After yesterday’s announcement from Aer Lingus that changes are afoot, British Airways has confirmed how they will impact their Executive Club members.
According to the airline, you can collect Avios on applicable fares, as well as Tier Points when crossing the Atlantic (which has been in place is April).
For travellers flying between the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Israel, Bronze, Silver and Gold Members can get priority check-in and boarding. Silver and Gold Members receive priority security, additional baggage allowance and lounge access at selected locations.
What you get is of course linked to your elite status with British Airways.
The basic “on the day” benefits:
British Airways Executive Club Bronze Members will be able to take advantage of:
- Priority check-in for everyone on the booking
- Priority boarding for everyone on the booking
British Airways Executive Club Silver and Gold Members will be able to take advantage of:
- Priority check-in for everyone on the booking
- Priority boarding for everyone on the booking
- Priority security for you plus one (at selected locations)
- Lounge access for you plus one (at selective locations when flying transatlantic)
- Extra baggage allowance
Bronze and Above
We’ll start with the benefits BA Bronze members will get. Note, that these also apply to Silver and Gold.
For Priority Check-in, you can utilise the Premium or Business Class check-in area when travelling on Aer Lingus-operated flights.
During Boarding Bronze, Silver and Gold Members will be invited for Priority Boarding and may use the Priority Boarding lanes when invited to board.
Silver and Gold Bonuses
Priority Security will be provided at the airports below for the Member plus one guest when travelling on Aer Lingus-operated flights as part of a transatlantic itinerary:
- Dublin
- Shannon
- London Heathrow
- Amsterdam
- Belfast
- Birmingham
Lounge access will be what Aer Lingus offers for a Member plus one through its network on a transatlantic itinerary. The list of lounges shown is on the Aer Lingus site. Note that you won’t be able to sneak into a lounge in Barbados).
In terms of luggage, Silver Members will get one additional bag at 23kg when travelling on Aer Lingus-operated flights in Economy, excluding EI Saver Fares.
Gold Members will get one additional bag at 23kg when travelling in any cabin on Aer Lingus-operated flights. For EI Business class, an additional piece up to 32kg is allowed but the combined weight must not exceed 96kg.
What about Aer Lingus Members?
From the hot mess that is Aer Lingus’s site, its members will get different things, depending on the airline and status (Silver, Gold and Concierge). Here are the simple table versions. Interestingly, Aer Lingus Elite passengers get a lot more luggage with British Airways.
Note, that Aer Lingus Silvers do not get lounge access with British Airways or American Airlines on Transatlantic flights
I maintain what I said in my last post.
I commented in my last post that to avoid this hot mess, there’s one easy way around – and that’s for Aer Lingus to rejoin oneworld and be done with it – It bypasses this FFP1/2/3 issues, allows for a much tighter codeshare, whilst maintaining the revenue share of the Joint Business Agreement.
And it’s amazing the amount of… roundabout measures Aer Lingus (and in turn IAG) is taking just to get around not joining an alliance,
There are simpler ways…
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It does seem strange that IAG doesn’t just bring Aer Lingus into Oneworld and have done with it. In the past, my theory was that they wanted to keep EI independent to make it easier for EI to have codeshares with some LCCs, like JetBlue.
But with BA now doing some codesharing with JetBlue as well, and EI stepping back from the JetBlue alliance by moving from T5 tp T7 at JFK, even this minor distinction seems to be gone.
Ideally, Oneworld should try to get JetBlue to just join as well, putting B6 on the same footing as Alaska Airlines on the west coast of the US and getting a closer relationship between AA and B6 while staying well clear of a repeat of the “Northeast Alliance” fiasco.