How was my second Aer Lingus AerSpace Airbus A321neo flight in a throne seat?

AerSpace is a class of travel Aer Lingus offer that is not quite business class, but is definitely not economy class. You can find it on select European flights and it usually comprises of the first row of the cabin on the Airbus A320.

However, if you book smart and find services operated by the Airbus A321neo or the Airbus A330, you will get to sit in what is usually the business class cabin. That makes for one of the best short-haul “business class” products in Europe.

At The Airport

Between booking and flying, aircraft swaps had seen my seat change from 3K to 1F to 2H. Unfortunately, once you have selected a seat with Aer Lingus, you can’t change it yourself and need someone to do it for you. Anyway, I took the bus to the Dublin Airport, arrived at Terminal 2 and headed upstairs to Fast-Track Security.

Processing times have largely gone back to normal, so I was through very quickly and spat out on the other side. As lounge access is included with an AerSpace ticket I spent some time there before boarding. Whilst there, I asked for my seat to be reassigned so they did that and issued a new boarding pass for the seat I had originally been in when I booked. A good result!

EI162 – Dublin to London Heathrow (DUB-LHR)
12 August 2022
Airbus A321neo – EI-LRC – St. Fiacre
Seat: AerSpace 3K
Departure: 11:15 Arrival: 12:40

Soon enough it was time to board and I boarded with the first group since I had priority boarding. Once on the plane, I took stock of my surroundings.

AerSpace Airbus A321neo Cabin

These aircraft usually operate transatlantic flights, and feature 16 lie-flat business class seats. There are four single seats, which are nicknamed throne seats by frequent flyers and I had one of these.

Boarding proceeded quite swiftly and once everyone was seated, the crew did the manual safety demonstration. Without much further ado, we took to the sunny morning Dublin sky and set course for London. Almost all the seats were taken in the cabin which is always good to see. That is interesting, as the Irish airline doesn’t offer business class within Europe as they apparently think there is no demand for it. I don’t know about that though, especially these days with Ireland being so wealthy.

On Board Service

Food and drink is free for passengers travelling in AerSpace, though it is from the buy on board menu that everyone has access to. To get the best bang for my buck, I elected to have a Prosecco (€8) and a Ham and Cheese Croque ($5.75) as I wanted something hot.

Almost everything else is “ambient” as they say these days, so there are sandwiches, wraps, chocolates, crisps and things like that on offer. The sooner they bring back their full Irish Breakfast the better.

It took a little while to heat up my croque, so I relaxed with the moving map and enjoyed the flying. Once delivered, I found the food to be really tasty, as it always tends to be on Aer Lingus.

When everything was finished, the crew swept through the cabin collecting rubbish. After that, they checked we were all buckled in and then we landed on time into London Heathrow.

Overall Thoughts

My second time flying Aer Lingus AerSpace was just as good as the first. I find the long-haul product to be really nice, especially on a short-haul flight.

I think the ticket set me back €100, which is very good value considering you get fast-track security, lounge access, a checked bag, free seat selection and a free meal. Remember though, it’s not business class – though it sure looks like it in many ways.

What do you think of the premium service on Aer Lingus? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

Like planes? See my “Does anyone remember” series.
Flight reviews your thing? Mine are all indexed here.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.