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JetBlue + Aer Lingus = you’d better love both airlines to fly this combo

I got the e-mail about the JetBlue + Aer Lingus sale. The partnership connects 25+ U.S. cities with Ireland’s Dublin and Shannon airports via JetBlue and Aer Lingus. St. Patrick’s Day is a great time to be thinking about (and booking) travel to Ireland, but budget-conscious travelers might want to do their homework before jumping on this sale.

The deal doesn’t promote any bottom-line fares, but I found a round-trip flight between Long Beach (LGB) and Dublin (DUB) (April 25-May 9) on JetBlue/Aer Lingus for $812 including taxes. If you drive 22 miles to LAX you can fly to Dublin on Continental for $388 round trip, including taxes [Kayak]. That’s a big difference. With both options there was a stop on the East Coast to change planes. I tried other dates on JetBlue/Aer Lingus and kept stumbling on fares around $1,000. But I double-checked the Kayak prices with FareCompare and again found flights between LGB and DUB for $400 round trip, including taxes on US Airways.

Is the JetBlue legroom worth the extra price?

Note: Travelers that start their trip in a JetBlue city can take advantage of an Aer Lingus-JetBlue itinerary by having their luggage check through to their final destination in Ireland.

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Image: aerlingus.com]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 5:17 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under Airline travel, Business Travel, Deals, Europe, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

2 Comments on “JetBlue + Aer Lingus = you’d better love both airlines to fly this combo”

Jamie Says:
March 18th, 2009 at 5:55 am
True, JetBlue gives you extra legroom. But Continental still serves complimentary meals to Coach passengers on domestic flights (the only airline to do so), so even given an equal cost, I’d say it’s up in the air.

If CAL is cheaper, then factoring in the meals and their service (which is quite good for a legacy airline), it’s clearly the way to go to Dublin…that’s how I went in February, actually. ;-)
Anonymous Says:
June 19th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Aer Lingus is the best airline ever!!!!!!!!!!1