Aer Lingus, the national airline of the Republic of Ireland, has announced that their loyalty members will be able to receive benefits with American Airlines and British Airways.
What benefits can loyalty members expect?
Those who are AerClub members, Aer Lingus’ loyalty program, will now be able to access day-of-travel benefits if they fly with any of the three airlines. They will limit the specific benefits to what tier their membership is, but these benefits may include:
- Priority check-in.
- Priority boarding.
- Fast-track security.
- Lounge access when travelling on transatlantic flights (not applicable to Caribbean destinations).
- Additional baggage allowance.
Additionally, AerClub members will earn Tier credits and Avios points similar to how they do with Aer Lingus flights. AerClub members use Tier Credits to advance through the tier system, and they can redeem Avios points for flights, hotels, car hire, and other travel rewards.
AerClub members have been able to experience these benefits with American Airlines since the 19th of November. For those flying with British Airways, they will be able to experience these benefits from the 2nd of December. They should have also received an email in these last few days, telling them what benefits their tier status grants them. To use their benefits, AerClub members will need to add their membership number to any booking they make with the two partner airlines.
Why link up the benefits?
Those in the Aer Lingus administration are claiming that the linking of the loyalty program across the three airlines is to make travelling across the globe much easier for their AerClub members. Aer Lingus Chief Customer Officer, Susan Carberry, said that:
“At Aer Lingus, we seek to make every journey count for our customers, particularly our valued AerClub members. We are delighted that we now have three million AerClub members globally who can avail of our programme’s exclusive benefits.
Our partnership with American Airlines and British Airways brings significant added value to the AerClub loyalty programme, allowing members to consistently enjoy an elevated experience on their global travels.”
Furthermore, the Chief Customer Officer at IAG Loyalty (the parent company of Aer Lingus and British Airways), Susan Espinosa, claims that:
“This move will provide an improved experience for our loyalty customers, who will now be able to benefit from a more seamless and consistent premium travel experience when flying with Aer Lingus, American Airlines and British Airways.”
Ultimately, it seems this deal was made with Aer Lingus and the two other airlines to incentivise Irish and International customers to join the AerClub program for their numbers to keep rising.
The history between the three airlines.
This deal between the three airlines is not a new partnership it is an addition to an already-established relationship. Aer Lingus has had an ongoing relationship with American Airlines and British Airways since 2021. In that year, they joined the Atlantic Joint Business. This was a partnership that was founded in 2010 by American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia. In 2013, Finnair joined the partnership, and in 2017, LEVEL did so as well.
Aer Lingus also has codeshares with the two airlines. American Airlines, the codeshare means that Aer Lingus customers can access US domestic routes. They can also fly out to select European destinations from the US. British Airways, can fly Aer Lingus customers to global destinations from Ireland through the UK or from London. They also offer services in and out of London, allowing customers access to an ever-growing Ireland and UK flight network.
What are your thoughts on the three airline’s new deal? Do you think this would be incentivising enough to sign up for an AerClub membership? Let us know in the comments or on social media!
