I decided to fly Aer Lingus from Dublin to Killarney, Ireland In the spirit of doing new things to celebrate my Cancerversory. I checked in at the gate and hopped on a bus that took me to the tarmac. That was definitely new. The plane seemed small and looked like it held about 60 passengers but more importantly, it was a PROPELLER PLANE. I didn’t know those existed outside of Indiana Jones movies. Luckily for me my seatmate was Shafraz Hafiz of Kandim Maldives and he assured me we were safe and he flew on propeller planes all of the time. Here are some things to know about Aer Lingus:

1. Aer Lingus is considered a budget airline meaning there is an a la carte menu for its services. They currently offer three levels of fare: Saver, Plus and Advantage. I booked the Advantage level because I wanted to check a bag but the flight was full, the overhead bins small and the flight attendant checked several bags anyway, seemingly for free.
2. It’s on the ground floor of the Dublin airport and they board ON TIME. The waiting area is rather small so listen for your flight to be called and board the bus to the plane.
3. Join the Aer Club BEFORE you purchase your ticket so you can start collecting points and receive emails on flight specials. You may get a cheaper ticket that way.
4. Know your flight budget and compare it against ALL of the a la carte items in your basket.
5. Use a currency converter so you’ll know how much your’e paying in dollars. I use XE and have found it to be pretty accurate.

The flight was loud and bumpy and I kept thinking “I didn’t fly all the way to Ireland to die, did I?” The propellers caused the turbulence but it was a short flight to Killarney and the view from the air proved Ireland’s moniker of The Emerald Isle to be true. I landed safely and learned a bit more about aerodynamics and was on my way to my next adventure.Thanks Aer LIngus for delivering me safely!

Have you flown Aer Lingus or another budget carrier? Which level did you chose?