Trip Report DUB-LGW and LGW-DUB

This article is a trip report of two flights taken on a Ryanair 737 between Dublin, Ireland (DUB) and London Gatwick (LGW) in the month of May 2025. The first flight was from DUB to LGW in the morning while the second flight was the return journey home from Gatwick to Dublin in the evening.

DUB-LGW

We parked the car in the Dublin Airport Red express car park. We then got on the bus which took us to the terminals. We were flying from Terminal 1. At the terminal we went through security. Security was quite busy for a Tuesday morning and unfortunately Dublin Terminal 1 does not appear to have upgraded its security as we still had to take out our electronics and liquids.

I then decided to go to Burger King for breakfast. It was quite busy and there did not appear to be many staff members working in Burger King at that time so it was quite slow. By the time I had received my order and eaten it, boarding had already started.

We boarded the aircraft via stairs so I was able to get a better view of the aircraft on the ground. I boarded via the back door to the sound of boarding music. This music also played while we deplaned. It gave Jet2 vibes as the music was very upbeat, like something you would hear in a Jet2 advert. We did not pay extra for seat selection so we had randomly assigned seats and I was in seat 25B - the middle seat and unfortunately the flight seemed to be pretty full and there were people on either side of me meaning I was not able to get good views out the window. Each seat had air vents and lights in the overhead panel.

The aircraft was a 20 year old Boeing 737-8. However, the aircraft had split scimitar wingtips which must have been retrofitted on the aircraft to make it more fuel efficient. This made the wing look like the wing of a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft which also have split scimitar wingtips.

We were scheduled to depart at 06:50 but once everyone was on board the pilot announced that our take off would be delayed because Gatwick can only operate one runway and since we were coming into the summer season, Gatwick would be especially busy. As a result the aircraft had been given a specific time for departure which meant that we would be delayed until approximately 07:30. The pilot stated that if everything was ready before that time they would ask ATC if they could get a sooner time. We eventually pushed back at 06:59 and our actual takeoff from runway 10R was at 07:18. During the flight, the cabin crew went through the cabin offering drinks but I did not have anything.

Our flight path took us east over the Irish Sea before turning south east and heading towards Gatwick. Our cruising altitude was 33,000 feet. Before landing we had to circle over the south of England and I was able to look out the window and I saw the English Chanel and the French coast. Our scheduled arrival was for 08:20 and we landed at 08:27 after a 1 hour and 10 minute flight. We landed on runway 08R.

After we had landed and made our way to the gate, we deplaned. We did not have any hold luggage to collect so we were able to walk past the single baggage carousel used for Irish arrivals. We did not have to go through passport control. We then walked through the airport to the connected train station where we got on the train to go to London.

The fuselage of the 737 MAX 8 on the ground

LGW-DUB

We arrived at the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport using the train. We arrived at around 19:40 and walked past the check in desk for people to drop their luggage. Surprisingly, there appeared to be people dropping their luggage off for only one flight. Also surprising, was that at security there was hardly anyone there. We did not have to queue and we were able to leave electronics and liquids in our bags although I think there was still a 100ml limit for liquids.

After security we sat and ate some food that we had bought earlier in the day and used water refill stations in the terminal to refill our water bottles. We then made our way to the gate area to wait for boarding.

Our flight was scheduled to be a Boeing 737-8 but it was switched to a 5 year old Boeing 737 MAX 8. This meant that some people's assigned seats were changed and there was a seat towards the back of the plane that was out of order. My seat however was unaffected. Like the flight to Gatwick, we did not pay extra to chose our seats so we had randomly assigned seats. My seat was 8D. This was an aisle seat. There was someone sitting by the window but no one in the middle which gave me some extra room. We boarded to the sound of the Jet2 advert-like music but the aircraft had its own in built stairs for boarding and deplaning. Each seat also had its own air vent and light in the overhead panel. Our scheduled departure was 21:35 but our actual departure time was 21:46. While waiting to take off, I was able to catch a glimpse of aircraft landing on the runway and another aircraft lining up and taking off. I also saw a plane land and while that aircraft was still going down the runway we taxied onto the runway and lined up for departure. We departed runway 26L. During takeoff and landing, as usual, the cabin lights were dimmed. Something I found interesting was that there were some lights above the windows which seemed to have been turned off completely while the lights on the roof were only dimmed during these phases of the flight. The flight to Dublin was simple and we reached a maximum altitude of 28,000 feet. We did not even have to hold when approaching Dublin. We landed on runway 28L at 22:38, a flight time of 52 minutes.

At Dublin we deplaned down the aircraft's own steps. We went through passport control and since we had no baggage to collect we walked past baggage claim and out the terminal. We then got the bus back to the red car park.

A Ryanair aircraft on the ground at Dublin Airport

Overall, both flights were pleasant - nothing out of the ordinary and they got me from Dublin to Gatwick and back totally fine. As an aviation geek, I was disappointed that I was not next to the window but since I did not pre-book a window seat I cannot complain. I still enjoyed the flight.

What has your experience been when flying with Ryanair or departing or arriving at Dublin or Gatwick airports? Share your experiences by leaving a comment below, by posting on our group page or on our social media.

Thanks for reading.

Instagram: avgeek_blog

X: avgeek_blog

Email: geekofairlines@gmail.com

Date Published: 10 October 2025

Edited: 11 October 2025