Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus runs a three-cabin product across long-haul (A330) and a two-cabin Economy + Aer Space split on short-haul. The Saver / Plus / Advantage Economy fare structure has the most movement: Saver is hand-luggage only and useful only if you are sure of dates and packing small. Plus adds a checked bag and is usually the right answer. Advantage adds flexibility and a second bag. Business Class on the A330 is the standout - lie-flat 1-2-1, dine-on-demand service with proper Irish menu options, and lounge access at DUB and outstation.

The single most useful thing Aer Lingus offers UK and Irish travellers heading to North America is US Pre-Clearance at Dublin and Shannon. You clear US immigration before you board, so you arrive in the US as a domestic passenger - no customs queue at JFK or LAX, just walk off the plane and out. Combined with Global Entry, the Dublin pre-clearance kiosks process you in 2-3 minutes versus the 20-45 minute queues you would face on landing.

For UK passengers it is worth flying London-Dublin (or driving to Dublin from Belfast) just to access this routing. The connection time penalty is more than recovered at the US end.

Aer Lingus connects Dublin (and a smaller schedule from Cork, Shannon, and Belfast) to roughly 80 destinations across Europe, North America, and North Africa. Transatlantic routes serve New York (JFK and Newark), Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and seasonal cities like Hartford and Cleveland. European network covers the major capitals plus second-tier cities (Faro, Malaga, Naples, Verona, Bilbao). Most routes use the A320neo family; A330 on the long-haul.