But it was the food - served on Wedgwood bone china - that blew him away: “Some of the tastiest, most satisfying and beautifully presented business class fare I’ve had in a while.” He ends up questioning whether it was the best business class food ever, and also gave kudos to the inflight service and business class lounge in Dublin ( read his full review here). He lauded everything from the fast, free Wi-Fi to the unusual staggered seat arrangement, the lay flat seat controls, oversized tray tables, large personal HD screens, and like me, admired the power outlets and storage spaces. McGinnis is one of the most knowledgeable frequent fliers I know, and has flown tons of different airline premium classes. When service in the revamped Business Class launched on the airline’s longest route (10+ hours), San Francisco to Dublin leg, aviation critic and founder Chris McGinnis was onboard and came away very impressed. Lay flat seats are modern and well done: note the easy to use seat controls, large screen, good. The bottom line is that if you are headed to either Ireland or someplace you cannot fly nonstop on any carrier, like my Vienna trip, it’s well worth considering this much improved, greatly updated, shiny, friendly and low-priced carrier. If Aer Lingus suffers from a perception problem it’s as an airline serving Ireland, but it goes ways beyond with connections all over the Continent. Finally, Dublin is simply a much better place to change planes than overcrowded Heathrow, the main alternative and the one airport in Europe a lot of frequent travelers actively avoid. More pluses: Aer Lingus’ Dublin and Shannon hubs are the only spots in Europe offering US immigration pre-clearance - complete with Global Entry - so when you land back in the States you just walk off the plane and out of the airport, no fuss, no muss, saving time. This varies by location, and in DC they share the presumably better British Airways lounge. But there’s an important caveat to the lounge situation: while Aer Lingus operates upscale lounges in Dublin, Heathrow and JFK, they sub it out elsewhere, and the Boston lounge I used, shared with TAP, Emirates and Priority Pass, was pretty mediocre, definitely a cut below neighboring competitors’ lounges like BA and Lufthansa. Is there more to like? How about a sexy revamped departure lounge in Dublin where the bartender makes great martinis? Or the impressive “Revivals” arrivals lounge for those headed over just to Ireland and landing early who want to freshen up, shower or grab breakfast before heading into town for their meeting, or simply in anticipation that their hotel room likely will not be available - they’ll even steam the winkles out of your clothes while you shower. and an enormous amount of room, workspace and storage. The unique seating layout in Aer Lingus' new Business Class offers some single seats with privacy. Even on the short leg in coach, staff scrambled to serve actual meals to everyone on a flight where we would never expect to get more than pretzels - if that - in this country. The food is well above average even for premium class with plenty of variety but just enough Irish touches to provide a sense of place, from scones to Irish whiskey to Magners cider. This comes in handy for both working, with more laptop room, and eating, which is a big part of the Aer Lingus experience. Even the tray tables impressed, oversized and one solid piece, not folded. All aisle would be the best scenario, but this design also offers the rare option of sitting completely solo, and with tons of space. Seating uses an odd but ultimately good layout, staggered 1-2-1 and 2-2-1, so most but not every seat has direct aisle access. The video screens are big, the entertainment selection impressive, the notice cancelling headphones pretty good, and unlike just about every other carrier, premium passengers get a code for free inflight WiFi (I didn’t try it but every review I’ve seen likes the speed). Like newly upgraded business class with all the lay flat bells and whistles, including well designed ergonomic touches such as better placed outlets, better seat controls, and lots of storage, even a large, closed shoe compartment missing on most competitors. But there’s a lot more to the story than great service.
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