Melissa5

I would love some more feedback on what is your favorite airline for flying to Ireland and why.

I need to get our tickets soon. We will fly Los Angeles to Ireland. I'm always a nervous flyer and having a good airline helps. Lufthansa to Italy was great! We have flown to other places on other airlines which were not so great.

Airline seats vary a lot in comfort.

Considering Aer Lingus and posted that as a separate question. Maybe somebody has another favorite to Ireland?

Many thanks from a claustrophobic flyer who has to have an aisle seat!

Shadow

I mentioned before that I was very happy with Aer Lingus....on time, good food, good service, individual tv screens, Irish FA's, non-stop LAX to Dublin, and good prices!
I've also flown Continental connecting in Newark. My sister is a FA with Continental. They are good as well but no screens, and I would rather not have a connection but, if I'm landing in Shannon I have the choice of Newark (CO) or Aer Lingus but connecting in Dublin.
Sometimes it depends on where you are wanting to go first on your trip.
This trip (this Sunday the 16) we are going to Dublin for a few days so Aer Lingus works best. Plus, they have great air fares to Ireland. Sometimes, its the price of the airfare too that "decides for you".
Shadow

Sarah

Hi Melissa5

Break in NY (a must if you are going that far) and check out www.seatguru.com to see what your aircraft looks like before you purchase tickets.

www.kayak.com is my new favorite website for checking out rates.

AAFrequentFlyer

<b>Sarah</b>,

Sorry, but I have to disagree about doing a break in New York.

LAX-DUB = ~5200 miles = ~11 hours in the air

LAX-NYC-DUB = ~5700 miles = ~13 hours (besides the longer distance you also have extra landing and takoff which consumes time)in the air PLUS about an hour or 2 connection = ~15 hours of travel.

That's ~4 extra hours. I don't think it's worth it.

Too bad the OP did not ask this question about a month ago. AA did match AerLingus sale on this route. Next month I will be flying AA LAX-DUB with a connection for $400 TOTAL. Unfortunately the sale is gone.

Shadow

Connecting out of NYC is not an option for my husband and myself! Its horrible! Out of LAX Aer Lingus is first choice now.
However, I always advise first timers who will be driving right off the bat to arrive in Shannon..(much easier to drive out of Shannon than Dublin)..I also think first timers should spend time in the Irish countryside first...when I bring people for the fist time that is what I want them to see first, then the cities such as Galway or Dublin, etc.
So, no NYC connection (been there, done that and its a madhouse!)
Shadow

CU

Hi Melissa. Its me again turning up like a bad penny.I almost feel that I am a part of your trip by now. Its nice to help you along the way as to share your problems is a problem halved. I can well imigine that you would like to stick with the airline you know best. I have flown with so many airlines at this stage even in Russia in the old days.
The following airlines fly into Ireland.
Aer Lingus to Dublin and Shannon from Lax, Chicago, Boston and New York.(Airbus 330)
American Airlines Chicago to Dublin (Boeing 767)and Boston to Shannon (Boeing 757)
Delta Airlines Atlanta (Boeing 767)to Shannon and Dublin
US Airlines Philadelpha (Boeing 767)to Dublin and another flight to Shannon
Continental Airlines(Boeing 757) Newark to Shannon and Dublin
Did I tell you that my son is an avionic technican and does the servicing of airlines here.He has great faith in any of the above as reputable good airlines.
Personally myself I prefer an aisle seat and to fly in direct flights if at all possible.

Sarah

to clarify, I think you should spend a night in NYC. When I go to Hawaii from NYC it really helps tremdously with jet lag if I spend at least a night on the west coast, if only in a SFO or LAX airport hotel. Many frequent visitors to Hawaii from NYC choose this method, but I know you don't always have the time.

Have gone direct to Hawaii out of Newark on an 11 hour plane a couple of times but only choose this when there is a considerable price break.


Just a thought if you have a day to spare.

