem to focus more on the Business Class product with little difference in Economy. Perhaps a stand-up stretch area?
Good News:
Aer Lingus has generally decent award availability in Business Class (U class) for miles redemption. One can redeem BA Avios to fly on Aer Lingus.
As others have noted, the A321neo actually has wider economy seats than most wide body planes – particularly the B787 or the B777 in 10-abreast configuration (which is the default configuration on most flights). I, for one, would rather fly an A321 than a B787 on transatlantic flights. I try to avoid Boeing products in general – the seats are almost always narrower, which is the dimension that matters the most.
The largest change from going to a single aisle from a double aisle is actually the PAX/Toilet ratio ans associated Q length. All of the airlines that I have looked at using A321XLR or in fact B73M’s have not adjusted the ratio for the long haul: and only a few have accommodated the Q length (with middle toilets as well as back toilets).
This Aer Lingus isn’t bad with 56 pax per toilet BUT only one Q. Certainly better than IcelandAir do with their B78M with 72 pax per toilet and one Q for a 7hr40min flight to PDX.
But none up to the better modern widebody of 46 pax per toilet with 6 q’s (e.g. BA).
Hopefully the automatic trim control really works on the these single aisles with all those pax at the back of the plane. And the all of the pax have large and great bladder control – the economy sections is targeted at the younger generation (less than middle age) so hopefully the fares match this since this is also the poorest of the generations.
Having flown on quite a few A321 short and medium haul, yes long haul trans Atlantic would be a push too far. Having flown AA MIA/LAX 5h 30 on a chockers flight, would have much preferred to be on a 767 or A330 twin aisle.
The airline accountants love the A321LR of course, need to send a few of them in row 35D on a six hour sector, to be ignored by the cabin crew, who are only interested in the few punters up the front, and see how they like it.
Dont get me wrong, the A321 is a great aeroplane, but not for 6 hour sectors, sorry.
Not a fan on any Narrowbody Aircraft flying over six hours and certainly not over the ocean. The AIrlines operating these aircraft will cater to the BC and Premium Economy type passenger but standard economy will be tight with minimal legroom and space. Minimal provisions be available onboard because there will be limited Galley Space to store anything. A Hard No from Me.
I hope you try caribbean airlines to the island chain like Jamaicas Barbados and RTeinidad
Obviously the debate on long haul travel on a narrowbody isn’t going to be settled anytime soon. I’d say that it all depends on how the carrier configures their cabin. A Jetblue style economy cabin with 18″+ wide seats, 32″ of pitch, free wifi and decent IFE is a much more tempting proposition than 10 abreast in a 777 or 9 abreast in a 787. On the other hand a Ryanair style configuration would be a complete nightmare! I’m personally not that concerned about the space to move around as long as the seat itself is comfortable, after all, that’s where you will spend at least 95% of your time during the flight.
Regarding the boarding time, yes there is only a single aisle but there are also fewer passengers to deal with as well. Does anyone actually have any stats on how long it takes to board a Jetblue A321LR vs a typical widebody?