Our family travels almost exclusively by carry on luggage, even for as long as a two months sabbatical. Overtime we have used the same Travelpro 22" on Continental, Delta and United to Europe, and Southwest everywhere in US. Aer Lingus states maximum allowed size is 21.5", also an under seat limit of 10x13x8". Is their under the seat space really smaller than usual economy? Did anyone's 22" not bulging standard roller bag actually not fit overhead, or have to get gate checked because overhead bin space got used up.
Multiple review sites have so many horror stories of losing checked luggage and unresponsive customer service afterwards, I feel like packing in a paper bag! ( husband and adult daughter not so keen of that idea)
I would Really appreciate feedback of your experiences and any suggestions. First post! Thanks!
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2189 posts
Good for you with packing light and welcome to the forum. I faced this dilemma last year and wimped out. We had flights from LHR to Shannon and Dublin to Glasgow on Aer Lingus. We also use the older RS model carry on that is 22". It would have been fine on the flight from LHR to Shannon because of the plane they were using. Other passengers brought more/bigger than we did and I don't remember running out of space. Leg room was pretty much the same as Us flights. The flight from Dublin was on a different kind of plane (older and smaller) and luggage on the flight did require checking. The legroom on that was smaller,too.
If you're interested, take a look at SeatGuru and find out what kind of plane they're flying on your route.
Posted by
East Peoria, IL
786 posts
We flew Aer Lingus in May. On our Airbus A330-300 from Chicago to Dublin, there was plenty of overhead room and absolutely no one paid any attention to passengers' carry-on bag sizes. On the full flight from Dublin to Venice on a smaller A320, many people, including us, had to gate-check our bags and retrieve them at baggage claim after landing. Not a huge hassle, but added a few extra minutes to get out of the Venice airport.
On our return flights, leaving from Rome, we chose to check our bags all the way through to Chicago, but again I saw no one checking bag sizes at any point. That doesn't mean every flight is the same, but that was our experience this time.
Under-seat space was pretty standard, though on the newer A330, some space in each row is taken up with a metal box housing the entertainment system electronics.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
You're right, the planes used by Aer Lingus are the same size as other airlines, and the onboard storage spaces are the same. It's just that their rules are different.
On my one and only Aer Lingus flight to date (Newark to Dublin and Dublin to Glasgow; Liverpool to Dublin and Dublin to JFK), my bags were never weighed or measured. However, they did meet the Aer Lingus rules for size and weight, so I would have been OK if they were checked. I can't guarantee (and neither can anyone else) that your bags will not be weighed or measured.
Posted by
Austin, TX
82 posts
Thank you, Patty for sharing information about SeatGuru: https://www.seatguru.com/ This website has alot of helpful information. And thank you, Harold for sharing your experiences. We've purchased RS bags which meet the onboard baggage requirements for British Air, but are slightly larger than the Aer Lingus limitations.
Garrison
Posted by
140 posts
Recently flew Aer Lingus from Dublin to Bristol UK. The plane was an Embraer TurboProp. There is no way that even an "Aer Lingus Legal" carry-on was going in the overhead on that plane. Most people had their carry-ons gate checked to the luggage carousel in Bristol. No drama.