Excellent Manchester to New York and Orlando Avios availability in Aer Lingus business class
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It’s now three years since Aer Lingus started its direct services from Manchester to New York, Orlando and Barbados.
Whilst very useful for Avios collectors in the north of England, these services have historically seen very little in terms of Business Class availability for redemptions.
This seems to be changing. And, of course, you can now use British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion vouchers on Aer Lingus (and indeed Iberia).
The new Aer Lingus redemption booking site makes it far easier to flick through dates and see how much availability is there. All three routes are looking pretty good – unless the website is having teething trouble and throwing up false availability.
I searched for the next six months. Here are the number of days with outbound Avios availability in Business Class from Manchester to New York JFK:
- April 2024 – 13 days
- May 2024 – 21 days
- June 2024 – every day
- July 2024 – 29 days
- August 2024 – 29 days
- September 2024 – 28 days
I would expect inbound availability to be tighter because those are overnight flights. Some people will mix and match an Economy outbound for the day flight with a Business Class flat bed return.
This analysis was done via aerlingus.com. I can’t be certain that ba.com will see the same number of seats. This is only an issue if you want to use a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher, since this requires you to book via ba.com.
(I explain how to book via aerlingus.com in this article from yesterday.)
I didn’t do the same exercise with Orlando but it also looks very open in Business Class. I did check August 2024 and there are 28 days with outbound Business Class availability, and usually three seats.
The Barbados service is still running until the end of May and then takes a break until the autumn. May is wide open with up to five Business Class seats available, albeit there are only three flights per week.
Remember that Aer Lingus does not guarantee to open up any Business Class seats on its flights. It does guarantee four seats in total, but these all appear to be in Economy. Seeing this much availability is a bit spooky to be honest.
How many Avios are needed?
This PDF shows the number of Avios required for Aer Lingus redemptions but the Manchester services are not listed.
However, this is the New York pricing from Manchester:
- Economy (off peak): 13,000 Avios each way
- Economy (peak): 20,000 Avios each way
- Business (off peak): 50,000 Avios each way
- Business (peak): 60,000 Avios each way
This is the Orlando and Barbados pricing from Manchester:
- Economy (off peak): 16,250 Avios each way
- Economy (peak): 25,000 Avios each way
- Business (off peak): 62,500 Avios each way
- Business (peak): 75,000 Avios each way
What are the taxes and charges?
Very reasonable, given that Air Passenger Duty can’t be avoided. This is what you pay between Manchester and New York in Business Class on an off-peak date:
With an Amex companion voucher, you’d be looking at 100,000 Avios + £895 for two people. Remember that you need to book via ba.com (the same taxes and charges apply) to use a companion voucher.
What is Aer Lingus like in Business Class?
Here are our latest Aer Lingus business class reviews:
I think that Manchester is now running exclusively with the A330 fleet, but check. It is the same seat regardless, the only difference is whether you have a single aisle or two aisle aircraft. It is the move to ‘all A330’ aircraft which has presumably allowed the increase in the number of Avios seats.
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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