British Airways Adds Non-Stop Flights To Cologne, Germany
British Airways has announced that it plans to offer service between London Gatwick and Cologne from later this year. As things stand it looks as if the new route is set to operate during the winter season only but this may change should the route prove to be a success.
A New British Airways Executive Club App Is Launched & I Have No Idea...
British Airways has launched a new app for its Executive Club members (free to join here) and, having seen the press release detailing all the joys and functionality of the new app, I'm left wondering why the airline has bothered developing this in the first place.
Extra Discounts In The British Airways Holiday Sale (UK)
British Airways has launched some extra discounts on the holiday sale it has been running for a few weeks so if you haven't booked your next trip just yet these savings may be of help.
A New British Airways Safety Video Is Out: Comic Relief Take 2
British Airways has released a new safety video which follows on from the video currently being shown on board. Like its predecessor, the new British Airways safety video features a cast of British TV and movie stars all pitching in on behalf of Comic Relief and BA's Flying Start charity.
British Airways Brings Back Its “Upgrade To First” Promotion (UK)
British Airways has brought back its "Upgrade to First" promotion which it last ran back in February this year. The promotion is simple in that it offers passengers a free one-way upgrade to First Class when they make an eligible roundtrip reservation in British Airways Club World (Business Class).
British Airways Cancels Its Oakland Route For Next Summer: Is This A Sign Of...
British Airways announced that it would fly between London Gatwick and Oakland back in November 2016 and then launched the service in March 2017.
The new route was an interesting direction for British Airways to take. It was route already offered by Norwegian and we hadn’t seen BA go after a low-cost carrier on a long-haul route before.
British Airways currently offers 4 weekly flights between its London Gatwick base and Oakland but, as we were told back in April, British Airways had decided to close this route down for the winter (last flights are scheduled for 20 October).
You Can’t Trust British Airways Staff To Correctly Change Your Frequent Flyer Number
While I've had some very positive recent experiences with British Airways cabin crew I'm continually frustrated by some of the limitations of BA.com, the incompetence of BA's IT department and the inability of BA call centre staff to carry out simple tasks.
Downgraded By BA? Know Your EC 261/2004 Rights
Issues that British Airways is currently having with the Rolls Royce engines on a number of its Dreamliners have seen the UK’s flag carrier wetlease a number of Qatar Airways A330 aircraft to cover certain routes while BA’s aircraft are out of action.
Should You Take Avios Or Cash If You’ve Just Been Downgraded By BA
Thanks to the ongoing issues surrounding the Rolls Royce engines on BA's 787-9 Dreamliners the airline has had to wetlease a number of Airbus A330 aircraft from Qatar Airways. These aircraft are covering some of BA's flights between London and Delhi, Muscat and Kuwait this summer and, if you're booked to fly on one of these routes, you have some choices to make.
BA Cancels Calgary Flights For Winter 2018/19 – What You Need To Know
British Airways has announced a temporary suspension of its service between London and Calgary for the Winter 2018 season. The service to/from Calgary is currently set to return on 31 March 2018 but I doubt that will be of much comfort to passengers booked to fly this winter.
What BA Flyers Booked On Qatar Airways A330 Aircraft Need To Know
British Airways is wetleasing a number of Qatar Airways Airbus A330 aircraft to help cover three of its routes to/from the Middle East while its own aircraft are having the reliability issues surrounding their Rolls Royce engines attended to.
I wrote about the consequences for passengers booked on to the affected flights yesterday (here's a link) and today I thought I'd take a look at the Qatar Airways A330's that BA is leasing and what passengers can expect.
British Airways Will Use Qatar Airways Aircraft & Crews This Summer (Again)
Last year British Airways wetleased a number of Qatar Airways short-haul A320 aircraft when its "Mixed Fleet" crews went on strike and, as I mentioned at the time, this was actually very good news for a lot of BA passengers. This year a different issue sees Qatar Airways aircraft operating BA's routes once again.
FLASH SALE: Save Up To £100 On British Airways Holidays (Ends 1 May)
Last weekend British Airways had a flash sale offering £50 or $70 (depending on your location) off its long-haul route fares and now the airline is back with another flash sale offering up to £100 off holidays booked via ba.com.
British Airways Adds Service To Washington D.C. & Santiago
British Airways has announced that it will be increasing the number of flights it offers to both Washington D.C. and Santiago (Chile) for the winter 2018/19 season. The bigger increase in capacity will be to Washington D.C. but considering the Santiago route only launched last year it's impressive that it will be seeing a capacity increase at all.