You can fly into LaGuardia for less hassle than JFK or Newark. ...Continue on to Ireland out of JFK or Newark. JFK or Newark are fine though with direct train access into the city.

AAFrequentFlyer

<b>Sarah</b>,

I still don't understand your reasoning. Sorry

I went to the trouble of actually checking schedules for these flights:

LAX-DUB - non-stop scheduled for 10 1/2 hours. One time check-in, one time security, one time picking up your luggage at the destination. Let's say 3 eextra hours total.
13.5 hours of travel.

LAX-NYC - non stop scheduled for 5 1/4 hours
NYC-DUB - non-stop sheduled for 6 1/2 hours
2 times check-in, 2 times going through security, 2 times picking up your luggage. ~5 hours extra, total.
17 hours of travel.

What are you saving? The NYC-DUB flight is still overnight. Your have to deal with airports and checkins, waste time to waiting for 2 flights, more of a chance for the airlines to misplace your luggage, paying for a hotel, etc...

If you are up in the air for 5 hours already, what's another 5 1/2??? with the other option being that you have to start all over next day and after doing the airport shuffle you will be flying overnight anyway for almost 7 hours?

The return is really a no brainer. It's a day flight all the way. on a non-stop you take-off in the morning and you walk through your house door in LA in the evening of the same day.

Sarah

Its about adapting to the new environment once you are there. Yeah you would think 10 hours sounds sweet but if your body is not catching up with the flight, its just more taxing. You walk around disoriented, I like to stare at my hand...just kidding. Thats my experience with about 10years of flying to Hawaii from NYC.

That night flight to Dublin or SNN can feel like 2 am in the morning EST when you land. Its only a 5 hour flight. I LOVE THAT FLIGHT FOR THAT REASON! Now I lay me down to sleep I raise my head to a castle keep....I digress LOL

Get a hotel sleep for a few hours and then go and enjoy your day. Coming from LA direct I just think you will be more inclined to do a lot more sleeping once there.

Just know my jet lag is worse coming back from Hawaii. Everyone here says that too. Stopping off acclimates me and probably buys me a day or two of being more alert at my destination.

Of course its not a must just something that works for me when flying over 3 or more time zones.

I am also in my 40's not wanting to upset the papaya cart too much. You do more and more for comfort as you age.

its been fun chatting ladies, Melissa5 Let us know what you think.

rkkwan

For the record, CO's EWR-DUB route is on a 762 or 764. Widebody with personal video screen on each seat.

It's EWR-SNN that's on a 752.

But I'd take a non-stop over a stopover, wherever that stop is.

Melissa5

CU: Far from being a bad penny, you're more like a lucky dime. My Irish grandmother used to call them &quot;rusty dimes&quot;, and collected them for us like treasures. For sure you are already a part of my trip and I'm taking you with me!

Thanks for the flight info. I am curious, who looks out for your contrary cow when you are flying?

Well it's so kind of you to halve my problems! Maybe that's what we're all trying to do here on fodors.

Melissa5

Sarah: I do understand your advice. Hubby prefers to get the flying over with, instead of dividing it up. But if it was up to me, I can see how it would be more relaxing to have a 1 or 2 night stopover to break up a long flight. (Of course that adds nights to the vacation too.) Thanks for the suggestions of www.seatguru.com!

Another way to deal with jet lag is not to plan anything too taxing for the first 24 hours after you land.

SHADOW: Good to know you were happy with Aer Lingus as well out of LAX. I need to start checking for flights now, and I'm getting the impression that Aer Lingus flights land first in dublin, let out passengers, and then move on to Shannon? If this is always true, then I need to reverse my trip and go to Dublin first!

For a person prone to claustrophobia, few things are worse than being stuck on the plane on the ground, and you're not allowed to leave because they're just letting out passengers, and the air doesn't work very well when the plane is on the ground, making me feel suffocated...EEEk, I'd rather start in Dublin in that case!

