The center is arranged in pairs, while the right side alternates between pairs and solo seats and features the well-known throne seats (3K and 5K), both of which were already unavailable when I called for a seat assignment several weeks back. The left side of the airplane is configured with all direct-aisle solo seats, making it great for travelers like myself. The cabin is mostly whites and grey, with pops of the airline’s signature shades of green emanating from the upholstery on the seats. Once down the jetway, my travel buddy and I stepped into the Aer Lingus Airbus A330 widebody aircraft. But only five minutes later, Aer Lingus began boarding anyways. An update came 20 minutes later announcing a 20-minute delay. But it was badly overcrowded, so I grabbed a few quick bites and a water and left to walk around the terminal instead.īoarding calls in the lounge were made on time, though nothing was happening at the gate. The carrier utilizes the British Airways Terraces Lounge at SeaTac. Aer Lingus does not use TSA PreCheck, but thankfully the premium cabin lines at the security checkpoint were relatively short. It was long, but far better than the incredibly slow-moving line for economy class. Several weeks later I was stepping off the curb and into SeaTac Airport on a pleasant December evening. A quick call to a very friendly Aer Lingus customer service agent addressed the issue, and I wound up in 6A. While a booking code and confirmation appeared quickly, neither the Alaska app nor the Aer Lingus website would let me select a seat. The cash cost of the business class seat at the time of booking was $3,300. I booked it instantly, paying $20.70 in taxes and fees. That is until a very lucky search from a friend turned up a result for only 60K miles from my home base of Seattle to Paris via Dublin in early December. But the redemption rates are typically high, regularly clocking in at 4.5x that of the next closest partner. Unlike most Alaska awards to Europe, premium cabin redemptions are easy to find on the Shamrock airline and taxes/fees are low. Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus partners with Alaska Airlines for award redemptions, though it is not currently part of oneworld. Originally the plan was to fly to Paris via LAX in order to try Air Tahiti Nui or French Bee. Once my ducks were in a row, I set about to build the trip. Luckily for me, I had built up some vacation time and quickly set my sights on Europe, where a few specific experiences had been calling my name since before the Covid era. With 2022 drawing to a close, I was craving one last adventure.
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