Dublin Archives - TravelSkills

Routes: Air Canada to SFO/Sacramento, AA, Aer Lingus, Norwegian, WOW, Copa + more

December 1, 2017

Air Canada Express will add new U.S. routes with regional jets. (Image: Air Canada/Skyregional)

In international route news, Air Canada and American have both announced plans to expand service between the U.S. and Canada; Aer Lingus comes to Seattle next year; low-cost carriers Norwegian and WOW will increase capacity to the U.S. in 2018; Copa boosts West Coast frequencies; Lufthansa’s Eurowings subsidiary sets more U.S. routes; and Thomas Cook Airlines comes to New York JFK.

Air Canada has unveiled plans to add new service to six U.S. cities next spring, including San Francisco and Sacramento. All the routes will be operated as Air Canada Express, with 76-seat or 50-seat regional jets. On May 1, the airline will kick off daily flights between San Francisco and Edmonton with a 76-seat aircraft, as well as daily Omaha-Toronto service, using a 50-seat plane. May 17 is the launch date for 76-seat regional jet service between Sacramento and Vancouver as well as daily roundtrips between Baltimore/Washington-Montreal and Pittsburgh-Montreal, both served by 50-passenger aircraft. All those routes will operate year-round. Air Canada will also begin seasonal service on May 17 between Providence and Toronto.

American Airlines is also increasing its transborder service to Canada. It will boost its Phoenix-Edmonton schedule from one flight a day to two effective December 15 to April 2. Next spring, American will launch new daily year-round 737 service from its Chicago O’Hare hub to Vancouver starting May 4, and seasonal daily flights from O’Hare to Calgary June 7-September 4, with an American Eagle/Envoy Air E175. On February 15, American will increase frequencies between New York LaGuardia-Toronto from four a day to five, and on May 4 it will boost its Washington Reagan National-Toronto schedule from two flights a day a day to three. Also on May 4, the airline will lay on a third daily roundtrip between Philadelphia and Ottawa.

Ireland’s Aer Lingus, now a part of International Airlines Group along with British Airways and Iberia, will add a new U.S. West Coast gateway next year when it starts Dublin-Seattle service. The carrier plans a May 18 start for the new route, using a 265-passenger, two-class Airbus A330-200 to operate four flights a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). Passengers flying back to Seattle will be able to pre-clear U.S. Customs at Dublin. Aer Lingus previously announced plans to start Dublin-Philadelphia service four days a week next March.

Norwegian will put larger 787-9s on U.S.-Barcelona routes next year. (Image: Norwegian)

Faced with new and growing competition from British Airways/Iberia’s Level affiliate, Norwegian plans to increase capacity between the U.S. and Barcelona next year by switching to larger aircraft – specifically, from the current 291-passenger 787-8 to the 344-seat 787-9. The changeover will take place in late March, affecting Norwegian’s two weekly flights from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale, three flights a week to Los Angeles and Oakland, and four a week to Newark.

Another low-cost carrier – Iceland’s WOW – will also add more U.S. seats next year, increasing frequencies on its route between Newark Liberty International and Reykjavik from seven flights a week to 13, effective May 29 through September 16. That’s in addition to the airline’s new daily flights out of New York JFK starting April 28.

Panama’s Copa Airlines plans to increase its West Coast capacity this winter. The airline will boost its Panama City-San Francisco schedule from twice-daily service to 18 flights a week starting March 1, and its Panama City-Los Angeles frequencies from three a day to 25 a week effective January 2.

Lufthansa’s Eurowings unit will add U.S. routes in 2018. (Image: Eurowings)

When Lufthansa announced its recently-launched New York JFK-Berlin service (taking over for the defunct Airberlin), it said the route would be turned over next summer to Eurowings, its fast-growing, leisure-oriented subsidiary. Now it has even more transatlantic plans for Eurowings. The carrier will start a new route between JFK and Dusseldorf starting April 28, using a Brussels Airlines A340-300 to operate six flights a week. Lufthansa said Eurowings will also begin Dusseldorf-Miami service three times a week as of May 4, and Dusseldorf-Ft. Myers flights three times a week starting May 3.

Thomas Cook Airlines has launched new service between New York JFK and Manchester, operating three flights a week with an Airbus A330 and fares starting as low as $209 one-way – including a checked bag and in-flight meals. And JetBlue will kick off its fourth Caribbean route from Newark next spring, beginning daily service to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 3.

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Routes: Air France, China Airlines, Aer Lingus, Scoot, Finnair, Seattle seaplanes

October 6, 2017

Air France will start 777 flights to Seattle next year. (Image: Air France)

In international route developments, Air France adds a new West Coast gateway; China Airlines will fly to an unlikely California airport; Aer Lingus adds a new transatlantic route in 2018; Singapore’s Scoot plans its first U.S. route; Finnair returns to Miami; and Seattle-Vancouver travelers could get downtown-to-downtown service.

Air France has scheduled a March 25 start for new U.S. service between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Seattle – a route where its joint venture partner Delta already offers daily year-round service. Air France said it will initially fly the route three days a week, increasing to five days a week from June 19 through September 2, using a 777-200ER with business class, premium economy and regular economy seating. The new flight will depart SEA at 4:30 p.m.

Taiwan-based China Airlines already flies from Taipei to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and now it plans to add a third California gateway starting in the spring of next year. Could it be San Diego? San Jose? Nope. It’s Ontario International Airport, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles – an airport that currently has just 62 flights a day to 15 cities. China Airlines reportedly expects to carry more than 80,000 passengers a year in each direction on the new route, which it will initially serve four days a week with a two-class, 358-seat 777-300ER.

Aer Lingus is adding a Philadelphia route next year. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Aer Lingus, now a sister company of British Airways as part of International Airlines Group, has announced plans to add new U.S. service on March 25 when it will start flying between Dublin and Philadelphia. The Irish carrier will use a 757 to fly the new route four days a week – a route already operated by BA’s joint venture partner American. Aer Lingus’ summer U.S. schedule for 2018 also includes two flights a day from New York JFK, Boston and Chicago; daily service from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Hartford; four flights a week from Orlando; and three a week from Miami.

Scoot, the low-cost affiliate of Singapore Airlines, has opened the books for reservations on its first U.S. route. The carrier plans a December 19 launch of flights from Singapore to Honolulu via a stop in Osaka, Japan. Scoot will use a 787-8 on the route, which it will fly four days a week. The Scoot 787-8 has 335 seats in a two-class configuration, although some economy seats are offered with extra legroom for an additional fee.

Finnair this week resumed seasonal service to Miami International, operating three flights a week to Helsinki with an Airbus A330. The flights will continue through March.

Vancouver’s Harbour Flight Center is right downtown. (Image: Harbour Air)

Business commuters who travel between Seattle and Vancouver could soon have a new flight option that avoids the two cities’ big airports. The Seattle Times reports that a pair of small regional carriers – Kenmore Air and British Columbia’s Harbour Air – are planning to introduce new seaplane service, possibly by the end of this year. The Seattle departures would be from Lake Union, convenient to Amazon headquarters. Harbour Air operates out of downtown Vancouver’s Harbour Flight Center.

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Ten new Europe routes will offer $65 fares

February 23, 2017

Norwegian will add 10 new routes this summer. (Map: Norwegian Air)

In its latest assault on the transatlantic market, Norwegian Air has unveiled details of its much-rumored plans to add a bunch of new low-fare routes to Europe from the northeastern U.S. this summer.

