Aer Lingus

Dub to Madrid. Late departure due to passengers trying to take over sized bags onboard. Gate crew did a professional job of trying to take bags from people who should have known better. An almost full flight handled professionally by a competent crew. Nice Hot Irish Breakfast from the Buy on Board menu and regular updates from Captain during the trip. A great mid way service in terms of getting what you pay for with the care from the crew equivalent to that of any full service airline.

DUB-LIN and BLQ-DUB. M Wickham's comments re: Venice are interesting. I had the same experience flying back from Bologna where the captain made reference to problems on the ground. Took an age to get people to the gate and onto the buses to the plane. No reason for it. Just typical Italian laid back attitude. Still made up time on the way back and only ended up 5 mins late. Both flights were fine on time clean aircraft and friendly FA's.

DUB-VCE-DUB. Outward flight punctual but return over 1 hr late departing. The pilot said that the reason for the delay was a 'long story' and that he didn't want to go into blame mode whilst heavily hinting at service agent problems in Venice. Pilots informative during the flights and cabin crew helpful.

DUB-BCN-DUB. Flights on time crew professional and courteous seat pitch good. Dublin departure from Terminal 1 which was a 10 min walk from security at T2 and the flight to DUB left BCN from the far end of the terminal there - so another 10min or so walk.

JFK-DUB-MAN return. Staff were friendly and helpful. Flights on time or early. Food typical airline quality but edible. I ordered vegetarian special which were delivered. A330-300 clean and adequate space and comfortable seat. The movies offered adequate variety. Only downside I was told that I needed to be at MAN 3.5hrs before departure. I called both the airline and the airport and was assured that this was necessary and check-in would be open at this early hour. So I was not thrilled to arrive at the airport to have to wait for 1hr before the desk opened. US Customs clearance and transiting in Dublin was easy but a lot of walking involved. I would highly recommend Aer Lingus. My fare was $500 cheaper than the best competitor on the same dates.

JFK-DUB-LGW return Y Class. Purchased emergency exit seats for transatlantic sectors. Seats comfortable with extra legroom and FA on JFK-DUB supplied additional blankets. Food simple but adequate service charming and caring. Three hour delay at JFK so missed connection to LGW impressed with EI's handling and were rebooked on next flights while in the air new boarding cards with breakfast vouchers awaiting our arrival at DUB.

Glasgow-JFK via Dublin. All flights on time and clearing US customs and border protection in Dublin was an unexpected bonus. The seats and inflight entertainment was above average. However the bar service was only offered once during a 7.5 hour flight. I asked the stewardess if the drinks trolley would be making another appearance or if I could purchase a beer and she told me I could just have tea or coffee.

ORD-DUB-CDG A330 ORD-DUB A320 DUB-CDG. Aircraft clean and bright. Transfer at DUB smooth and easy. FA's ORD-DUB were curt but efficient. Food acceptable but not as good as other European carriers. ORD-DUB we were served a small snack (pretzels) dinner and a croissant sandwich. There is only one beverage plus coffee/tea service on international flights and alcohol must be purchased. DUB-CDG there is no complimentary beverage or meal/snack service (all may be purchased). DUB-ORD also went well - FA's much more attentive and friendly. Beware that Aer Lingus has lower baggage-weight allowance than most carriers - only 23kg for long-haul flights. I ordered vegetarian meals (ON AerLingus.com) but FA's on the first flight said that they had no record of this request. I reminded the gate agent on the last leg of my trip but I was again told that there was no record of my request on the return trip.

Just spent half a day booking a simple flight from Cardiff to Dublin. The on line booking seemed simple until I tried to add and pay the £24 extra for a checked piece of luggage. What a joke and a waste of my time. The call centre operator eventually sorted my problem out but I have been left with a very negative view of 'Cheepo' airlines. The system is misleading since I did not realise there was extra to pay until after the booking was made. All pretty rubbish really. Let's hope the flight is not as poor.

BFS-LHR-BFS A320. Fully boarded 20 mins before departure on return leg so efficient turn around. Crew friendly and pretty decent service on both legs. Both legs busy - 19.20 from LHR full on return leg. Looks like EI are doing well on this route but have still reduced to 3 flights a day for winter.