Aer Lingus or Norwegian to London

I've flown both. Nothing remarkable to report about the two.

Take the direct flight. it lessens the chance of you missing a connecting flight as well as the airline losing your bag (if you plan to check it) when they have to transfer to the next flight.

You already sound like you made up your mind.

I agree, a nonstop is generally a better choice. Less tiring, less risk to checked bags, less risk of missing a connection. Gatwick is a marginally easier airport than Heathrow too.

Remember that when you land in Boston or Hartford your body will think it's eight hours later than the clock, i.e. the middle of the night. I'd think twice about driving, whether daylight or dark -- even though you'll be on the "right" side of the road. If you can't use a bus or car service or have a friend meet you, you might consider spending that night in an airport hotel -- but there goes the saving in airfare!

CORRECTION: For you it would be five hours, not eight hours, time difference. Still not a great idea to drive far after landing, though.

With Aer Lingus you will pre-clear US customs and immigration in Dublin, so could walk straight out of the terminal in Hartford (or collect checked bags and go). With Norwegian you have to do all that on arrival.

Heathrow T2 for EI is a breeze apart from some of the distances to walk. Gatwick always seems like a zoo to me in comparison but maybe I am always unlucky.

With the pre-clearance in Dublin and the earlier arrival in the US, I would choose that and see it as $100 well spent.

I was going to suggest fly direct the one one way and the earlier arrival on the return, but realized you said you were driving home, so you need to end where you start, to get your car.

I haven't flown Aer Lingus but I did just fly Norwegian round trip Seattle - Gatwick for the holidays. First time on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and it is a very nice airplane and I experienced excellent service. I don't know what Aer Lingus flies.

You should watch out for the Best of London in 7 Days tour. I did it in May of 2016 and I liked London so much I've been back three times since then! Be prepared for a lot of walking as well as using the underground (tube) extensively. You will really enjoy the tour.

I have flown Norwegian rt to Europe 4 times. Know that the quoted price isn't necessarily the actual price. They charge for seat selection, food, and to check a bag. If you don't need these things then you'll save the $100. If you need two or more of them then it might be a wash.

Another vote for treating yourself to a night in a hotel on the way home rather than trying to drive when you are tired, especially since you don't like to drive at night. I was so thankful I had this as my plan last summer. I was so tired when I got off the plane, that it was all I could do to take the shuttle to the hotel. I can't imagine the safety risk if I had tried to drive the 2.5 hours home at that point. Instead, I drove home rested the next morning.

Aer Lingus would be my choice. You'll clear immigration into the common travel area at Dublin airport, which I found far easier and less crowded than either Heathrow or Manchester. So, you'll get off your Dublin to London flight as a domestic flight. If the Aer Lingus flight arrives at Heathrow, you'll have the tube right there for an inexpensive trip into London.

Upon return, you preclear USA immigration and customs at Dublin airport, which for me was far better than Ohare and I imagine Logan is a similar nightmare. Do allow plenty of time for this as I had to do a second security screening, plus had SSSS.

I found Dublin airport to be quite pleasant as well.

We've flown Aer Lingus twice with no serious issues. We were on Airbus A330s for the U.S./Dublin legs. The newer versions of the plane seemed to have slightly smaller seats with less cushioning, but the plane felt like it was brand new and the entertainment system worked flawlessly, if that matters to you. The older planes were a tiny bit more comfortable, but the entertainment systems were pretty flaky and basically stopped working on our last return flight in May.

The Dublin airport is pretty easy to navigate and there are tons of helpful people directing travelers. Aer Lingus has multiple flights to London, so if you missed your first connection, chances are good you'd get on another flight.

Clearing customs in Dublin is a definite plus. We've gotten through security, passport control and customs in short order on both of our trips. Being able to walk straight out of the airport when you get home is a big advantage. I agree with those who suggest spending the night rather than driving when you return. In 2015, we started our early morning in Paris, arriving in Chicago early evening, then drove three hours home from O'Hare, feeling like zombies the whole way. In 2017, starting the day in Rome, we splurged on the Marriott at the airport and didn't even have to get in the car until the next day, after getting a decent night's sleep. Much better,

Where do you live (approximately)? Are you closer to Hartford or Boston?

