By Bill O'Sullivan
24th Sep 2015
24th Sep 2015
Nathalie fires up the laptop for the six-hour flight. Note there's even room to hang your coat!
Image Interiors & Living’s high-flying editor inspects the chic new Business Class fit-out aboard Aer Lingus, road-testing the new’massage chair (yes, massage chair),?entertaining herself with the latest onboard gadgets and gorging on gourmet fare… Jealous?
Sweet staycations in gorgeous country manors are a lovely bonus of working at Ireland’s best interiors and lifestyle title. But it’s rare that the journey is as much fun as the destination. This was definitely the case as I settled in for the Business Class experience on a recent trip from Dublin to New York.
Perks vary from the merely handy – every seat has personal charging ports, storage for shoes, laptops and tablets, and free WiFi – to the diva-worthy: the seat transforms into a fully flat two-metre-long bed, complete with a massage function. Designed by Portadown-based Thompson Aero Seating, the seats? fabric covering was created by Botany Weaving, based in Dublin’s Cork Street.

It was the little things that stood out to me. The clinking of glass. The serving of canap’s. A glass of delicious Conde de Valdemar Gran Reserva at 28,000 feet. Afternoon tea served on bespoke Wedgwood china with linen napkins.
The menu places a firm focus on Irish artisan producers and fresh, locally sourced ingredients – the bread roll that accompanied my Toons Bridge mozzarella salad arrived warm, with a side of real Irish butter. This wasn’t just an impressive mile-high lunch; it was a delicious meal in its own right, and was just one of the reasons that I arrived at the other end already eagerly looking forward to the return journey.
Click through the gallery above in?fullscreen mode to vicariously experience more of Nathalie’s journey.
Fly Business Class with Aer Lingus to the USA from €699; aerlingus.com.