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At the end of January, I was invited to take a weekend break in Dublin with an old friend. I’ve flown with Ryanair plenty of times before, so I decided that I’d try out Aer Lingus and Aer Arran and take a look at Cork’s new “Taj Mahal” terminal in the process.
Although late January is not exactly peak time for flights from Birmingham to Dublin, finding good deals on any weekend of the year can be tricky.
High demand invariably means high prices, but Aer Lingus’ early morning flight on the Saturday had a base price of just €3 (€29 including taxes and charges). Former Aer Lingus boss Willie Walsh went to great lengths to cut the airline’s operating costs and compete with their Irish rivals Ryanair, ensuring that there was very little difference in price between these two carriers. If you’re looking for flights to Dublin from London or Glasgow, then airport choice can be a significant factor, but for Dublin flights from Birmingham, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Manchester, Aer Lingus and Ryanair both use exactly the same airports. If I had to choose between the two airlines, I’d go for Aer Lingus, unless there was a significant price difference. This is purely because of my aversion to the incessant in-flight sales announcements one has to put up with on Ryanair flights.   
At the airport
Check in desks for both Ryanair and Aer Lingus were right next to each other, but Ryanair had two agents on theirs, so their queue was moving a bit faster (grrr). I wasn’t too fussed though, because most passengers (myself included), were only carrying hand luggage. Aer Lingus have also copied the budget airlines’ strategy of charging for checked baggage. I experienced horrendous security queues at Birmingham over New Year, but I sailed through in ten minutes this time round. 
The flight
Whereas everything about Ryanair follows the pile it high, flog it cheap mentality, the Aer Lingus flying experience was a lot more demur. Where Ryanair tend to have tacky interiors with bright yellow colouring, Aer Lingus have opted for understated simplicity.
We took off promptly, and arrived in Dublin on time, but I had become increasingly perturbed by some of the comments I overheard from my fellow passengers. These included gems such as: “What language do they speak here?” and “Is Dublin in southern or Northern Ireland?”
Still, I can’t hold Aer Lingus responsible for the kind of passengers who fly with them, at least their service was impeccable!
I didn’t have any baggage to reclaim, so sailing through Dublin airport and onto one of the regular shuttle buses into the city centre, was a breeze. The bus journey gives a good overview of the northern half of the Irish capital, and passes under the magnificent Croke Park stadium.
Liked:
·                     Good value, on time, no messing around
·                     Pleasant staff
·                     Clean, uncluttered aircraft interior
Disliked:
·                     Only one person on check-in desk - Ryanair had two!
Overall rating — 4/5