airlines questions for Seattle to Ireland

so how would I get to Shannon from Dublin?

Train or coach.

And anybody know the difference between Icelandair’s Saga Premium and
their Saga Premium Flex class?

The big difference is that the Flex-ticket is more flexible. You can rebook it, change it or cancel it without fees.

But if you had flown into Dublin you presumably would actually be heading for Limerick or Ennis, which are also the closest towns and railway stations to Shannon Airport.

There is a direct coach to Limerick from Dublin Airport.

For trains you would need to make your way to Dublin Heuston station. There is a good fast direct bus from the Airport to Heuston.
A few trains run to Limerick direct, but usually it is a Cork bound train to Limerick Junction then a connecting shuttle train. Broadly every two hours the shuttle train extends to Ennis.

yes, to Ennis as that's the first stop of the tour

I just looked at flights using Alaska miles. Flights to Shannon will require two flights from Seattle. Many of the flights that have reasonable costs ( in terms of miles) to Dublin also require two flights.

I am seeing some very good prices for nonstop flights from Seattle to Dublin on Aer Lingus next May. I might be tempted to buy the ticket with cash and earn miles rather than spend them

I see a decent flight to Dublin, SEA to DFW on Alaska, changing there to an American Airlines flight to Dublin. Overall flight time is 18 hours, which is not bad. 22,500 miles total.

For the return, Aer Lingus to SFO and Alaska from there to Seattle, 17.5 hours total time for 30K miles and $60. Or a shorter overall flying time with Iceland Air for 35K miles and $210 (ugh).

Book one way at a time to have the widest array of options.

Google flights is always good to see what’s out there but then always book thru the airline, you choose, site. I don’t see where you’re flying out of but if I put in some random dates in May out of Seattle to Shannon with multi city coming back thru Dublin, you’re going to get better flights and pricing using United or Air Canada versus Aer Lingus (double the price). It’s nice to have a nonstop but they do sometimes come at a cost. But switch the dates around, I also see a $682 with Aer Lingus but it’s a round trip in and out of Dublin. So many options, I know……

Two of our recent trips to Dublin have been on IcelandAir from Seattle. Reykjavik is a much easier stop than the alternatives, as the connection is short and the individual legs are shorter. We tried BA via London, and Heathrow was a zoo (and BA kept canceling segments). If you do fly IcelandAir, bring your own food 'cause the cabin service offerings are pretty dismal.

I always purchase tickets as soon as they are available (typically, 330 days in advance). We always go for extra legroom seats or business class, and I've never seen the prices for those arrangements drop from where they are on day one. Vanilla coach oscillates all over the place. I don't think the old wives tales of waiting until two weeks, two months etc. are accurate now that the airlines have demand pricing algorithms in place.

They definitely will not want to fly British Airways if using Alaska Ike’s; it is a very poor value given the high supplemental fees that BA charges on miles tickets.

Icelandair also charges high supplemental fees on Mike’s ticket ($189 each way in Economy, plus 30K miles). But Icelandair appears to be the lowest cost for a revenue ticket (no miles).

Our daughter used Icelandair to fly to Italy for our recent trip, and the flights were on time and smooth. That mid-journey middle-of-the-night connection at Reykjavik might bother some (it would me), but if one doesn’t sleep on flights anyway, it may not be a problem. It did seem her jet lag was greater than usual, but that may be due to other stressors (like working many extra hours at her job before the trip to finish a project).

I wanted to make sure you build in extra time at either end of your schedule so if irregular operations extend your travel by a day, you will still be on time for your tour, etc.

Personally, if I could get the Aer Lingus at under $800 RT, I would fly it non-stop to Dublin and then take bus/train to Ennis.

I have taken Iceland air several times without any issues, but they did miss a connection on my most recent trip and this delayed us by a day.

thanks everyone

Going in April '24. Delta to either Boston or Amsterdam. Shannon adding flights...dont know if Delta is one or not.

Our trip is in August 2024. Initially i looked at flying Aerlingus Seattle to Shannon. (never flown with them). But Icelandair to Dublin price was much cheaper. I bought them last August $658 economy standard. Transfer time is a little over than an hour. The arrival gate from Seattle and departure gate from Kevlavik to Dublin is at the same gate, gate D. So i think that makes it much easier.
We have flown with Icelandair several times and always had great experience.
Then train from Dublin to Ennis with a transfer at Limerick Junction. From my research, it is a pretty straightforward journey.