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One more reason I don't like Aer Lingus

Last year I flew Aer Lingus, from ORD to DUB. Despite the fact I had booked the flight ten months in advance and paid for extra leg room and picked our seats, the day before the flight I discovered they put us in other rows with no extra legroom and seats that did not recline. The flight was a mess. Most uncomfortable flight ever. It was so bad and I was so messed up, we returned to the US the next day on United. We never used our Aer Lingus return flights. Then I had to fight with them to get them to refund my seat costs, which they begrudgingly did in the form of a voucher. Return flight was a loss- to me

I am now in a position where I want to fly from DUB to MUC. Goiogle flight served up Aer Lingus. I thought, OK. at least I can use my voucher. NOPE. My voucher is in dollars. Aer Lingus requires that your voucher must be in the currency form where the flight originates. They have my dollars, but won't allow me to use them because they want to have my money in Euros.

Just incredible. NEVER AGAIN!!!!

Posted by
1811 posts

"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.

Posted by
2249 posts

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.

Posted by
4 posts

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).

Posted by
2819 posts

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.

Posted by
5201 posts

"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.

Posted by
11547 posts

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 .

Posted by
498 posts

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.

Posted by
5156 posts

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.