FLASH OFFER: $70 or £50 Off British Airways Long-Haul Routes This Weekend (US &...
British Airways is sending out emails to Executive Club members in the US and UK offering $70 or £50 off their next long-haul booking with the airline. There are a few restrictions on how and when the promotion code can be used but, on the whole, this looks like an easy way to save some cash if you're prepared to book with BA.
British Airways Brings Back “Kids Go Free” Promotion (Domestic Routes)
British Airways has brought back a promotion it ran last year which allows kids to fly free of charge on select domestic routes. In 2017 British Airways added Bilund (the home of LEGO) to the list of routes included in this offer but, this year, that's no longer an option.
British Airways Long-Haul Basic Economy Fares Are Now Bookable
At the beginning of March British Airways and its transatlantic alliance partners announced that they would be introducing Basic Economy fares on routes between Europe and the US. A few days later it became clear that British Airways would also start offer these fares on other parts of its network and now, a little over month later, these fares are finally bookable.
FLASH SALE: British Airways Club World + Hotel Deals Available Through 16 April (UK)
British Airways has launched a 5-day "luxury holiday sale that's offering Club World (Business Class) flights and "luxury hotels" packaged together to offer what the airline calls "an upgraded travel experience offering an extra level of service and style". I'm not sure about the extra level of service and style but, despite the fact that only certain destinations appear to be included in the sale, some of the deals definitely look interesting.
British Airways Quietly Drops Its London – Oakland Route For Winter 2018/19
I'd have a lot more respect for airlines if they were as good at announcing route closures as they are at announcing new routes. No airline that I know ever announces that its reducing service on a route or that it's closing down a route completely - apparently it's up to us to figure this out when, one day, a flight we've been used to seeing in the schedules isn't there any more.
You Can Now Mix British Airways Basic and Plus Fares In A Single Booking
A few weeks ago I speculated that a note that British Airways sent out to travel industry professionals indicated that flyers would soon be able to mix Basic Economy and regular Economy fares (Plus fares) in the same reservation.
Sure enough it now looks as if this is possible as the BA website flight searches now look slightly different.
British Airways Avios Changes On The Way…..But To Whom Will They Matter?
Yesterday morning Head For Points ran a post quoting an interview Alex Cruz (BA's CEO) had with the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. In the interview Cruz gave the SCMP an insight into how he sees the airline's loyalty program evolving and what we changes we can expect to start seeing later this year (or possibly in 2019). The changes Alex Cruz is describing are not in the slightest bit surprising but how they're perceived will depend on what group of flyer someone falls into and how the implementation actually works.
British Airways Is Changing The Way It Files Short-Haul Fares From 4 April –...
British Airways has sent a note out to travel industry professionals reminding them that the way the airline presents and files its short-haul fares will be changing from 4 April 2018. Normally how an airline presents its fares to the travel industry isn't really of importance or interest to regular travelers but, in this instance, there may be more to this than just a few name and presentation changes.
Excellent British Airways & American Airlines Business Class Fares UK – USA
British Airways & American Airlines are currently offering some excellent Business Class fares for travel from the UK to various cities in the US (including the West Coast). There doesn't appear to be a set closing date for these fares so, technically, they could disappear at any time - if you see a fare that works for you don't take too long deciding whether or not to book.
British Airways Extends Biometric Gate Trials In The US
British Airways has been using biometric gates at its London Heathrow base for quite some time (I've yet to be given the chance to use one but they're definitely there) and, since November last year, BA has had three biometric gates at Los Angeles International airport where it has been trialling the technology.
Well, the trials must have gone pretty well at LAX because British Airways has extended the biometric trial to its facilities in New York (JFK), Miami and Orlando.
British Airways Confirms It’s Making Its Heathrow 777s More Uncomfortable Too
At the beginning of the week British Airways unveiled the new cabins it is installing on the Boeing 777 aircraft it operates out of its Gatwick base. The biggest change passengers will see is that the airline has squeezed an extra seat into each row of Economy Class meaning that the already cramped seating conditions are about to get worse.....but it turns out that Gatwick will not be the only base to get these aircraft.
British Airways Will Offer Basic Economy Fares (Hand Baggage Only) Worldwide
Last week we discovered that British Airways (together with American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair) will start offering Basic Economy fares across the Atlantic from April of this year. Today the airline has announced that April will see Basic Economy fares rolled out to other markets too.
