Alert: British Airways will launch new Avios-only flights on two routes tomorrow

British Airways has announced that tomorrow, 12 February 2026, it plans to launch new Avios only flights on two of its routes out of London City Airport. Only one flight in either direction will be “Avios-only”, so there isn’t much scope for flexibility here, but if you’re Avios rich these new routes may be of interest.

The new Avios only flights

London City to Madrid:

BA3272 LCY 11:00 – 14:20 MAD (Friday, 22 May 2026)
BA3273 MAD 15:10 – 16:30 LCY (Monday, 25 May 2026)

London City to Toulon St Tropez:

BA8747 LCY 07:00 – 10:00 TLN (Saturday, 13 June 2026)
BA8748 TLN 10:45 – 11:50 LCY (Saturday, 20 June 2026)

Executive Club Members booking an Avios only flight can do so in any cabin as they normally would through ba.com.

The costs

As with all British Airways award bookings, flyers are given a range of options to choose from when it comes to paying. If you’re Avios rich you can save on the taxes/fees element of the fare by choosing to use more Avios, and if you’re short of Avios you can make up for it by using more cash.

All costs shown below are for round trip travel.

London City to Madrid:

Euro Traveller (Economy Class):

• 26,000 Avios + £2.00
• 24,300 Avios + £11.94
• 20,500 Avios + £25.06
• 16,000 Avios + £54.80
• 10,300 Avios + £119.62
• 6,500 Avios + £155.14

Club Europe (Business Class):

• 44,000 Avios + £30.00
• 42,500 Avios + £39.94
• 33,000 Avios + £64.70
• 29,800 Avios + £95.76
• 22,000 Avios + £172.40
• 17,800 Avios + £210.36

Interestingly, the British Airways press releases says that round trip “Euro Traveller” fares on this route start at 28,000 Avios + £2 and that round trip “Club Europe” fares on this route start at 49,000 Avios + £30, but if you search BA.com for flights on similar dates (off-peak), the pricing is as I’ve set out above.

London City to Toulon:

• 22,000 Avios + £2.00
• 18,800 Avios + £10.02
• 16,000 Avios + £25.00
• 10,500 Avios + £44.56
• 8,300 Avios + £80.02
• 6,500 Avios + £100.14

Club Europe (Business Class):

• 33,000 Avios + £30.00
• 31,500 Avios + £39.94
• 26,000 Avios + £60.10
• 18,800 Avios + £83.56
• 14,500 Avios + £134.46
• 11,800 Avios + £169.12

Once again, for some reason there appears to be a discrepancy between the prices that I’m seeing online (shown above) and what the BA press releases tells us to prepare for.

The press release says that round trip “Euro Traveller” fares on this route start at 21,500 Avios + £2 and that round trip “Club Europe” fares on this route start at 36,000 Avios + £30, so make of that what you will.

Note: Flyers with Companion Vouchers issued by British Airways American Express Credit Cards can use them on these Avios-Only flights should they wish to.

Quick thoughts

If the dates work for you and if you’re Avios rich, these deals may work for you, but there are a few reasons you may want to pass on this latest BA offer.

Firstly, if you’re considering a Business Class booking, it’s worth noting that:

• There’s no fast track security at London City
• There’s no lounge at London City
• The aircraft being used out of London City is an E190 which offers 2-2 seating in its Business Class cabin.

You would have to be very keen to fly out of London City Airport and not Heathrow to pay a Business Class Avios fare on one of these Avios-only flights and give up fast track security, lounge access, and a blocked empty seat next to you (all things that you would get on a flight from Heathrow).

Secondly, there are a lot more frequencies to Madrid out of London Heathrow, so unless these specific dates work best for you or you can’t find rewards seats available on the other dates that work for you, why would you give up some flexibility just to book one of these Avios-only flights (assuming Madrid is your chosen destination)?

Thirdly, for some people booking Economy Class, the Avios-only flights to/from Madrid will not represent a good deal.

If you ignore British Airways and book Iberia’s off-peak flights to/from Madrid (flying from and to Heathrow rather than London City), these are the round trip Economy Class Avios options open to you (assuming that you can find availability):

• 14,500 Avios + £63.85
• 12,950 Avios + £83.85
• 9,800 Avios + £93.85
• 7,450 Avios + £103.85
• 5,050 Avios + £113.85
• 2,700 Avios + £133.85

Some of these options will offer better value than the BA Avios-only flights.

For example …

Why pay 16,000 Avios + £54.98 on BA when you can pay 14,500 Avios + £63.85 when booking Iberia flights? By paying £9 more you save 1,500 Avios.

Why pay 10,300 Avios + £119.62 on BA when you can pay 5,050 Avios + £113.85 when booking Iberia flights? By booking the Iberia flights, you save 5,250 Avios AND you save £5.77.

Finally, it’s worth remembering that you can often find good cash fares on the routes to Madrid, so it may be that booking with cash is the better overall option – don’t assume that the Avios-only deal is a good one.

Bottom line

British Airways has announced that will offer four new Avios-only flights from tomorrow, 12 February 2026. Two flights will cover the London City – Madrid route while the other two will cover the London City – Toulon route, and as I’ve outlined in the article above, for some people these deals may be worth considering while for others, these will be deals on which to take a pass.