The airline said it will kick off service on 10 new routes, with one-way fares starting at $65, including taxes and government fees. That’s a total of 38 flights a week to four airports in Ireland and one in Scotland, all using the carrier’s new 737 MAX aircraft — a next-generation version of the single-aisle plane that has greater range and fuel efficiency.

The flights will operate out of Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y. (about 60 miles up the Hudson from New York City); and from Providence, R.I. and Connecticut’s Bradley International near Hartford. Destinations include Cork, Shannon and Dublin in Ireland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Edinburgh, Scotland.

A screenshot from Norwegian’s U.S. website today (Feb. 23)

Why the smaller U.S. airports? “These airports offer good access into the New York, Boston and New England areas but carry significantly lower landing charges, allowing Norwegian to offer some truly affordable fares that will allow as many people as possible to fly,” the company said.

Specifically, the schedule calls for service to Edinburgh starting June 15 from all three U.S. airports (daily from Stewart, four a week from Providence and three a week from Bradley); the only transatlantic non-stops into Belfast, beginning July 1 from Stewart (three flights a week) and Providence (two a week); the only transatlantic flights into Cork, starting July 1 from Providence (three flights a week); and service into Shannon and Dublin from Stewart and Providence, also starting July 1. The Shannon flights will operate twice weekly from both airports, while the Dublin schedule includes daily service from Stewart and five a week from Boston.

A Boeing 737MAX in Norwegian livery. (Image: Boeing)

The new flights are already on sale. The $65 one-way fares are subject to capacity controls, and do not include separate charges for a variety of services and amenities.

Norwegian is on a strong growth track. The airline is due to take delivery of nine more 787-9s this year, which it uses on longer-haul U.S. routes, along with half a dozen 737 MAX aircraft. Norwegian already flies to London Gatwick from Oakland, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, and on several other transatlantic routes.

Norwegian is also negotiating with European carriers Ryanair and EasyJet about the creation of a low-cost carrier alliance that would permit passengers to easily connect among their networks.

Soooo dear readers, how do you feel about flying a 737 across the Atlantic? Have you flown Norwegian Air yet? Please leave your comments below.

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Routes: Easier to fly Korean + Norwegian, Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Fiji, more

November 21, 2016

The Delta-KAL codeshare lets you buy a ticket from Delta, but fly KAL (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

More flights, more availability for award flights on Korean Air (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In international route news, Korean Air plans to boost West Coast frequencies next year, Norwegian’s Las Vegas routes will be cut back to a seasonal basis; Aer Lingus adds a new U.S. gateway; Air Canada adds a pair of summer Europe routes from Vancouver; Fiji Airways will boost San Francisco service; two German airlines add new U.S. routes next summer; and ANA will start direct service to Mexico City.

Korean Air’s 2017 schedule plans include more flights to the West Coast, according to Routesonline.com. On March 26, Korean’s San Francisco-Seoul Incheon schedule is tentatively set to increase from seven flights a week to 12, then grow to 13 in June and 14 in September. The carrier will utilize a mix of B747-8 and B777s on the route. KAL likely added more capacity since Singapore Air moved its daily SFO-Seoul nonstop to LA to make way for its nonstop SFO-SIN service. From June through August, the airline will increase Los Angeles-Seoul Incheon frequencies from 14 to 19 flights a week. And Korean’s Seattle schedule shows daily flights during May, September and October, up from five a week for the same months this year. (FYI, Korean Air is a partner in Chase Ultimate Rewards- many readers love to unload their points to fly KAL in first or business class because space is frequently available. Get a new card, earn the bonus, and redeem away!)

Don’t miss: Trip Report – First class on Korean Air Boeing 747-8 from SFO

Here’s how TravelSkills reader JS flew KAL in first class by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to Korean Air SkyPass. He told us: “As you probably know it’s incredibly easy to find first class space on Korean since so few people in the U.S. either have those miles or know about the transfer process from Chase. In addition, even though Delta and Korean are both members of SkyTeam, Delta members cannot redeem their miles for first class on other SkyTeam carriers.”

Norwegian Air Shuttle has been growing at Las Vegas, but it has now decided that its four routes to Europe will operate seasonally instead of year-round. Why? Because it discovered this year that sometimes Las Vegas is just too hot in the summer for its planes to take off, so they’ve had to sit on the ground until temperatures dropped. The cutoff temperature for the airline’s 291-seat Dreamliners is 104 degrees, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, so for 2017 the airline will suspend its service to London, Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen from late March until November. The publication said the airline is studying the possibility of rescheduling summer departure times to early morning or late in the day for 2018.

Aer Lingus is adding a Miami route next year. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Ireland’s Aer Lingus will add Miami as its newest U.S. gateway next year. The airline set a September 1 start for the new service, operating three times a week between Miami and Dublin with a 266-seat A330-200. Aer Lingus also said it will boost its Los Angeles schedule from the current four flights a week to daily departures from May 26 through the end of August; increase Chicago O’Hare service from 12 flights a week to twice-daily departures beginning May 26; and add a fourth weekly flight from Orlando effective March 14.

Air Canada will give travelers new options to Europe from Vancouver next summer. The carrier said it will start daily flights from Vancouver to Frankfurt on June 1, using a 787-8 with business class, premium economy and regular economy seating; and three flights a week from Vancouver to London Gatwick with an Air Canada Rouge 767-300ER with premium and regular economy seating.

Fiji Airways is boosting capacity to San Francisco in 2017. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fiji Airways must be doing well with its San Francisco-Nadi, Fiji route, because it plans to increase capacity next summer. Instead of operating two flights a week for eight weeks, it will keep them going from June 1 through late October, and will add a third weekly frequency from June 19 to August 8 – and it will upgrade the aircraft it uses from an A330-200 to a -300.

New travel options to Germany next year include service from Seattle to Cologne and from Pittsburgh to Frankfurt. The Seattle route be flown by Lufthansa Group subsidiary Eurowings, with three A330-200 flights a week operating seasonally from July 11 through October. And the Pittsburgh-Frankfurt route will be flown by Condor Airlines, with two 767 flights a week from June 23 through September.

Chris McGinnis inspecting ANA's maintenance hangar at Haneda Airport on the day before the 787 was grounded. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Chris McGinnis inspecting a Boeing 787 at Tokyo Haneda (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Want to get from Mexico to Japan without flying through the U.S. or Canada? Japan’s All Nippon Airways announced plans to begin the first non-stop service between the countries, with daily flights from Tokyo Narita to Mexico City beginning February 15. It will be ANA’s longest non-stop flight, and will use a 787-8 Dreamliner with business class and economy seating.

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Routes: SFO, Seattle, Oakland-Rome, JFK, Boston, Montreal, Detroit

September 30, 2016

China Eastern is using an A330 for its new San Francisco flights. (Image: Airbus)

In international route developments, Norwegian hints at Oakland-Rome nonstop; China Eastern adds San Francisco service; China’s Xiamen Airlines comes to Seattle; Delta will add new Europe routes from the East Coast next spring; Air Canada plans a very long haul from Montreal; and Aeromexico will begin a Detroit route.

Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines, a member of Delta’s SkyTeam global alliance, this week kicked off new service to San Francisco from Kunming – the capital of Yunnan Province in southwest China – via a stop in Qingdao, a port city in Shandong Province. China Eastern will use an Airbus A330 and will operate the flight three times a week, with SFO departures on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

A Xiamen Airlines 787 now flies to Seattle from Xiamen (Image: Boeing)

A Xiamen Airlines 787 now flies to Seattle from Xiamen and Shenzen (Image: Boeing)

Another new China route also opened up this week: Xiamen Airlines started service to Seattle from its hometown of Xiamen, operating via a stop in Shenzen. It’s the airline’s first U.S. route (although it also flies to Vancouver) and the first non-stop service between Shenzen and the U.S. The carrier’s future plans include service from Xiamen to Los Angeles and Fuzhou-New York, officials said. Xiamen has inked a partnership pact with Alaska Airlines for easy connections at SEA. It’s also a member of the Delta-led SkyTeam Alliance. The carrier will use a 787 Dreamliner on the route, which operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

A new nonstop between the Bay Area and Rome? Hope so! (Photo: Pixabay)

It was really big news when Norwegian Air announced new Oakland-Barcelona and Oakland-Copenhagen nonstops starting next spring. When TravelSkills attended the announcement event at Oakland’s Jack London Square, we snagged a few minutes with Norwegian Air execs. They told us that since they’ve received such a positive reception in the Bay Area, the carrier will soon announce nonstops between Oakland and Paris…. AND that the carrier is looking to add Oakland-Rome and Oakland-Madrid, too! Stay tuned for more details.

Delta will add some new service to Europe next spring. On May 25, Delta will begin daily flights from Boston to Dublin as well as daily service from New York JFK to Lisbon. At the same time, Delta will resume daily flights between JFK and Berlin. The Dublin and Lisbon routes will use 164-seat 757-200s, while the Berlin service will be operated with a 225-seat 767-300, Delta said. Meanwhile, Delta also announced an expansion of its six-month-old code-sharing partnership with India’s Jet Airways. In addition to the existing connections at Amsterdam to Delhi and Mumbai, starting October 30 Delta flyers will also be able to connect via Paris Charles de Gaulle to Jet Airways flights to Mumbai and beyond to 20 other Indian destinations. Delta joint venture partner Air France KLM is also a party to the code-sharing deal with Jet.

Air Canada will put a 787 onto its new Montreal-Shanghai route. (Image: Air Canada)

A new route between North America and China will begin on February 16, when Air Canada is due to begin flying once a day from Montreal to Shanghai with a 787-8. It will be Air Canada’s first use of a 787 out of Montreal. Onward connections at Shanghai will be available from Star Alliance partners Air China and Shenzen Airlines, Air Canada said. The carrier plans to begin another ultra-long-haul starting July 1, with three non-stop flights a week between Toronto and Mumbai, using a 787-9. Air Canada hasn’t served that route since 1991. Also on tap for the Canadian carrier: Daily Vancouver-Taipei 787 flights beginning June 8, and three 767-300ER flights per week between Vancouver and Nagoya, Japan, starting June 1.

Aeromexico will add a new U.S. route starting January 10, when it begins flying between Detroit and Monterrey, Mexico. The carrier will use an Embraer 190 for the daily service.

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Routes: Finnair to SFO, Delta, Virgin Australia, Austrian, AA, SAS + more

September 22, 2016

Finnair will use an A330 on its San Francisco route. (Image: Finnair)

In international route news, Finnair will add San Francisco service next year; Delta expands sales of Comfort+ seats and Caribbean code-sharing, Virgin Australia will revive Melbourne service, Austrian Airlines is coming to Los Angeles, American suspends some Europe flights, SAS comes to Miami Aer Lingus adds a pair of gateways, United code-shares to India, and a Mexican carrier adds three U.S. routes.

Finland’s national carrier is coming to San Francisco next year. Finnair said it will operate seasonal SFO-Helsinki flights three times a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) from June 1 through September 30, using an A330. The new service will be a part of the transatlantic joint venture that includes Oneworld partners American, British Airways and Iberia as well as Finnair. “Thanks to Helsinki’s geographical location, Finnair’s new northern route to San Francisco will offer competitive travel times for customers from Scandinavia, the Baltics, Russia as well as from many European cities,” a spokesperson said. Finnair currently flies to New York, Chicago and Miami. At first glance, SFO-HEL roundtrip economy fares appear to be in the steep $1,900 range, but we’ll be on the lookout for lower introductory promo fares.

Delta said it has expanded the sale of its extra-legroom Comfort+ economy seating to a number of international routes, including: from the U.S. and Canada to Latin America and the Caribbean (except Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile); between North America and Asia-Pacific destinations (except China and Hong Kong); and on flights within the Asia-Pacific region (except China and Hong Kong). Last fall, Delta created a new fare category for Comfort+ and started selling it for travel within the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, Delta has expanded its agreement with Caribbean-based Seaborne Airlines to allow single-ticketing for connections through San Juan to St. Croix, Anguilla and Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands; and between St. Thomas and St. Croix.

The new business class on a Virgin Australia 777-300. (Image: Virgin Australia)

Virgin Australia has set a launch date of April 4, 2017 for a revival of service between Los Angeles and Melbourne. On the same date, it will trim LAX-Brisbane schedules from seven flights a week to six. The carrier also flies from LAX to Sydney. Its transpacific operations are part of a joint venture with Delta. Virgin said it will fly the LAX-Melbourne route five times a week (no westbound departures on Wednesdays or Mondays), using a 777-300ER.

Los Angeles will get another new international route beginning April 10, 2017, when Austrian Airlines plans to launch up to six flights a week between LAX and Vienna, using a 777. The 12 and a half hour seasonal flight will depart Los Angeles daily except Sundays at 3:05 p.m. Austrian, a part of the Lufthansa Group, also flies to New York JFK, Newark, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Miami.

American Airlines plans to cut back its international schedule out of Philadelphia. After ending its Philadelphia-Brussels service last month, American now says its seasonal PHL-Zurich service, which ends September 30, will not be revived next year; and its year-round PHL-Frankfurt flights will now operate seasonally, with no service from October 30 through April 5. AA also plans to drop its twice-weekly Philadelphia-Halifax flights in January. Elsewhere, American will suspend Chicago O’Hare-Paris CDG flights from December 5 through December 13, and from January 10 to March 25; and its New York JFK-Manchester flights from January 9 through March 29.

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On September 28, SAS is introducing new non-stop service from Miami International to Copenhagen and Oslo. The carrier will offer flights to Copenhagen on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; and to Oslo on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Aer Lingus is adding two U.S. routes this month. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Aer Lingus this month introduced new daily year-round service between Dublin and Newark Liberty International, using an Airbus A330. And on September 28, the Irish carrier is slated to inaugurate a new route linking Hartford, Connecticut with Dublin, operating four days a week (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday) with a 757.

United flyers will get a new option for travel from the West Coast to India next month. United is putting its code onto Star Alliance partner Air Canada’s new Vancouver-Delhi seasonal service, which will operate from October 20 through April 6.

Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet will expand its transborder network this fall with a trio of new U.S. routes. On October 20, it will inaugurate twice-daily service between Mexico City and Los Angeles, followed on November 10 by a daily Las Vegas-Mexico City roundtrip and on November 17 by two daily Mexico City-Chicago O’Hare flights. The airline will use Airbus A320s for all the flights.

