Vueling Launches Gatwick – Santiago de Compostela

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Vueling Airbus A320 (Image Credit: Vueling)

Vueling continues its steady, if slightly haphazard, expansion in the UK with the launch of a new route from London Gatwick to Santiago de Compostela, the capital of northwest Spain’s Galicia region. The route operates from Wednesday 30 March 2016.

The airline will fly to Santiago de Compostela Airport from London Gatwick’s South Terminal three times a week.

Flights are on sale now at Vueling.com

Flight VY7389 Depart London Gatwick 20:30 – Arrive Santiago de Compostela 23:30 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
Flight VY7388 Depart Santiago de Compostela 18:35 – Arrive London Gatwick 19:40 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

On other days, indirect routings are available via Vueling’s hub in Barcelona.

Vueling has a growing presence in the UK, and specifically London, albeit without a natural base.

From London Gatwick, Vueling also flies to Barcelona, Bilbao, Paris (Charles de Gaulle), Rome-Fiumicino, and Florence. From Heathrow, Vueling flies to La Coruña and Barcelona. This summer, Vueling will also fly from London Luton to Barcelona and Amsterdam.

Vueling is part of International Airlines Group with British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus. Vueling’s flights to Santiago de Compostela can also be booked as codeshares with BA and Iberia.

Update January 2018: Vueling will suspend this route from Friday 23 March 2018. easyJet will fly the route on Wednesday and Saturday from Wednesday 28 March 2018.

Singapore Airlines introduces one stop link between London and Canberra

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Singapore Airlines is to introduce a one stop link between London Heathrow and Canberra, Australia with the launch of the first international airline service to Canberra from its hub in Singapore from Tuesday 20 September 2016.

Singapore Airlines will fly from Singapore to Canberra four times weekly.  

The flight will then continue from Canberra to Wellington, New Zealand.

The flight will be operated with a 266 seat Boeing 777-200 aircraft in a two class, business class (38 seats) and economy class (228 seats) configuration.  

First class and premium economy class will not be available.

Whilst it is true to say that Australia’s capital Canberra does not top the list of the most popular tourist destinations in Australia and has long been overshadowed by its sexier/smarter rivals Sydney and Melbourne, the route will no doubt attract a lot of Government traffic.

Flights will be on sale at Singapore Airlines.

Singapore – Canberra – Wellington

Flight SQ291 Depart Singapore 23:00 – Arrive Canberra 08:35 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday)

Flight SQ291 Depart Canberra 09:50 – Arrive Wellington 15:05 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday)

Wellington – Canberra – Singapore

Flight SQ292 Depart Wellington 20:15 – Arrive Canberra 22:05  (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday)

Flight SQ292 Depart Canberra 23:30 – Arrive Singapore 05:50  (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday)

Flight times are subject to change when Daylight Saving Time is adopted.

BA withdraws First Class from Vancouver from Thursday 21 January to Monday 29 February 2016

London Air Travel » Page 126

British Airways First Class Cabin (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways First Class Cabin (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways is to temporarily withdraw its First Class cabin from its daily flight from London Heathrow to Vancouver from Thursday 21 January to Monday 29 February 2016.

The airline will continue to operate the route with a Boeing 747.  However, the First Class cabin will be closed. 

The reason for this is that the route is being operated with a Boeing 747 that is not fitted with the latest First Class cabin

This is not the first time BA has done this. Readers may recall BA temporarily withdrew First Class from a number of routes including Cape Town, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Vancouver last year.

Affected passengers can either accept a downgrade to Club World business class or an alternative indirect routing to Vancouver via Seattle (with onward travel to Vancouver at the passenger’s expense) or another BA or American Airlines gateway in America (such as Dallas Fort Worth) with an onward connection on American Airlines.

Full refunds do not appear to be available.

Iberia returns to Tokyo and aims to launch Shanghai

London Air Travel » Page 126

Iberia has announced it is to return to Japan with the launch of a three times weekly flight from Madrid to Tokyo Narita from Tuesday 18 October 2016.

The airline also aims to launch flights from Madrid to Shanghai later in 2016, subject to Government approval and obtaining slots at Shanghai.
Continue reading “Iberia returns to Tokyo and aims to launch Shanghai”

BA & Iberia announce joint-business with LAN and TAM Airlines

London Air Travel » Page 126

International Airlines Group - Aer Lingus, BA, Iberia, Vueling
International Airlines Group – Aer Lingus, BA, Iberia, Vueling

The parent company of British Airways and Iberia, International Airlines Group, has today announced that British Airways and Iberia are to launch a joint-business with LAN and TAM Airlines on flights between Europe and South America.

LAN and TAM Airlines, which have hubs in Chile and São Paulo are owned by LATAM Airlines Group and are due to merge their operations under a single brand, LATAM.

The launch of the joint business will be subject to regulatory approval which, if granted, will allow the four airlines to co-ordinate routes, schedules, pricing and marketing of flights between Europe and South America.

Passengers will also benefit from reciprocal recognition of airline frequent flyer benefits (though that already happens to an extent as all airlines are members of the Oneworld alliance) and easier access to codeshare flights on the airlines’ respective local & regional networks.

The joint business is likely to operate on a similar basis as the current joint-venture between British Airways, Iberia and American Airlines on flights between Europe & North America.

Currently, the four airlines operate up to 45 flights a day between Europe and South America.

LAN & TAM currently have a small presence on London which TAM operating a flight to São Paulo.  

However, the launch of the joint-business could prompt British Airways to extend its presence in South America beyond São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Lima.

We would speculate that the launch of a direct route from London Heathrow to Santiago is a good possibility after the launch of the joint-business.

