Alaska Airlines to Form New Partnership with Dublin-Based Aer Lingus
Anya Kartashova March 27, 2018
Aer Lingus is launching a new nonstop route between Dublin and Seattle set to start May 18 and with it a new partnership with Alaska Airlines, according to The Seattle Times.
Aer Lingus will fly this route four times per week in the summer and three times in the winter, and for a limited time, you can book this round-trip international fare for just $595 on select dates in June.
There aren’t many details of this Alaska-Aer Lingus partnership yet, and neither airline has announced it officially, but Aer Lingus CEO Stephen Kavanagh confirmed the plan to form a formal partnership. With it, will come the ability to redeem Aer Lingus Avios on Alaska-operated flights as well as the option to use Alaska Mileage Plan miles on the Irish carrier. However, it is not confirmed when exactly the partnership will function in full force.
As a reminder, Alaska already partners with British Airways, and it’s possible to book award flights with both programs’ respective miles. BA awards are available on Alaska’s website, but you have to call BA to redeem Avios for Alaska flights.
The reason this announcement is great is Alaska members don’t have many mileage options for flights to Europe. After losing partnerships with Delta Air Lines and Air France/KLM, Europe became a more difficult continent to reach with Mileage Plan miles. British Airways charges hefty fuel surcharges, and despite Alaska’s announcement of partnering with Finnair nearly a year ago, it still isn’t possible to book Finnair-operated flights with Mileage Plan miles.
Keep in mind that Alaska allows stopovers on one-way awards, and using Mileage Plan miles will make it possible to stop in Dublin on the same trip to another European destination served by Aer Lingus without redeeming more miles. Not to mention, Aer Lingus’ taxes aren’t nearly as high as BA’s.
Other U.S. destinations Aer Lingus serves are Boston; Chicago; Hartford, Conn., Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; Newark, N.J.; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; San Francisco; and Washington.
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However, if they charge the same YQ fees as BA then this is really just a mileage accrual opportunity. Will AerLingus follow their IAG brethren and also charge the high YQ? The article failed to mention American, Condor, and Iceland Air as options. The latter two aren't the best options to get to Europe, but at least an award ticket can be found with lower YQ than on BA. The AA relationship is surely diminished, but they still have award seats available to AS MP.