What are the new benefits for British Airways frequent flyers on Aer Lingus?

After years of being owned by the same umbrella organisation, British Airways and Aer Lingus are now cooperating closer than before. New benefits have been announced for members of the Executive Club when flying Aer Lingus.

With many people being members of both AerClub and Executive Club, this should make things a lot easier. I know that I am going to directly benefit from these changes, which makes me happy.

Current Benefits

For years, British Airways Executive Club members have had lounge access on Aer Lingus. Anyone with Silver or Gold status has been permitted to use the Aer Lingus lounge in London Heathrow terminal 2 when flying to Ireland.

The same benefits apply at the Aer Lingus lounge in Dublin, when flying to London only. It has been a handy thing to have over the years, though not great if you were flying from Dublin to anywhere else.

New Benefits When Flying Aer Lingus

From 2 December 2024, there are new benefits becoming available to British Airways Executive Club members when flying the Irish airline. Bronze, Silver and Gold members will receive Priority Check-In at the Business Class desks, along with Priority Boarding. This should mean Group 1 boarding as Aer Lingus have just three boarding groups.

Silver and Gold members will also get Fast-Track security at Dublin, Shannon, London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Belfast and Birmingham. This is only available when flying on or connecting to a transatlantic Aer Lingus flight. Lounge access has a similar caveat for transatlantic travel, with the lounges listed here. There is also extra baggage, which is available to Silver members on all fares except Saver. These Saver fares are the cheapest ones and are only available for purchase online on the Aer Lingus website. This means you’ll need to purchase a Plus fare or above to get the additional bag on top of what is included with the fare. Gold members get the bag regardless.

Overall Thoughts

As someone who does not have Aer Lingus AerClub status but does have BA status, these new benefits are excellent news. When I last flew transatlantic economy class with the Irish airline, I did not have priority check-in and waiting in the line for 40 minutes was not fun, having been spoiled with no wait for so long due to my status. That on its own is worth a great deal to me.

That plus Priority Boarding are the real tangible benefits I’ll be able to take advantage of, so happy days. It’s nice to see things gradually becoming more aligned between the two carriers. Considering I can now earn Avios and Tier Points/Tier Credits in both programmes, it now becomes a matter of deciding which flights to credit where. I see way more Aer Lingus flights in my future, as previously I’d connect with BA over LHR to get my Tier Points, whereas now I won’t need to do that.

What do you think of these new benefits being offered? Does it make a difference to you? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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