British Airways Has Unveiled Its New Tightly-Packed 777 Cabins
British Airways will be unleashing its refurbished high-density Boeing 777 aircraft on a largely unsuspecting public in the next few months, and the airline has now released images to show what the refurbishment will look like and what passengers can expect.....sort of.
BREAKING NEWS: Oneworld Transatlantic Basic Economy Fares Are Coming – Here’s What You Need...
In an announcement to the travel industry British Airways has confirmed that it and its fellow transatlantic joint venture partners will offer "unbundled fares" on select transatlantic routes from as early as next month. In plain speak this means that oneworld Basic Economy fares are about to be unleashed on the flying public. Here's everything you need to know.
British Airways Cancels Flights To Doha – Fantastic News For Business Class Flyers!
British Airways has announced that it is cancelling its flights between London and Doha for a period of 3 months from the end of March and, while this may not be the best news for flyers booked into World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) it's nothing short of fantastic news if you're booked to fly in Business Class.
Review: British Airways 787-9 Dreamliner Business Class Overnight Flight (LAX-LHR)
Despite a reasonably good experience in British Airways Economy Class on the airline's A380 aircraft I wasn't expecting great things on my 787-9 Business Class (Club World) flight back to the UK.
This was to be my first experience of the British Airways Dreamliner but, having flown in BA Business Class quite a few times, I knew to expect high-density Business Class seating, no direct aisle access and certainly no internet connectivity.
British Airways Makes It Even Harder For Minors To Travel Alone
Back in February 2016 British Airways announced that it was scrapping the "Skyflyer Solo" program which was the airline's name for its unaccompanied minor service. At the time the airline blamed a decline in demand for the closure of the service (which was nonsense) but confirmed that it would continue to take bookings for 12 - 18 year-olds "who wish to fly independently"
Now, as we approach the 2 year anniversary of the scrapping of the Skyflyer Solo program, British Airways has announced that it's about to make another parent-unfriendly change.
Review: British Airways A380 Economy Class Daytime Flight (LHR-LAX)
I genuinely don’t mind traveling across the Atlantic in Economy Class as long as three conditions are met - it’s a daytime flight, I’m booked into an exit row seat and I got a good deal on the fare. It’s because all three of those came together that I found myself boarding a British Airways A380 over the Holidays and settling in to my Economy Class seat.
Where To Find Great British Airways Premium Economy Fares To The West Coast
Right now there's an excellent British Airways Premium Economy fare to the West Coast being widely discussed but it comes with the catch that you need to be prepared to depart from Oslo. This isn't the first time I've seen this fare pop up so, because it comes up reasonably often, because it can be tricky to find and because Oslo isn't the only departure point that offers up good BA Premium Economy fares, I thought I'd explain how to find them.
British Airways London to LA – How I Booked & How Much I Paid
As soon as Christmas was over Joanna, MJ and I headed back across the Atlantic to get some much-needed LA sunshine and to escape the European winter. We ended up flying with British Airways and booking the Andaz West Hollywood and, because I think it could be useful to others planning trips, I thought I'd share the details of why we booked what we did, how we went about booking and how much it all cost.
British Airways Starts Rolling Out Wi-Fi & Adds Lounge Access In Three European Airports
Two pieces of news coming out of BA and, for a change, both are pretty positive. The airline is finally putting aircraft in the air which offer Wi-Fi (although the rollout appears to be competing with the world's glaciers for the slowest possible speed) and it has negotiated lounge access for BA/oneworld elites (those flying with BA) at three more European lounges.
Is British Airways Ignoring Its Own Policy Change?
Despite having flown with British Airways for years I still consider myself a novice when it comes to the airline's rules and regulations.
Because most of my British Airways flying has been on inconsequential short-haul flights and because, up until now, my flights have all been credited to the American Airlines AAdvantage program, I've been a bit lax when it comes to keeping on top of how BA does things.
I say all this because right now I'm a little confused.
British Airways, Qatar Airways & Finnair Business Class To Asia From $1,451
British Airways, Finnair and Qatar Airways are all offering discounted Business Class fares to cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok and, as these are all oneworld carriers, you can earn a LOT of Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM)/Tier Points and Redeemable Miles/Avios when you credit these flights to AAdvantage of the British Airways Executive Club.
