Excellent service, full flight but all went well ; slightly delayed start at Faro but arrived in Cork on time.
The check in process at CDG was absolutely unacceptable. We arrived to the airport 3 hours and 20 minutes before our departure time, waited in line for 1 hour and 30 minutes to check in (despite having checked in online and only needing to check a bag), then were forced to check all of our rolling luggage despite the fact that all were compliant with carry-on requirements. The staff at the desk were rude and there were only two desks open, while eight people were working. The check in desk wasn’t even opened on time (3 hours prior to departure) and there was no communication about when it would open or why there was a delay. We feared missing our flight because the departure board was not updated, so rushed to our gate to board once we were through security because it was 20 minutes prior to departure, only to wait another 30 minutes before boarding even started. Communication was lacking throughout the process. What a horrible end to our trip.
I like Aer Lingus so that is why I’m writing this critique so they can become better. The boarding gate was too small to board properly. Our seats were toward the back of the plane knowing we would be boarding after business class, we moved to that area after business class boarded. An Aer Lingus employee told us we couldn’t stand there. We explained we were the next group to board and wouldn’t even be able to hear when our boarding was called. She didn’t care and was not very professional. The cabin was freezing. I wouldn’t feed my dog the food. We were over an hour late coming into chicago because of weather which can’t be avoided. I asked the crew if they could make an annoucement for before whose final destination is chicago to wait and allow the people with connecting to deplane first. He said there are a lot of people with connecting flights. He said, it doesn’t matter. Well, yes it does. He could have been more considerate of his passengers.
The flight was delayed by about an hour, but the staff and signs at the airport never actually said it was delayed. At the expected boarding time, we were told we would be boarding in about 10 minutes, then 20 minutes passed, and were told again that we would board in about 10 minutes. That happened multiple times, such that "10 minutes" turned into an hour.
The seat spacing was good. The food, not so good... typical airline food. 😕
I would face like to have more selections for entertainments overall it was very good. .
It was fine. We were delayed leaving but a situation of too many planes, not the airlines fault.
At check-in the unmanned machines said QR code was invalid so had to queue for over an hour to check in bags
i used to fly aer Lingus regularly but due to price - poor seating etc i have been using other carriers - i now have aer lingus in my state and the price is always the highest - i have flown to Ireland 11 times in last 24 months and have not used Hartford because of price
Nicest staff I’ve experienced on a plane! Good food, great entertainment, and they gave out little blankets that my kids loved. All in all, great experience.