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Trip Report: Aer Lingus, Economy class SFO-Dublin-Edinburgh

June 14, 2016

Taking off from SFO on Aer Lingus’ big green plane to Dublin (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Earlier this year, I decided to take a trip in April to visit a friend in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was working with a minimal budget and was excited to discover that one of the cheapest economy fares ($1,199 RT) from San Francisco to Edinburgh was offered by Aer Lingus. I had never flown with Aer Lingus before and jumped on the opportunity since I’d heard so many positive things about their service. When I told Chris about my upcoming trip, he mentioned that several readers enjoyed the Trip Report he wrote on Aer Lingus’ new business class, but we didn’t have a trip report on the economy experience. So, I decided to document my first trip on that big green plane!

(Note: For this Trip Report, we asked our amazing TravelSkills office manager Kimberly Grimes to write about her Aer Lingus flight to/from Scotland. Enjoy! –Chris)

Aer Lingus is even green(ish) on the inside (Photo: Kim Grimes)

As I boarded the Aer Lingus A330-200 at SFO, I was politely greeted by all of the crew members and directed to my seat above the wing. When I got there, a pillow, warm fleece blanket, and complimentary earbuds were waiting to help me enjoy the in-flight entertainment.

Economy class seats on Aer Lingus A330 are arranged 2-4-2 (Chris McGinnis)

There was also a small envelope for donations to UNICEF, Aer Lingus’ charity partner for nearly 20 years, which came in handy for getting rid of spare coins on my flight back.

32 inches of pitch in economy class is plenty of space. (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Once settled into my window seat I found the 32” pitch to be more than enough for my 5’4” self and I was comfortable even with a larger person seated next to me. Before takeoff, I flipped through Aer Lingus’ magazine Cara (“Friend” in Irish Gaelic). I usually get through half of the in-flight magazine before putting it away to watch takeoff, but on my flight to Dublin I only had the chance to flip through some photos as we happily departed almost 10 minutes early. I’m impressed that Aer Lingus operated with such timeliness during my entire journey with them. On my flight home, we landed at SFO 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

Perfect pasta and a really nice salad on the dinner flight over the pond. (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Dinner was served about two hours into the flight with a choice of beef stew or creamy spinach pasta. I don’t eat beef so I went with the pasta, but my seatmate got the stew and enjoyed it. I don’t usually expect much from pasta on airplanes, but the sauce in the dish was delicious and the pasta was cooked perfectly.

The salad is a nice low-carb option (Photo: Kim Grimes)

My meal also came with a light salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and a bit of feta which I enjoyed after my pasta. It was fresh, tasty, and delivered an extra bit of hydration that I really needed. The pasta had enough carbs for me so I didn’t eat the dinner roll, but I did save room for the dessert of berries and light whipped cream.

Plenty of good films, TV shows and music to keep me occupied (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I tried to doze off after dinner, but I spent most of the flight exploring the entertainment system. I was thoroughly distracted with the selection of over 50 films, a variety of TV shows, and an extensive list of music albums, podcasts, and radio stations to indulge in. Wi-fi was also available on the flight at the price of $9.95 for an hour or $18.95 for a full flight pass but the entertainment system was enough to keep me from boredom. When my eyes got too tired to watch any more movies, I browsed the music selection and made a playlist perfect for sleeping. I don’t think I actually slept much, but meditating to the RnB and soft rock sounds for a few hours was nice relaxation.

Good morning! Breakfast is served– with tea (Photo: Kim Grimes)

The cabin crew served morning snack boxes and warm beverages about an hour before we landed in Dublin. Inside was a ham and cheese croissant and a cup of strawberry yogurt. I wasn’t in the mood for yogurt, but I enjoyed the croissant. It was simple, yet comforting and I really appreciated the warm food and tea in the morning.

I’ve never been a fan of propellor planes, but this one changed my mind (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I was not at all excited about taking a propeller plane to connect from Dublin to Edinburgh. I’ve had an aversion to propeller planes since I rode on one as a kid flying over Alabama. It was like a loud, tumultuous rollercoaster that my parents couldn’t wait to get off of. My journey with Aer Lingus was nothing like that. The flight was operated by Irish regional airline Stobart Air (formerly Aer Arann) and had two Aer Lingus crew members on board. These crew members were exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable, reassuring some other nervous passengers and myself that we’d have a safe ride on the ATR 72-600.

I was particularly impressed with how one crew member successfully comforted a terrified, screaming child during the flight by assuring her that the noise and extra turbulence was just part of what makes propeller plane flight special. The entire experience was so stress-free that on the way back I felt no anxiety hopping on the propeller plane, even with someone obnoxiously joking that our plane was probably going down.

(Photo: Aer Lingus)

On my return flight from Dublin to SFO, I got a special treat for my in-flight meal. Before my trip, Chris told me about some upgraded meals that Aer Lingus offers to economy passengers and asked me to try out the service (which he generously paid for 🙂 ). These meals are part of Aer Lingus’ Bia Pre-Order service and have been created by their executive chef and Irish chef Clodagh McKenna.

Passengers who would like to enjoy these meals must pre-order them online at least 24 hours before the flight. Meal options include Roast Chicken with a Twist ($25), Melt-in-the-mouth Salmon ($25), and Succulent Steak ($28). The chicken and steak options are similar to entrees served in business class, but I was really curious about the salmon and decided to try that.

Ordering my meal was as simple as choosing my seat through the “Manage Booking” section of Aer Lingus’ website. My credit card was charged immediately after ordering and a salmon meal voucher was promptly e-mailed to me. The e-mail provided instructions to print the voucher in full and bring it on board with me to submit to the cabin crew. It didn’t specify when I should submit the voucher, so I asked a crew member at the door as I boarded and she took it right away.

My special meal as presented by FA– mouthwatering salmon and wine (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I got settled in my seat and was really absorbed in watching a television show on my laptop when a crew member came by with some food on trays and asked if I ordered a special meal. I was really caught off-guard since the meal service hadn’t been announced yet, but he handed me a nice tray with my salmon meal on it and offered me some wine.

There was nobody sitting next to me on this flight, but I wonder how people would have reacted to my special meal service if the plane was more crowded. I was prepared for a few envious glares and questions about why I got such a fancy meal when others did not. As the distinct scent of salmon floated around my section, I looked around to see if anyone was really noticing. The cabin was nearly empty and the few passengers near me were too caught up in their own experience to show much interest in what I was eating so I was able to enjoy my meal without judgement.

The mouthwatering salmon was perfectly prepared- but I wondered what other passengers were thinking! (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I love salmon, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from salmon on an airplane. As I took my first bite, any negative preconceived notions I had about “airplane salmon” went away. It was delicious and the texture was perfect – not too dry or rubbery. It wasn’t extravagant with flavors, but it was well done and exceeded my expectations. The potatoes that accompanied the salmon were less impressive. They were very bland, but also too oily for my taste. I ate all of them, but they were definitely my least favorite part of the entire meal.

My favorite part of the meal (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Surprisingly, the real highlight of the meal for me was the salad of aubergine, roasted pepper, and sunblushed tomato with a harissa and lemon dressing. The dressing had the perfect kick and reminded me of homemade cocktail sauce.

Yogurt with fruity chunks! (Photo: Kim Grimes)

For dessert, I had a sweet mango and passionfruit yogurt (instead of the listed raspberry pannacotta) with real chunks of fruit in it. Delicious! Plus, a lovely chocolate truffle by Irish chocolatier Lily O’Brien. I couldn’t help but eat them both!

