Best Ways to Book Aer Lingus Business Class with Points and Miles

The flag carrier of Ireland, Aer Lingus is known for its extensive route network between Ireland and cities in the U.S., Canada and Europe. However, most travel enthusiasts don’t tend to associate Aer Lingus with luxury. Nonetheless, when flying in Aer Lingus business class, you’ll enjoy luxury amenities such as fully lie-flat seats on certain flights, complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the flight, gourmet in-flight dining (with delicious options for vegans and vegetarians), a large personal entertainment monitor, airport lounge access and more.

However, even though Aer Lingus’s business-class product isn’t as famous as some other airlines (such as Qatar Airways Qsuites, for instance), cash prices for these flights can still be rather high. So, if you want to keep your out-of-pocket costs low and still experience Aer Lingus business class, the best way to do so is by using points and miles.

In this article, we’ll run through some of the best ways to book Aer Lingus business-class award flights with points and miles, including which credit card rewards programs to use, which frequent flyer programs to use and how to effectively search for these types of awards. Plus, we’ll take a brief look at what you can expect when flying in Aer Lingus business class.

What to Expect in Aer Lingus Business Class

Aer Lingus offers business class on four of its aircraft types: Airbus A330-300, Airbus A330-200, Airbus A321 XLR and Airbus A321neo LR, all of which are used for long-haul flights. Aer Lingus also has Airbus A320neo, Airbus A320 and ATR 72-600 in its fleet, but these aircraft are only used for short- and medium-haul flights and don’t offer a business-class product.

Airbus A330-300 aircraft (which are used mostly for flights between Dublin and North America East Coast destinations) include 30 business-class seats, either in a 2-2-2 configuration (on A330-305) or in an alternating configuration of 1-2-1 and 1-2-2 (on A330-302). Each business-class seat can lie-flat and has a fully-extended length of 77 inches and a width of 22 inches. Seats on these aircraft also have easy-to-use seat controls with a massage option. Each business-class seat on Airbus A330-300 aircraft has its own 16-inch high-definition Panasonic entertainment monitor.

There are two different versions of the Airbus A330-200 in the Aer Lingus fleet, both of which are used for transatlantic flights, particularly to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Both aircraft types have 23 business-class seats arranged in an alternating configuration of 1-2-1 and 1-2-2.

Each seat is 77 inches in length when fully extended into a lie-flat bed and 22 inches in width. You’ll also have your own 16-inch HD Panasonic entertainment screen.

The Airbus A321 XLR has the newest business-class product in the Aer Lingus fleet and is used for certain flights across the Atlantic Ocean. This aircraft includes 16 business-class seats in a spacious alternating configuration of 2-2 and 1-1, giving passengers between 46 and 47 inches between each seat. The seats themselves are the standard 77 inches long when fully extended into lie-flat beds and 22 inches in width. Business-class seats on these aircraft also have an 18-inch 4K ultra-high-definition touchscreen entertainment system, the largest in the fleet.

Airbus A321neo LR aircraft also have 16 business-class seats in an alternating configuration of 2-2 and 1-1. These aircraft are both for transatlantic flights and flights within Europe. Business-class seats on these aircraft lie flat to a length of 77 inches and have a width of 22 inches. Seats on these aircraft also have electronic seat controls with a massage setting.

Business-class seats on all Aer Lingus flights have ample storage space as well as plenty of power outlets (both USB and AC), which can be used to charge your devices. Complimentary Wi-Fi will also be available throughout your flight. And all personal entertainment monitors are equipped with over 90 hours of TV shows, movies on demand, over 1,000 music albums, podcasts and interactive games. You can also use this screen to take LinkedIn Learning courses that can teach you skills and enhance your career.

Aer Lingus business-class in-flight dining features the finest Irish produce and flavors inspired by global cuisine. All business-class passengers on evening flights will receive a starter (such as a smoked salmon platter or soup), an entreé (such as braised beef brisket, roasted cod, vegetable risotto, Guinness short ribs, juicy skin-on chicken breast and more) and a dessert (such as raspberry and lemon mousse, strawberries and cream or a cheese platter).

On certain business-class flights, if you prefer to settle down to sleep sooner, you can request an express tray, which includes an abridged version of the multi-course meal described above. This tray will arrive almost immediately after take off so you can maximize your sleeping time.

On morning flights, business-class passengers also have their choice of several breakfast options, including smoothies, homemade granola with blueberry compote on yogurt, a bacon roll and more.

For beverages, you can accompany your meal with a selection from Aer Lingus’ wine list, which includes red wine, white wine, rosé and champagne. This wine list won the Bronze medal for “Business Class Cellar” according to the 2024 Business Traveller “Cellars in the Sky” rankings. You can also get cocktails (including cosmos, margaritas, old fashioneds, negronis and more), spirits, beer, Magners Irish Cider and non-alcoholic beverages like juices, sodas, teas and coffee.

Business-class passengers on all transatlantic flights will receive an amenity kit upon boarding their flight. This kit will include skincare products from Jo Browne Ireland (all of which are made using eco-friendly materials). The kit also contains a pen, a toothbrush, toothpaste, earplugs, a premium molded eye mask, luxurious socks and more.