If I start out in Dublin, we'll take a taxi to our hotel and use public transportation. Then we'll get a taxi to the rental car place near the airport, and drive to Trim, not too far, to see Trim Castle and Newgrange. I was going to start in Shannon and end with dublin, but now I'm re-considering.

There is actually one advantage to starting in Dublin. The National Museum and Killmainham Gaol will educate my daughters a bit about the country's history...they are college students and haven't had time to do much travel research.

I'm not too worried about handling Dublin, as we really enjoyed Rome even with the crowds in June. Wonderful city. You just have to get a centrally located hotel and use public transportation or walk.

Then what about flights returning to LAX from Ireland? Does that mean they will also start in dublin, stop in shannon, then fly to LAX? I haven't looked into this yet as I'm trying to decide which airline to book with.

Melissa5

rkkwan: Sorry what's &quot;EWR&quot;? I am gathering info and haven't looked at the airline sites yet.

Thanks everyone for all this advice! It's so nice to hear from experienced Ireland travellers.

Also we don't live in Los Angeles...we have to get a short flight to Los Angeles before we can fly to Ireland, adding to the total flight time! Actually I think when we flew to Italy, I was grateful and eager to get off the plane in Frankfurt, even though it meant another short flight to get to Italy. It meant a chance to stretch my legs a bit!

The longer the flight, usually, you'll get a bigger and better plane...That's why we liked flying direct out of Los Angeles to Frankfurt before we changed flights. It was a nice big plane (Lufthansa.)

But I'm going to look into Aer Lingus. I'll look into anything that sounds like a good suggestion.

For a long flight you really want a plane with 2 aisles, not just 1. Otherwise it's very inconvenient to get up and walk, you're always in the way of the FA's otherwise.

Shadow

Melissa-on my trip to Ireland this past April we flew back SNN (Shannon) to DUB (Dublin) and then on to LAX (Aer Lingus).
If you are not going to be driving that first or even 2nd day I think landing in Dublin is fine..its that some folks want to drive out of Dublin their first time to Ireland (first time driving on the left and sitting in the right)and I just think Shannon is the best airport to drive out of for that first visit...
Shadow

rkkwan

Melissa - Where do you fly out of, actually? If there's non-stop to Chicago, then you can easily take American from there. No need to mess round LAX, a horrible gateway for international flights.

EWR is Newark, the Continental Airlines hub for its flights to Europe.

Aer Lingus flies LAX-DUB only. Therefore, to get to/from Shannon, you add another flight DUB-SNN.

wojazz3

Melissa:

You'll be find landing in London. Since you are in a group, it's probably a better deal (and more convenient) to get a cab to your hotel. You can then either rent from downtown, or take a cab back to the airport. My preference, if this is your first trip, would be to go back to the airport. Your first attempt at driving on the left should not be in Dublin city. It's actually not hard at all on the motorway (other than traffic can be bad), and it's easy to adapt because it's impossible to be on the wrong side of the road on the motorway.

Aerlingus is fine and usually the best deal from LAX. If you fly American, you usually end up connecting to an Aerlingus flight on the east coast. There is one flight from Chicago and one from Shannon. If you have unlimited vacation time you could certainly spend a night or more in NY, but I would rather all of my time off be in Ireland. For the cost of staying a night in NY, you could probably fly business class . rkkwan is right about the Shannon/Dublin.

Bill

waffle18

Melissa,

Another &quot;Bad Penny&quot; turning up here (LoL)! I'm pretty sure I've told you this before but will reiterate...

We rent a car one way to LAX then fly into and out of Dublin. It's great in that is saves a good amount of money on flights and you know you have all your luggage with you when you leave and don't have to worry about it getting lost along the way. National is the best agency to use as they have no problems renting cars from one airport to another. It is usually cheaper to rent out of SD than LA, IIRC, but not a huge amount. Maybe $10 or $20 in the difference. We do the same coming back, which is, truth be told, a bit harder simply because you have the drive after the long flight. Landing during the week day means LA traffic to deal with going home too, about 4pm in the afternoon. Not terrible but not brilliant either. Just FYI.

