London Air Travel

Cathay Pacific to close its London Heathrow lounges for refurbishment

Cathay Pacific Brushwing Sign (Image Credit: Cathay Pacific)

Cathay Pacific is to close its First & Business Class lounges at London Heathrow Terminal 3 for refurbishment and extension from Thursday 26 November 2015.

The lounges will be refurbished and extended and are expected to reopen on an as yet unspecified date in June 2016.

The new enlarged lounges are expected to follow the design concept recently introduced at Cathay Pacific’s The Pier lounge in Hong Kong and other airports such as Tokyo Haneda. This is the creation of Ilse Crawford’s Studioilse design agency.

In the interim, passengers travelling in First and Business Class on Cathay Pacific services from London Heathrow and Silver, Gold and Diamond members of the Marco Polo frequent flyer programme will be invited to use partner airline lounges when checking in at the airport.

Cathay Pacific has not specified which lounges these are but they are likely to include the American Airlines and British Airways Galleries Club and First Class lounges (subject to possible capacity constraints).

The opening of the new Cathay Pacific lounge complex in June 2016 will be widely anticipated. We expect the new lounges will be a very strong contender for one of the most well-appointed lounges at London Heathrow.

Thomas Cook launches winter seasonal Gatwick – Cape Town

Cape Town in South Africa has long been a very popular destination for Britons seeking winter sun.

However, direct flight options between London and Cape Town have in the past year become limited to British Airways following the withdrawal of Virgin Atlantic’s seasonal route and the previous suspension by South African Airways.

Thomas Cook has now entered the market with the launch of a three times weekly flight between London Gatwick and Cape Town.

The flight will operate for three months from 15 December 2016 to 20 March 2017.

Flights will be operated using Airbus A330 aircraft in a two class economy and premium configuration.

The flight times have not yet been published.

This route adds to a growing portfolio of long-haul leisure routes at London Gatwick with Norwegian’s expanding transatlantic network and WestJet and Air Canada Rouge due to launch flights to Canada from London Gatwick next year.

BA launches London Heathrow – Kalamata & Chania

British Airways has added new summer seasonal routes from London Heathrow to Chania and Kalamata for the summer of 2016.

London Air Travel » Page 127

British Airways Short Haul Economy Cabin (Credit: British Airways)

British Airways continues its successful strategy of operating summer seasonal routes from London Heathrow with the launch of a further two new routes to Greece.

BA is to fly twice weekly to both Kalamata in Peloponnese, the Southern peninsula of Greece (from London Heathrow Terminal 5) and Chania on the island of Crete (from London Terminal 3) from 30 April 2016.

Flights will operate with a two class Club Europe business class and EuroTraveller economy class service.

BA will also return to Corfu, Santorini and Mykonos from London Heathrow for the summer season. Flights to Corfu will increase from four to six weekly, and flights to Santorini will increase from three to four weekly.

Flights are now on sale at ba.com
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Iberia returns to Puerto Rico from 15 May 2016

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Iberia (Image Credit: Iberia)

More signs of a turnaround at British Airways’ International Airlines Group sibling Iberia.

Iberia is to return to Puerto Rico from 15 May 2016.

The airline will fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico three times a week from Madrid, initially on a summer seasonal basis only.

Flights will be operated using Airbus A330-200 aircraft which Iberia is due to take delivery of later this year. The aircraft will have 19 business class seats and 269 economy class seats.

Iberia has also intimated recently that it is exploring a return to Johannesburg, another former long-haul route, as well as returning to Japan and opening new routes to China.

Flights are on sale now at Iberia.com and are well timed for connections to and from London.

Flight IB6301 Depart Madrid 12:25 – Arrive San Juan 14:55

Flight IB6300 Depart San Juan 16:35 – Arrive Madrid 06:25

easyJet to launch frequent flyer programme “Flight Club”

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The narrowing of the gap between the traditional “full service” network airlines and low cost carriers continues as easyJet has today announced it is to launch its first frequent flyer programme “Flight Club” across Europe in 2016.

Details are scant at the moment, but at first glance it does not appear to be a traditional miles-accrual based programme.

Instead, Flight Club, offers a defined set of benefits based on eligibility criteria.

Passengers will be invited to join Flight Club based on a minimum number of easyJet flights taken in a 12 month period and/or minimum spend.

In return, passengers will receive benefits such as fee-free ticket & name changes, special offers and access to a dedicated contact team.

There’s no news of any other airline or hotel partners yet. This programme will also run in parallel to easyJet Plus.

What information is available is contained in this easyJet press release.

BA to reconfigure selected Boeing 777s at Heathrow and Gatwick

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British Airways Boeing 777 at London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has today announced, at the annual Capital Markets Day of its parent company International Airlines Group, that is to reconfigure selected Boeing 777 long-haul aircraft at both its bases at London Gatwick and London Heathrow.

At London Gatwick, on five Boeing 777-200 aircraft the size of the Club World business class cabin will be reduced in size from 48 seats to increase overall seating capacity on the aircraft by 10%.

IAG has not yet specified how many Club World seats will be removed and how many additional World Traveller Plus premium economy seats and World Traveller economy seats will be added.

However, it seems that BA has ruled out increasing the density of the World Traveller economy cabin from 9 seats to 10 seats per row. IAG has not stated whether it will also make any other changes to these aircraft, such as upgrading aircraft interiors and in flight entertainment systems.

