American Airlines and Aer Lingus Strengthen Partnership With Elite Benefits and Earnings

American Airlines and Aer Lingus began a partnership back in 2022. Two years later, passengers were able to earn miles on the other carrier and now (almost three years later) they’ll finally receive some reciprocal elite benefits.

This might seem like news to some as Aer Lingus has been tied to American and other oneworld® airlines including British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair through a transatlantic joint venture that it was added to in 2020. This led to a codeshare agreement between American and Aer Lingus in 2022 where we saw American place its code on flights within Europe and Aer Lingus do the same with flights in the United States.

Aer Lingus is not part of oneworld® (although it really should be) and had a relationship with United Airlines until recently. It was possible to earn and redeem miles for Aer Lingus flights and this always seemed odd given that it’s not part of Star Alliance and kind of an outlier. In December 2023, this changed and American began awarding AAdvantage members 5x miles per $1 spent on Aer Lingus flights. Elite bonuses brought these earnings up to 7x for Gold, 8x for Platinum, 9x for Platinum Pro, and 11x for Executive Platinum.

All AA elites to get priority boarding and check-in. Platinum+ get fast track security, lounge access and additional checked bag. Aer Lingus platinum+ get AA flagship lounge access. All elites get group 4 boarding.

— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) November 20, 2024

Aviation watchdog, @JonNYC, first pointed out the new elements of the partnership.

The benefits above are now live. AAdvantage members receive many of the same benefits that they would when flying another oneworld® airline. Award flights are still not an option, but these should be bookable in the near future.

Aer Lingus announced yesterday that its own elite members will see similar benefits when flying American and British Airways. These include:

• Priority Check-In: Allowing eligible members to save time at the airport.
• Priority Boarding: For those who wish to board early and settle in comfortably.
• Fast-Track Security: Breeze through airport security with ease.
• Lounge Access: Recharge before your transatlantic flight in our partner airline lounges (not applicable to Caribbean destinations)
• Additional Baggage Allowances: A big plus for those who don’t pack lightly!

Susanne Carberry, Aer Lingus Chief Customer Officer, said:

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.”

Anthony’s Take: It’s peculiar that Aer Lingus has never joined oneworld®. Between its ownership and joint venture it makes sense, but never seems to happen. Maybe (someday) it will become part of the alliance.

(Image Credits: American Airlines.)