Well as a crew member for BA I am all to well aware of the problems EI are facing with their product on the atlantic but I must also admit that the fares are indeed very very good plus the benefits from some flights using US immigration in Ireland prior to departure all trump up the lack lustre onboard product.
I personally tend to find the crew in Aer Lingus by and large to be friendly and professional, especially the pre 9/11 crew who have been with the company since the old pre-loco days. Unfortunately I have noticed a decrease in the standards of those now hired as crew and sadly I am finding the eastern european crew to be far more superior to the Irish crew hired in recent years which is a bit of a disappointment as I would expect the Irish crew to be leading the way on board their airline. Although hats off to the Eastern Europeans for generally being so good
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As for the onboard atlantic product there are some aspects which are regularly over looked. On their West Coast services you get THREE services down the back which constitutes as two hot meals and a mid flight snack. On BA on the same flight which is actually a little bit longer all you get is a meal after take off and a box with a sandwich prior to landing! The Premier product on Aer Lingus minus the seat is far superior to that of Club World imho. The delivery of the service, the standard of the food and the choice exceptional and all this despite the fares being significantly less the Club World.
The only thing that really makes BA stand out that bit more is perhaps the AVOD (only on the 767 and 747 and ONE 777 at the mo) however look at the interiors of the new EI 330's and to be honest, the time wont be long before EI have a very appeasing cabin interior!