germanblonde

the same day to London. I know it is possible for me to check my in to London when I check in in the US. I think if I do this I will not be able to change my flight from Dublin to London. I am currently arriving in Dublin at 8.30 am and I on a flight to London at 1.00 pm. Obviously, I would like to go to London on an earlier flight if I am able to. What is Aer Lingus' policy on changing flights, I am on a discounted economy class ticket. Any advise fodorites can provide would be appreciated. Thanks.

PS If I do check into London from the US do I have to clear customs in Dublin since this is my first point of entry into the EU?

cambe

You will clear customs in Dublin.

There is no customs or passport control between Dublin and London. The Republic of Ireland is treated the same as domestic flights.

I would check your ticket to see if you can change as there may be a surplus to pay for an earlier flight.

flanneruk

Cambe:

Are you sure? On a US-DUB-LON flight, as you say, you most certainly DO go through passport control at Dublin (though all Ireland-UK flights arrive through special channels that are subject to police control. These get reactivated from time to time, depending on the security situation in Northern Ireland. They were operating, for a day or two, a fortnight back).

But the EU norm is that you don't go through Customs till the final airport, even if the last leg is domestic, if baggage is through-checked.

That's certainly what happens if you take Aer Lingus from the US, through Dublin, to Liverpool. You go through Irish (=UK) immigration at Dublin, but don't see your bags till you get to Liverpool, where it would be clear from your baggage tags to any Customs officers that your flight had originated outside the EU. Except that there are virtually never any Customs officers around.

Since AA and Aer Lingus are both One World airlines, I'd have thought the same thing would apply to germanblonde.

Germanblonde:
It's often the case that that the staff at the intermediate airport are more sympathetic to changing your ongoing flights on an inflexible ticket than the central reservations system or the people at the originating airport. So if you aren't able to change before you get to Dublin, ask again when you get there.

It's totally routine to make these changes once you've checked in. Under normal circumstances, your bags will still arrive with you. Airlines are geared up to tell the luggage system to reroute bags, though obviously time has to be allowed for this.

cambe

Flanner,
I assume that if you arrive in Dublin from the US you will go through passport & customs control.

I am completly sure that if you travel on a flight that originates in Dublin and terminates in London, you do not go through passport or customs control. It is the same as going from Liverpool to London.

If you board an Aer Lingus plane in Dublin (which is sheduled to travel from Dublin to London) how would the people in London know who was an international traveller and who was local?

Germanblonde, I am not certain and Flanner has put doubts in my mind but as someone who has travelled from Dublin to London on several occasons I have never ben subjected to Immigration. Customs or Passport control. Having said that I live in Ireland (NI) so it may be different.

Sorry if I have given you false information.

CU

You will arrive in Dublin at the International terminal and to leave this terminal and catch a plane for Europe you will have to pass through passport control.
If you are on an onward connection you bags can be booked through and on arrival at your destination it is up to you to declare anything that you may have that you should not have and you are always liable to be called in for a check from customs.
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