British Airways Confirms That It’s Scrapping Credit Card Surcharges
From 13 January 2018 an EU regulation comes in to force which makes it illegal for entities to charge fees for processing payments from Visa or Mastercard credit cards. On top of this, the UK government has brought in extra legislation to ensure that all other forms of payment are covered by the no-fee rule too so that covers Amex cards as well.
British Airways Is Improving Its Economy Class Food Offering….Sort Of….
I have no idea what's going on at British Airways nowadays as I'm starting to struggle to keep up with the direction the airline is attempting to go. One minute the airline is cutting the services it offers to passengers and then, the next minute, it acts like it had changed its mind (although it's certainly not framing its latest move as a change of mind).
I’m SUCH A Hypocrite!
For the Holiday season British Airways has quietly relaxed the guesting rules at its lounges in the UK but it doesn’t appear to have told too many people about it.
Some BAEC members were lucky enough to get an email letting them know about the temporary changes but most people (if they don’t read FlyerTalk) probably have no idea.
Important: Check Your British Airways Seat Assignments – They Could Be Wrong
I've written about the MyFlights App in the past and explained how it's really helped me out when airlines put through changes to their schedules and aircraft without any notice whatsoever. Sadly, as of 31 December 2017, the MyFlights app will be discontinued but that isn't stopping the app doing great work in the meantime.
British Airways’ CEO Alex Cruz Just Doesn’t Get It
A couple of weeks ago British Airways CEO Alex Cruz was at the annual Aviation Club lunch and made a few comments about his airline that are worth a closer look.
It hasn't been the greatest year for BA with IT outages causing chaos, crew strikes forcing the airline to borrow aircraft from Qatar Airways and the airline's overall approval ratings as low as I can ever remember them...but Alex isn't letting all that get to him.
News: New Delta Sky Club, Facial Recognition From British Airways And Delta & More
A roundup of some of the news I've noticed over the past few days which didn't really merit a whole post of their own but that may well be of interest. Includes news that Delta is bringing facial recognition software to Atlanta, British Airways is doing the same at Los Angeles, details of A new Delta Sky CLub in New York and news that easyJet is expanding its 'worldwide by easyJet" technology to Milan.
British Airways Launches Its Latest Sale (UK) – Some Very Good First Class Fares...
British Airways has launched a new sale which covers just about everything the airline offers. City-breaks, long-haul flights, short-haul flights and luxury holidays are all discounted and, while not all the offers are particularly tempting, there are a few things that are worth a closer look.
Are British Airways Basic Economy Fares About To Get Better?
British Airways Basic Fares were once called "hand baggage only" fares and they started out life as a fare I would never, ever book. BA's Basic fares only apply to short-haul routes and, when they were first introduced, they stripped elite flyers of their seat assignment benefit. It didn't matter what status you held, if you booked a hand baggage only fare you did not get to select your seat at the time of booking.
News: British Airways WiFi Update, Hyatt Adjusts Hotel Categories & Malaysia Airlines A380’s Will...
A roundup of some of the news doing the rounds right now with a look at the latest changes within Hyatt's hotel categories, an update on British Airways' wi-fi installation, and news that we haven't seen the last of Malaysia Airlines' A380 after all.
The Math Tells Me Not To Credit Flights To American Airlines
I've been trying my hardest not to be one of those travelers who complains incessantly about an airline devaluing its frequent flyer program only to keep handing that same airline his/her cash on an ongoing and frequent basis.
American Airlines has destroyed the AAdvantage program for travelers like me (for a very small minority it may have improved) so my plan has been to avoid flying American Airlines as much as possible...but it's been quite hard.
Will Richard Branson Get To Kick Willie Walsh Where It Hurts? (Oh How I...
I really don't like Willie Walsh. I've never met the man and I have no wish to meet him, but anyone who thinks it's a good idea to stand up at a investors briefing in front of a slide that reads "show me the f*cking money" and then repeats the phrase is an idiot in my book.
British Airways Club World Gatwick – Oakland From Just £994/$1,330 Roundtrip!
British Airways started up its route between London Gatwick and Oakland, California back in March this year with a very specific aim of competing directly with Norwegian - an airline that's been flying this route for a while. I can't say for sure how the Economy Class war between the two airlines is going but I can say that British Airways appears to be taking drastic action in the premium cabin market on this route.
