Aer Lingus aims for deals with Oneworld airlines
Sunday, November 26, 2006 By David Clerkin
Aer Lingus is in talks with other airlines in the Oneworld Alliance to allow its passengers to access their airport lounges and continue to earn frequent-flyer miles on their services after the airline quits the alliance next year.
The airline will leave the alliance at the end of March as part of a plan to streamline costs. But it has started negotiations with American Airlines, Qantas and Cathay Pacific, to strike bilateral deals that will ensure mutual recognition of frequent flyer points with effect from April.
Aer Lingus passengers will be eligible to collect points for their Aer Lingus account when they travel on the other airlines’ services and will also be able to use Aer Lingus points to qualify for free flights or upgrades on services operated by the three airlines.
The deal with American Airlines will also allow Aer Lingus passengers to access the airline’s lounges at US airports, although there are no plans to strike similar deals with Qantas or Cathay Pacific.
Aer Lingus also said it hoped to strike a similar deal with British Airways ‘‘in the near future’’. Agreements with other Oneworld members, which include Finnair, Spanish carrier Iberia and Chilean operator LAN, have yet to be put in place, however.
Passengers will also be able to carry forward frequent flyer miles from their existing accounts for use under the new arrangements. But flights with the Oneworld airlines that do not sign a bilateral deal with Aer Lingus can only be booked before the end of March.