When traveling to the UK this spring from Canada I looked at all the options and decided to try Aer Lingus. At the time there was much upheaval with delayed flights and lost luggage, and I opted to choose a flight that, if I got hung up part way to Manchester, I could easily make my way the rest of the journey. Flying through Dublin was a better option than Zurich, Paris, Amsterdam or Reykjavik – I could catch the ferry across to Liverpool, less than an hour from my destination of Southport.
Check in at Toronto Pearson airport was quick and uneventful and the flight left on time. My luggage was tagged for quick transfer to the connecting plane in Dublin. The flight was no different than other airlines – an overnight flight that I’m never able to sleep on – although there were some empty seats, which is something I haven’t seen in years. I had received an email the day before the flight advising that the entertainment system would not be working and to download whatever you want to watch before the flight. I read a book. We landed about half an hour early in Dublin and went through customs before the connecting flight to Manchester. Originally there had only been an hour for the bags to be transferred to the next plane but our early arrival gave them another half hour to get everything onboard.
The connecting flight ended up being on an Airbus and I had a whole row to myself. A very roomy and comfortable end to the journey. A bus met the plane on the tarmac and drove us to the luggage hall where our luggage appeared after a short wait. Bonus – we were on time and our luggage arrived too.
The return journey a month later wasn’t quite as smooth. The flight from Manchester to Dublin was delayed about 20 minutes and the plane was no Airbus – it was a small, cramped, propeller plane with two seats either side of the aisle. Thankfully it was a short flight. The flight to Toronto was also delayed. By the time they started boarding there were other flights also boarding and it was difficult to hear any of the announcements. The pre-boarding took a long time as there were lots of families with small children and a few seniors needing wheelchair assistance. The flight was full but roomy. I watched three movies to pass the time and, when I finally got through passport control at Pearson (a nightmare of its own with too little staff) my luggage arrived intact.
Overall, it was a decent flight with Aer Lingus and I would use them again.
