Aer Lingus introducing AerSpace business class on UK and European flights

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• Riku says:

  10 May10 May 04:04

  sounds very underwhelming . If only row one is allocated to AerSpace then you’re almost guaranteed a full row of economy passengers in row 2 bumping the back of your seat and zero possibility of moving row for some peace and quiet like you can have towards the back of a proper european business class “cabin”.

  • Erico1875 says:

    10 May10 May 05:57

    How awful! And the smell too. Maybe they could leave row 2 empty to separate from the riff raffle.

  • ChrisC says:

    10 May10 May 19:00

    Very few European airlines have a dedicated business class cabin on short haul and they vary the size by simply moving the curtain so it is very unlikely there would be any spare rows.

    I’ve been on BA where the ‘cabin’ is two rows long with the curtain behind row 2 and when it has been 7 rows long with no spare rows

    Which airlines were you thinking of?

    • riku2 says:

      11 May11 May 05:26

      I was thinking of British Airways and Finnair where there are often empty rows when I fly London-Helsinki. The nicest european business class flight I had was Rome-Helsinki in exit row 10 with an empty row behind and four empty rows in front.

• David S says:

  10 May10 May 06:23

  We have a long haul BA flight into Gatwick in CW connecting to Dublin on Aer Lingus to Dublin. (Same ticket). Since currently we are booked into economy since Aerspace is not currently offered, is there a chance they will be booked into row 1. Flight is not till December.

• IslandDweller says:

  10 May10 May 07:43

  “It is unclear whether Aer Lingus will install a middle-seat table, like on BA.”
  Clarification. Like BA for now on some aircraft. New BA aircraft such as NEO series (and those going through refit with new seats) don’t have the middle seat table.

• Trent says:

  10 May10 May 07:52

  They won’t install a table or even a cabin divider. The aircraft will be used on non AerSpace routes as well, so none of that messing.

• Charlieface says:

  10 May10 May 10:34

  What I can’t understand when airlines launch this kind of business-lite product is why they don’t argue more strongly for the lower rate APD. My armchair lawyer says this isn’t much extra legroom or comfort to justify classifying it in the higher rate.

  • Chris L says:

    10 May10 May 11:30

    The higher rate of APD applies to any class of travel other than ‘the lowest class of travel available on the plane” OR where the seat pitch is greater than 40 inches. In this case, the former would apply, regardless of the legroom, due to the empty middle seat. The 40 inch rule catches services which are all business class.

    • Charlieface says:

      10 May10 May 13:34

      But is it really a different class of travel? It’s the same seat, just they guarantee an empty middle. And what about Cityflyer or KLM Cityhopper, they have no empty middle?

      • Chris L says:

        10 May10 May 13:47

        If it costs more then it is considered a different class.

        • Charlieface says:

          10 May10 May 15:47

          Not true. E.g. just extra legroom seat is not charged at the higher rate.
          The legislation isn’t clear, it just says “lowest class of travel”
          Gov.uk guidance says this:

          The following on their own do not affect the class of travel, but may do so if they form part of a package of benefits:

          buying goods and services on board unless they add up to an upgrade
          paying extra to choose a seat, as long as it is not a better class of seat
          paying extra to sit next to an empty seat
          paying for an empty seat
          paying extra for a seat with extra legroom, as long as:
          the seat is not separated from the ordinary seats in any way
          there are no other benefits linked with the seat
          paying extra for benefits such as:
          pre-booking
          reduced check in times
          fast track through security
          priority boarding
          access to VIP lounges
          transport to or from the airport
          better baggage allowances

          The key here is “may do so” it seems HMRC aren’t sure either

        • Rob says:

          10 May10 May 16:02

          I think the lack of a curtain and the lack of different food means it won’t apply, although if BA starts selling it as ‘Business Class’ on the codeshares then clearly HMRC will take that into account!

        • Shoestring says:

          10 May10 May 15:52

          I guess HBO and +1 checked luggage (ie on BA) both pay the same APD, as both are Economy

          so better baggage allowance is not a game changer on its own

        • Charlieface says:

          10 May10 May 16:17

          But that’s what I’m saying: why would airlines voluntarily call European Business Class as such? Vueling and others just call it Excellence/Premium/etc and I don’t think you pay higher APD on it

        • riku2 says:

          11 May11 May 05:33

          APD is only a tax in the UK and airlines don’t have to design their offering based on the tax in one country they fly to. Even when I fly BA I rarely pay APD since i’m not starting my trip in the UK and the connection at LHR is under 24h.
          Not sure why an Irish airline would have to design its cabins around the tax charged on flights from the UK .. I do think they’re an independent country now.

• Shoestring says:

  10 May10 May 12:54

  At least on this plane there won’t be Business numpties giving you a ‘look’ if you’re in Economy but use the forward loo.

  I usually manage to get Economy seats in the 7-10 or Exit range, so going to the forward loo makes more sense than tramping to the back, plus at the back there’s more of a queue.

  Had a few looks from passenger numpties but *never* a word or a look from cabin crew. I doubt even if it’s BA policy to ‘enforce the curtain’ as regards using the loo, however much Business passengers think it’s theirs in exclusivity.

  • Doug M says:

    10 May10 May 13:21

    Never took you as the sensitive type, the nasty Business types giving you the evil eye. Apart from the last row of business how do they even know? I’m pretty sure there’s no policy on the part of BA, and given the number of seats and toilets using the forward toilet makes prefect sense. However, if a queue formed that’s a bit crap for your masters up front to have unwashed masses from economy in close proximity.

    • Shoestring says:

      10 May10 May 13:59

      Never bothered me. I would listen to cabin crew but nowadays they don’t ask passengers to keep to ‘their’ loo, either over the loudspeaker or in person & I simply don’t believe that BA would enforce what is in effect a fairly silly rule when there aren’t enough loos to go round in the first place. I don’t recall exclusive use of the front loo being touted as an advantage of travelling Club 🙂

  • Larry says:

    10 May10 May 19:21

    Have you watched the Cure Your Enthusiasm episode covering this scenario (vice-versa!) ??

    • Larry says:

      10 May10 May 19:21

      Curb, not Cure!!!

  • Crafty says:

    11 May11 May 10:51

    Cathay Pacific crew told me off for this, even though we were in PE and flying with a toddler. The business loos were 2 yards from our seats. The economy loos were right at the back of the plane.

• HAM76 says:

  10 May10 May 22:03

  Reminds me of when airberlin introduced business class for its European flights. They did charge a business class price, even when their offer was subpar.

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