Aer Lingus for IAD to London - how is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve flown Aer Lingus multiple times from DC to Dublin and had only positive experiences.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks all. There are two outbound flights - one leaves Dulles at 5:10pm and the other at 8:55pm. I assume we want the second one?

For the return, the two choices leave Heathrow at 9:50am or 1:25pm. What option would be best here in terms of crowds at checkin/customs/etc.?

Both ways, the layover in Dublin is under 90 minutes.

Thanks to everyone for their help!

Yes, the 8:55 outbound.

90 minutes on the return would make me nervous since you have to clear US customs in Dublin. Probably later in the day is better?

I'd take the earlier Heathrow flight so if there are immigration slowdowns you have a backup of the second IAD flight. But depends a bit if you have GE. If you do the 90 minutes is doable.

Agreed. There is also an 8:50 departure from Heathrow and a 9:25 from Gatwick. Those would be better if you want the earlier DUB-IAD flight- which I would as that 7:30 arrival on the later one is pretty tough as it would be midnight London time- tough for.kids. But not sure if they would be the same price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might be stretching the truth a bit, but we did IAD to DUB once in 5.5 hours. There was a very healthy tailwind. I could be exaggerating, but we were there in under six hours easily. Arrival was super early- around 5am.

That definitely happens. It is often the first flight in which is great.

We just had a 5.5 hr flight to Dublin. It was bumpy as hell the ENTIRE time so thankfully it was quick.

I will warn you that we have also had the 8.5 hr return flight. Headwind is real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just be aware that the IAD to Dublin flight is quite short, and the flight leaves IAD pretty early, so it is even more difficult to sleep than on the longer non-stops.

Depends on the day. Sometimes they have two different evening flights, leaving in 5-6 hour and the 8-9 hour. We’ve been on both, and I agree that the earlier one is tough.

Can you elaborate on why the earlier one is tough? I am planning a trip to Dublin--my first time in Ireland and only my second trip out of the country--and I'm trying to decide between these two flights (the one that leaves in the 5-6 hour and the one that leaves in the 8-9 hour). I'm not connecting anywhere else; staying in Dublin. I am a very, very nervous flyer, and I hardly ever do it ... because it scares the crap out of me. So I'm debating whether I'd be less freaked out if I left while there are still a few hours of daylight or whether it would be better to leave at night when (presumably) I can't see much. It's been my dream to go for such a long time, and I've finally saved enough, but my anxiety is getting in my way. I want to book, but not knowing which flight would be better is keeping me from doing so. Can anyone offer some gentle advice or pors/cons to an inexperienced and nervous traveler? Thanks so much.

Any flight to Ireland won't really give you enough time to get any decent sleep. I never sleep, so I'm tired, but functioning when I arrive. I nap for a few hours and then I'm good to go until bedtime.

The second flight is often delayed for some reason, so I'd go with the earlier one. The narrow body plane is really cramped, but the inflight entertainment is decent.

[Anonymous]

on the topic of US Customs in Dublin, we are flying Aer Lingus to and from Paris with only an hour 20 min between flights. You are all making me feel like we won't make the Dublin-IAD flight home...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:on the topic of US Customs in Dublin, we are flying Aer Lingus to and from Paris with only an hour 20 min between flights. You are all making me feel like we won't make the Dublin-IAD flight home...

I’m confused by this too because Aer Lingus has many daily flights that do this so I’m guessing they think it works…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:on the topic of US Customs in Dublin, we are flying Aer Lingus to and from Paris with only an hour 20 min between flights. You are all making me feel like we won't make the Dublin-IAD flight home...

I’m confused by this too because Aer Lingus has many daily flights that do this so I’m guessing they think it works…

It's definitely right- I'll bet the minimim time they will legally allow you to book that connection is 1:15. But anything under 1:45 I would worry about, especially if I didn't have GE, and the onward flight left Dublin between 10:30-12:00.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:on the topic of US Customs in Dublin, we are flying Aer Lingus to and from Paris with only an hour 20 min between flights. You are all making me feel like we won't make the Dublin-IAD flight home...

I’m confused by this too because Aer Lingus has many daily flights that do this so I’m guessing they think it works…

It's definitely right- I'll bet the minimim time they will legally allow you to book that connection is 1:15. But anything under 1:45 I would worry about, especially if I didn't have GE, and the onward flight left Dublin between 10:30-12:00.

I thought their website said they recommend 2 hours.

We had a layover in that awful morning rush. They did end up holding our flight for probably an hour or more, so that people stuck in the lines could make it….which probably explains why our 9pm departure from Dulles was delayed due to a late inbound plane from Dublin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:on the topic of US Customs in Dublin, we are flying Aer Lingus to and from Paris with only an hour 20 min between flights. You are all making me feel like we won't make the Dublin-IAD flight home...

I’m confused by this too because Aer Lingus has many daily flights that do this so I’m guessing they think it works…

It's definitely right- I'll bet the minimim time they will legally allow you to book that connection is 1:15. But anything under 1:45 I would worry about, especially if I didn't have GE, and the onward flight left Dublin between 10:30-12:00.

I thought their website said they recommend 2 hours.

We had a layover in that awful morning rush. They did end up holding our flight for probably an hour or more, so that people stuck in the lines could make it….which probably explains why our 9pm departure from Dulles was delayed due to a late inbound plane from Dublin.

Ha,should have been "definitely tight"

Yeah 2 hours is probably optimal, but I'd be okay with 1:45. Anything less than that and you are really cutting it close, especially without GE.

The preclearance system makes sense for those starting in Dublin and making connections in the US- that's why they are partners with JetBlue at JFK and United at Dulles. But it's less logical for those connecting at Dublin and terminating at the first US airport. It moves the time risk of customs/passport control to the middle of the journey instead of the end.

[Anonymous]

DP. Inspired by this thread, I just searched for a round trip to Dublin for a few days at the end of may via air lingus. It is 800 dollars per person. Is this normal? I thought it is pricey given that it is a short flight and budget airline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP. Inspired by this thread, I just searched for a round trip to Dublin for a few days at the end of may via air lingus. It is 800 dollars per person. Is this normal? I thought it is pricey given that it is a short flight and budget airline.

Sounds only a slight bit high to me.