I was so full from my meal that I could barely even look at the farewell chocolate bar given to me by the crew right before landing at SFO. My Bia pre-ordered meal was a great way to have a bit of extra fun on my flight home and add a little luxury to my first trip with Aer Lingus.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Routes: San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, LAX, Salt Lake City, Denver + more…

May 10, 2016

There are lots of developments in international services this week. United started a new China route; Air Canada kicks off a San Jose route; European carriers begin new transatlantic service from LAX, Oakland, Salt Lake City and Denver; a Chinese carrier sets the date for new Seattle flights; Chicago gets a new transpacific option; and a South American carrier comes to Washington D.C.

United Airlines on Sunday started its newest transpacific route, linking its San Francisco hub with Xi’an, a city of 8 million in central China; it’s the only non-stop service between the U.S. and Xi’an. United will fly the seasonal route three times a week – through October 27 – using a 787 Dreamliner. Westbound flights depart SFO on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:25 p.m. The westbound flight takes a little over 13 hours.

Low-cost European carrier Norwegian is set to begin its previously announced Oakland-London Gatwick service on May 12. The carrier will use a 787-8 with economy and premium seating, offering non-stop service three times a week. Norwegian’s initial fares on the route started at $299. On May 10, Norwegian increases Los Angeles-London Gatwick service from three flights a week to four.

On May 9, Air Canada kicks off new non-stop service out of Mineta San Jose International Airport to Vancouver. The Canadian carrier will offer two daily roundtrips using CRJ705 regional jets with 10 seats in business class and 65 in coach. Speaking of Vancouver, Air Canada recently announced it will begin a new ultra-long-haul route there on October 20 with non-stop service to Delhi, India operating four days a week with a 787-9 Dreamliner.

This is the Captain Kirk seat– one of the two best seats in Aer Lingus biz class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Aer Lingus last week kicked off Los Angeles-Dublin flights — the first of three new U.S. routes it will be adding this summer. The year-round service from LAX operates four times a week, using an Airbus A330-200. Later this year, the Irish carrier plans to begin new daily flights from Newark starting September 1, and new service from Hartford in late September.

Instead of resuming seasonal service this year between Amsterdam and Dallas/Ft. Worth, KLM opted instead to go with Salt Lake City, where it started flying last week. Its transatlantic joint venture partner Delta also serves the SLC-Amsterdam route. KLM started off with twice-weekly flights Thursdays and Saturdays, and will add a Monday departure on July 4. It’s using an A330-200 on the route. KLM also plans to add seasonal Miami-Amsterdam service in late October.

May 11 is the launch date for new Lufthansa service between Denver and its Munich hub; the German carrier already flies from Denver to Frankfurt. The new Munich service will operate five days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday), using an Airbus A330—300 with four classes of service, including premium economy, for the 10-1/2 hour flight. The eastbound flight leaves Denver at 4:05 p.m. Easy connections to the new route are available through Lufthansa’s Star Alliance partner United, which has a hub at DEN.

China’s Xiamen Airlines, a member of Delta’s SkyTeam global alliance, has started taking bookings for its new Seattle-Xiamen route, which will begin September 26. The new service will operate three days a week via an intermediate stop in Shenzen, using a 787-8.

Taiwan’s EVA Air plans to launch new service on November 2 from Taipei to Chicago O’Hare, flying the route four times a week with a 777. EVA also will increase its Taipei-New York JFK schedule effective October 3 from the current 10 flights a week to twice-daily service.

A LATAM 767-300 with the carrier’s new livery. (Image: LATAM)

South America’s LATAM Airlines last week started its newest U.S. route, linking Washington Dulles with Lima, Peru – the only non-stop service between the two capital cities. LATAM will initially offer three flights a week, using a 767-300 with business class and regular economy seating.

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Trip Report: Aer Lingus business class meals best in class

May 26, 2015

Surprise hot samosas on Aer Lingus (Chris McGinnis)

Back in March, Aer Lingus invited TravelSkills along for the maiden voyage of a big green A330 outfitted with its new lie-flat business class seat and enhanced service. In our first Trip Report you find all you need to know about the hard product— what the best seats are, inflight entertainment, sleep quality, etc.

But today, let’s take a look at the food service, which I must say was some of the tastiest, most satisfying and beautifully presented business class fare I’ve had in a while. Highlights include big healthy portions, a nice express option for those who want to sleep, and some off-the-menu surprises, like the warm samosas pictured above.

NEWS: Aer Lingus to be taken over by British Airways parent IAG (and likely switch to Oneworld from the Star Alliance)

There’s very little negative news to report here… about the only thing that went wrong with the meal service was that hot towels came after appetizers were served… in both directions. Seemed odd to touch food with airport- dirty hands… but anyway…

Let’s take a look! First, the SFO-DUB leg (about 9.5 hours) was on a Friday evening (departing at 6:30 pm) and the mood was festive because many of us were flying to Dublin for St Patrick’s Day weekend. So the pre-flight champagne flowed freely.

Preflight champers on Aer Lingus (Chris McGinnis)

But I wanted to get some sleep since I had meetings planned as soon as we landed, so I opted for an orange juice and the express meal, which was prompt, beautiful and delicious. That meant I got several hours of good sleep on the lie-flat seat.

Service was excellent with some nice touches that I noticed. For example, before placing a white linen table cloth on the tray table, busy flight attendants would ask, “May I dress your table?” or before pouring wine, “Would you like to try the Valpolicella before I pour?” This was all the more impressive because there were only two flight attendants hustling to serve the sold out business class section (23 seats). What was even nicer is the kind way that they worked together, saying things to fellow attendants like, “Can you fetch another bottle of fizzy water from the galley, darling.”

Best sure to read the first Trip Report about this Aer Lingus flight.

Beef and eggplant canapes provide a nice start to meal service on SFO>DUB Aer Lingus departing 6:30 pm (Chris McGinnis)

Express meals served on a single tray, all at once- this is grilled oregano marinated chicken in alfredo sauce (Chris McGinnis)

A fine selection of warm bread, oregano marinated chicken breast with a tomato alfredo sauce with a nice touch- sprigs of fresh oregano and ravioli.

All food served on Wedgewood China (Chris McGinnis)

Hefty wedges of cheese, fresh fruit and Carr’s crackers- express meal gets this or dessert (Chris McGinnis)

One of the best parts about a trip to Ireland are opportunities to taste the country’s fine cheeses- flights on both directions provided several.

Full dinner menu on Aer Lingus SFO>DUB (Chris McGinnis)

After my express dinner, I slept soundly for a few hours and awoke to a light continental breakfast (Bread, fruit, yogurt, coffee/tea) just before landing.

Nice white china, and robust dark roast coffee in the morning (Chris McGinnis)

Continental breakfast lacked eggs or meat, but was fine considering the ample dinner service (Chris McGinnis)

Here’s what the business class section looks like without passengers (Chris McGinnis)

Okay, so that concludes the SFO-Dublin portion of the trip. Now let’s fly back to SFO and dine exquisitely!

On the return DUB-SFO flight, I went to the Aer Lingus business class lounge for a look and a bite (Chris McGinnis)

A nice bright business class lounge at Dublin airport (Chris McGinnis)

A full selection of breakfast breads at the Aer Lingus business class lounge (Chris McGinnis)

Fruit and yogurt and a full bar for breakfast (Chris McGinnis)

Okay, let’s get onboard for the 11-hour flight back to SFO!