I know you want to fly into one airport and out the other when in Ireland which is smart considering all you want to. However, I think you will need to pick which way is best for you because you will have Pros and Cons for both.

GmaMcD had family who flew out from LA, landed in Dublin, met up with the rest of the family there but then left out of Shannon. IIRC, they had to get up really early (like 5am) the morning of their returning flight to catch the plane out of Shannon to Dublin then had a long layover (like 3 hours) in Dublin before returning to LAX. I recall this as being what happened due to them having very young children they had to entertain for that peroid of time. At least you won't have to do that! (Maybe GmaMcD will jump in here and tell us how that went for her family...?)

Otherwise, you are looking at landing in Dublin, staying on the plane and getting to Shannon an hour or so later, definitely making the trip longer for you after already being on the plane for 10+ hours. Add to that being claustrophobic... it may not be the best for you.

However, I personally LOVE the flight to Dublin and back on Aer Lingus for the exact reason that Shadow and AAFrequentFlyer mention; it's the shortest flight you can get out of LAX, only one flight so less chance of losing luggage, only one airport to deal with, one set of security and, if you get one of AL newer planes, you have your own TV screen with mulitple channels full of all kinds of movies, games and even TV shows to entertain you on the way. AL staff is friendly and courteous and mostly Irish so you feel like you are on vacation and in Ireland right away. (Love that part, myself.)

Another bit I really like about the AL planes out of LAX is their seating arrangement. If you go to their web site and look up their 330s you will see the seats are arranged 2-4-2. If you book early enough you can reserve window seats for you and hubby and then ones in front or behind you for your daughters. It's only the two of you in your own mini row so you can be window or aisle as you like. (I love being at the window flying in so that when you break out of the clouds you can see the sunrise over Ireland.) If you need to get in or out you are only climbing by or over your hubby, no one else to disturb. Or, you can reserve the middle 4 seats for your whole family and have that whole row to yourselves. You can talk about Ireland, the movies, etc on the way and, again, have only each other to be moving past or over, no strangers to annoy (or annoy you!)

We have flown out of SD through Newark and on to Dublin with Continenal as well. We didn't like that flight due to having to be at Newark airport three hours before the Ireland flight; that was well before 9/11. Also have done the SD to Houston to London to Dublin which I don't recommend unless you really need to save money on the flight. Talk about long! And you are not allowed anything larger than a backback as carry-on for the flight from London to Dublin as the plane is only a commuter with no overhead storage bins. So our usual carry on luggage had to be checked in. Pain in the patoot to say the least.

So, for us, it's Aer Lingus LAX to Dublin and back every time now. Quick, easy and really, really convenient. It more than makes up any money we may have saved flying elsewhere or on other airlines and that includes renting the car SD to LA and back.

Hope to see you soon,
Wendy

wojazz3

Hi Wendy:

I need to respond to your email. I've been just a bit crazy. I promise I will soon . I was really glad to get it.

Bill

waffle18

Whew! Thanks for the short note, Bill. I was starting to think my email either didn't go through or you were sick of hearing from me!

I'm always around these days and having Ireland withdrawls (apparently) so am bugging those who have been to tell me all about their trips. (GmaMcD, I'm lookin' at you! )

Of course, it may be an avoidence technique to keep from trying to put up my own web page about my trip to Ireland this past May... guess I really should just sit down, figure it out and, as the commercials say, just do it.

Looking forward to heairng from you one of these days!

Wendy

wojazz3

I'll NEVER tire of hearing from you Wendy. I do have a webpage coming, I just have to finish typing the words. I can give you a few tips on doing easy versions of a web page. Geocities has some templates that you just plug things in to.

I have a recording session tonight, but I'll write on Friday morning. When are you going next?

Bill