British Airways Adds Another Route To Greece
British Airways has announced that it will launch a new seasonal service to the Greek Islands from summer next year and, a little surprisingly, this route will be operated out of London Heathrow (I usually associate Gatwick with BA's short-haul vacation routes).
British Airways Confirms “Group Boarding” From 12 December
Last week I wrote about a strong rumor which suggested that British Airways was about to make some significant changes to the debacle it calls a boarding process. At the time I was confident that the information being provided on FlyerTalk was correct and now we finally have confirmation from British Airways itself.
British Airways Black Friday Deals (UK) – Club World & Club Europe Deals &...
British Airways is joining in the Black Friday/Cyber Monday fun with a series of sales/deals covering flights and holiday packages to destinations in Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East/Africa, Asia and the Indian Ocean.
A Simple Workaround To An Annoying BA.com Glitch
There’s a very strange glitch that I occasionally get on the British Airways website which, while annoying, is very simple to workaround.
I haven’t seen this glitch mentioned anywhere so I thought I was the only one getting it…until I got three emails in the space of two days asking me about it.
British Airways Actually Improves Something – The Boarding Process
The British Airway boarding process has, for a very long time, been a joke....especially if you're flying short-haul. What happens, in essence, is that the gate agents yell "charge!" and everyone tries to get on the aircraft at the same time.
In truth things are better on long-haul than short-haul but that's akin to saying that dysentery is better than cholera - both are still pretty terrible.
Will British Airways Schedule A Dreamliner On A Short-Haul Route?
British Airways currently operates 7 Boeing 767 aircraft in its fleet and, while these gas-guzzlers last flew long-haul in 2016, they're still operating on a number of intra-Europe routes for the airline.
We now know that British Airways plans to phase out all of its 767 aircraft by the end of 2018 and that throws up the question of what aircraft will replace them?
Two Good British Airways Premium Economy Deals Have Given Me A Dilemma
To my friends I like to give off an air that I have all my travel plans under control all of the time and that, unlike them, I never have nagging doubts about which airlines to fly, what fares to book and when to use miles and when to pay cash. Sadly none of that is true.
Just like most people I have times when I have absolutely no idea what the right thing to do actually is and I'm going through one of those times right now.
British Airways May Kill Avios, Will Invest Another $200m In Club World, Has 72...
British Airways had an investor day last week (on November 3rd) at which Willie Walsh managed not to say anything blindingly crass (unlike last year) and Alex "low-cost" Cruz didn't announce that the airline would start charging for in-cabin air so, by British Airways standards, it went well.
British Airways Offering Economy Fares At Under £40 And Business Class Fares From £86...
I wrote about the sub-£30 British Airways fares a few weeks ago and, either ticket sales are going poorly or British Airways is feeling generous, as now they offering sub-£40 for travel this winter….and this time the flights are out of Heathrow (the earlier promotion was for flights out of Gatwick).
British Airways Eliminates Its Generous Baggage Policy – No Notice Given
British Airways, the airline that once called itself the "world's favourite airline", has changed its baggage policy to remove one of the last passenger-friendly benefits it offered....and this move comes with no notice to passengers or, it would appear, to anyone outside of the airline.
British Airways Schedules More Cramped & Uncomfortable Flights
Back in November last year, at the presentation where Willie Walsh proved just how arrogant and out of touch he really is, British Airways announced that it would be investing money in making passengers less comfortable on both short-haul and long-haul flights.
British Airways USA Promotion: Business Class Flights & Hotel From $2,199
While Business Class fares from the US to Europe can be quite expensive, one of the better ways to get good value can be to book a flight & hotel package deal through one of the airlines. Booking deals like this through American Airlines vacations has long been a good way to save quite a bit on Business Class fares and now British Airways has a promotion that looks good too.
British Airways Adds A New Route To Spain & Adds Services To Inverness
There were a couple of announcements from BA yesterday that I thought may be of interest to readers in the UK - In 2018 BA will be adding a new summer route to southeastern Spain and those of you in the far north of the UK are about to get a greater number of flights to/from Heathrow.
British Airways Reward Flight Finder – The Avios Search I Didn’t Know Existed
On Monday I discussed the excellent BA Redemption Finder tool that makes life very easy for anyone looking to see what Avios availability is like on a given route for the entire year. In one search you can see every date on which reward flights are available between any two cities that BA flys between...and it show you the availability in both directions.