Aer Lingus champagne pre-flight (Chris McGinnis)

Hot samosa surprise! Flight attendants passed these around to the delight of hungry passengers. Went well with Champagne! (Chris McGinnis)

More canapes! (Chris McGinnis)

Smoked chicken salad beautifully presented (Chris McGinnis)

Smoked chicken salad beautifully presented kicks off this food fest of a flight (Chris McGinnis)

The beef was beautiful, but regrettably overcooked and tough but the mushrooms, beans and potato and bernaise were tasty (Chris McGinnis)

Four choices for lunch. Nice (Chris McGinnis)

A french lemon tart served with berry coulis. Perfection! (Chris McGinnis)

A french lemon tart served with berry coulis for dessert. Perfection! (Chris McGinnis)

Still room for cheese after all that? Barely! (Chris McGinnis)

Still room for cheese after all that? Barely! The dark one is Irish Cheddar made with Guinness, natch (Chris McGinnis)

After an 11 hour flight, there's room for more. This is a nice cold beef open faced sandwich served as we flew over Mt Shasta (Chris McGinnis)

After an 11 hour flight, there’s room for more. This is a nice cold beef open faced sandwich served with tart grainy mustard as we flew over Mt Shasta (Chris McGinnis)

I’ve never seen allergy information presented on a business class menu (Chris McGinnis)

This is Part 2 of our Trip Report on Aer Lingus SFO-DUB. Best sure to read the first Trip Report about this Aer Lingus flight.

–Chris McGinnis

Disclosure: I was a guest of Aer Lingus on this roundtrip flight.

Delta bumps up summer seats to Europe

April 30, 2015

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s new 50,000 mile bonus + Easy 1,000 AAdvantage miles + The most outrageous luxury suites in the sky +Virgin’s new LAX Clubhouse!

Delta’s summer schedule includes more flights to Rome and other European cities. (Image: Jim Glab)

Delta has unveiled plans for a seasonal summer expansion of its routes to Europe.

This additional capacity should make it somewhat easier to find award seats across the pond…right? At least we can hope so. How’s your luck been so far?

Among the additions:

To Italy, Delta will resume daily Detroit-Rome service on May 2 with a 767-400, and will add a second Atlanta-Rome flight May 23, operating up to six times a week with a 767-300. (Delta also flies to Rome from New York JFK.) June 2 is the relaunch date for daily summer flights from Atlanta to Venice, using a 767-300; and starting June 16, Delta will lay on six 757-200 flights a week between New York JFK and Pisa, Italy. The carrier will supplement its current JFK-Milan service starting June 17 with a daily 767-300 flight from Atlanta to Milan.

Daily service from Delta’s Salt Lake City hub to Amsterdam is slated to begin May 2, with a 210-seat 767-300, operated with joint venture partner KLM.

New: United’s sweet 50,000-mile bonus is back

Effective May 2, Delta will resume daily New York JFK-Shannon, Ireland service using a 757-200.

May 2 is also the starting date for daily service from JFK to Reykjavik, Iceland, with a 234-seat 757-300; now in its fifth year, the Iceland service will continue through September. (A new option for Iceland trips is that country’s ultra-low-cost carrier Wow Air, with Boston-Reykjavik fares starting at $99.)

Trip Report: Aer Lingus NEW business class

March 25, 2015

A wide variety of seat types in the new Aer Lingus business class cabin (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

A wide variety of seat types in the new Aer Lingus business class cabin- see the shamrock on the bulkhead? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last week I had the opportunity of a lifetime: Fly to Ireland in Aer Lingus’s new lie-flat business class and not just watch, but be part of Dublin’s huge St Patrick’s Day Parade. My cup runneth over!

So let’s jump right in and take a look inside that big green plane.

Last month Aer Lingus deployed its new business class product on the lucrative San Francisco-Dublin route– the longest flight in its system at around 10-11 hours. While the airline has yet to confirm this, I’ve heard that New York-Dublin is the next route to get the new seats. There are currently four updated aircraft in operation. There should be a total of eight flying by May 13. A spokesperson told TravelSkills: “San Francisco is the only route at the moment that has the new business class exclusively. The other aircraft are rotated amongst the gateways, so it varies.”

Aer Lingus left SFO-DUB during the dark days of the 2009 recession, but came back last spring at the urging of the many Bay Area businesses that run European operations out of Dublin– such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Salesforce. The companies were well represented by all the logos I saw on briefcases and backpacks in the business class section.

Wi-fi is free for business class passengers on Aer Lingus- just enter the code on the back of this card (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There are three things that stand out as remarkable on these A330 flights: First is the fast, easy and FREE wi-fi system. I was amazed at how easy and reliable this system was– if any of you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you will have already seen many of the photos below because I was able to upload large files with relative ease. I could even watch short videos from up there.

Second, I was very impressed with the inflight dining. A diverse menu was beautifully presented in hefty portions and service was spot on. We’ll present that in a future post. Stay tuned.

Third, the new business class section is one of the most unusual staggered layouts I’ve seen, which means there are both winners and losers when it comes to seats. Keep reading and I’ll show you how to choose a winner.

How to find “hidden” hotel discounts

I was a guest of Aer Lingus on this flight but had I paid, business class would have run from a low of about $4,500 to a high of around $7,000 round trip depending on time of year and advance purchase. The lowest economy class round trips run at around $1,000.

As we boarded, flight attendants greeted us with an enthusiastic “Welcome to our new business class!” It was clear that they are as excited about the new product as passengers are– later in the flight, one told me that this was her first time in the new cabin.

My first impression of the cabin is that it looks a lot like JetBlue’s new Mint class cabin— and that should be no surprise because both use seats made by Thompson Aero in Ireland. One of the first things I noticed were a couple of those lone “Captain Kirk” seats that everyone covets in JetBlue Mint class.

Note the unusal staggered layout and the seat consoles (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Note the unusual staggered layout and the seat consoles (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Let’s look at the unusual layout of the A330-200 business class cabin. (A330-300 includes a 1A.)

|2A |D G H||K

3A| D G| | K |

|4A |D G H||K

5A| D G| | K |

|6A |D G H||K

The | symbol represents a nice wide console for storage and protection from aisle activity

Best: 3K, 5K (These are the Captain Kirk seats)

Second best: 3A, 5A (Windows/centers with console on aisle side)

Best for companions 2HK, 4HK, 6HK (but less storage space)

Exposed to aisle, limited storage: 2AG, 3D, 4AG, 5D, 6AG

This is the Captain Kirk seat-- one of the two best seats in biz class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This is the Captain Kirk seat 3K– one of the two best seats in biz class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Captain Kirk seat from the back (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Captain Kirk seat 3K from the back (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Note the staggered layout of the A seats- some exposed by console, some not (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Note the staggered layout of the A seats- some protected from aisle by console, some not (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Note how passenger is exposed to aisle without console (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Note how passenger is exposed to aisle without console in 4G (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

What else did I notice about the seat and cabin? First off, everyone was in a great mood— happy to be in the new biz class and thrilled to be headed to Dublin on the Friday before St Patrick’s Day.

Flight attendants passing champagne, water and juice in turquoise and green uniforms seem as excited and festive as passengers. (I’ll cover the inflight food & drink service in another post… stay tuned) Related: Inflight food report for Aer Lingus

Plenty of overhead bin space in business class (Chris McGinnis)

The new seat offers big (16″) and bright HD entertainment screens from Panasonic with touch screen controls. However, the choice of movies and TV shows was rather thin. Unusual: When taking off from San Francisco, the inflight moving map showed traffic on terrestrial freeways.

Freeway traffic monitored on inflight maps (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

For sleeping the seat was excellent and I dozed off for a few hours during the over night SFO>DUB flight.

