Can you access Aer Lingus airport lounges with British Airways Executive Club status?

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If you are looking for an example of the unnecessary complexities that airlines and loyalty schemes can impose, you will struggle to beat the lounge access rules for Aer Lingus if you have British Airways status. The fact that the two airlines are owned by the same company just makes it even crazier.

In case you are heading off to Ireland this half term, I thought I’d run through it for you. And it isn’t simple.

Aer Lingus lounge access with British Airways status

In Heathrow:

Aer Lingus has a pleasant lounge in Heathrow Terminal 2. Anika reviewed it here.

The rule here is that British Airways Silver or Gold cardholders can use the Aer Lingus lounge at Heathrow. Your ticket does NOT need to be issued by BA and it does NOT need to be a BA codeshare. If you have BA status, even a super-cheap ticket booked on aerlingus.com will do the job.

In Dublin or Shannon:

Again, BA Silver or Gold cardholders can use the Aer Lingus lounge in Dublin or Shannon. It doesn’t matter if your ticket has an Aer Lingus or British Airways flight number.

This only works if you are flying to Heathrow or Gatwick. If you fly from Dublin to, say, Manchester you will not get Aer Lingus lounge access in Ireland with a British Airways shiny card.

In Gatwick or Belfast:

And to confuse matters further …. Aer Lingus has no lounges in Gatwick or Belfast. However, if you have a British Airways Gold card, you can use the British Airways lounges.

No guests are allowed. More importantly, your ticket must have a British Airways flight number. An Aer Lingus ticket with an EI flight number will not get you in.

British Airways Silver cardholders do not get into the Gatwick or Belfast lounge in any scenario, irrespective of who issued their Aer Lingus ticket.

Glad we got that cleared up …..

Want to know more about redeeming Avios on Aer Lingus?

This HfP article shows you everything you need to know about how to redeem Avios points on Aer Lingus, which can lead to substantial tax savings when flying to North America.

Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, here are the three options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit or charge card:

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Plaza Premium, Delta and Eurostar lounges. Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with two free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £20. You get two more free visits for every year you keep the card.

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus. Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free LoungeKey card, allowing you access to the LoungeKey network. Guests are charged at £20 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer. Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.

Category

Aer Lingus and AerClub, British Airways and Avios

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Tom says:

18 Feb18 February 06:00

I am not sure I would bother. Having connected s couple of times in Dublin I am always disappointed by the Aer Lingus lounge. The food offer is appallingly limited in scope and there are 2 showers for the entire lounge of people changing planes. It really isn’t what I expect from a flagship lounge!
DavidM says:

18 Feb18 February 06:07

I was flying back from Shannon to LHR on an Aer Lingus saver ticket yesterday and sure enough was able to access the Boru lounge. The friendly agent asked me to show my BA silver card and my Aer Lingus boarding card, both on my phone.

A nice enough little lounge with snacks and drinks. Given that I wasn’t on a BA ticket and Aer Lingus isn’t part of one world this was a nice surprise.

My boarding card also said priority boarding but not sure if that was because of my BA status or having precooked a seat?
- The Original David says:
  
  18 Feb18 February 10:12
  
  How did you precook the seat? Was it chair-grilled?
  - Peter K says:
    
    18 Feb18 February 10:13
    
    😁
Julie says:

18 Feb18 February 06:38

My partner (bronze) and I (gold) flew LHR to Cork on an Aer Lingus flight last summer. When we went to the lounge in T2 they said I could go in but couldn’t take a guest. Only because I sweet talked the guy he did let him in.
Also BA gold doesn’t get you through fast track security in T2 only works in T3 and T5.
Andrew says:

18 Feb18 February 06:55

And a further complexity is that in Belfast, where there is only a BA lounge (and a priority pass lounge) only BA Gold have access to the BA lounge when flying Aer Lingus – silvers are turned away.
Andrew says:

18 Feb18 February 06:58

Would make things easier if Aer Lingus just joined One World!
- GarretC says:
  
  18 Feb18 February 13:49
  
  Is there any reason behind them not being on OneWorld
  - Shoestring says:
    
    18 Feb18 February 14:04
    
    it *was* in Oneworld until 2006, leaving at the time because it saw itself as a LCC. Then when it joined IAG, it was publicly stated mgt would like to see it rejoin Oneworld.
    
    But then…2 years ago we heard from the CEO: [At the European Aviation Conference in Dublin City University yesterday, Kavanagh asserted, “We have no plans to join Oneworld. We still have to do the business case for joining OneWorld.”
    The Aer Lingus CEO added, “We believe… that we can bring more choice to the market place and grow in connected businesses without compromising any of our existing businesses or the consumer. We’re about building cost efficiency and capacity.”]
    - GarretC says:
      
      18 Feb18 February 16:24
      
      Pah – I just booked flights from LGW to Dublin last week assuming I’d be able to use my status (not even thinking to check if they were on OW – just assuming).
      At least I can use the lounge on the return journey.
      
      From now on though, if flying home from LGW and BA is too expensive, I’ll be checking the Ryanair prices too. At least they let you wear your noise cancelling headphones during take off and landing, unlike AL.
      - ADS says:
        
        18 Feb18 February 21:39
        
        not being allowed to wear headphones during take-off and landing is a *good* thing !
        
        if something goes wrong, i want you to be aware of it – so you can get out of Dodge asap !!
      - Polly says:
        
        19 Feb19 February 09:43
        
        Garret, l often mix and arch between the two airlines too. Quite often fancy the Grain Store with PP, then back on BA with silver. Lounge food not great, soup usually nice. And free flowing wine…but not a great flagship lounge, no.
  - ChrisC says:
    
    18 Feb18 February 17:48
    
    The subscription fees are apparently expensive and that has been given as a reason in the past.
    
    Perhaps they should look at the ‘connect’ option?
    
    But Vuelling and Level also aren’t in OW either.
    
    Perhaps BA and IB are the IAG outsiders being the only 2 of 5 in OW.
    
    And other airlines seem quite happy to develop joint business ventures rather than fully join alliances. VS is in a JV with DL,AF and KL and no sign of them joining Sky Team and all parties appear happy with that.
Chris says:

18 Feb18 February 07:36

I was traveling from Dublin to LHR on an Aer Lingus flight, ticketed as a BA code share. I am a gold card holder. They refused me access to the lounge in Dublin.
Graham says:

18 Feb18 February 07:38

In Glasgow, when flying to Dublin, lounge access is denied when on an Aer Lingus flight, even if that flight has been booked with a BA flight number.
memesweeper says:

18 Feb18 February 07:43

You forgot Belfast – Heathrow. Your BA Silver cards will NOT get you into the BA lounge even with a BA ticket on an Aer Lingus flight. Gold’s get admitted. Why BA think it’s Ok to turn away their own ticket holders I have no idea.
- Rob says:
  
  18 Feb18 February 08:40
  
  Thanks. I have added this in.