Info on Aer Lingus Airlines

The flight to Dublin is short enough to use single-aisle planes. The plane itself will feel more cramped than a wide-body, bathroom ratio and aisle access will be worse, but seats should be fairly similar. If you like the price, none of this is a deal breaker to me.

It's the Irish national carrier and yes they use narrow body jets across their network. They are fine but it is cheap and cheerful.

I don't know where cleve is, but various places in North America will get you to Lyon on a wide body jet by connecting in London Heathrow, Amsterdam or Paris CDG.

We use Aer Lingus often between Bordeaux and Dublin, which is a short, efficient flight. I imagine the flight from Dublin to Lyon will be similar. Every once in a while we use this airline for the long haul from states to Dublin, but not often as other airlines are more comfortable. However, they are a decent airline that gets you safely from A to B across the Atlantic.

I expect “cleve” means Cleveland, Ohio, which Aer Lingus flies to, but it is a confusing abbreviation. I think that is the only way to get to Lyon without another connection in North America. I’ve flown them several times to and from Washington and they’re fine.

i think cleve is actually clever!

and what would be clever is to consider the wider variety of airlines to Paris CDG and then a 190 mph train from the airport station direct to Lyon!

My son and granddaughter just flew round trip to US-Europe on Aer Lingus. It was easy for them, into one city and home from a different city.

My only experience with Aer Lingus was a short-haul flight in May from Heathrow to Shannon (my connection after the long haul on British Airways, a partner). They offered food and beverage but NOTHING (except water, as I recall) was free. Not a big deal but plan accordingly. I would think that the long haul includes some meals but that's a guess.

If your return itinerary takes you back through Dublin, here's a perk: you can clear United States customs at the Dublin Airport! https://www.dublinairport.com/flight-information/travelling-to-usa/usa-preclearance

Yes, you get meals on their transatlantic flights.

I flew on Aer Lingus from Edinburgh to Dublin, then from Dublin to Nantes.

On the first trip I think I flew on the smallest plane in their fleet which was a little turboprop which seated 72 passengers. The seats were very tight, I'm not gonna lie, but it was a short flight. (I was a little alarmed when I saw it had propellers but it took off in about ten seconds flat!)

We flew from Dublin to Nantes on a regular Airbus A320 and it was better but nothing like luxurious. Again, it was a fairly short flight so it was okay.

Of course neither of these were trans-Atlantic, so I don't know if they have more comfortable aircraft for those long flights.

Flew Cle to CDG on aer Lingus last year,flight out of Cle was delayed by 1.5 hours which made our connection in Dublin tight. Like we booked through customs and barely made it to the gate before the shuttle left. But we did make it. Flew in the bulk head seat, had row to ourselves which was good but…we had bid for an upgrade that had been accepted until I got call 4 hours before departure saying sorry we had to change you back. Losing our original seats which were towards front, had I not pushed back hard about tight connection to begin with we’d hve been in the back squished and never made it. We did fly business home it was meh, comfortable but I’d never pay for that fare outright. I’d look at airfrance website before relying arrlingus to France. Better rates, much better experience, connection through dtw or jfk.

Thanksfor all your replies!
I’m getting a little nervous asI am reading some of your comments.

Are you saying that from Cleveland, OH to Dublin there is no dinner & breakfast???
Mwe have a front row, 2 aisle seats, not bulkhead. I am hoping that feels less cramped.

Our connected flights to Lyon & teturn from marseille to Dublin is British Airways. How are they??

Thank you alk!!
Much appreciated!!

We flew CLE to DUB a couple years back. Not a wide body. We sat in row 2.

Service was good, no delays, unremarkable flight really. (Breakfast was non-existent though— if you were awake— we were— you could ask for coffee— we did). We would fly again. Our destination was Dublin so we can’t speak about connections. Flying back was similar. Going through border control in Dublin was fast and easy. Flight again was unremarkable. It was fantastic to arrive back in Cleveland and just get off the plane and be home.

Happy travels

I’m sure there will be food, but the cost might be extra (like on my short-haul flight, as I mentioned in my earlier post). You may be able to get better info from the Aer Lingus website.

We flew British Airways in May, and they were fine. In fact, the chicken curry I had on the flight home was probably the tastiest airplane meal I’ve ever had.

There will be a meal (ie: free food) on the transatlantic flight for Aer Lingus. Short haul Aer Lingus flights you will pay for food/drink.
British Airways is a decent airline as well. I've flown inter European and long haul. With either, both, you will get a fine, safe flight that gets you from A to B.

"It's the Irish national carrier and yes they use narrow body jets across their network."

It's no longer the "national carrier".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aer_Lingus

[snip]
Aer Lingus (/ˌɛər ˈlɪŋɡəs/ air LING-gəs; an anglicisation of the Irish aerloingeas [ˌeːɾˠˈl̪ˠɪɲɟəsˠ], meaning "air fleet")[a] is the flag carrier of the Republic of Ireland. It was founded by the Irish Government in 1936. Between 2006 and 2015 it was privatised, and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of International Airlines Group (IAG). The airline's head office is on the grounds of Dublin Airport in Cloghran, County Dublin.[5]

Their model of "hybrid carrier" combining a traditional airline with low cost flights has some problems, especially with Customer Service if things go wrong. They are currently facing Union problems:

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2026/07/31/aer-lingus-executives-fastening-their-seat-belts-for-a-bumpy-ride-ahead/
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2026/07/16/aer-lingus-to-cut-up-to-500-jobs/

David,
Thank you for your feedback. Was very helpful.
At leadt i know we will get a meal on our nitr flight from Cleveland to Dublin.

And I agree, landing in uour hometown from Europe sure beats going thru New York!! And then another plane!!
Thank uou!!

We did fly business home it was meh, comfortable but I’d never pay for that fare outright. I’d look at airfrance website before relying arrlingus to France. Better rates, much better experience, connection through dtw or jfk.

I’ve flown Air France business on the US to Europe leg.

AF Business is fine, a lay-flat seat in a partially enclosed space, but it' more than twice the price of Aer Lingus.

So when you are on the EI website, it tells you the food situation for each flight.

I flew TAP from Boston to Lisbon in April on the new 321XLRs, and yes, one aisle is annoying but at least Tap breezes through food service.

These jets are certified for transatlantic, and are definitely gas sippers now. AA has 321XLRs even.

We flew British Airways in May, and they were fine. In fact, the chicken curry I had on the flight home was probably the tastiest airplane meal I’ve ever had.

BA's curries are superb. I had a cod one recently and it was excellent.

To answer the OP's question about British Airways. They are fine. They're not as good as they used to be as they've made a lot of cuts in an attempt to compete with the budget airlines. Their seat pitch is one of the smallest in Europe as they've crammed a few more seats in their aircraft and gone are the days when you received complimentary food and drink in economy, these days it's a micro bottle of water and a couple of biscuits.