The holiday rush is on

By Ray O’Hanlon

If you get a last-minute urge to hop on a plane to Ireland for the last Christmas of the century, well, better can it. That is, unless, you are in close proximity to Chicago, where Aer Lingus still has a few eastbound seats available.

And yes, there are some seats if you choose to fly to Ireland via Britain or hang on to the tail of a Continental sleigh, er, jet ,out of Newark.

But beyond that, it’s a familiar holiday story. No room in the flight cabin, not to mention the Inn.

"With the exception of Chicago, and unless you want to pay a business-class fare, we do not have a seat available in the days before Christmas," said Aer Lingus spokesman Gerry McDermott.

The Chicago picture changes for some reason just after Christmas.

"The Chicago market seems to be booming for the millennium instead. There are no seats out of O’Hare in the week between Christmas and New Year," McDermott added.

He said that Aer Lingus was delighted with the level of bookings for both Christmas and the millennium. "We decided last year to keep the holiday fares at 1998 levels and I think that has worked out well for everyone."

Continental is just about full to the brim, too, although as of Monday this week, there was still "some availability" on a flight on the 23rd out of Newark to Shannon, according to spokeswoman Michelle Treacy.

Same story on Delta, although you might want to take a chance with the Delta flight out of Kennedy to Dublin on the evening of the 25th.

The flight is full, according to Delta’s Rhianna Quinn Roddy. But there’s always the chance that one or two passengers mightn’t show up.