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The new Aer Lingus A321LR business class seat is revealed

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Australian Business Traveller, of all people, has got exclusive images of the business class seat that Aer Lingus is using on its new A321LR fleet.

Aer Lingus has 14 of these aircraft on order.  Whilst they will look like standard short haul aircraft from the outside, they have capacity to fly transatlantic.  Aer Lingus has also announced plans to use them on selected short haul routes, both to keep the aircraft busy during the day and to allow premium passengers a good connection experience.

The seat is, not surprisingly, the same ‘Vantage’ product used on its A330 and Boeing 757 fleet.   Click to enlarge:

Aer Lingus A321LR business class seat

There will be 16 seats per aircraft with a staggered layout in order that the feet of the person behind can fit under the seat in front.  This is a layout which usually works well unless you don’t like your feet being in a cubbyhole.

Aer Lingus A321LR business class seat


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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British Airways American Express

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You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

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You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

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American Express Business Gold

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Comments (95)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Celia says:

    BA ad – isn’t it Winnie the Pooh rather than Paddington…….. just saying

  • Celia says:

    It’s quite important to differentiate honey from marmalade

    • Anna says:

      Indeed, and Paddington was from Peru so can’t truly be classed as “British society” 😂.

  • Nick M says:

    OT – Eurostar points… do these still expire after a certain period of inactivity?

    AwardWallet told me they did, but I’m not sure if as part of the transition from the old scheme they automatically input the old expiry date and stopped tracking it… Someone on Twitter said that they don’t expire but would prefer to have additional backup!

    • Genghis says:

      You just need to earn one point every two years. The AW date doesn’t work IME.

      • Nick M says:

        Thanks – not sure why their Twitter rep said not to worry… is there anything you can do other than booking a train or transferring Amex MR?

  • VJ says:

    O/T : Any Lounge available in Hong Kong Terminal 1 Arrival with Amex Platinum (Economy and no other status airline status)

    • Polly says:

      No, sadly…

    • the_real_a says:

      The Plaza Premium in T2 Arrivals is walk-able in 5 minutes from T1. Its just around the corner from the train. Highly recommend, decent food and showers although staff are a bit surly. Amex plat (alone) and Priority Pass accepted.

  • Kai says:

    OT: I’ve always been able to select exit row seats (European flights) for free with my BA silver status. Tried a dummy booking yesterday LHR-ORD and during the process I was asked to pay £62 for exit row. I guess it’s not free for long haul flights?

    • Ben says:

      Its 100% free for LH flights. I just booked 62A for my flight to Johannesburg

    • AlexT says:

      Selecting exit row seats on long haul flights is only free for Gold and GGL.

  • Leo says:

    OT: sorry for the OT, any one know if I choose seats today as a Silver will we booted out of them when I turn Bronze at the end of the month? Not flying till June. Trying for exit row obviously. Cheers.

    • Jonny says:

      Hi Leo, IME (as we had the same silver/bronze downgrade seat booking scenario last year) this will not happen and the seats you choose now will remain yours regardless of BAEC status at the time of flying.

    • Doug M says:

      Mostly you’re OK. I believe if they change the plane you could lose them. They reassign on current status at that point.

  • Stuart says:

    Do we know if these intra Europe flights are loaded in the system & bookable yet ? Many thanks

    • Rob says:

      No, not been mentioned. Or, more precisely, the flights probably are bookable as standard Aer Lingus flights will be switched nearer the time.

  • Nick_C says:

    Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have a hotel booked in NYC with this offer, but I hadn’t even thought to check my supp Plat card. Now looking to extend my stay, or do a two centre.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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