Transportation
Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider
An Aer Lingus Airbus A330 at Dublin Airport.
- Aer Lingus is Ireland's national airline.
- Since 2015, Aer Lingus has been part of International Airlines Group or IAG and is a sister company of British Airways and Iberia.
- We recently had the chance to fly Aer Lingus between New York and the airline's home base in Dublin on board a new Airbus A330.
- We were impressed with the airline's service, cabin amenities, and entertainment options.
Ireland is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. In 2017, nearly 9 million people visited the island nation, 1.7 million of which hailed from North America.
Aer Lingus was founded in 1936 and is Ireland's national airline despite the fact that it's actually the country's second-largest carrier behind ultra-low-cost giant Ryanair.
In case you're wondering, its name is an anglicization of the Irish words for "air fleet."
In the late 2000s, Aer Lingus suffered greatly from the fallout of the financial crisis. This led to a succession of failed takeover attempts by Ryanair.
International Airlines Group or IAG completed a €1.5 billion or $1.7 million takeover of Aer Lingus in late 2015, making the airline a sister company of legacy brands like British Airways and Iberia.
Read more: I flew Virgin Atlantic from London to New York to see if Richard Branson's airline is still one of the world's best - here's the verdict.
These days, Aer Lingus is a four-star airline according to the reviewers at consumer aviation website Skytrax and operates a fleet of around 50 Airbus and Boeing jets.
Recently, I had the chance to visit the Emerald Isle with my fiance and as part of the experience, we chose to fly Aer Lingus between Newark Liberty International Airport just outside of New York and the airline's home base in Dublin Airport.
Aer Lingus operates flights to 13 US cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Seattle. The airline also flies to two destinations in Canada; Toronto and Montreal.
We took Aer Lingus Flight EI100 to Dublin and returned home on Flight EI101.
Here's a look at our experience in economy class on board Aer Lingus Flight EI101 from Dublin to Newark.