LAN and TAM have a much larger presence in Europe at Madrid airport and more new routes from Madrid to secondary cities in South America are also a possibility.

Regulatory approval for the joint business is expected to take 12-18 months and the joint business should launch in stages shortly after regulatory approval is granted.

Cutrently, it is not proposed that fellow members of International Airlines Group, Aer Lingus and Vueling, will join the joint-venture.

Iberia reinstates Madrid-Johannesburg from 1 August 2016

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Iberia (Image Credit: Iberia)

More signs of turnaround at British Airways’ International Airlines Group sibling Iberia. The airline is to reinstate its Madrid – Johannesburg route from Monday 1 August 2016.
Continue reading “Iberia reinstates Madrid-Johannesburg from 1 August 2016”

Cathay Pacific to launch London Gatwick – Hong Kong from 2 September 2016

London Air Travel » Page 126

Cathay Pacific A350-900 Business Class (Image Credit: Cathay Pacific)

After months of speculation, Cathay Pacific has today officially confirmed that it is to launch a four times weekly flight from London Gatwick to Hong Kong from Friday 2 September 2016.

The flight will be operated with an Airbus A350-900 aircraft in a three class (business, premium economy and economy) configuration.

Cathay Pacific will continue to fly between London Heathrow and Hong Kong five times daily.

It is something of a coup for London Gatwick airport to attract an airline with an existing presence at London Heathrow as the trend in recent years has been for long-haul airlines to move routes from Gatwick to Heathrow as and when slots become available.  

This route also adds to a growing portfolio of Cathay Pacific destinations in Europe with Manchester, Düsseldorf and Madrid being recent additions.  It also represents a significant investment by Cathay Pacific in London which is also currently renovating and expanding its London Heathrow first and business class lounges.

Flights are on sale now at Cathay Pacific.

London Gatwick – Hong Kong

Flight CX354 Depart London Gatwick 11:15 – Arrive Hong Kong 06:55

Hong Kong – London Gatwick

Flight CX343 Depart Hong Kong 00:45 – Arrive London Gatwick 05:55

(Flight times may vary by season.)

American Airlines to introduce premium economy from late 2016

London Air Travel » Page 126

American Airlines Aircraft at London Heathrow
American Airlines Aircraft at London Heathrow (Image Credit: Heathrow)

More than fifteen years since British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have operated premium economy cabins on long-haul aircraft, American Airlines has today announced that is to operate a dedicated premium economy cabin on selected long-haul flights from late 2016.

Airlines were initially reluctant to install premium economy for fear of cannibalising business class revenue but its adoption has gathered pace in recent years (the latest airline being Singapore Airlines.) US airlines in particular have historically chosen to offer a few rows of extra leg room seats in economy (Main Cabin Extra in the case of American Airlines), rather than a dedicated premium economy cabin.

From late next year, American Airlines will roll out premium economy on select long-haul flights, initially on Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner aircraft. The cabin will also be fitted on all Boeing 787, 777, Airbus A330 and Airbus A350 aircraft. It will not be added to Boeing 757 or 767 aircraft.

Details are scant at the moment, other than that passengers will benefit from wider seats with adjustable head and leg rests, more leg room and enhanced on board catering and amenities.

American has not yet indicated how the cabin will be accommodated on aircraft, either by reducing seats in other cabins, or removing other cabin classes (such as First or Main Cabin Extra) entirely.

American has also not yet indicated on which routes the cabin will launch. However, we expect London Heathrow routes to gain premium economy, partly to capture premium traffic demand and to have parity with its transatlantic joint business partner, British Airways.

What information is available is on a dedicated American Airlines microsite.

In related premium economy news, Iberia is expected to add a premium economy cabin when it takes delivery of Airbus A350 aircraft next year.

Aer Lingus & BA now codesharing on transatlantic routes

London Air Travel » Page 126

Aer Lingus and British Airways continue to extend co-operation with each other under the umbrella of their parent company International Airlines Group.

The two airlines are now codesharing on each other’s transatlantic flights between London, Dublin, Shannon and the USA.

This means that Aer Lingus flights from Shannon to Boston and New York JFK and from Dublin to Boston, New York JFK, Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare, Orlando and San Francisco can be booked under a BA flight number on ba.com

Codeshares can be booked whether connecting from London or starting your journey in Dublin or Shannon.

The main benefit of this arrangement is that members of the British Airways Executive Club can earn Avios points and Executuve Club tier points in the same manner as a British Airways flight.

All passengers also benefit from US Customs & Immigration pre-clearance in Dublin and Shannon and connections are available from London Gatwick for those who would prefer to avoid London Heathrow.

Similarly, the Aer Lingus code has been placed on all BA transatlantic flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick, giving Aer Lingus passengers access to a more extensive route network.

It’s also worth noting that codesharing does not apply to BA routes to Canada and Central & South America.

Furthermore, a date has not yet been set for Aer Lingus to join the transatlantic joint-venture with American Airlines which is subject to commercial negotiation and regulatory approval. 

Nor has a date been set for Aer Lingus to rejoin the Oneworld alliance.

Christmas Greetings from the world’s airlines & airports for 2015

The world’s airline and airports release their annual Christmas films to mark the festive season for 2015.

London Air Travel » Page 126

As is customary for the festive season, many of the world’s airlines have produced films and images to share the spirit of the Christmas / Festive / Holiday (delete as appropriate!) season and mark the end of a year of travelling in 2015.

Here are a few videos and images that caught our attention. As always, a consistent theme of these videos is a reminder about what air travel is fundamentally about: bring people together.

Continue reading “Christmas Greetings from the world’s airlines & airports for 2015”