does anyone have recent info on aer lingus' inflight service and food? do they now charge for drinks and earphones? we will be flying jfk to shannon next sat and have been receiving mixed info on aer lingus. i will thank you in advance for your reply.

On the Aer Lingus web site they state:

Classic Economy Service
Product Features:
* Pillows and blankets
* Ample legroom and 2-4-2 seating divided by double armrests
* Tray table at each seat
* Individual reading light

In-Flight Entertainment:
* Complimentary headsets
* Feature films on all flights
* Award-winning Cara magazine in each seat pocket
* Selection of premium magazines
* Laptop power ports available on select aircraft


Last time I flew with Aer Lingus (April 2003) they were charging for alcoholic drinks but not non-alcoholic ones.

For food you got a choice of the standard "chicken or beef" but I know you can call ahead of time to arrange a special meal should you need it.

When in doubt, CALL THEM!

Enjoy you trip!

Wendy

My most recent visitor from Ireland flew here Oct. 10 and returned a week later. There was one round of free alcoholic drinks (beer/wine/Jamesons/Baileys, what have you) before the meal, and a free wine/beer with meal. Headphones were free, and his meal choice was lasagne.

Personally I've flown Aer Lingus at least a dozen times in the last 10 years, most recently in May and they are my choice to Ireland and certainly much better than some of the other national carriers I've flown, within and outside the US.

I just flew Aer Lingus in Sept from LAX to DUB and the DUB to Boston. Are you in Business or Economy? In both classes, alcoholic drinks were free. I think in Economy there were 2 meal choices and in Business 4. Headphones are free but Are Lingus is notoriously bad for their in-flight entertainment (unless you love British Comedy!!) Their little "travel packs" are also not great. Even in Business you are lucky if you get a toothbrush. One other small detail that irks me when I fly AL is that you are not permitted to use cd/mp3 players at ANY TIME during the flight.

But, overall I agree with the previous poster. I have flown to Ireland with Delta, AL and AA and I think that Aer Lingus has the best service. They are happy to help in any way that they can and will continue to serve bevs throughout the flight. For more info (including pics of in-flight meals), see the AL section on flyertalk.com.

I'm just curious when you flew to Ireland on AA, stephyjo. To my knowledge, AA doesn't fly into Ireland at all.

I flew BOS to Shannon on October 8. We had ample legroom and ample space until the people in front put their seats all the way back. Not much you can do about that. The drinks were free as stated in the other posts. The meal choice over was beef or chicken and on the way back lasagna or chicken and some really dry sanwiches. The flights were fine, only took 5 hours over. I have flown Aer Lingus twice. Last time to Dublin on the return we were on the tarmac for 4 hours while they changed a computer. That was not fun, but we did get home safely.

Doooh! I think you might be right Patrick. I fly on Aer Lingus on an AA tix to get AA miles. Sorry for the confusion/mis-info. Re miles - be careful when booking on AL if you are trying to get AA miles! Book with AA and make sure you are on an AA tix.

PS. Are you the same Patrick that harassed me re my Tampa post? If so, see reply!

Just spent a long weekend in New England and booked Aer Lingus from Manchester to Boston. When we arrived at the airport we found there was an Aer Lingus Strike but they had already rebooked us on B.A. and A.A. via London and we arrived in Boston 2 hours earlier than we were due to .It was fantastic service by Aer Lingus.
We came back with Aer Lingus- 5hours 30 Boston to Shannon-or would have been but we were unable to land in Shannon because of fog.
The alcohol and headphones were free.