Ireland’s national airline Aer Lingus is taking plane food up a notch with a whole new seasonal range throughout the festive period, including ‘classic’ Christmas dinners.
Yes, that’s right: you can get the mother of all Sunday roasts in the sky.
The Irish flight operators and flag carriers are no strangers to pulling out the stops when it comes to convincing people to choose one of their planes the next time they travel, having recently held a huge Black Friday sale on trips to key holiday destinations.
With that in mind, their latest perk certainly got our attention; when have you ever heard of someone eating a Christmas dinner during a flight? Be honest: you haven’t – that’s why it’s such a great idea.
I see roasties and a sweet. Sounds like they understand the Christmas dinners to me (Credit: Aer Lingus).
What’s better than the feeling of knowing you’re on your way to a relaxing getaway? Adding arguably everyone’s favourite meal of the year on top of it for the journey, and that’s exactly what Aer Lingus has done with the new festive menu.
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Starting from Sunday, 8 December, passengers on board long-haul Aer Lingus flights departing from Ireland and down the road at Manchester Airport will be serving up what they’ve dubbed a classic Christmas dinner with all these usual suspects on the plate. Meat, gravy, stuffing, veg – you get the gist.
Those flying across the Atlantic during the holidays to destinations like New York, Orlando and Barbados – three of the airline’s most popular destinations – will actually be able to enjoy food and drink from a choice of more than 50 festive favourites.
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Be it the familiar roast open or the likes of seasonal turkey sandwiches, Irish cream liqueur desserts, cheese boards and special ‘Merry Berry’ champagne cocktails available in business class, with the latter coming as a winter warmer welcome drink (don’t mind if we do), there’s plenty to choose from.
Even if you’re flying economy, there’s still a scrumptious orange chocolate mousse for afters or a special Santa-inspired chocolate treat for the little ones. Provided they’ve eaten all their veggies, of course…
You don’t have to stick with a roast either (Credit: Aer Lingus).
To top it all off, the airline will also be screening plenty of classics to watch whilst you’re enjoying your food, from Home Alone, Elf, The Polar Express and Love Actually, to as well as Christmas TV specials like Friends, Father Ted, The Big Bang Theory, The US Office and more.
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If none of those takes your fancy, there are also plenty of documentaries, kids’ entertainment, podcasts and games as per usual, or you should tilt your head back and enjoy some seasonal music.
Aer Lingus‘ Chief Customer Officer, Susanne Carberry, said: “At Aer Lingus, we take great pride in the role we play in bringing family and friends together to celebrate the special moments, particularly at this time of year. With the holiday season getting underway, we’re doing all we can to ensure that we make every journey count for our customers.
Christmas meals will be available onboard from 8-24 December, so if you’re looking to fly transatlantic during the festive period, you may want to take an airborne Sunday dinner into account.
What it’s like to stay in Manchester’s surprisingly affordable new mid-century hotel, Mollie’s
Daisy Jackson
There’s a fine line between ‘tastefully retro’ and ‘your nan’s spare room’, but the city’s newest hotel – Mollie’s Manchester – lands firmly in the former.
Designed by the same team behind Soho House, this (surprisingly affordable) mid-century hotel feels like stepping into the 1950s… if the 1950s had Pelotons and Dyson Airwraps in the wardrobes and enough aesthetic lighting to make everyone look faintly famous.
Whether you’re booking the classic rooms, usually priced from £109, or the huge suites, you can expect the same level of design detail.
Think terrazzo tiles, teak panelling, sage greens, burnt oranges, and interesting textures on every sittable surface.
And unlike some hotels that punish you for booking the ‘basic’ room by giving you a view of an air conditioning unit and a kettle balanced on a luggage rack, every room type at Mollie’s feels far more premium than the actual price tag.
For our stay, we were welcomed with batched cocktails and a mini fridge filled with treats like canned wine (which feels deeply respectful of modern traveller needs), plus a Grind coffee machine, fluffy robes, giant TVs, rainfall showers, and Cowshed toiletries.
If you end up on the better side of the hotel, you’ll have views of the city skyline from your bed, your sofa, or your bath.
Design details in a Mollie’s Manchester roomGrind coffee machine in the roomA Dyson Airwrap in the wardrobe of a studio roomAnd an actual Peloton bike in your room, tooThe beautiful bedroomA bunk room at Mollie’s Motel ManchesterViews from your bedA Mollie’s Motel suite
There are bunk rooms you can book too, where up to four people can climb into stylish wooden sleep pods, so cool I’m immediately planning a girls’ night out where someone can hand me a martini as I climb into a luxury bunk bed.
Downstairs in Mollie’s, which has taken over the former Granada Studios, you’ll find a cocktail bar that seems to pay homage to the building’s history.
Studio IV has vintage TV screens above the bar, music performances and DJs on stage, and cocktails inspired live music you can enjoy from a loungey vintage-patterned sofa.
Breakfast at Mollie’s ManchesterCocktails in Studio IVMollie’s Diner is open nowBurgers and fried chicken at Mollie’s DinerStudio IV cocktail barInside Mollie’s Motel & Diner Manchester
Then there’s Mollie’s Diner, which fully commits to recreating 1950s Americana. Inspired by a vintage Cadillac, the interiors are all deep burgundy leather booths, glowing globe lights, and polished chrome details.
The menu is exactly what you want from a diner like this: thick milkshakes, burgers, steaks, and fried chicken in the evenings; waffles, French toast, eggs any style in the mornings.
Mollie’s Manchester may be inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood – but it’s heralding in a new Golden Age of hotel for Manchester too.
Passengers across the North warned as new train timetables launch this month
Emily Sergeant
Passengers across the North are being told to plan head as new train timetables with ‘targeted adjustments’ are being introduced this month.
Forming part of the national timetable change – which takes place twice a year each May and December – train operator Northern is reminding customers about changes which are going live next week following recent feedback from customers on how to improve.
While most of Northern’s services set to see little to no change this month, there are some ‘targeted adjustments’ taking place.
Here in the North West and Greater Manchester, there will be some small changes on a few routes to ‘help with punctuality’, but it’s elsewhere across the region where more significant changes are set to take place.
In the North East, more customers will be able to travel between Newcastle and Whitby on Sundays without changing trains, and there will be some small tweaks to the timetables on other lines.
Passengers across the North are being warned as new train timetables launch this month / Credit: Northern
Then, over in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, trains running between Sheffield and Lincoln will now call at all stations along the route on Sundays.
“We’ve listened to feedback from our customers and have focused on improving reliability when the May timetable change takes place,” commented Toby Higgins, who is the Head of Business Performance at Northern, ahead of the timetable changes being introduced next week.
“Whilst there won’t be widespread changes to times, I’d advise customers to check before they travel as some services will leave a few minutes earlier than they do now to help with overall punctuality.”
New train timetables go live from next Sunday 17 May, and the full details of all of the changes taking place across the network can be found on Northern’s website here.
Danny Jones -
5th December 2024 
