Aer Lingus or Iceland Air?

[SandyS]

To tie up with my award booking, I need to get my (over 18) children from Chicago to Scotland return, in April 2017.
I've got Qantas points but the award availability is only on BA and the fees are too much. Looks like its between Iceland Air or Aer Lingus both coming in at around AU$1100.00

Thinking maybe Aer Lingus and doing a stopover in Dublin (I think chances of seeing Northern Lights in April are minimal). I could get a cheap flight to Dublin with them and return to UK for my next flight whilst they head on to Chicago.

Are both these airlines ok? Should I book now or wait for better prices? I never say never again with airlines but I make an exception for Ryanair.

Any opinions welcome.

 

[deejo77]

Just did a quick search via google flights.........depends on how much you love you kids and how much you want to spend.....but there was a Turkish airlines flight with two overnight stop overs for $600USD. ORD to EDI

 

[SandyS]

Thanks for the reply. I should have mentioned, I decided against Turkish Airlines.

 

[Mattg]

I'd probably go with Icelandair and stopover in Reykjavik for a few days! This is allowed (and encouraged) on most Icelandair tickets.

Have you had a look at WOW Air? They might have some cheaper flights via Iceland. They don't fly from Chicago, but they do offer flights from Boston, Baltimore, New York, Montreal, Toronto and various other US destinations. Norwegian Air Shuttle is another carrier with some cheaper flights Trans-Atlantic.

If you have QF points, it might be worth double-checking to see if you can find award availability on American Airlines? They have very low fuel surcharges. If you can't find availability, perhaps try searching for flights to/from cities near Chicago and your final destination in Scotland. E.g. look for flights to Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow etc.

 

[SandyS]

Thanks Mattg.

The problem is time as well. I don't want to take up time travelling too much to other cities (and the cost as well, if it doesn't offset the difference from Icelandair or Aer Lingus) as we have limited time.

Iceland Air does seem the better airline but Dublin seems to be the better stopover. At the right time, Scotland to Dublin return can be got for not much more than GBP50.

Saying that, there doesn't seem to be a stopover option on the Aer Lingus website but I can get a price for ORD - GLA - DUB (stopover) - ORD on Skyscanner.

 

[24601]

No experience with Aer Lingus, but Iceland Air is fine. I imagine either city would make for an enjoyable stopover. Do Iceland Air include hotel in stopovers?