Alaska Airlines announced yesterday a new codeshare and frequent flyer partnership with Iceland based airline Icelandair.
According to USA TODAY, both airlines previously had a frequent-flier pact that started in 2010 but discontinued in 2013.
The restoration of the codeshare agreement will take place on November 1, pending government approval. Members of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and of Icelandair’s Saga Club will be able to earn miles and/or points as early as October 1. Customers with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP Gold and Gold 75K, as well as Icelandair Saga Gold and Silver status members will enjoy complimentary access to to the reciprocal airline’s airport lounge in Reykjavik, Seattle, Portland, Anchorage, and Los Angeles.
Icelandair currently operates flights to 15 destinations in North America from its hub in Reykjavik which connects to more than 20 cities in Europe. Next spring, it is adding flights to Montreal, Canada.
“This new partnership with Icelandair is another example of how Alaska is raising the bar to allow its Mileage Plan members to travel and earn miles to all corners of the globe through a diverse network of international carriers,” said Andrew Harrison, Alaska Airlines’ executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “Icelandair offers our frequent fliers a unique option for flying and earning miles to Europe from our Seattle, Portland and Anchorage gateways.”
“With today’s announcement of our Alaska Airlines partnership, Icelandair continues to expand its network, including more flights, more gateways and more destinations,” said Helgi Mar Bjorgvinsson, Icelandair’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Our codeshare flights and mileage partnership will make travel seamless from the West Coast, reward frequent travelers on both Icelandair and Alaska Airlines, and offer our passengers even more options when traveling to Iceland and beyond.”
New nonstop service to Nashville
Alaska has also started service to Nashville from Seattle. With the addition of Nashville to its network, the airline now flies to 84 destinations from Seattle. The outbound flight to the Music City departs at 9:30AM and arrives at 4:05PM. The return flight leaves Nashville at 5:05PM and lands in Seattle at around 8:20PM.
This route is already operated by another airline, which is not Delta, surprisingly. Southwest operates a daily nonstop flight between the two cities.
“Our new nonstop flight between Seattle and Nashville connects two of the country’s largest and most popular music capitals. Loyal Pacific Northwest customers will enjoy our convenient schedule, and our new Nashville customers will appreciate our great service, complimentary assigned seats and our premium cabin experience,” said John Kirby, the airline’s vice president of capacity planning.
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