Where can you fly on Aer Lingus with your BA Amex 2-4-1 voucher?

One fascinating change to Avios in recent years was the opening up of Aer Lingus and Iberia for American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher redemptions.

The Aer Lingus option is especially interesting for anyone living outside London who is planning a trip to the US, since you may be able to use your 2-4-1 voucher and still depart from your local airport.

Full details of how it works are here. Note that Aer Lingus does not guarantee to open up a specific number of Avios seats per flight and availability, especially in business class, to their core US destinations can be thin.

We did two two in-depth Aer Lingus business class reviews in 2022, covering their two core long-haul aircraft types. These are:

• the single-aisle A321LR (here is my Dublin – New York Aer Lingus A321LR review)

• the twin-aisle, larger, A330 (here is Rhys’s Manchester – Barbados Aer Lingus A330 review)

The reviews talk you through the best business class seats, although the top pick is the ‘throne’ seat where you only get one seat to a row with a console on either side of you.

Even if you travelling with someone, as I was on my A321LR review trip, you may prefer two ‘throne’ seats if you can get them rather than sitting side by side.

In 2024, Aer Lingus refurbished its lounge at Heathrow Terminal 2 which we reviewed here.

If you are flying from Dublin or Shannon, you complete US Customs and Immigration in Ireland. My A321LR review looks at this here. It means that you land in the US as a domestic passenger and can be out of the terminal in minutes, with no risk of a lengthy queue at immigration.

Where does Aer Lingus fly long-haul?

I want to use this article to look at the Aer Lingus route network. It is NOT an article discussing the costs, in Avios and taxes, of Aer Lingus redemptions – we will do that another day.

Here is the current route network:

From Manchester:

• Manchester – New York JFK
• Manchester – Orlando
• Manchester – Barbados (seasonally from November to April)

From Dublin:

• Dublin – Boston
• Dublin – Chicago
• Dublin – Cleveland
• Dublin – Denver (seasonally from April to October)
• Dublin – Hartford
• Dublin – Indianapolis (launching May 2025)
• Dublin – Las Vegas (seasonally from November to April)
• Dublin – Los Angeles
• Dublin – Miami (seasonally from November to April)
• Dublin – Minneapolis St Paul (seasonally from April to October)
• Dublin – Nashville (launching April 2025)
• Dublin – New York JFK
• Dublin – Newark
• Dublin – Orlando
• Dublin – Philadelphia
• Dublin – San Francisco
• Dublin – Seattle
• Dublin – Toronto
• Dublin – Washington DC

From Shannon:

• Shannon – Boston
• Shannon – New York JFK

Flights tend to operate between 4-7 days per week on most routes, with the core US routes having multiple daily flights.

How do you connect to Aer Lingus flights from the UK?

Aer Lingus has an excellent range of connections to Dublin from across the UK.

If you are looking for Avios seats I would initially search for the long-haul flight on its own and then see what connections can be added later. You don’t want to risk not seeing long-haul availability simply because the most convenient short-haul connecting flight isn’t available.

You will make a substantial saving by booking your UK-Ireland flight on a separate ticket, as this avoids long haul Air Passenger Duty. The downside is that your baggage may not be checked through and Aer Lingus is not obliged to help you if you miss your connection.

Here is the Aer Lingus UK network (some routes are seasonal):

To/from Dublin:

• Aberdeen
• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Edinburgh
• Exeter
• Glasgow
• Isle of Man
• Jersey
• Leeds Bradford
• Liverpool
• London Heathrow
• Manchester
• Newcastle
• Newquay
• Southampton

To/from Belfast

• Birmingham
• Cardiff
• East Midlands
• Edinburgh
• Exeter
• Glasgow
• Leeds Bradford
• Manchester
• Newcastle
• Southampton

To/from Cork

• Bristol
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• London Heathrow

To/from Knock

• London Heathrow

To/from Shannon

• London Heathrow

Note that many of the routes outside of London are operated by Aer Lingus Regional under franchise with Emerald Airlines and use small turbo-prop aircraft. You can still earn and redeem Avios on these services.

‘Mainline’ short haul flights use BA-style Airbus jet aircraft. If you’re lucky you will get an A321LR with flat beds in Business Class, as these do short haul during the morning before heading back to the US in the afternoon.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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:

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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