Time for another in a series of Snapshots.
For those of who’ve forgotten…
- Trip Reports – These are full deep-dive reports taking you into the experience and the small things… as well as the big things!
- Snapshots – These are bite-sized reviews that show you the basic product in some nice gentle headlines
So this time looking, we’ll take a look at the Aer Lingus – aboard their short-haul product between Birmingham UK and Dublin
Check-in and Boarding
Check in was conducted online, and paper boarding passes issued at the airport. Security at Birmingham airport could be best described as a mess – as the airport heads into peak bucket and spade traffic season.
Queues everywhere
Boarding of Aer Lingus 263 was no better sadly – mainly as the queue for boarding was lining up well into the halfway load point… before the plane had even landed.
Boarding was via the tarmac, with both forward and aft doors being allowed for boarding
The plane
It’s an Airbus A320 that was operate Aer Lingus 263 to Dublin.
Shot before boarding.
This example is fitted with the standard blue short-haul seats.
The plane was in good condition on boarding, and seemingly clean. The cabin was reasonably well loaded – although the row I was in had the middle seat free… which was nice.
Onboard service
Four cabin crew members were aboard for safety and on-board service. They seemed to do a roaring trade in terms of food and drink (well, mainly drink at this time of the morning). Duty Free sales were a bit more subdued, with only one person emptying the duty-free cart.
That person was me. I wanted something. Don’t judge me.
Wifi
None. Although Long Haul pricing was mentioned in the magazine.
Crew
Much better than last time I was aboard Aer Lingus, with the crew full of smiles. Always nice to see
The flight
With a 45 minute up and down between Birmingham and Dublin, it was a smooth flight, with only a little bit of chop as the plane crossed the low cloud.
Landing and arrivals
The plane docked over at the 300 gates (in the T1/T2 shared area), with only one door opened to for disembarkation.
An Etihad Airbus A330 and Qatar Airways 787 were also in attendance.
The full review soon!
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