British Airways Holidays Are Offering Xmas Market Breaks From £129pp
I'm not much of a cold weather person (I scuba dive and my skiing is atrocious) and I can't say that I'm a particularly big fan of Christmas (forced levity is tedious and the stores are so crowded it's enough to make the most gregarious person turn agoraphobic) but there's something about a Christmas market that I like...and BA is now offering some good deals to various European Christmas markets for the holiday season.
British Airways “Free Upgrade To First” Is Back (From Europe)
British Airways has brought back a promotion it runs reasonably often which gives passengers a free one-way upgrade to First Class when they make an eligible roundtrip reservation in Club World (Business Class).
British Airways Launches Route To The Seychelles – Book Business Class Awards ASAP
British Airways has been keeping its route planners busy over the past year with new routes to Toronto and Las Vegas out of London Gatwick, flights to Oakland, flights to Ft. Lauderdale and even a new route to Nashville. Now the airline has turned its sights away from the US (at least temporarily) as it announces a new route to the Indian Ocean.
British Airways Selling 250,000 Seats For Less Than £30
British Airways has launched a new promotion for travelers booking flights out of London's Gatwick Airport (you're out of luck if Heathrow is your preferred airport). The airline is advertising 250,000 seats across 25 short-haul destinations at "ultra-low fares" of under £30 one way - can you make the most of this deal?
How To Maximize Your British Airways Tier Points On Qatar Airways
There's an outside chance that I may reach the dizzy heights of British Airways Gold status next year if some of the trips I'm planning pan out as expected so I've been paying closer attention that normal to the whole concept of Tier Points.
British Airways 767 Club Europe (a.k.a The Upgrade I Didn’t Want But Was Eventually...
If there is one definitive piece of evidence that proves that no one with serious power at British Airways reads this blog it’s the fact that the airline upgrades me quite regularly….at least on short-haul routes (for those new to TFM you should know that I’m normally very, very critical of BA).
The issue is that I almost never actually want to be upgraded on a BA short haul flight.
British Airways Launches “Premium Transfer Drive”….And It Sounds Pretty Cool
British Airways is apparently aware that there are times when, mostly due to delays, some passengers find themselves cutting it very, very close when it comes to catching their connections and the airline whats to help some of those passengers out.
British Airways Launches Its UK Sale
British Airways has launched its latest sale for departures out of the UK and, on the face of things, there are a few interesting deals.
None of the Business Class deals are going to be overly exciting if you're used to positioning to Europe and getting cheap fares from there but, with Club World fares to North America starting at around £1,300 and with 160 Tier Points on offer from £250, it's definitely worth checking out what the airline has on offer.
British Airways Adds More Routes Between the UK & North America
Earlier this year BA opened up a new route between Gatwick and Oakland which was a direct challenge to Norwegian who already operates this route and we've also had an announcement of a new route to Nashville and a route to Ft. Lauderdale. Now it would appear that BA is ready to add to its US routes once again (albeit only for the summer season).
BA Calls Out The UK Border Force For “Serious Inefficiencies”
It's not often that I praise British Airways but in this case the airline deserves a pat on the back for calling out the UK Border Force on its often abysmal handling of immigration at UK Airports.
British Airways Club World Will Soon Debut “Restaurant-Style” Dining
The PR machine at the BA's Waterside headquarters has been highlighting a £400m (~$515m) spending plan for Club World for quite some time...and now we're about to see the first enhancement that this cash is set to deliver.
Great Economy Class Fares From BA/AA For Europe To Los Angeles
With a base in LA I'm almost always keeping a close eye on fares from Europe back to California (especially when I start missing the sunshine!) and it looks as if there are some excellent deals available right now from both American Airlines and British Airways. The great fares will require a connection and some will require you to return to a different city to the one you originated in.....but they could save you quite a bit.
British Airways News: New Route To The US, A380 Flying To Another US City...
British Airways may still be in the midst of a strike and it may still be using Qatar Airways A320 aircraft to keep some of its routes operating on schedule but it isn't slowing down when it comes to service to the US.
What Routes Are The Qatar A320’s Flying For British Airways
The British Airways strike has been extended through to 30 August but, as I wrote yesterday, there is a small silver lining - the Qatar Airways A320 that have been operating some of BA's short haul routes will now be hanging around for a little bit longer.
I explained yesterday why the Qatar A320s are a bonus to those lucky enough to have them fly their routes and, since that blog posted, I've had a few messages asking how you can tell which routes the "better aircraft" will be flying.