And, of course, your business-class experience will begin before you even get on the plane as all Aer Lingus business-class passengers have complimentary access to Aer Lingus Lounges in Dublin (DUB), London (LHR) and New York (JFK). Plus, if you’re flying out of or arriving in Dublin, you can check out the 51st&Green Lounge in the U.S. Pre-clearance area or the Revival Lounge located in the arrivals hall in Terminal 2.

Aer Lingus business-class passengers are also entitled to complimentary entry to other airport lounges around the world. The following chart shows the global airport lounges you can access with an Aer Lingus business-class ticket:

So, despite the fact that Aer Lingus isn’t a member of any airline alliance, there are still quite a few airport lounges around the world if you’re flying in Aer Lingus business class.

Finally, as an Aer Lingus business-class passenger, you’ll receive a suite of pre-flight perks at the airport, including dedicated check-in desks, fast-track security and priority boarding.

Best Programs Through Which to Book Aer Lingus Business Class

Although Aer Lingus is not part of any airline alliance, the airline has several partner airlines that allow you to book Aer Lingus business-class flights through their frequent flyer programs. However, each of these programs has a different system for pricing award flights, which means that the same award flight might require more miles through one program than another.

Plus, certain programs are easier to earn miles with than others due to the fact that they allow transfers from major U.S. credit card rewards programs.

So, with these things in mind, let’s look at a few of the best frequent flyer programs through which to book Aer Lingus business-class flights.

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

One great program through which to book Aer Lingus business-class award flights is the Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards program. This frequent flyer program has an abundance of Aer Lingus business-class award space on transatlantic flights. Plus, since the Mileage Plan program uses fixed distance-based award charts to price partner award flights, you can often find outsized value on Aer Lingus business-class awards.

The best way to find business-class awards at favorable rates through this program is to click the “Flexible dates” box when conducting your award search through the Alaska Airlines website.

This will trigger the calendar view. Then, you can filter this calendar for business-class rates only. You’ll then be able to see the lowest rate for a business-class flight on each day of the month. If you’re willing to be flexible with your dates, this can help you save a ton of miles.

For example, using this method, we found a round-trip Aer Lingus business-class award itinerary between New York (JFK) and Dublin (DUB) for just 90,000 miles and $77 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the exact same itinerary with cash through the Aer Lingus website, it would cost you about $3,041.

Thus, by booking this itinerary with miles, you’d be getting a redemption value of about 3.3 cents per mile (factoring in the taxes and fees paid for the award flight), which is great.

Out of all of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs, Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards only allows 1:1 transfers from Bilt Rewards.

British Airways Executive Club

Another good program through which to book Aer Lingus business-class award flights is British Airways Executive Club. This program has a lot of Aer Lingus business-class award space on transatlantic flights. British Airways Executive Club also uses a fixed distance-based award chart to price partner flights, which means you can often find outsized value on Aer Lingus business-class awards.

For instance, we found a round-trip Aer Lingus business-class itinerary between Boston (BOS) and Dublin (DUB) for 120,000 Avios and about $322 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the same itinerary through the Aer Lingus website, it would cost you about $2,791

So, by booking this flight itinerary with British Airways Avios instead of cash, you’d be getting a value of about 2.1 cents per Avios (accounting for the taxes and fees paid for the award flight), which is decent.

One great advantage of the British Airways Executive Club program is that it’s a 1:1 transfer partner of nearly every major U.S. credit card rewards program, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards.

While British Airways Executive Club isn’t a direct transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Rewards, Avios can be transferred between the different frequent flyer programs that use the currency. And, since Qatar Airways Privilege Club is an Avios-using program and a 1:1 transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Rewards, you could transfer Citi points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club first and then move those Avios over to British Airways Executive Club.

Thus, if you have a rewards credit card from nearly any major U.S. issuer, you can easily earn Avios with the British Airways Executive Club program and then redeem them for Aer Lingus business-class award flights.

The Bottom Line

While Aer Lingus isn’t generally known for luxury, the Irish flag carrier does still offer a solid business-class product on all transatlantic flights as well as long-haul flights around Europe. When flying in Aer Lingus business class, you’ll enjoy amenities such as a lie-flat bed, complimentary gourmet meals and top-shelf beverages, a high-definition personal entertainment monitor of up to 18 inches, an amenity kit containing eco-friendly self care products and more.

But, since booking Aer Lingus business-class tickets with cash can be expensive, we recommend using points and miles to keep your out-of-pocket costs low. Typically, the best place to search for Aer Lingus business-class awards is the Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards program as this program has favorable pricing on these awards and is a direct transfer partner fo Bilt Rewards.

However, if you can’t find your desired award flight through the Mileage Plan program or you don’t have Bilt points or Amex points to transfer, then you can search for Aer Lingus business-class awards through the British Airways Executive Club program. This program also offers lots of Aer Lingus business-class award space and is a transfer partner of nearly every major U.S. credit card rewards program.