My 11-hour Aer Lingus A330-200 business class flight from Dublin to Los Angeles featured lovely service and solid sleep, but a tight cabin and disappointing meal dragged down the experience.

Aer Lingus A330-200 Business Class Review (DUB-LAX)

As a reminder, I booked my Aer Lingus flights from London to Los Angeles via Dublin in business class for 85,000 United MileagePlus miles and 345.73 USD in taxes/fees (mostly the hefty UK departure tax). Had I originated in Dublin, taxes would have only been around 68 USD, but the mileage price was identical, so I figured $300 for this particular LHR-DUB A321neo LR flight was reasonable since a revenue ticket in economy class was $200.

After arriving from London, I had several hours before my flight. Recall that Aer Lingus currently does not offer lounge access to USA-bound business class passengers, though has come up with a somewhat clever alternative. Just don’t go through U.S. Preclearance early or you’ll be stuck in a very dreary gate area with little to do.

Typically, US-bound passengers use the 51st&Green Lounge, which is closed for renovations but is scheduled to reopen in Spring 2026. I hope that when that lounge reopens, transatlantic passengers will also be able to use the Aer Lingus Lounge once again.

The U.S. Preclearance process was a bit odd (some had to undergo security while others bypassed it), and I found myself in a cramped and crowded Preclearance terminal ahead of boarding.

Aer Lingus 69
Dublin (DUB) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Thursday, November 6
Depart: 3:20 PM
Arrive: 6:30 PM
Duration: 11hr, 10min
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Distance: 5,181 miles
Seat: 2K (Business Class)

Stepping onboard, I received a warm Irish greeting and turned left into the business class cabin.

Seats

First, a note on seat assignments. When you book an Aer Lingus flight on another carrier (in my case, it was United), advance seat assignments are very difficult. The website and mobile app do not work, forcing you to call in. When you call in, the best seats are blocked…all the solo seats (the A seats and odd-numbered K seats) were blocked, even though they were not assigned when I booked.

I wound up with seat 2K, a window seat in the first row, with a person next to me. Every seat in the cabin was full and it looked like a lot of leisure travelers; there were many older couples traveling together.

The cabin includes 23 Thompson Aero Vantage seats arranged in a 1-2-2, 1-2-1 alternating pattern.

Seats are 22 inches wide and seat pitch is 43 inches. Each seat reclines into a fully lie-flat 180º bed.

Seat controls are at elbow level and each seat has a USB-A and universal A/C outlet, plus an individual air vent in the overhead passenger service unit.

Without direct aisle access and with little storage (at least in this particular seat), the Aer Lingus business class product is simply not competitive.

The irony, though, is that I slept for most of the flight. I was tired…it really had been a long trip and a long day, and I was thankful to put my seat back and sleep. The pillow and duvet were not bad…a plus for that.

IFE + Wi-Fi

My inflight entertainment system was only semi-functional: all the graphics were missing…only text appeared. Thankfully, the moving map work. Games, audio, TV shows, and movies also worked, though teh selection was limited. I played a Carmen Sandiego geography game, which brought back many childhood memories. I also tried to watch an Irish movie called The Pier, but got bored watching it.

Noise-cancelling headphones are offered.

Kudos to Aer Lingus for offering free Wi-Fi to passengers, which was slow but stable during the flight. This is a very nice value-add for an airline that tends to nickel and dime passengers.

Without this pass, Wi-Fi would have cost:

• 1 hour of messaging – €3.49
• full flight messaging – €5.99
• 4 hours of browsing – €13.49
• full flight browsing – €22.49

It was getting dark as we departed Dublin, but the sun rose a bit as we flew across the Atlantic Ocean. It was a beautiful day to fly with a full moon. I love sitting on the starboard side of the plane on flights in LAX, as you are treated to great views of the Los Angeles skyline.

Food + Drinks

Shortly after settling in, I was offered a menu and choice of pre-departure beverage: orange juice or sparkling wine. I declined (there were also water bottles in the seat), but the flight attendant must not have understood me and gave me both instead!

The menu for today’s flight:

Dinner

Dinner was served after takeoff and began with onion and paprika biscuits served with a spiced apple chutney in a box, an interesting snack to begin. I do love warmed mixed nuts, but this was a nice change of pace. A hot towel followed.

I love Irish food and was looking forward to the meal. Sadly, I made the wrong choice with my main course. The appetizer salad and tomato soup were acceptable (though the tomato soup could have been warmer and the salad was only a couple of bites), but the fish was incredibly dry and tasteless. Too bad, as the description sounded excellent:

Pan-fried pollock fillet on wilted greens topped with succulent samphire, alongside crushed chive potatoes and a lemon and dill cream sauce

I usually just eat what is put before me, especially on an airplane, but this was not edible (and it seems I was not the only one who found fish unpleasant, even with the dill cream sauce, which helped).

My seatmate ordered the “eight-hour braised beef,” which looked remarkably better and he quickly devoured it. I asked the flight attendant if there were any beef entrees left, and she said no, but offered me the vegetarian entree, which was a:

Pulled mushroom and puy lentil casserole paired with fluff lemon thyme mashed potato, roast baby carrots and sauteed garlic kale

Not my favorite blend of flavors, but I like lentils was very thankful she offered this and it was much better than the fish.

To finish the meal, I had cheese (the other choice was orange mousse). I was still hungry, but thankfully fell asleep.

Mid-Flight Snacks

Snacks were offered mid-flight in the galley, but I was sleeping.

Pre-Arrival Supper

Before landing, a light meal of a lemon-dill salmon fish cake, quinoa and barley salad, Lyonnaise potatoes, and a tangy lemon yogurt dip was offered, with petit fours and coffee or tea. I was very hungry at this point and enjoyed it…it hit the spot and I am thankful that Aer Lingus serves a heartier pre-arrival meal on its longer transatlantic flights.

I had coffee to drink with it, which tasted powdered…too bad.

Amenity Kit

Aer Lingus offers an amenity kit to business class passengers on transatlantic flights. On this flight, it was a small wash bag with the Aer Lingus logo on it.

Contents included:

• socks
• dental kit
• earplugs
• eyeshade
• pen
• Jo Browne lip balm
• Jo Browne daily hydrating moisturizer

Lavatory

Business class has one lavatory in the front of the cabin and one behind in the galley area, a good ratio for 23 passengers. Like the amenity kit, the lav included Jo Browne skin products (hand lotion and hand wash).

Service

The service redeemed what otherwise would have been a fairly forgettable flight. The crew was lovely…so friendly and kind. The purser called me “love” and the flight attendant who primarily served my side of the aircraft was attentive and gracious. I really appreciated how kind the ladies were and that really made an otherwise mediocre flight an overall positive experience.

CONCLUSION

We landed in Los Angeles on-time and pulled into the Tom Bradley International Terminal (in the new annex that requires walking a marathon to get to the street).

In the end, I slept well and enjoyed great service on Aer Lingus, but I would also argue that it is objectively true that most European carriers now offer a better business class seat and subjectively true that the food may leave you disappointed. I’d fly Aer Lingus again, especially if I was in beautiful Ireland, but would not go out of my way to fly this carrier unless I got a very good deal.

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