British Airways Strike Extended & Why That’s Good News For Some
British Airways Mixed Fleet staff have now been on a series of strike since the beginning of July and things don’t appear to be getting any better. The current strike has been going on since 2 August and was set to end on 15 August. Not any more.
The union representing British Airways Mixed Fleet crew members, UNITE, has announced an extension of the strike through 30 August and that will see the industrial action take in the UK’s August ‘Bank Holiday’.
British Airways – Still Incompetent
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog highlighting a couple of ways in which in which British Airways is know to screw up and, potentially, seriously impact your travels and plans. One of the examples I provided in that post was something I was dealing with at the time and, unsurprisingly, the issue still hasn't been resolved.
A Bit Of Fun: The New British Airways Safety Video Courtesy Of Comic Relief
British Airways has released a new safety video staring people who you probably wouldn't expect to normally find in an airline video - Gordon Ramsay, Sir Ian McKellen and Gillian Anderson for example - and it works rather well. Sure the Economy Class seating appears to have a lot more legroom than in real life but, as this is all for a good cause, I let that slide this time :)
British Airways: Two Ways They Screw Up That Could Affect You
Last week I wrote about the incompetence and lies you can come across when dealing with British Airways so today I thought I'd highlight two further ways BA screw up that may or may not affect your plans and travels. Think of this as a PSA for anyone considering flying with British Airways
British Airways Add Flights To Nuremberg & Increases Vienna Service + flyBe Adds New...
With easyJet announcing a raft of new European routes a couple of days ago today it's the turn of flyBe and British Airways to make a few route announcements. flyBe is expanding its services out of Southend to include a route to Ireland and two domestic routes while BA is adding a seasonal service to Nuremberg and adding a flight to/from Vienna.
British Airways Facing New Strike – 19 July to 1 August
British Airways is currently operating under strike conditions as members of its mixed fleet cabin crew take industrial action against the airline. British Airways has been taking measures to ensure that as few travelers as possible are impacted (the airline has even wet-leased 7 Qatar Airways Airbus A320s to help out) but now it's facing the threat of more industrial action than expected.
British Airways: Lies & Incompetence….This Airline Just Gets Worse
It's no secret that I really don't like British Airways but, unfortunately, I spend a lot of time in the UK so I'm often forced to fly with an airline I seem to detest more and more with each experience I have with it. I'm lucky in that I know what to expect from BA, I know a little bit about booking flights and I know a little bit about what things cost so I'm in a reasonably good position to challenge the airline when it does what it does best - screw up.
British Airways Starts Listing Flights Cancelled Due To Strike
Between 1 and 16 July 2017 BA's "mixed fleet" crews will be going on strike thanks to an ever increasingly acrimonious pay dispute that goes back over a year. Although BA flights to/from most UK airports are expected to be unaffected, the airline has now started to list the London Heathrow services which will fall foul of the impending industrial action.
RUMOUR: British Airways Will Begin Selling Meal Vouchers For Short Haul Flights
In January of this year British Airways stopped including meals and drinks as part of its regular offering to passengers traveling on its short haul network in favor of making passengers pay for food onboard. Naturally fares didn't come down in price to account for the decreased offering as this was just another move by British Airways to further eliminate any difference between what it offers and what low cost airlines offer....only without offering the low-cost part of that equation.
British Airways Fare Alert: Düsseldorf – Los Angeles $383 RT
British Airways has published a great fare for travel between Düsseldorf and Los Angeles (via London Heathrow) for late 2017 and early 2018. At just $383 roundtrip (approximately £300 or €340) this fare is excellent value. Unlike airlines such as WOW and Norwegian (from whom we're more used to seeing low fares to the West Coast), this fare includes 2 pieces of carry on luggage and a checked bag too.
Another BA Upgrade I Didn’t Want……..This Time It Wasn’t Just Because The Product Is...
It wasn't that long ago that I wrote about an unwanted operational upgrade I got from British Airways when traveling on their short-haul network within Europe. On that occasion I'd been "upgraded" from an exit row seat with adequate legroom to a Club Europe seat with the same amount of legroom as a regular Economy Class seat (i.e cramped!) On that occasion the only real issue was that, in my opinion, I'd been "upgraded" to a less comfortable seat than I had booked - this time things were decidedly worse.
