A Weekend Jaunt: Part 8 – Aer Lingus: EDI > DUB > BOS

Previous Trip Notes
A Weekend Jaunt:Part 1 – UA950 Business Class: IAD > BRU
A Weekend Jaunt: Part 2 – 5 Hours in Brussels
A Weekend Jaunt: Part 3 – Sheraton Grand & Edinburgh
A Weekend Jaunt: Part 4 – St. Andrews, Old Course
A Weekend Jaunt: Part 5 – The Fairmont, St. Andrews
A Weekend Jaunt: Part 6 – The Castle Course
A Weekend Jaunt: Part 7 – Waldorf Astoria, The Caledonian
A Weekend Jaunt: Part 8 – Aer Lingus: EDI > DUB > BOS

The final day was here. We had a couple great days of golf and sight-seeing, caught up on our sleep, and survived a brutal drive on the wrong side of the road. I often talk about the earning side of miles and points, but only rarely talk about the different ways to use those miles and points. The reality is, there are so many tips and tricks, that tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of miles can be saved on most trips. This trip was no different.

I booked the initial flight from Dublin to Boston. Considering I was going from Edinburgh, Scotland to Washington, D.C., why would I book this? Looking at the British Airways Award Chart, these two airports fall within the mileage ring where it only costs 12,500 miles in economy or 25,000 miles in business! Compare that to our flight from D.C. to Edinburgh, this makes it more than 50% cheaper! Tack on a cheap Aer Lingus flight from EDI to DUB and cheap Southwest flight from BOS to BWI, and you have yourself a pretty good deal!

We arrived at Edinburgh airport, and I was a little concerned that I would have to pay for checked baggage for the Dublin to Boston segment. I purposefully pre-paid for the baggage on the Edinburgh to Dublin flight, with hopes that I could ask for the bags to be checked through all the way to Boston, even though the two flights were booked separately. Despite mixed experiences on Flyertalk, the agent said it wouldn’t be a problem and checked our bags all the way through.

The airport was relatively small, and the airport lounge was closed due to renovations, but there was a temporary location they turned into a “lounge”:

Temporary Lounge in EDI

Temporary Lounge in EDI

Temporary Lounge in EDI

New Lounge Coming Soon

We made our way to the gate and watched them load the luggage:

Aer Lingus Flight – EDI > DUB

We arrived in Dublin with tons of time until our next flight; however, when reading our boarding passes, it stated we needed to get to the gate at least 2.5 hours early to clear customs IN DUBLIN. Well, we were landing exactly 2.5 hours before our flight. In Dublin you have to re-clear security before even getting to the pre-clearance facility. So we waited in the security line. And waited. 2 hours until our flight: yikes. We were a bit more than a little nervous. We made it to the pre-clearance area 90-minutes before our flight, half expecting to be told we were out of luck. Instead, we breezed through the lines to get to our gate about 80-minutes before the flight. So, what does one do in Dublin for 80 minutes? Why, have a Guinness beer of course!

Drinking Guinness in Ireland

Despite checking with British Airways everyday for about a month, no Business Class seat opened up to book on miles even though the cabin was completely empty! We boarded our Aer Lingus flight – first peering into the completely empty Business Class with a sigh, and then made our way to our seats. The flight was relatively empty, most likely due to it being Easter Sunday. Wireless internet was offered for $25 for the flight, but I opted to read and write part of this trip report – which I managed to publish only a mere ten months later. As it turned out, as it usually always does, economy was just fine, with a couple beers to accompany the mediocre food:

Food in Economy on Aer Lingus DUB > BOS

Irish Stew on Aer Lingus in Economy

We departed the plane to head to the baggage claim. NSPdad went to Delta to catch his final flight, and I had about a 90-minute layover, so I headed to the Air France Lounge (I received access due to it being a Priority Lounge and it coming with my AMEX Business Platinum Card). The lounge was fantastic, one of the best I’ve been to in the United States: