Aer Lingus has no intention of rejoining the Oneworld alliance, dashing the hopes of sibling British Airways for the Irish flag-carrier to take its seat at the Oneworld table sometime in 2018.
"We have no plans to join Oneworld," Aer Lingus CEO Stephen Kavanagh told the European Aviation Conference at Dublin City University yesterday. "We still have to do the business case for joining Oneworld."
Instead, Kavanagh said that Aer Lingus would work towards joining the existing alliance between British Airways and American Airlines.
Aer Lingus' AerClub frequent flyer scheme has recently adopted as its currency the same Avios used by fellow IAG-owned airlines British Airways, Iberia, Vuelling and Level, with plans to join a unified 'points-bank' shared by those airlines by June 2018.
PREVIOUS | Ireland's Aer Lingus could rejoin the Oneworld alliance by end of 2017, providing Qantas frequent flyers with new options for earning and burning their points plus useful perks such as lounge access and priority checkin.
However, a more likely timeframe could be 2018 due to the work required to integrate a new member airline's systems – including the technology back-end – into the Oneworld network.
Speaking with USA Today, Willie Walsh, CEO of Aer Lingus parent International Airlines Group, said "I would expect it in 2017, but I don’t have an exact date."
"We don’t have a specific timeline. We’re working as quickly as we can. But these issues aren’t always as simple as they might appear. IT tends to be the issue that drives the timeline on most of this – getting the Aer Lingus systems capable of interacting with the other Oneworld carrier systems."
Aer Lingus was a Oneworld member until 2007, when it left the global airline group as part of a strategic shift away from the premium market to become a low-cost airline.
The airline has since reversed course and was last year taken over by IAG – which also owns British Airways – in a £1bn buy-out.
Aer Lingus has already moved to bring its frequent flyer scheme in line with that of British Airways, retiring its long-running Gold Circle loyalty program in favour of a new AerClub scheme using BA's Avios points as its currency.
AerClub will offer four status tiers starting with Green, then Silver and Platinum before topping out at Concierge.
These are expected to align against Oneworld status tiers as Ruby (AerClub Silver), Sapphire (AerClub Platinum) and Emerald (AerClub Concierge)
Concierge-grade members will enjoy four free upgrades each year, free WiFi on international flights and partner membership at the Silver level
BA is expected to put forward Aer Lingus for Oneworld membership in 2017, although it typically takes around 12 months to formally join the alliance.
"We anticipate IAG formally proposing Aer Lingus for Oneworld membership at the appropriate time" a spokesman for the Oneworld alliance told Australian Business Traveller.
Aer Lingus has declined to comment on the subject.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 May 2011
Total posts 233
I was just wondering about this one the weekend and now I know!
10 Aug 2015
Total posts 113
Has Aer Lingus upgraded inflight meal & drink service for short haul? It has been some years since I flew with them and all that was offered was a plastic cup of water.
07 Oct 2012
Total posts 1250
Given that BA is moving to a pay for drink/food in short haul I very much doubt Aer Lingus will be offering much
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
Agree. As far as alignment re shorthaul Y cabin service std among IAG brands is concerned, EI doesn't really need to do anything.....it's already @ where the current overall IAG strategy has been targeting for all brands.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Oct 2016
Total posts 67
Given Aer Lingus's ownership by IAG, I wonder how much weight we can put behind Willie Walsh's thoughts on the longevity of the Oneworld Alliance (as quoted in last weeks AusBT article re:BA and Oneworld)
QFF
19 Sep 2013
Total posts 209
They were quite good when I flew with them in 2015. And since prices to the US and Canada from UK/Ireland are about half the UK start if you fly out of Dublin, I would definitely consider them if travelling that way again.
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
@grov:
09 May 2011
Total posts 25
Given that Aer Lingus were actually once a part of oneworld previously ( up until about 10 years ago I recall), I would've thought that the IT systems would more or less be in place, and that any transition would be very minimal in nature.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1031
Part of the reason they left was because they didn't want to upgrade their computer systems to be able to link with the then incoming new members JL, RJ and MA.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Aer Lingus now has "no plans" to join Oneworld