British Airways: A Lesson In How Not To Treat Passengers
Major disruptions are not exactly a new thing in the airline industry and there are any number of things that can cause them (bad weather, IT meltdowns and air traffic control strikes are just a few). But, regardless of the cause, there’s always at least one common factor to these disruptions when they arise – inconvenienced passengers.
CHAOS: British Airways Computers Are Down Worldwide
Update: 7:30pm UK/2:30pm ET: British Airways has now cancelled all flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick for Saturday 27 May. Earlier the airline had cancelled all flights up until 6pm local time but it would now seem as if the outage is continuing and Saturday is a wash out.
BA.com is now showing this message:
British Airways Finally Delivers Some Good News!
There really is a lot to dislike about British Airways and the direction in which it's CEO Alex Cruz is taking the airline (I'd be typing all day if I was to list everything out) but, if I'm to be a credible critic of the airline, I need to make sure that I also give it credit where credit is due....and it's due right now.
I Got An Upgrade I Didn’t Expect…Or Really Want
Although I find myself flying British Airways short-haul quite a bit (usually to position myself for a good-value Business Class fare with another carrier) I don’t have British Airways status. I credit all my OneWorld flights to American Airlines AAdvantage and hold Executive Platinum (OneWorld Emerald) status in that program.
Because of this I never expect to get upgraded on British Airways – I always assume that, if BA need to move passengers around, they’ll upgrade their own top-tier flyers before considering other OneWorld elites and I have absolutely no problem with that.
Right now, however, I’m typing this post from the front of a British Airways A319 en route to Rome despite having held a seat in Economy Class right up to the point I went to board the aircraft.
Excellent British Airways Business Class Fares (Europe – Asia)
British Airways has published some very good Business Class fares to Asia for departures from a variety of European cities so, if you've been considering a trip to a destination like Bangkok, Singapore or Hong Kong, this could be a good time to put some plans in motion.
British Airways: London Gatwick Terminal Changes & Increased Baggage Allowance To Doha
British Airways will be moving all of its Gatwick operations to the airport's South Terminal from 25 January 2017 but, before that happens, the airline is testing their new facilities with a few select flights that are making the move ahead of all of the rest.
You Can Buy Avios With A 50% Bonus……But For Most It Isn’t A Good...
British Airways has launched a 6-day Avios sale in which it's offering Executive Club members a 50% bonus on all Avios purchases. The promotion runs through 23:59 GMT on Monday 5 December and, although a 50% bonus represents the best offer we've seen this year, this is almost certainly a promotion most should be avoiding.
British Airways Black Friday Sale Now Live – Business Class Fares From £1,008
British Airways has just published its Black Friday offers for 2016 and there look to be some pretty good deals around if you're prepared to book fast - it's unlikely that too many of these deals will hang around for too long.
The best offers appear to be for couples traveling in Business Class to either the US or the Middle East with prices starting at £1,008 per person for roundtrip travel (prices for solo travelers are £200-£300 per person higher).
British Airways: New Route, New Gin & Upgrades To NYC Facilities
There's been a bit of British Airways news around this week and, for once, none of it is bad. The airline has announced that it will be opening up a new seasonal European route from London Gatwick from 2017, there are reports that BA will be spending a considerable sum of money to improve facilities at New York JFK's Terminal 7 and British Airways is to introduce a new exclusive brand of Gin to be served in the Concorde Room.
British Airways & Alaska Airlines Expand Codeshare Agreement
British Airways and Alaska Airlines have expanded their codeshare agreement to cover a further 11 of Alaska's West Coast and Hawaiian routes with immediate effect. British Airways already has very strong ties with American Airlines who also operates on some of the routes that this expanded codeshare agreement covers, but being able to select Alaska Airlines flights could be a nice bonus for British Airways flyers.
British Airways’ CEO Talks BAEC, WiFi, New Seats, LCCs & More With The Points...
The Points Guy secured an interview with British Airways CEO Alex Cruz and sat down to talk to him about all things BA. Kudos to TPG for getting this interview and for getting a few bits of information out of the BA boss.
British Airways To Introduce A 1% Credit Card Booking Fee – UK Only
It is has been reported that British Airways is set to scrap its current £5 flat fee for all UK credit card bookings in favor of a a 1% fee capped at £20 per flight. How you feel about this move will depend completely on how much your bookings normally cost but, regardless of whether you come out ahead or behind, this just highlights how BA loves to charge its home audience.
Credit Card News & Offers
