American, Aer Lingus Announce Partnership

Aer Lingus check-in counter at Chicago O’Hare

American Airlines and Aer Lingus announced codeshare agreement for flights between the United States and Europe.

The move comes on the heels of an expansion of the codeshare agreement between American’s Northeast Alliance partner, JetBlue Airways, and Aer Lingus in December of last year.

The new codeshare agreement is part of the overarching Atlantic Joint Business agreement that also includes British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair.   All of the aforementioned carriers except JetBlue are also part of the oneworld alliance.

“Aer Lingus customers will be able to avail of greater connectivity options and more seamless travel between the U.S. and Europe via our Dublin hub,” said Reid Moody, Aer Lingus’ chief strategy officer.

The Dublin hub offers travelers U.S. Customs and Border Protection pre-clearance.

American will place its code on Aer Lingus flights between London’s Heathrow Airport and Dublin.  The airline’s customers can also book codeshare flights on Aer Lingus from Dublin to Amsterdam, Birmingham,  London Gatwick,  and Manchester, and from Heathrow to Belfast City, Cork, and Shannon.

Meanwhile, passengers traveling with Aer Lingus will be able to book codeshare travel on American Airlines flights from Chicago O’Hare to Albuquerque,  Nashville, , Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, and Tucson.

Aer Lingus said in a statement that “further expansion” of the codeshare agreement is being planned.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)