The seat is nice and long, fitting my 6′ frame, but felt a little bit narrow. Plus, the space for legs and feet is tight once the seat is fully horizontal.

The pillow provided is too small, but the big cozy dark blue quilted duvet felt nice and cozy.

Best of all (and unlike other Euro carriers), flight attendants kept the cabin at a cool 68 degrees throughout the flight, which made it easy to bed down under that duvet without sweating through the night.

Tray tables are gigantic- large enough for a meal and a laptop, plus they swivel for easy access in and out of seat.

Center seat in full recline (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Now that’s a flat seat! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Foot and leg space in full recline in the Captain Kirk seat (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The console provides plenty of storage space both above and below- enough space for laptop and contents of pack or case (Chris McGinnis)

In seat power (Chris McGinnis)

Easy to use seat controller– note the massage function, which was nice (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

A special lighted nook for water bottles, and a reading light (Chris McGinnis)

Contents of the inflight amenity kit laid out on the giant, sturdy tray table (Chris McGinnis)

Nice big tray table! For our post on inflight dining on AerLingus, click here!

Plenty of room on the tray table. Stay tuned for a future post about inflight food and drink! (Chris McGinnis)

Economy class seats on Aer Lingus A330 are arranged 2-4-2 (Chris McGinnis)

Economy class passengers can order business class meals onboard- flight attendants told me about 20 passengers per flight choose this

In economy class on Aer Lingus’ A330, seat pitch is 31-32 inches. (Chris McGinnis)

>Aer Lingus is not a member of the Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam. However, it is a United code share partner. But the SFO-DUB route is not a route where the carriers share a code. Nonetheless, due to the partnership, United Mileage Plus members can earn miles on Aer Lingus flights… but there are limits based on fare paid. Business class fares earn 150% of base miles flown, but economy fares earn just 50%-75% of base miles. Many of the lowest fares do not earn miles at all. You can redeem 60,000 MileagePlus miles for economy round trips on Aer Lingus, or 140,000 for business class. Details here.

>One of the best things about flying Aer Lingus is that passengers pre-clear US customs and immigration in Dublin before boarding the plane. That means when you land at SFO, it’s just like a domestic flight… you can hit the ground running as soon as you touch down. Aer Lingus currently flies into the international terminal (Boarding Area G).

Here’s a video report from the Irish Independent about the new business class:

Have you flown Aer Lingus yet? Please leave your comments below!

–Chris McGinnis

Disclosure: Aer Lingus covered the cost of my round trip fare between San Francisco and Dublin.

No time to read Saturday and Sunday’s Weekend Edition? No probs! Here ya go:

Uber NYC + Feds watching you + New LAX lounge + Best airport + Airport parking

Biz class discounts + Ryanair reversal + Delta/United Apple watch + Hotel shower fee?

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>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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Ireland’s #1 attraction

March 20, 2015

Learn how to pour a perfect pint at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin (Chris McGinnis)

Learn how to pour a perfect pint like I did at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin (Chris McGinnis)

There were plenty of highlights during my four-day trip to Dublin this week. There was, of course, the once-in-a lifetime opportunity to ride in an open-topped double decker bus in the city’s historic and hugely popular St Patrick’s Day parade. (Here’s that post in case you missed it.)

But I also was able to get a behind-the-scenes tour of Ireland’s biggest attraction, the Guinness Storehouse, home of the world famous Guinness beer.

Coming soon: My trip report on Aer Lingus’ new business class seat SFO-DUB

Since Dublin is the European headquarters for hundreds of American companies, including high profile tech companies like Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, it’s likely that many TravelSkills readers will be following my contrails. If you are in town and have some extra time (and 18 euros), an afternoon in the storehouse is a worthy pursuit!

There’s an archive of fun and nostalgic Guinness advertising (Chris McGinnis)

Spend a couple hours learning how the beer is brewed, learn the proper way to pour a pint, have a meal (like a Guinness marinated burger, mussels steamed in Guinness, Beef & Guinness stew, etc.– all very good!), and have a pint with a 360-degree view of Dublin at a fun Gravity bar located on the roof. It’s one of the highest perches in town.

Here are some interesting things I learned about Guinness during my visit:

>Guinness has been producing beer in Dublin for about 250 years. Its brewery in downtown Dublin cranks out 3 million pints of “the black stuff” per day.

>One could only buy a Guinness in a bottle until 1959 when its famous draught, served in a pint glass with a big creamy head created by tiny nitrogen bubbles, made its debut.

You’ll not only find Guinness in glasses at the Storehouse. It’s in the food, too. (Chris McGinnis)

>Even though a Guinness beer is thick, dark and creamy, a 12 ounce serving contains just 124 calories– less than a 12 ounce Budweiser, which has 145. Alcohol content is less than I imagined, too, at just 4.5%.

>Prior to modern refrigeration, Guinness made a special brew for export that contained more hops (as a preservative) and a significantly higher alcohol content- 7.5%. This Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is still its most consumed product in many African and Caribbean countries. Nigeria is the brewer’s second largest market after Great Britain.

>While a pint of Guinness may appear dark brown or black (due to the high percentage of roasted barley used), it’s actually a deep ruby red color which you can see when its help up to a light. A modern taste for lighter, fizzier “craft” style beers sent Guinness to its archives recently to revive Dublin Porter. It’s also recently launched a new Blonde American Lager in the US, which is brewed in Pennsylvania. It’s also getting into snack food with a new line of potato chips , cheese and chocolate– yes, all have a hint of that roasted barley flavor.

>A job at Guinness has long been considered to be one of the best jobs in Ireland. That’s because the company was a pioneer in promoting social welfare for employees– long, long before it was popularized by the likes of Google. For example, it has always provided one square meal per day for employees– and even for retirees, who frequently gather in employee cafeterias. It was one of the first companies in Ireland to provide health care to employees. And of course, every employee gets two free pints of beer per day.

Have you ever been to the Guinness Storehouse or another brewery? What did you think?

-Chris McGinnis

Disclosure: Guinness covered the cost of my three night stay at the Brooks Hotel in Dublin. It’s a nice, serviceable hotel in the center of town with an excellent breakfast buffet and decent rates. It rates #16 out of 174 hotels in Dublin on TripAdvisor. But it’s not as posh or well known among the biz travel set as the recently renovated Shelbourne (a Renaissance), Westbury, Merrion, Conrad or Westin.

Why you should change the credit cards you carry

+++

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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St Patrick’s Day in Dublin is different (PHOTOS)

March 17, 2015

Parade volunteers prep for the big day ahead (Chris McGinnis)

(DUBLIN, IRELAND) St Patrick’s Day is different over here. It’s a national holiday, which means few people go to work and kids are out of school. And around 500,000 people show up for the parade.

St Patrick’s Day is much more of a fun family celebration than the green-beer-soaked antics surrounding most celebrations in the US. Mention green beer to an Irishman, and they grimace. They also grimace if you think you are being cute by spelling it St Patty’s. It’s St Paddy’s Day…because the Gaelic name of Patrick is Padraig.

Yes, I’m related. Way back. (Chris McGinnis)

I’m over here in Dublin for a four-day, multipurpose business trip. I’ve been meeting with execs at Tourism Ireland, Guinness and Aer Lingus (on which I flew from SFO in its new lie-flat business class seat). I took off a day for a side trip up to Belfast to check out my family roots. (Stay tuned for future posts.)

