Aer Lingus apply to join oneworld’s transatlantic joint venture

The Flight Detective
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In a long awaited move, Aer Lingus have applied to join the oneworld alliance transatlantic joint venture. This means they will be cooperating with American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Finnair across the Atlantic.

Since Aer Lingus were acquired by British Airways and Iberia’s parent company IAG, this move has been on the cards. What does it mean though in real terms?

Joint Venture Cooperation

A joint venture allows the airlines to cross sell their seats. This means that if you do a flight search, you will see flights available on all the airlines that fly the route.

For example, if you go on British Airways web site and choose to fly London to New York, you see British Airways and American Airlines flights for sale. You can choose the flight that suits you by time, price or airline.

Frequent Flyer Benefits

While Aer Lingus is not a member of the oneworld alliance, frequent flyers will see benefits. The joint venture application specifically states that members of each of the five airlines will be able to earn points, redeem and achieve status by flying on each other.

This will be a boon to Aer Lingus AerClub members who currently only have a select few partners to choose from. Members of AAdvantage, British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus and Finnair Plus will have their status recognised when flying Aer Lingus.

What About The Existing Relationships?

Aer Lingus currently has relationships with both United Airlines and JetBlue. You can connect to United Airlines flights and JetBlue flights from Aer Lingus stations in the USA to go on to other places.

The new joint venture application specifically states that Aer Lingus is free to retain these relationships. Whether those other airlines will still want the relationships to continue is another matter, however there is no restriction in this regard.

Overall Thoughts

From a frequent flyer perspective, I think this is a good move. Joint ventures provide more options for flying, with better schedules and reciprocal benefits.

Since Aer Lingus will retain pricing freedom, it should not result in an increase in fares. As Aer Lingus operates with a completely different model to its full service counterparts, this makes sense.

You can check out the full text of the application here. I think it makes for some fascinating reading.

What do you think of Aer Lingus joining forces with these oneworld alliance airlines? Good or bad? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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All images via Aer Lingus.

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Brandon

When will the decision be made?

Roman

What about Alaska airlines partnership on earning and using miles ?

Chuck Griffin

The last I read EI is allowed to codeshare with whomever they want so there might be the scenario where Aer Lingus interlines/codeshares with United, jetBLue AND American in the States. Don’t know if they will all last but I like the flexibility as I may visit Ireland next year.

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