Aer Lingus or Swiss Air?

We're doing the transatlantic Mediterranean cruise next April 14 on the Emerald Princess. I started checking for airfare from St. Louis to FLL and then return from Barcelona to St. Louis on May 1. Orbitz and Cheaptickets are selling flights from Barcelona on Aer Lingus through Dublin, and on Swiss Air through Barcelona for around $802 to $819 (for the times I chose). This is far cheaper than any other airline listed. Which airline is superior, which connection (Dublin or Zurich) is easier, and what is your opinion of buying these open jaw flights from either Orbitz or Cheaptickets? I have no experience with either of them.

Also, does anyone here know how early we could book a flight out of Barcelona the day of disembarcation? Just in case I HAVE to, instead of spending the night in Barcelona and flying out next day.

Thanks!

We just flew Air Lingus to France, through Shannon and Dublin a couple of weeks ago.

They are facing some labor issues at the moment (run a search back a couple of weeks for details) , and while they were pleasant enough and got us and our bags in acceptably, they put us through Shannon where no attempt was made to keep the plane tidy, or clean up the mess from the overnight flight. They wouldn't let us off the flight during layover and then refilled the plane with new guests who had to sit in the mess. First class looked as if my daughter had a an unsupervised sleepover with 30 12 year olds!

I want to like them, but one of the regulars on this route made the comment "Thats why we call them Air Fungus"...

I'd go with the Swiss at this particular moment if I had the choice.

Spend the night in BCN.....great city with plenty to see and do. It would be a shame to get there and just leave ASAP. Plus, the peace of mind of not having to worry about making a flight straight off the ship.

We just flew Air Lingus to France, through Shannon and Dublin a couple of weeks ago.

They are facing some labor issues at the moment (run a search back a couple of weeks for details) , and while they were pleasant enough and got us and our bags in acceptably, they put us through Shannon where no attempt was made to keep the plane tidy, or clean up the mess from the overnight flight. They wouldn't let us off the flight during layover and then refilled the plane with new guests who had to sit in the mess. First class looked as if my daughter had a an unsupervised sleepover with 30 12 year olds!

I want to like them, but one of the regulars on this route made the comment "Thats why we call them Air Fungus"...

I'd go with the Swiss at this particular moment if I had the choice.

This is really sad to hear. I have had very good experiences with EI intra Europe. Never been over the pond-waaay too many AA miles for upgrades.

Do you think it is truly the labor problems (which should be solved in time) or is the airline really going downhill?

We did a Transatlantic last April on the Voyager of the Seas and the best price oneway airfare we found was on Swiss. We stayed an extra week in Spain and Portugal and flew from Madrid to Toronto via Zurich and Montreal. Booked the airfare in Jan/07 on kayakdotcom. The Zurich airport is relatively small and the transfer was smooth and on time. The only problem we encountered was once we landed in Montreal. But that was Air Canada's fault, not Swiss. Our last leg of the trip to Toronto was on Air Canada and plane was delayed for over 2 hours! :eek:

Greatam,

It was the week following the scheduled, then aborted labor stopage. I noticed the staff huddled up quite a bit, and I even walked up a couple of times to throw my stuff out and wasn't even shown where to put my rubbish.

The attitude seemed, to me at least, that if a task, such as walking the aisle with a trashbag a couple of times during a transatlantic flight, wasn't "in the contract", it just wasn't performed.

They seemed to be suffering from "thats not my job" syndrome which I have seem before on United and American during similar situations.

However, labor issues have a way of bringing out the worst in service organizations, so I would give them the benefit of the doubt and be willing to chalk it up to negative impact of the current situation and hope that this is a temporary and correctable incident.

As I mentioned, I tried hard to like them.

Swiss! Perhaps I am a bit swayed :p In all honesty it is one of the best airlines I've ever flown with whether it was in economy, business or first.

Long haul flights with Swiss in economy is excellent, the service is great, meals are delicious, you have your own tv and remote for movies. For a few extra dollars I'd book with Swiss. I have never had a bad experience with them and flown many many times with them, more times than I can count!

We flying from Boston to Rome next April. Right now Swiss air has the best pricing, which surprises me as they have always been a great airline but I had thought they were a little more expensive than most. This is not the case with this flight. What do you think?

Also, the connection in Zurich to Rome is only 1 1/2 hrs , is that enough time??

Cant seem to decide whether to book now or wait, it is a pretty good price, $784/pp rt.

Right now Swiss air has the best pricing, which surprises me as they have always been a great airline but I had thought they were a little more expensive than most.

You may be thinking of a previous Swiss airline called Swissair. They did have a great reputation, but some big things went very wrong (commercially speaking) and they are now history.

SWISS has only existed since 31 March 2002.

 

You may be thinking of a previous Swiss airline called Swissair. They did have a great reputation, but some big things went very wrong (commercially speaking) and they are now history.

Swissair went bankrupt and then became Swiss. Same planes, same staff and same amazing level of service.

1.5 hrs to connect between Zurich and Rome is plently of time.