You may already know that the Hartford airport is much smaller and easier to navigate than Logan. I live a lot closer to Hartford than to Boston, so to me, the layover might be worth it for the easy drive to and from the airport.

Sorry if this only complicates your decision. Don't sweat it too much. Either way, you'll have a wonderful trip!

Wow such speedy replies! Thanks everyone for your thoughts and comments and sharing your experiences. They are helpful. I'm ​still undecided but I think I will end up taking the cheaper flight even though it's a longer way home and a later flight. On the bright side, I get a chance to eat breakfast at the hotel and maybe even see a bit more of London (I assume I need to be at Gatwick 3 hours before my flight?). Gotta squeeze in all I can, right? :)

We used to fly out of Boston, but now we use the new Aer Lingus flight from Bradley for all our European travels. We live 20 minutes from Bradley, and given the flight times, we are able to have a friend drop us off and pick us up at the airport. This avoids the cost of parking and taking the Logan Express shuttle. When we used to fly out of Logan, we would often stay overnight at the end of the trip with family in the Boston area. As others have mentioned, the Dublin airport is nice, and the preclearance option is a plus.

Check with Air Lingus as they are ceasing their contract with Hartford quite soon.

Another down side of Norwegian is that if something goes wrong, they don't have the partnership agreements that Aer Lingus does. If there's a mechanical or weather delay with Norwegian, then you're either paying walk-up rates on another airline to make it to the start of the tour or stuck waiting until Norwegian can get their own plane into the air safely. With Aer Lingus, they may be able to rebook you onto another airline they're partnered with and get you to your destination with no additional cost and only a moderate delay that lets you start the tour on time. (Note that Aer Lingus doesn't have to rebook you onto another carrier, but if you're nice and polite and can feed them information on open seats on the other airline's flight, they'll often work with you to make you go away and have one fewer problem for that gate or phone agent to deal with)

Re: Aer Lingus service from Bradley to Dublin

In a statement in response to the recent cancellation of Norwegian Airlines service from Hartford to Edinburgh, Connecticut Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Dillon said, in part:

“While we are certainly disappointed by the discontinuation of the Norwegian service, the CAA will continue moving forward with our strong partnership with Aer Lingus. The route between Dublin and Bradley has shown promising growth, and, after recent discussions, we are confident that the Bradley route is currently in line for an aircraft upgrade in 2019. This investment is indicative of the strong partnership between Bradley and Aer Lingus, and we look forward to growing together to continue meeting the region’s transatlantic travel needs.”

Re: Aer Lingus partners
Aer Lingus partners include Air Canada, LKM, JetBlue, British Airways and United.

I always, always, always prefer the direct flight.

Normally we all vote for the direct flight but with a definite start date and time for your tour coupled with an airline with only one flight a day and no inter-carrier agreements, I’d opt for Aer Lingus over Norwegian. At this moment Larry from PA is posting about his DIL’s dealings with Norwegian after her direct flight was canceled. The icing on the cake is passing passport in Dublin coming and going.
Note: I’ve flown Norwegian and would again, but my schedule is flexible. I’ve flown Aer Lingus and really appreciate the calm airport.

And Larry chimes: I had been laying off this one. But - a few years ago we had looked at a Norwegian flight, considering the prices. However, I also saw the reviews on Skytrax. Even taking these reviews with some grains of salt, as in it's the negative reviews you always see, I noticed an alarming number of reviews with the same problem - Norwegian had a problem with their plane , specifically their Dreamliner, and they had to cancel the flight and then scramble to try and get a rental plane in place. And clearly this is what happened to my DIL. Unfortunately, she has a return with them in May, and our son booked with them in march to visit her. Holding my breath.

Thanks for the heads-up and advice! Much appreciated!