Does Aer Lingus have Wi-Fi? As of this week, the answer on almost every flight to the US is yes, and it's free. Ireland's national airline has finished installing SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet on nearly all of its transatlantic planes, and it's giving it away to every passenger. It's one of the biggest upgrades the airline has made in years. It's also a reminder of how much else still needs fixing.
The Wi-Fi Is a Real Win
Starlink is the fastest Wi-Fi you can get on a plane right now, fast enough to stream video or join a video call, and Aer Lingus says speeds are on par with home internet. Every one of its single-aisle A321 jets that fly to North America has it, along with all of its larger A330-300s. Only two older A330-200s are missing out, and those are reportedly due to be parked.
Free, fast Wi-Fi used to be a perk you'd only find on a handful of airlines. Now every big US airline is moving toward free Wi-Fi, so Aer Lingus needed to keep up, and it did. For a lot of travelers, it'll be the thing they remember about the flight.
But Wi-Fi is the easy part. You can't download your way out of a dated seat or a frustrating airport.
Aer Lingus · Starlink Wi-Fi
Free Starlink on Aer Lingus
Contrail
The Business Class Hasn't Kept Up
Aer Lingus' business class on its A330s dates back to a fleet-wide refit about a decade ago. The seats lie flat, and that was a big deal at the time. But the rest of the transatlantic market has moved on. United, Delta, British Airways and Air France's newest business classes all have private suites with doors, and Aer Lingus' A330 seats don't. When you're paying thousands for a business class ticket to Europe, it's hard to choose an airline that feels a generation behind.
The Network Is Small
Aer Lingus is flying its biggest US schedule ever next year, with 26 destinations across North America. That's impressive for an airline its size. But beyond Dublin, it's built for one job: getting people between Ireland and North America. If you're heading somewhere else in Europe, you're connecting in Dublin to a short-haul network that's much smaller than what you'd get through London, Paris or Amsterdam. Aer Lingus is part of the same airline group as British Airways and Iberia, but it doesn't offer anything like their reach.
Dublin Airport Is the Biggest Problem
Then there's Dublin. The airport has been capped at 32 million passengers a year by planning rules, a limit airlines have spent years fighting, arguing it held back growth. The Irish government passed a law this summer giving the transport minister power to scrap the cap, but the fight itself says a lot about how stretched the airport has been. Many travelers also still remember the summer of 2022, when security lines got so long that passengers missed their flights.
Dublin does have one huge advantage: US preclearance. You go through American immigration and customs before you board, so you land in the US as if it were a domestic flight. That's a genuine reason to connect through Dublin, and it's one of Aer Lingus' best selling points.
Worth It?
Starlink makes Aer Lingus a better airline to fly in economy, and if you're going to Ireland, it's an easy choice. But for business class travelers, or anyone heading beyond Ireland, free Wi-Fi isn't enough to make up for an aging cabin and a hub that's still catching up. Aer Lingus fixed the easiest thing first. The harder fixes are the ones that matter.
