Aer lingus or virgin atlantic for long haul flight?

[billybobthornton]

Can anyone who has experienced both please let me know the pros and cons of aer lingus vs virgin for long haul flight?

I’ve only ever flown virgin but the cost is around £200 more.

Economy seats.

Thank you!

✈️

No advice OP but I'll be going with Aer Lingus for the first time in October as in our case Virgin was a whopping £1300 more for a family of three. I know llots of people who have flown with them and they are apparently fine. It's fairly no frills and I think the drinks service is less frequent. You have to download an app for the entertainment which I've already done and seems straight forward enough. I just couldn't justify the extra for what is essentially just sitting in a seat. I like Virgin but it's not that special to pay the extra.

I really like Virgin but tbh it’s probably not worth the extra £200 in economy (not that I really ever fly in any other class) but if it were £200 extra for premium economy I’d say go for it but economy these days on all air lines are pretty shite

where to and from?
how longs the flight?

We flew with Aer.Lingus to NY last month. Chosen as it was the cheapest option for our family. Was pleasantly surprised!

7 hour flight. Meal, snack and some drinks included. Entertainment was good, didn't need the app to watch on the screen on the back of the seat, headphones provided. There was some WiFi and an app you could also use if you chose to.

I'd choose them again.

We paid for Premium Economy last year on Virgin Atlantic. Pretty pointless. The seats were still uncomfortable with about an added two millimetres of extra leg room. Not worth it

Are you going to the US via Dublin or Shannon, or direct from UK? The best bit of going through Ireland is the pre clearance which enables you to exit the US airport as a domestic passenger. Absolutely brilliant. I've done it a few times in the past and it can take a little while in Dublin (which I used) to get through US immigration, but you can be lucky too, then it's all done. Given the political temperature in the US at the moment, it's reassuring to know that once cleared in Dublin there are no further checks, so if there is a problem, well in the worst case scenario you will be sent back on the next plane to your departure airport in UK. Ireland does not have any detention facilities! You might think I'm being dramatic but it's one less thing to think of.

I like the transatlantic AL planes since the formation (last time I used it) was 2 4 2 so us two could have two seats together and swopped seats on the return. The service is fine, it's not luxury but it's comparatively good. Staff are courteous and friendly too. Would use them again.

Just my 10c. It's 7 years since I did this journey so maybe others have more up to date info.

I flew Dublin to LA direct and Dublin to Chicago earlier this year with Aer Lingus. Both absolutely fine. Dublin/Shannon preclearance is a godsend if you're coming through Ireland. And I didn't need an app for entertainment, it was plug and play. One of the four flights had the annoying double pronged headphones, the others I just connected my own.

Ah that's interesting about the app not being needed I definitely read it was when we booked! Even better if not 😊

@wimonnzy we fly from Dublin to the US for that preclearance for ease but as you say now with the political landscape being what it is, I think preclearance is an even better option, safer some may say.

We have flown both Virgin and Aer Lingus economy long haul to the US but nowhere else. Honestly there isn't much in it. You still get fed and snacks. The only thing that happened once was they ran out of cans of coke but I did witness the same children going up to the galley a lot to get drinks. We use the airport lounge at Dublin so bring the drinks from there onboard with us.

We took adaptors for the double pronged headphones so we could use our own. That was a few years ago now though so it might have changed or be dependent on the plane you get.

Avoid virgin, never had a good experience. Never flown air lingus

It will be a direct flight from uk to us so we won’t be stopping in Ireland.
Im a nervous flyer so I am very fussy about seating etc. and general flight comfort to keep my anxiety at bay as much as possible. We’ve always flown with virgin in the past and had no issues but the price difference seems silly.