Aer Lingus opens its new Dublin lounge and delays the launch of its Manchester to US routes
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
Aer Lingus has unveiled its refurbished lounge in Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport.
Features include new ‘seating pods’, wireless charging points, contactless food and drink ordering and access to newspapers and magazines via PressReader.
The food and drink service seems poorer than that offered by British Airways at Heathrow. The promo video for the lounge only talks of ‘salads and sandwiches’. Instead of having your food brought to your seat, it must be collected from a pick-up point.
The lounge is open daily from 4.15am to 9pm. You find it by taking the escalator down once you have passed through the shopping area and then turning right.
You can can watch a 1 minute video of the new lounge via this Twitter post. I haven’t embedded it as it would not work for our email readers.
You can find out more on the ‘Lounges’ page of aerlingus.com here.
Can British Airways passengers use the new Aer Lingus Dublin lounge?
Aer Lingus is not in the oneworld alliance, despite being a sister company to British Airways and Iberia. This means that British Airways Executive Club status members do not have a right to use the lounge.
However, British Airways Executive Club Gold and Silver members travelling to Heathrow or Gatwick on Aer Lingus are allowed in. You are not allowed in if you are travelling on any other UK routes.
No official photographs have been released to the media and there have been no media visits. Hopefully we can take a look before too long.
Aer Lingus delays its new routes from Manchester …. again
Unsurprisingly, but still disappointingly, Aer Lingus has bowed to the inevitable and announced a further delay in the launch of its direct flights from Manchester to North America.
These are non-stop routes and do not go via Ireland. They use aircraft which are currently not required for the reduced Aer Lingus long-haul schedule being operated from Dublin.
The plan was to launch the following from Manchester:
- New York, daily from 29th July
- Orlando, 5x weekly (Thu-Mon) from 29th July
- Barbados, 3x weekly (Wed/Fri/Sun) from 20th October
Boston had also been announced from Summer 2022.
In terms of planned aircraft:
- New York is on a single-aisle A321LR
- Orlando is on a standard two-aisle A330-300
- Barbados is on a standard two-aisle A330-300
The A321LR business class cabin – the A330 is very similar – is decent, especially for solo travellers, and is shown above.
The dates were originally pushed back to September for New York and Orlando, with Barbados remaining on track for 20th October.
Irish news outlet RTE has reported a revised launch plan:
- New York will now launch on 1st December
- Orlando will now launch on 11th December
- Barbados will launch as planned on 20th October
- Boston is still planned to launch in Summer 2022
Passengers booked for October / November are being offered a full refund, re-accommodation on an alternative service or the option of an Aer Lingus voucher with an additional 10% bonus added.
PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.
How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (June 2025)
Here are the six options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.
Your best value option (but no points):
The cheapest route to a Priority Pass airport lounge card is via the Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard.
The credit card has a fee of £15 per month, and comes with a Priority Pass which gives unlimited free access for the cardholder. If you add a free supplementary cardholder, they will also receive unlimited free access.
Unlike the version of Priority Pass you receive with American Express, the Lloyds Bank version also lets you access £18 airport restaurant credits.
Even better, the credit card has 0% FX fees and comes with 0.5% cashback. Full details are in my Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard review.
Lloyds Bank World Elite Mastercard
A Priority Pass, 0% FX fees and up to 1% cashback for £15 per month Read our full review
Lounge access via American Express cards:
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.
You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges. Our in-depth review of The Platinum Card from American Express is here.
You can apply here.
The Platinum Card from American Express
50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.
Additional lounge visits are charged at £24. You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.
There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus. Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card review here.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
Lounge access via HSBC Premier credit cards (Premier account holders only):
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network. Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.
The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer. Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard
A good package, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review
Got a small business?
If you have a small business, consider The American Express Business Platinum Card which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:
The American Express Business Platinum Card
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.
Sandgrounder 
Dubious 
Anna 
roberto 
Stu N 
Save East Coast Rewards 
Blair 
Alan 
Paul 
Rob 
Dr Benway 
Charlie 
Matt 
ChrisC 
Andrew 
Comments (22)