After more than a year of waiting, you can now redeem finally redeem Aer Lignus award tickets using Alaska miles. While I really love Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, I am not really hyped up on this new redemption opportunities.
Dynamic Redemption Rate for Aer Lingus Award Tickets
Here are the dynamic redemption rates:
One way redemption rate between North America and Europe:
One way redemption rate for Intra-Europe flights:
Redemption on Business Class is currently not possible as there is no Business Class service on Intra-Europe flights. Business Class service will roll in coming this September.
Examples of dynamic redemption rates:
As you can see from the above screenshots, the redemption rates vary from one day to another. It is reasonable to conclude that this dynamic pricing is dependent on seat availability on a particular flight.
Aer Lingus Business Class Products
If you are unaware of Aer Lingus, it is a Dublin based airlines which currently operates the A330 and B757 for its long haul flights. While there is currently no business class on Intra-Europe flights, Aer Lingus will be rolling in business class from September 2019 onwards.
Aer Lingus has formed a partnership with Alaska Airlines since March 2018. Before this redemption opportunity arises, Mileage Plan members can only credit miles for Aer Lingus flight.
Bottomline
While it is great to have access to Aer Lingus award tickets on Alaska Mileage plan, I wouldn’t ride on this opportunity. Considering the fact that I could redeem a one way business class on Aer Lingus between North America and Europe at a minimum of 60k miles, there are many ways to better utilize Alaska Miles. Here are some examples:
- North America to Asia for 50k on Cathay Pacific/Hainan Airlines Business Class
- North America to Australia for 50k on Cathay Pacific Business Class
- North America to Australia for 70k on Qantas First Class
What are your thoughts on this redemption opportunities? How would you spend this 60k alaska miles?