Flight-Fight! Aer Lingus EI263 Birmingham to Dublin

Flight-Fight! Aer Lingus EI263 Birmingham to Dublin

• Flight-fight? Fight-FIGHT!
• Round 1: Booking and Check in
• Off to Birmingham Airport
• Round 2: Aer Lingus EI263 Birmingham to Dublin Airport
• Interlude: Spotting in Dublin
• Back to Dublin Airport
• Interlude: Finding the perfect Guinness Mug.
• Round 3: Ryanair FR666 Dublin to Birmingham Airport
• Quickie ride home
• And the final knockout blow goes to…

EI263 Birmingham Airport to Dublin Airport

Aer Lingus, Economy Class, Seat 19A
200 miles flown. Zero Avios Earned.

I headed out to the ramp, and to the back of the plane.

Boarding from the front of the plane…..

And the back…

I was greeted at the entrance, and my boarding pass checked. With that, I was allowed to board the plane.

Normally, I’d expect to see the lovely dark blue seats. However, this plane has a bit of history behind it – namely it previously flew for Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red operation.

Little Red seats.

Little Red seating

Of course, we all know what happened to Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red operation – it ending in the bin as they couldn’t get it to work.

Heading down to my seat, some people weren’t paying attention to the boarding doors – but eventually I found my seat in 19A.

Overhead bin request.

The seat itself… is a bit tight to say the least. The brown leather was in a reasonably condition – but tatty around the edges to say the least.

Seat

Seat-back

In-Flight Entertainment System – long since deactivated.

Boarding itself was a quick affair, and soon the plane was buttoned up – with the seat next to me free. A nicety – don’t get me wrong.

Cabin loaded for the off.

Add some bad bubbles, and it would almost be like a Club Europe service on British Airways.

The safety briefing was given, and the our plane began its short taxi to the runway.

`Waiting Air France Airbus A319

A busy morning line up (front to back) Thomas Cook Airbus, Emirates Boeing 777-300ER, Helvetic Fokker 100, Air France A319, United Airlines Boeing 757-200, Wizz Air Airbus A320.

Two Boeing Dreamliners – A Thomas Cook one, and a Qatar Airways service

Our plane taxied towards the runway, allowing for traffic to pass.

Lufthansa A319 coming in to land.

With the Lufthansa A319 coming in, it was our turn to line up and wait. The engines spooled up for a powerful take off.

South Birmingham.

City Centre to the right 

Breaking through the cloud layer

And into the blue.

Signs your plane has been tan over by IAG: The universal sick-bag, as seen on Iberia and British Airways.

The crew didn’t waste time with commencing on-board service – with less than 40 minutes in the air, there’s not much time to make money aboard the plane.

Let’s remember, this is one of the major things that both Aer Lingus and Ryanair engage in –  making money on the ancillary services.

Because… Bia.

The crew did a pass through the plane – doing quite a reasonable trade first thing in the morning.

However, this crew didn’t seem to want to engage with passengers – more they were there for the sales and safety only. Which, considering how warm Aer Lingus crews are normally is a bit of a disappointment.

The journey was relatively gentle, as we crossed over the Irish Sea, tracking towards Dublin. These flights don’t tend to top more than 24,000ft due to the distance in the air.

Amazingly, there was only a small push for duty-free – the crew was still finishing up the food and drink service at this point. Unsurprisingly, there were no takers for the inflight shopping.

Although I struggle to think of airlines who can dedicate two pages of their Duty Free catalogues to their own airline.

Which was a shame because I tried to flag down a member of the crew so I could add to the model plane fleet. Never mind.

It was a smooth crossing over the Irish sea – always nice. Even some blue sky above, and some clear skies below.

With the clear down in full swing, our Airbus A320 lined up for arrival at Dublin Airport.

First glimpse of the Emerald Isle

Dublin City Centre in the distance and the River Liffey – Surprisingly, I would be going nowhere near there that day.

With the plane lined up, it descended for a spiritely arrival into Dublin Airport.

With a spritely arrival, comes the obvious long taxi back to the terminal area. Nothing unusual for Dublin Airport.

Taxi this way…

The taxi back was quick to start with, before getting snarled up in departing traffic.

Rush hour to leave Dublin Airport…

Eventually, the plane cleared the queue, and headed to the 400 gates at Dublin (or T2).

Air Canda Rouge Boeing 767-300ER and Aer Lingus A330s. 

United Airline Boeing aircraft awaiting their return trips to the USA. 

Heading towards our gate – one of the two Green Spirit A320s at the gate.

With our plane passing various waiting traffic, we finally made our gate.

The bong went off for leaving the plane – I headed to the back of the plane to leave from the rear… well – mainly as I don’t do that most of the time.

The mad rush to leave.

I thanked a member of the cabin crew… and off I went into Dublin’s fair airport.

Overall: A bit disappointing from the usual warm Aer Lingus I used to know aboard EI263 – with the emphasis on sales as opposed to service. Add the ex Virgin Atlantic Little Red plane, and it wasn’t the greatest experience I’ve had with Aer Lingus. A shame.

Next. Because. Planes. Spotting around Dublin Airport.

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