Alaska Airlines hopes to give Mileage Plan members more ways to jet off to Europe with a loyalty program tie-up with Irish carrier Aer Lingus.
The two-way loyalty partnership allows Alaska Mileage Plan members to earn and redeem miles on Aer Lingus flights, while Aer Lingus AerClub members will be able to do the same on Alaska flights in the future.
Aer Lingus begins flying nonstop to Alaska’s main hub at Seattle from May 18.
It also operates transatlantic flights to 15 North American cities including Alaska’s gateway cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
"This new partnership with Aer Lingus is another example of how Alaska is giving our Mileage Plan members more and more ways to travel and earn miles to all corners of the map through our diverse global partners," said Andrew Harrison, Alaska Airlines’ executive vice president and chief commercial officer.
"Aer Lingus provides our members even more reach for travel within Europe, with seamless service through Dublin to 24 cities in the UK and Europe."
Aer Lingus will fly Airbus A330-200 wide body aircraft on the Dublin-Seattle route and passengers get pre-clearance for inbound flights as there is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint based at Dublin Airport.
Mileage Plan members can travel to and earn miles to around 900 destinations around the globe via its various loyalty and codesharing partnerships.