Today I was lucky enough to tag along with a contingent of “international media” and ride in a open-topped double-decker bus for the length of the parade route.

What a treat! Here are some glimpses of what I saw.

Parade day started with a gathering a Belvedere College– where James Joyce went to school. The room felt like the inside of a Wedgewood bowl! (Chris McGinnis)

St Paddy’s Parade is a combo of national pride and Carnaval-like visuals (Chris McGinnis)

An early look at the carriage for the parade’s grand marshall (Chris McGinnis)

The Chicago Police had a contingent of bagpipers wearing blue (police), black (remembrance) and green (Irish influence) Photo: Chris McGinnis

The Chicago Police had a contingent of bagpipers wearing handsome tartans in blue (police), black (remembrance) and green (Irish influence) Photo: Chris McGinnis

Nearly all bands and drill teams in the parade are from the US- these girls are from Texas (Chris McGinnis)

Nearly all bands and drill teams in the parade are from the US- these women are from Texas (Chris McGinnis)

US high school bands compete for a handful of coveted spots in the parade- this guy is from Woodstock High near Atlanta (Chris McGinnis)

US high school bands compete for a handful of coveted spots in the parade- this guy is from Woodstock High near Atlanta. As a former band geek, I can attest that the bands chosen are good…really good. (Chris McGinnis)

A small cadre of new recruits wear a spring of shamrock on their hats. Others wore it as bouttonieres. (Chris McGinnis)

It feels like the entire country comes out for the pageant– packing sidewalks dangerously and hanging out windows- and having a lot of fun! (Chris McGinnis)

Why you should change the credit cards you carry

Packed sidewalks full of revelers (Chris McGinnis)

Fun times along the parade route– but no drinking allowed during the parade (Chris McGinnis)

Floats and dancers– all very good, very energetic and vamping with the crowd (Chris McGinnis)

That’s me on top of a double decker bus, in the thick of St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin.

Best part about this parade is that it’s short– and every act is good! (Chris McGinnis)

In the end, the parade is for people like this. The debauchery is saved for the evening…which I can hear out my hotel window as I prepare this (Chris McGinnis)

–Chris McGinnis

Did you miss this our recent Weekend Editions? No probs! Here they are for ya:

Better Virgin seats for Delta elites + AA US program merger + Fastest airlines + Delta shrinks at CVG + Lufthansa A380s

United schedule changes + Easy 1,000 HHonors points + Virgin 2-4-1 + New United gates + Lyft beats Uber

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Aer Lingus sees green in U.S. [PHOTOS]

February 5, 2015

Two Aer Lingus crew members checking out the new furniture (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Aer Lingus says that the return of non-stop flights between San Francisco and Dublin last year (after a five year hiatus) counts as the most successful launch in the Irish airline’s history.

It’s so pleased with the success of the route that it’s bumping up Airbus A330-200 frequencies to daily (from 4x per week) starting May 4.

The new business class seat in partial recline (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Plus, the San Francisco-Dublin route (the longest flight in its network) is the first to get Aer Lingus’ new lie-flat business class seat. At 6.5 feet long and nearly two feet wide, the Irish-made seats are some of the most spacious in the sky. In addition to all that sleeping space, Aer Lingus offers business class passengers free wi-fi, and a whole new menu.

The first planes with the newly outfitted cabin arrived at SFO this week.

Aer Lingus new business class seat in fully flat position (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This week the airline threw a shindig at the Four Season’s hotel in Palo Alto to celebrate its success in the Bay Area and to show off the new business class seats. Why Palo Alto and not San Francisco? Because most of Aer Lingus’ business class passengers work and live in Silicon Valley.

Current fares for Spring roundtrips between SFO and Dublin are in the $1000 range for economy, and around $4500 in business. Aer Lingus does not offer first class.

Plenty of storage space for laptops and like (Photo Chris McGinnis)

Plenty of in seat storage space for laptops and like for techie travelers (Photo Chris McGinnis)

Here are some more photos from that fete!

Samples of preflight beverages (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Samples of preflight beverages and Irish-American camaraderie (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Irish butter. Mmmm. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

It’s not just passengers on Aer Lingus flights- freight like dairy, pharma and electronics, too. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

>Aer Lingus is not a member of the Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam. However, it is a United code share partner. But the SFO-DUB route is not a route where the carriers share a code. Nonetheless, due to the partnership, United Mileage Plus members can earn miles on Aer Lingus flights… but there are limits based on fare paid. Business class fares earn 150% of base miles flown, but economy fares earn just 50%-75% of base miles. Many of the lowest fares do not earn miles at all. You can redeem 60,000 MileagePlus miles for economy round trips on Aer Lingus, or 140,000 for business class. Details here.

–Chris McGinnis

Aer Lingus arrives. What you need to know.

April 3, 2014

Air Lingus A330 touches down at SFO on Weds, April 2 (Photo: Aer Lingus)

Storm clouds parted for the arrival of Aer Lingus’ distinctive big green plane from Dublin on Wednesday afternoon.

This is the first time the Irish flag carrier has touched down at San Francisco International since departing during the dark recessionary days of 2009.

Here’s what you need to know:

>Aer Lingus operates a 267-seat Airbus A330-200 on the SFO-DUB route. There are 24 business class and 243 economy class seats (no first class). The flight, which will operate five days a week, departs for Dublin at 5:20 pm and returns to SFO at 3:20 pm. The flight takes 10-11 hours depending on direction and winds…it’s the longest flight in the Aer Lingus route network of 70 cities.

>At the moment, fares on Aer Lingus’ SFO-DUB nonstops are looking about standard for June flights. Business class on the nonstop flights is running about $5,500 roundtrip and economy is running from a low of around $950 to a high of about $1300 round trip. (You’ll find cheaper fares in both business and economy on one-stop flights from competitors.)

Currently, business class seats on Aer Lingus are “angled lie flat”

>Business class seats on Air Lingus are angled lie-flat vs the more comfortable true-lie flight (horizontal) favored by frequent travelers. At an airport reception for the flight yesterday, I asked CEO Christoph Mueller about this, and he broke some good news: Since the San Francisco-Dublin route is the carrier’s longest flight, it will be the first route to get new true-lie-flat seats (from Thompson) in business class later this year. SEE UPDATE 2.2105

>Currently, there are power ports in every first class seat, and every other economy seat and the plane offers satellite based wi-fi. Each business and economy seat has its own seatback video screen with a wide selection of movies, shows and games. Aer Lingus offers a unique bidding process for upgrades to business class. Details here.

>Having a new nonstop on SFO-DUB should be music to the ears of execs from Bay Area tech companies like Facebook, Google and LinkedIn who will likely be flying to/from their European headquarters in Dublin. The Irish Examiner reports, “There are 179 companies employing more than 36,000 people in Ireland from the West Coast of the US. These companies are primarily based in the technology and digital media sectors.”

>Aer Lingus is not a member of the Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam. However, it is a United code share partner. But the SFO-DUB route is not a route where the carriers share a code. Nonetheless, due to the partnership, United Mileage Plus members can earn miles on Aer Lingus flights… but there are limits based on fare paid. Business class fares earn 150% of base miles flown, but economy fares earn just 50%-75% of base miles. Many of the lowest fares do not earn miles at all. You can redeem 60,000 MileagePlus miles for economy round trips on Aer Lingus, or 140,000 for business class. Details here. In my conversation with CEO Mueller, he said that the carrier is working on boosting its frequent flyer program, but did not offer any other specifics.

–-Chris McGinnis

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