Aer Lingus’ inaugural service direct to Dublin, Ireland, will take to the skies this evening at 7.20pm from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Flight EI142 will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 series aircraft carrying the registration EI-DAA and named Saint Keeva.
The new Seattle-Dublin service will operate four times weekly, year round, with 2,218 roundtrip seats available each week and marks the start of Aer Lingus’ new interline agreement with Alaska Airlines.
Seattle is the second new transatlantic route to be launched by Aer Lingus for summer 2018, the Philadelphia-Dublin service commenced in March. The route has been so successful that from today a daily service will operate during peak summer season.
Marking Aer Lingus’ inaugural service from Seattle, Mike Rutter, Chief Operating Officer said:
“We are delighted to commence Seattle’s first and only direct service to Dublin, Ireland, with four direct flights each week. Seattle holds great promise for Aer Lingus given the strong business ties between the two regions making this an important route for business travel, as well as leisure trips, as exemplified by the high demand for business class tickets on the route to date.
“Our interline agreement with Alaska Airlines means we can offer seamless connections for guests from 40 additional locations serviced by Alaskan Airlines, including Hawaii and Alaska. It also ensures that we can make Ireland, and further into Europe, accessible for Alaska’s 44 million travellers.”
Seattle is one of North America’s leading tech hubs and is home to multiple global hi-tech giants including Microsoft and Amazon, which have significant operations in Ireland. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing and global coffee company Starbucks started out in Seattle and still have a significant presence there today.
Largest ever transatlantic network
Summer 2018 marks Aer Lingus’ largest ever long haul program boasting 2.75 million seats across the Atlantic. In addition to new routes Seattle and Philadelphia, Aer Lingus’ transatlantic summer schedule boasts additional capacity across other key routes which include a daily service from both San Francisco and Los Angeles on the US West Coast as well as twice daily flights from Chicago.
Miami, which was launched as a new route in late summer 2017 and subsequently as a new winter route, continues to operate during summer, three times per week. Miami and Orlando, operating four times weekly, combined offers a direct connection to Ireland from Florida every day for summer 2018. Washington continues to operate daily for summer but on a larger Airbus A330-300 series aircraft, for four out of seven days, providing 31% additional seats on the route.
Aer Lingus’ 4 Star transatlantic guest experience
Aer Lingus transatlantic guests experience Dublin Airport as a leading transatlantic gateway boasting US Pre-Clearance. Unlike at any other European capital, guests travelling from and connecting via Dublin Airport preclear US Customs and Immigration before stepping on board their transatlantic flight, ensuring a speedy exit upon arrival to the United States.
Alaska Airlines partnership
The commencement of Seattle-Dublin will also mark the beginning of Aer Lingus’ recently announced partnership with Alaska Airlines. Both carriers will operate as part of an interline agreement with that will enable Aer Lingus European based travellers to connect onwards via Seattle to a wide range of destinations up and down the West Coast including Alaska and Hawaii; while loyal Alaska flyers will gain the opportunity to fly transatlantic to Ireland and further into Europe. As part of this they can check bags through to their final destination when traveling on Alaska and Aer Lingus and also earn and redeem miles/AerClub points on both carriers.
“More than 800,000 Washingtonians claim “Irish” as their primary ancestry, making this new connection a value in that regard but also creating links to booming tech industries in both countries and an additional choice to travellers coming and going to Ireland,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Stephanie Bowman. “This can be seen as a prize at both ends of the rainbow!”
“We're thrilled to welcome Aer Lingus to our hometown airport and portfolio of Alaska Global Partners,” said Andrew Harrison, Chief Commercial Officer for Alaska Airlines. “Europe is the top choice among Mileage Plan™ members to earn miles on our airline partners. Having nonstop service from Seattle to Dublin means our members have a new option for earning miles on flights to more than 70 European destinations.”
Fares from Seattle start from $459 roundtrip including taxes and fees when traveling between September 1 through October 25. Visit aerlingus.com for further information.