This trip report is a review of Aer Lingus flight EI115 from Dublin Airport (DUB) to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). The trip occurred in August 2022 and the flight was on an A321 NEO with the reviewer sitting in economy. The report is based on the reviewer’s memories and all mistakes are my own which I accept responsibility for. The account is accurate as far as I can remember. Please be aware your travel experience may be different to mine and you should not base any decisions based on what you have read in this report.
The trip started at Dublin Airport, Terminal 2 at bag drop. The queues were not long, and we could use an automatic check-in to check our hold baggage. This worked by placing our luggage on a scale and scanning our boarding pass, the machine then printed a ticket for the bag. This feature was simple to use and made the check-in process a whole lot easier.
Having heard reports of long queues at Dublin Airport earlier in the summer we allowed ourselves some extra time to get through security. However, the queue for security was short and we managed to pass through within 15 minutes. Having passed through security we now had a lot of unexpected extra time to spend so we made our way towards the departure hall.
We headed to a cafe to get some lunch. Burger King was extremely busy with a long queue so instead, we opted to go to a different place for lunch. We ordered a chicken curry which was quite expensive and personally, I found it very spicy. The curry was nice though and kept us going until our meal on the plane. After lunch, we proceeded downstairs to a Starbucks to try out their summer menu. We then waited until pre-clearance to open and had a look around the shops. After a couple of hours, pre-clearance opened, and we headed downstairs.
Pre-Clearance allowed us to essentially arrive in the United States as a domestic arrival. This meant we would not have to go through immigration and customs once we arrived like other international flights would have to do. Pre-clearance was quick to get through and once through we proceeded to our gate.
Boarding commenced in good time with business class being called first. Economy started boarding with the rear rows of the cabin being called first. When our row was called, we presented our boarding passes, walked down the jet bridge and boarded the plane. The economy cabin was full and despite being seated towards the rear of the plane we were forced to place our carry-on baggage in the overhead lockers towards the middle of the plane. As a result, boarding was quite slow. Despite this, we managed to push back in good time and began our taxi to the runway. Within 15 minutes we were in the air and headed toward the United States.
During the flight, there was a broad selection of inflight entertainment. Dinner was served and I received a beef dish served with bread, pasta, White chocolate and Raspberry mousse. This came with a container of water however I had a Fanta as well. Personally, the pasta salad was not my favourite, but the rest of the meal was satisfactory. Since the A321 NEO is a narrow body, it made it difficult to travel up and down the aisle during meal service. This was made difficult by the fact that the front toilets were only to be used by business class.
We arrived at PHL at around 18:30 local time with a flight time of 6 hours, 51 minutes. Having passed through pre-clearance in Dublin Airport we were arriving in the United States as a domestic arrival. Having disembarked the plane, we made our way to baggage collection and after a slight wait, our baggage arrived. We collected our bags and walked out of the terminal to continue our onward travels.
Overall, the trip was great. The economy cabin was surprisingly spacious, and I did not feel cramped on the transatlantic flight. However, trying to pass through the narrow body was at times challenging, especially during meal service. Despite this, all the crew were very friendly and helpful, and I would definitely fly Aer Lingus in the future and would recommend Aer Lingus to anyone looking to fly from Dublin to Philadelphia.
Have you ever flown Aer Lingus or transatlantic in a narrow body? Let me know what your experience was like by leaving a comment.
Happy flying.
Please feel free to contact me at geekofairlines@gmail.com.
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