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Taken January 2003 from Dublin to Rome

I've travelled the Dublin-Milan and Dublin-Rome routes regularly for the last 3 years, and after several good reviews this is the first time Aer Lingus delivered a very disappointing service.

In the light of increased competetion from low-cost carriers and need to be more flexible, Aer Lingus have done away with many old practices. I was the only passenger in Business which meant that the crew completely forgot I was there. After serving breakfast (one of Aer Lingus' best assets!) they quickly disappeared only to resurface a while later to eat their own breakfast in an unoccupied row in front of me: a tad unprofessional I thought. Then they vanished again. No one collected the empty tray so I later left it at the galley where a cabin attendant was seated reading a magazine - she didn't bat an eyelid or utter a word. I don't think I saw the crew again until disembarkation.

The return was full in both classes. On all daytime flights within Europe Aer Lingus now offers a 'deli-bag' instead of the full meal service: basically a roll dressed up in nice packaging. I asked if there were any breakfasts left from the morning flight. "No !!" was the robust reply I got and then off behind the curtain again.

Apart from both crews offering less than satisfactory service, I think this airline is having an identity crisis: they're drifting into the no-frills territory which doesn't fit very well in a full-service environment. Economy meals and drinks are now charged for and if I had paid the full economy fare (even though it is lower than before)I'd be a bit annoyed to pay for a coffee too. In their defence, I guess you can't have lower fares plus all the frills as before, and if this is what they have to do to survive, what option is there?

However, definitely not as enjoyable as previous trips, but I'll fly them again anyway because Aer Lingus has a monopoly on most Ireland to Europe routes.