One more reason I don't like Aer Lingus

"Aer Lingus requires that your voucher must be in the currency form where the flight originates" - I imagine every airline uses that policy.

I've used them a few times to Frankfurt and once to Heathrow, never had a problem.

I used to love Aer Lingus, especially its business class. It was my preferred way to fly.. However, after the pandemic I noticed that service was going down hill and they were buying more '2 seat each side with only one aisle' configured planes which are tough for a long distance flight (aisle blocked frequently with a service cart when folks want to use the toilet as it is a long plane and takes a long time to serve.) My last experience with them was similar to yours. They switched planes to one which needed to get back to Ireland for retooling. I was moved to a row with no electric which meant no lie flat seat, no entertainment system and no light so I could read. After dinner they did work on the seat to manually make it lie flat, but I had to choose which I wanted and then wait for them to make it lie flat or become a seat again. I expressed my displeasure on the website comment section when I got home and didn't even get a call or email to apologize for the discomfort of the flight and no refund or voucher was offered. I was so sad to no longer have Aer Lingus as a choice to get to the UK or Europe, but I didn't want to pay for a premium class and be treated like I was.

We have flown many times and have had positive experiences. The plane switch is the problem for many airlines, the seats just don't match up. There are a number of European transportation rules that do get in the way of refunds/vouchers and this might be one of them (or it could be just AerLingus).

This is certainly not unique to Aer Lingus. You’ll find similar stories for every airline. It’s frustrating when you book so far in advance and pay extra for the seats you want. We had this happen on a flight when they changed the plane type and part of our group lost their preferred seats. Different airline.

"Aer Lingus requires that your voucher must be in the currency form
where the flight originates" - I imagine every airline uses that
policy.

KLM didn't with my voucher which was in Euros. I redeemed it for a flight recently that I paid for in $CA and the value of the voucher was converted to $CA and used for the flight.

My mistake, appears to be an Aer Lingus policy.

I can’t imagine how awful it would be to sit up straight for 7 plus hours - however I also can not imagine willingly flying home the next day ! Why wouldn’t you have just rested a day and gone on with your trip ???
We are totally different people .

I went home the next day because I had knee problems which required knee replacement surgery six months before the trip. Confined in that miserable seat exacerbated what was a mildly sore knee into a painful knee. The thought of spending a week in pain, wondering if I would be cursed with another pretzel seat for the ride back home was too much. United promised, then delivered a perfectly fine seat with leg room. Plus, when the Uber dropped us at the airport, I got out of the car and promptly fell to the ground in front of the terminal. The driver and my daughter had to pick me up. The rest of the trip into the gate was in a wheel chair.

The problem I see here is, you get a voucher to use on an airline that you never want to use again. Cash is king.

They had to refund you for the reassigned seats plus give you a voucher for goodwill gesture. If you paid for a seat then you must get a refund back to the original form of payment for this. In the future what you do is politely tell the Duty Manager that you don't agree to the change and that they must refund you back to the original form of payment. A voucher binds you to use their airline. I would tell them I have no plans to fly with you. EIther you upgrade us for free or refund us and give us a bonus voicher. Remember you don't have to accept what the airline wants to give you. A voucher is an easy way out, Iff they refuse you can dispute the extra legroom seat charge with your credit card. You may even be able to dispute the entire charge because the airline did not provide you with the service you expected and all you would have tell them is we purchased the extra legroom due to a medical condition or extra comfort.

Sorry you fell . That was the straw they broke the camels back I imagine !

When I read this, it makes me furious that there are so few legal protections for customers on flights that originate in the US. One more example of Congress not doing its job.

I think he should be covered under EU law since it was an EU airline going to an EU country.

"‘The worst customer service experience of my life’: Tales of Aer Lingus travel trouble "

https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2025/07/21/the-worst-customer-service-experience-of-my-life-tales-of-aer-lingus-travel-trouble/

"‘Aer Lingus cancelled the wrong flights.’ Then came ‘extremely poor customer service’
One person says they spoke to 11 people from airline over four days seeking resolution; another says his daughter had a nervous wait for a refund"

https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2025/09/30/aer-lingus-customers-plans-left-up-in-the-air-after-errors-and-glitches/

Sorry to hear of your experience. Sounds miserable, and I understand the next-day return. It sounds like "NEVER AGAIN!!!!!" is a good plan for you.

I've never flown, but I looked at flying them a year or two ago as part of a cheap American ticket. I saw that the seat pitch for some of the main cabin seats on the plane scheduled for my transatlantic flight was 28". Nope, nope, nope. Not going to do that. So for me, it was just "Never."