The IAG acquisition of Aer Lingus gets final EU clearance – with some conditions

The acquisition of Aer Lingus by IAG, the parent company of British Airways, is now certain to go ahead following the approval of the deal by the European Union.  This follows the announcement last week that Ryanair had agreed to sell its 29% shareholding.

The EU did not roll over entirely, however.

It has imposed the following conditions on the transactions:

British Airways must give up five slots at Gatwick (yes Gatwick, not Heathrow) which will be ring-fenced for any airline wishing to start London-Dublin or London-Belfast services.  Ryanair has already expressed interest.

Aer Lingus must continue to sell seats to other airlines wishing to use its flights to connect to long-haul services from Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Amsterdam, Shannon and Dublin.  This means, for example, that Aer Lingus cannot refuse to work with Virgin Atlantic to allow Virgin to sell Dublin – Heathrow – Detroit as one ticket.

The full EU press release is here.

IAG has already made its own concessions – to retain the Aer Lingus brand (binding), to retain the core schedule for seven years (binding) and to launch four new long-haul routes (not binding).

Going forward, we can expect – and these are my guesses only – good news and bad news:

Good news:

tier points and full Avios points (as opposed to the current reduced number of Avios points) available on Aer Lingus flights

Aer Lingus redemptions to be available online via ba.com

Gold Circle points to be turned into Avios

ability to effectively earn Avios points on United flights in the US by crediting them to Gold Circle and waiting for the conversion to Avios

Aer Lingus to join oneworld

Bad news:

fuel surcharges to be added to Aer Lingus redemption flights to the US as soon as permission is received for the airline to enter the Iberia / Finnair / BA / AA pricing cartel on transatlantic flights

Aer Lingus redemption seats become harder to find – at present, because you need to ring to book them, few people know they exist

competition from members of other oneworld frequent flyer programmes for Aer Lingus redemption seats

None of this will happen immediately as the deal will take a couple of months to reach legal completion.  

Whatever happens, Aer Lingus flights from Dublin to Boston will still be the cheapest way of flying to the US on Avios points.  It remains under 3,000 miles and therefore in the cheaper pricing band.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Up to 60,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.