Cancel your flight with Aer Lingus: Cancelation Policy

 

You can easily recognize Aer Lingus, the flag carrier of Ireland, by their memorable shamrock logo but unfortunately, flying with the Irish air carrier is not (always) an adventure full of leprechauns, rainbows and horseshoes. Sometimes, when you can’t make your flight with them for whatever reason, you need to deal with their cancelation policy which could be a little tricky and confusing. We at SkyRefund will try to break it down for you and help you navigate through Aer Lingus’s terms for canceling your booking.

 

Aer Lingus flights: main hubs and destinations

The history of the Irish flag carrier goes as far back as 1936 when the first flight between Dublin and Bristol was carried out. It was the Irish government that stood behind Aer Lingus (from Irish - “Air Fleet”) at the beginning but the company was privatized in the 21st century and is currently owned by International Airlines Group (IAG).

Before we dive into the formalities, let’s see where Aer Lingus can take you, and more specifically, which airports in the U.S. and Canada operate Aer Lingus flights.

Naturally, Dublin Airport is Aer Lingus’ main hub, along with Shannon Airport. The Irish airline serves 93 airports in 24 different countries, including the U.S. Most of the destinations served by Aer Lingus are in Europe but the direct flights from North America take passengers only to Ireland. So if you’d like to reach another European city with the Irish company, you’d have to take connecting flights.

Here are some of the important North American airports where Aer Lingus flies to: 

• Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
• Chicago O’Hare IA (ORD)
• Denver IA (DEN) (from May 2024)
• Los Angeles IA (LAX)
• John F. Kennedy IA (JFK) (New York City)
• San Francisco IA (SFO)
• Dulles IA (IAD) (Washington D.C.)
• Montréal–Trudeau IA (YUL)
• Toronto Pearson IA (YYZ)
• Grantley Adams IA (BGI) (Barbados)

 

Aer Lingus Cancelation Policy: what you need to know before you cancel your flight booking

In order to understand the conditions for ticket cancelation, we should first introduce Aer Lingus’ fare types for transatlantic flights. The Irish company offers 3 economy fares and 2 business fares, as shown in the table below: 

 

Economy fares	Saver
	Smart
	Flex
Business fares	Business
	Business Flex

 

  

Now, let’s break down each ticket type cancelation conditions:

Economy Saver

• non-refundable fare (except the government taxes and charges); 
• change, seat, and baggage fees are also non-refundable
  
  

Economy Smart

• generally non-refundable fare (except the government taxes and charges), BUT you could get a voucher refund if you request it at least 2 hours before the departure date; 
• there is no change fee, but seat and baggage fees are non-refundable|
  
  

Economy Flex

• eligible for a full voucher refund if you request it minimum 2 hours before take-off;
• no change fee, but again, seat and baggage fees will not be refunded

 

Business

• you can get a voucher refund if you cancel up to 2 hours before the departure date
  OR
  a cash refund (15% less than what you originally paid) if you cancel up to 2 hours before the scheduled departure time;
• there is no change fee and seat and baggage fees are also refundable

 

Business Flex

• you can get a voucher refund if you request it minimum 2 hours before the departure date
  OR
  a full cash refund if you request it at least 2 hours before the scheduled departure time;
• again, there is no change fee and you can also be refunded for the seat and baggage fees.

 

For the Economy Flex and Business + Business Flex fares, you should keep in mind that if your original booking was for a lower class ticket and you later upgraded to any of the mentioned fares, you will only be refunded in cash for the fare difference.

Check Compensation

 

How to request a refund from Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus has two refund request forms on their website: a voucher and a cash one. You simply need to fill in the applicable form: once your request is processed, you will be notified about the result. 

Refunds are usually processed to the original form of payment unless you ask for a change. If you receive a smaller amount of money, this could be due to the refund administration fees which are automatically applied when refunds are processed. 

If you made a duplicate booking by accident, you should request your refund no later than 24 hours after you paid. 

If you have to cancel due to the death of an immediate family member, Aer Lingus advises you to contact their customer service and to select “bereavement” as the reason for cancellation in the refund request form.

 

Flight changes

Unlike cancelations, all fare types are subject to changes. This means you can adjust the date, time, destination and travel class of your flight, no matter what ticket you have. As long as you made your booking on Aer Lingus’ website, you can just go to “Manage trip” and make the changes you want (paying the applicable fee, of course). 

If you made your booking through a travel agent or a third party, you should ask them to make the changes for you but keep in mind that the fare type can only be upgraded, downgrades are not possible. 

 

What if Aer Lingus cancels a flight

Sometimes air carriers have to cancel their flights and this is always a major inconvenience for all passengers. If your journey with Aer Lingus from or to Europe gets canceled, you would be eligible for financial compensation of up to $700 (€600) under European Regulation 261/2004. 

Of course, the cancelation should be the airline’s fault and not due to extraordinary circumstances like bad weather or security threats. You can read all about flight cancelation compensation in our article and make SkyRefund your trusted partner when claiming yours.