Aer Lingus, which flies from Europe to three of Alaska Airlines’ hub cities, and Alaska Airlines, which thrives on links to airlines that go places it doesn’t, have announced a partnership that will see the airlines sharing miles and rides with each other’s loyalty bases.
Starting next month, Alaska’s Mileage Plan members will be able to earn and redeem miles on Aer Lingus flights, mainly at shared hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. The two also share airports but not hubs at a number of other cities including New York.
Sometime later, Aer Lingus Aer Club members will gain the same right on Alaska flights.
The two airlines do not belong to any of the three alliances, and have a number of partner relationships across alliances. Although it was originally expected that Aer Lingus would join OneWorld when it was taken over in 2016 by British Airways parent IAG, that’s apparently either on the back burner or off the table for now.