At London Heathrow, nine four class Boeing 777-200ER aircraft will be converted to three class aircraft. The first class cabin will be removed to increase the overall number of seats by 25%. Again, IAG has not yet specified how many seats will be added to each of the other three cabins. Nor has IAG stated which London Heathrow routes will have first class removed.
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BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling to roll-out in flight WiFi

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

International Airlines Group has today confirmed that WiFi will be rolled out across the short-haul and long-haul aircraft of its airlines: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling.

To date, IAG airlines have adopted a piecemeal approach to WiFi. BA has WiFi on just one Boeing 747. Aer Lingus has WiFi on its transatlantic Airbus A330s. Iberia and Vueling also have WiFi on some aircraft.

On short-haul aircraft IAG is expected to adopt an Inmarsat “Air To Ground” system which should deliver fast internet access speeds. The first aircraft will be in service by 2017.

On long-haul aircraft, new deliveries of Airbus A330 (to Aer Lingus & Iberia), Airbus A350 (to British Airways and Iberia) and Boeing 787-10 (to British Airways) are expected to be fitted with WiFi.

IAG will also aim to retrofit 100 long-haul aircraft (primarily British Airways aircraft) with WiFi. IAG will target rolling out WiFi to 90% of long-haul aircraft by 2019.

The fit-out of WiFi on long-haul aircraft is likely to be subject to IAG being satisfied that the technology is sufficiently robust for the global long-haul networks of BA and Iberia and the cost of retrofitting aircraft makes the investment worthwhile

IAG has not yet indicated what pricing model it will adopt for WiFi, which is likely to vary by airline.

As well as providing passengers with in flight internet access and the opportunity for new In Flight Entertainment services, it will be interesting to see what customer service initiatives will arise as consequence of equipping cabin crews will in flight internet access.

Image courtesy of International Airlines Group

BA begins codesharing on Aer Lingus flights

London Air Travel » Page 127

Aer Lingus London Heathrow (Image Credit: Heathrow)

British Airways and Aer Lingus have taken their first steps to greater collaboration now that the two airlines are under the umbrella of International Airlines Group.

The two airlines have historically codeshared on certain routes between Ireland and the UK, but BA codeshares on Aer Lingus operated flights have typically only been available when transferring onto a long-haul flight.

Aer Lingus routes between London Heathrow and Dublin, Shannon and Cork and London Gatwick and Dublin, Belfast City and Cork can now be booked via ba.com when travelling direct between the UK and Ireland from Wednesday 11 November 2015.

In addition, Aer Lingus routes between London Gatwick and Knock and London Heathrow and Belfast City can now be booked as codeshares through ba.com when travelling from Wednesday 11 November 2015.

BA is also applying its flight codes to Aer Lingus flights from UK regional airports, with Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool being the first added.

A gentle reminder that when booking codeshares it is the operating airline’s procedures that apply regarding luggage and in-flight service. Also, Aer Lingus flights from London Heathrow depart from Terminal 2.

We should hear more in the coming weeks about greater co-operation between Aer Lingus, IAG and the Oneworld alliance specifically with regard to reciprocal frequent flyer recognition, codesharing and co-ordination of schedules.

BA reinstates London Heathrow – Inverness from Tuesday 3 May 2016

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British Airbus A319 aircraft London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)

Good news for air travellers in the Scottish Highlands. Inverness is to regain a direct link to London Heathrow as British Airways is to reinstate a direct link between the airport and Inverness (Inverness airport) from Tuesday 3 May 2016.

BA had suspended the route on 16 November 1997, having previously flown to Inverness since 19 November 1968.

A single daily flight will operate from London Heathrow Terminal 5 using an Airbus A319 aircraft. The flight will operate in a single class domestic configuration.

Flight BA1468 Depart London Heathrow 09:55 – Arrive Inverness 11:30
Flight BA1469 Depart Inverness 12:10 – Arrive London Heathrow 13:40

Although not explicitly stated by BA, it’s likely that the re-opening of this route has been facilitated by the return of slots formerly used by Virgin Atlantic Little Red to BA and favourable commercial terms/assurances from Inverness airport and local businesses.

It is also worth noting that Air Passenger Duty does not apply on flights from Inverness to London Heathrow as flights from this airport are exempt from the tax. It will, however, still apply to flights from London Heathrow to Inverness.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

BA launches London Heathrow – Billund from 3 May 2016

London Air Travel » Page 127

British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has announced the launch of a new route from London Heathrow to the Danish town of Billund (Billund International Airport) from Tuesday 3 May 2016.

The airline will fly to the town that is famous for being the headquarters of Lego and the home of LEGOLAND Billund Resort 11 times a week from London Heathrow Terminal 5.

Flights will operate using a mixture of Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft with a two class Club Europe business class and EuroTraveller economy service.

BA’s franchise partner SUN-AIR of Scandinavia will continue to fly from London City to Billund using a Dornier 328 jet.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

London Heathrow – Billund

Flight BA804 Depart London Heathrow 07:45 – Arrive Billund 10:25 Daily

Flight BA806 Depart London Heathrow 15:15 – Arrive Billund 17:55 Daily, except Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday

Billund – London Heathrow

Flight BA805 Depart Billund 11:25 – Arrive London Heathrow 12:10 Daily

Flight BA807 Depart Billund 18:40 – Arrive London Heathrow 19:25 Daily, except Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday