More Flight Advice Aer Lingus

[scoobydooby]

Sooooo. Have found an indirect flight with Aer Lingus I think I will go for. Birmingham to Orlando changing at Dublin. For reasons I have no logical explanation for I’d rather make the transfer in Dublin than the US. The cost is only £260 more than I’d set my limit at so can live with that given summer prices next year. So two questions. Do we clear US Immigration in Dublin and do we collect our cases at Dublin or does that happen in the background? I hate the idea of giving my cases up……. Thank you.

[Warkman58]

We have used this route many times.
You go through USA customs and border Protection at Dublin. The area past this customs gate is classed as USA territory so when you arrive into the USA it’s as a domestic flight. This is only for flights direct to the USA, not through another country like the U.K. or Canada.
You fly into terminal 1 at Dublin from Birmingham, then follow the signs for transiting passengers to Terminal 2. You will go through customs entry and security.
Your cases will meet you in Orlando. You don’t have to collect your cases at Dublin. At USA customs, they will show you pictures of cases and ask if these are yours.
Past the USA customs there is very little in terms of places to eat or drink, one shop and the business lounge 51st and green. If you want to eat before customs is better

[thatdavieguy]

word of note re: dublin - the queue for customs can be busy, where possible give yourself as much transit time as they folk working the queues won't let you jump the queue, they'll tell you stay where you are and will only expedite you if you get a "last call" from some at the gate coming to shout for passengers

[tspill]

If going via Dublin (the airport we would normally use), I would strongly suggest you travel the previous day/evening. There are not a lot of USA flights to the US and if yo miss your flight, they next available flight might be days of delay. This does happen much more often than in US connections as flights are often full.

[mousefan]

This is the route we take as we like the convenience of flying from BHX. As an Aer Lingus transit passenger you’ll land in T2 so no need to change terminals, although this would be very easy in any case. You also check your bags in at BHX and then will next see them in MCO, although you may be shown a picture of your luggage at pre-clear to confirm it’s yours. Agree that you should take the earlier flight if possible. The 8 a.m. flight gives you plenty of wriggle room whereas the later flight, which is usually around noon if it’s running next year, is too close for comfort. The DUB to MCO flight is usually at around 3pm. Upon landing in DUB everything is well signposted to take you to pre-clearance.

[scoobydooby]

Thanks all very helpful. I have another question. On a Smart ticket do I have to pay to ore book seats? I am confused by what I have read as their tick box thingy seems to suggest not, but then another part of their website shows a whole range of prices and that would vastly reduce the value of the seats.

[scoobydooby]

Hi. Does anyone know the answer to the above? I’m about to pull the trigger but still confused about if we have to pay to choose seats in the SMART ticket category?

[landandword17]

Originally Posted by scoobydooby

Hi. Does anyone know the answer to the above? I’m about to pull the trigger but still confused about if we have to pay to choose seats in the SMART ticket category?

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Yes, you get seat selection with the Smart Fare. It's the rows at the back of the plane that you can choose for free. They add a fee to the ones closer to the front.

[Wishes2013]

What sort of prices have you found for this route? We have always travelled with Tui from Birmingham, but the Tui prices for next August are just silly!

[landandword17]

Originally Posted by Wishes2013

What sort of prices have you found for this route? We have always travelled with Tui from Birmingham, but the Tui prices for next August are just silly!

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For Birmingham look at Lufthansa too. Both Lufthansa and Aer Lingus should undercut TUI by a few hundred per person.

You can run the date through here to get an overview of all the indirect options: matrix.itasoftware/