Living in America for over two years, I had the opportunity to make far too many transatlantic flights which included a good sample of all airlines linking Denver and Dublin. Here’s a ranking:
1. British Airways (Denver to London to Dublin). Definitely the best airline for the trip. Most legroom, good vegetarian food and a little sleepover pack with a toothbrush, flight socks and an eye cover. Touch screen personal TV.
2. Lufthansa (Denver to Frankfurt to Dublin). Lufthansa ranks a close second. The food and legroom were both good. Complementary wine with dinner, followed by a glass of Cognac with dessert. The massive Airbus A340 has fancy downstairs toilets, but flying via Germany means a longer flight time.
3. Canada Air (Denver to Toronto to Dublin). Canada Air do a pretty decent job. The entertainment system has an amazing selection and is on-demand touchscreen. However, they did forget my vegetarian meal and I missed my connection.
4. United Airlines (Denver to London to Dublin). I had high hopes for United, but unless you splash out the extra $100 on Economy Plus, the legroom for the night flight is far too uncomfortable. Food and back-screen TV were pretty standard, but they charge $5 for wine with dinner.
5. Continental Airlines (Denver to NYC to Dublin). Both times I flew this route my flight was delayed and I missed the connection. Making a stop in NYC is always a bad idea. The flight from NYC to Dublin is a complete let down - a Boeing 757 with minimum legroom and only overhead movies.
6. US Airways (Denver to Philadelphia to Dublin). If you want to have an idea of what Ryanair transatlantic flights will be like when they launch next year, then you can take US Airways now. They get you from A to B, and that’s about it.
Useful companions I found for regular travel are http://www.seatguru.com and http://www.vegparadise.com/airline.html. A good set of noise canceling headphones and an international plug for a Macbook are also essential.