Aer Lingus upgrade to business class

R

RichInSpirit

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I got an email from Aer Lingus inviting me to upgrade to business class on an upcoming flight.

"Simply make us an offer to upgrade you on your transatlantic flight."

I was wondering how much to offer ?
 
I was gonna say ... last couple of times I did this the minimum was €350. I did get it at that price once and reckon it's worth it.
 
I've been up the front of the bus and it is great if travelling alone, if with your significant other then I would say pass... in my opinion as AL don't especially shine in this area, not worth the money, first class in other carriers maybe.
 
We got it for €400 per person per leg; I’ve also travelled legitimately (not paid for by me).

In my view, it’s worth that; it’s a solid business class service delivered with a smile.
 
One slight pain is that the extra free luggage allowance is useless if you have other legs on which you are not doing biz class. The allowance only applies to the specific upgraded legs.
 
There is a little dial which tells you how strong your bid is.

I travelled to Washington in January and bid €560 and got it. It was my first time flying business, and I was a bit disappointed. While it was nice to lie back, it was a lunchtime flight, so I was not going to sleep for very long. I did not avail of the free drink, but others did. The food was better, but not amazing by any stretch. I skipped the last meal as it was mid afternoon American time.

The odd thing was that the storage was worse because all the space is taken up by the reclining seat.

I was at the window seat, so I had to disturb the guy on the aisle seat to get out. Not usually a problem, but it was when he was lying flat out with the blanket over him fast asleep.

I flew back from New York at 10 pm. I would have made better use of the fully reclining seats, so I bid something like $700 for it but did not get it.

Brendan
 
It must be just me, but unless I could put the extra cost down to business expense, I could not justify paying €400/500 for a nice smile free drinks and extra leg room. I have never flown business or first class so dont know what Im missing, but I do know I work too hard for my dosh, to be flitting it away on such things
 
Only flew first class once from Paris to Dublin.
1990 after Ireland were knocked out of the World Cup by Italy , not a flight to be had from anywhere in Italy & as the three of us traveling had to be back at work we were left with no alternative but Paris.
What made it worthwhile was that the only other passengers in first class were the Dubliners , the late Eamonn Campbell who guessed from our dress that we were on our way back from Italy & by our demeanor that we were somewhat unused to first class travel took us under his wing - I’ve never drank so many snipes of champagne in so little time & am unlikely to do so again .
So yes I’d heartily recommend it .
 
I'm with LS400. For €400/500 for a good night kip I think I would want to be staying in the Shelbourne in one of their suites with all the perks that entails. €400/500 for a bit more space all round and a better chance to sleep certainly would not be my idea of worth it but then, like LS400 I've never been in first class before and probably never will if this is the kind of money it requires.
 
it certainly takes the stress out of flying its a much 'nicer' experience. i travel to asia a bit for work and for long flights its worth it, anything under 6 hours i wouldnt bother personally.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
It's more than that. There is more space all round. Wider seats and 100% reclining if you want to sleep.
Click to expand...

I dont doubt that, I've never had the experience of occupying a seat by turning left inside an aircraft, I've certainly walked through this section and see the luxury, but, I, like most of the contributors on here, fight tooth and nail to save money where possible, on the likes of car insurance etc etc, but the same dont see anything wrong with splashing out hundreds of euro on this perk.

Myself and the wife traveled to New York last year, no way could I justify upgrading and spending best part of a Thousand Euro to get there or back.

Its not that Im a miser with money, but I would certainly have better use of those extra funds.
 
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€400 extra for each leg of the journey is more than each leg of the journey in steerage class.
I had 4 centre aisle seats to myself last year on the return journey and you could sleep relatively comfortably if you wanted to.
 
It depends how you value certain things; when travelling long-haul, I consider a business class fare an investment in my enjoyment of the time that I spend at the destination.

Having ponied up for business class to Oceania a few times and travelled steerage, the difference is huge in terms of how you feel over subsequent days and how much more enjoyment you can get out of it.
 
I flew London to Huston with BA a few times a year a few years back. I opted for the world traveler upgrade which gives nicer seats and more leg room. After a few flights I got enough points to upgrade to business class on the way out. They then needed my seat so upgraded me to first class (proper first class, not Aer Lingus business class dressed up as first class). It was amazing but at around £3000 each way there's no way I'd ever pay for it, even if it was through work.
 
Here I am on this forum regularly defending Public Servants and their wages, pensions and holidays. And whom am I defending against? - People who pay €400 for an upgrade on a one way flight through Aer Lingus, BA and anybody else who is prepared to pamper their luxurious travel wants. I am on a hiding to nothing, perhaps the Public Servant gets defended and what a victory? - The guys I defend the PS against are on flights paying an extra €400 for more space for their tired feet, "free" whiskey and metal cutlery instead of plastic who inform me that we have had too much for too long. And the rest of us are made feel somewhat guilty looking for something that was stolen to be refunded to us. Something wrong somewhere!
 
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