Aer Lingus seat selection

Hi all,

Feel like I'm missing something obvious here but will ask anyway.

Booked a return to ORD with Aer Lingus in business, but in the manage my trip section there is no option to select seats anywhere, though I did chose seats in the initial booking process. This is my first time flying long haul with Aer Lingus.

Is this normal for Aer Lingus? in the email confirmation it states I should still be able to view seat map and select seats but can't see anything. Google hasn't really thrown up people having similar issues so I'm a little confused.

[honey lamb]

It may be a glitch in the system because you can normally access and change your seat.

If you do manage to access the seat map and are travelling alone, try to get one of the "throne" seats. These are 3K and 5K. They have shelves on either side of the seat and are very spacious. There are some photos in this trip report

I booked EI J Class last year. Not sure if you are flying business class but I could not change my seat number after booking or during online check-in.

The product is superb btw.

Right that's interesting and a little odd! If I'd known my only chance to select seats was during booking I might have taken a little more time.

Did manage to do some research beforehand though and secured the 5k throne seat on the outbound and 6a on the return, perhaps I can still change at the airport though?

Very much looking forward to trying the product, it looks excellent and underrated. Was actually looking to do an ex-DUB on the ITA matrix but then saw an excellent Aer Lingus J fare for just 1k so thought why not! Saves the hassle of flying back to LHR.

That's the way it is annoyingly !

After initially selecting your seat during the booking process, there doesn't seem to be a way of changing that seat either before or during online check in. You get a message saying that seat changes are not possible online & to call if you require a seat change.

Enjoy your trip, EI's J class across the pond is excellent. I've flown over a dozen sectors in recent years with them & every flight has been as good if not better than the other.

Thank you, very much looking forward to these flights and trying the product. Having USA pre-clearance will be awesome too!

[honey lamb]

Thank you, very much looking forward to these flights and trying the product. Having USA pre-clearance will be awesome too!

Pre-clearance is brilliant. You just go to the carousel and voila, your bags are there in minutes - especially for J passengers. When we arrived in Baggage Reclaim in JFK, I went to the Ladies and when I returned Aer John had our bags and we were good to go (although as an aside - ours may have been the last loaded in case we had to be off-loaded. That won't happen to you) Every time I have travelled using it, you just sail through.

Enjoy your flight. I love VS and it's my go-to carrier wherever possible and practicable but EI in J also knocks the socks off. Look at my TRs in other Trip Reports to and from SFO, JFK and ORD.

Thank you, very much looking forward to these flights and trying the product. Having USA pre-clearance will be awesome too!

Pre-clearance is brilliant. You just go to the carousel and voila, your bags are there in minutes - especially for J passengers. When we arrived in Baggage Reclaim in JFK, I went to the Ladies and when I returned Aer John had our bags and we were good to go (although as an aside - ours may have been the last loaded in case we had to be off-loaded. That won't happen to you) Every time I have travelled using it, you just sail through.

Enjoy your flight. I love VS and it's my go-to carrier wherever possible and practicable but EI in J also knocks the socks off. Look at my TRs in other Trip Reports to and from SFO, JFK and ORD.

Thanks HL, pre-clearance almost sounds too good to be true. I too use VS where possible, but with ORD no longer a VS destination it seemed a great excuse to try EI. Got a fantastic price too due to travelling over thanksgiving, can't wait!

[honey lamb]

Thanks HL, pre-clearance almost sounds too good to be true. I too use VS where possible, but with ORD no longer a VS destination it seemed a great excuse to try EI. Got a fantastic price too due to travelling over thanksgiving, can't wait!

seany, it is! Especially when you arrive.

Another little piece of advice which I nearly forgot as it is new since I last flew to the USA - although you are entitled to use the Aer Lingus lounge post check-in, don't bother with it. There is another lounge post Pre-Clearance. It is called the 51st & Green and it is situated at Gate 406 and although I haven't experienced it, it seems to be better than the other lounge simply because there should be lesser numbers passing through. It definitely has better runway views as it is not obscured by aircraft at the gates.

[honey lamb]

Another piece of advice that I learned yesterday as I was in Dublin and met Aer John for dinner - if you are interested in Duty Free apart from booze and cigarettes, be advised that currently the DF area in T2 is being re-vamped and you may need to go to T1 (which is easily accessible post security but not post-Pre-clearance). DF post Pre-Clearance (and indeed any shopping) is very poor. There are a couple of outlets selling a limited selection of booze and tobacco as well as some tacky Oirish souvenirs, a bar and a snack bar. the work may have finished by the time you travel but if not - you have been warned!

Thanks for the great advice HL, I had read about the lounge post clearance but was 50/50 on which one to use. I think it would be nice to not worry about queue times etc...so will probably go straight to the 51st & Green lounge, might pop into the Aer Lingus lounge just to have a look though. I'm all about unobscured runway views

51st and Green is lovely