For several years, the Spanish version of the group buying site 'Groupon' has been sporadically selling various amounts of British Airways Avios points at large discounts. While the sale prices have generally been great (lower than the 1p per Avios I…
A bit over a month ago I wrote about how British Airways was considering leasing some widebody aircraft from Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways owns a stake in IAG, and it wouldn't be the first time they leased some planes to British Airways. Last year Qatar…
From now until June 19, 2018, British Airways is discounting the Avios required for almost 100 long-haul economy routes. This is for travel ex-Heathrow and ex-Gatwick between September 1, 2018, and May 31, 2019. You can either redeem one-way, or return.…
Yesterday I wrote about how a settlement has been reached with British Airways regarding a class action lawsuit over fuel surcharges. This settlement includes all US Executive Club members who redeemed Avios for award tickets between November 9, 2006,…
If you're a British Airways Executive Club member based in the US who redeemed Avios several years back, you may soon find that 12,500-35,000 Avios will automatically be deposited into your Executive Club account. A class action lawsuit settlement has…
Last month came the surprising news that IAG, the parent company of British Airways, had bought a stake in one of their biggest competitors, Norwegian. There were rumours that this could lead to IAG then launching a full takeover bid for Norwegian, which…
One of the best uses of British Airways Avios is for shorthaul travel on American. British Airways Executive Club has a distance based award chart, so the best values on the chart are for shorthaul travel, and there are no carrier imposed surcharges…
This Saturday in London, Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle. I keep checking the mailbox every day but my invitation must have been misplaced. ;) My Mother in Australia is sending me messages daily about it, but the reality of living in a city the size…
TSA Pre-Check is one of the innovations that has made the air travel experience in the US a bit more pleasant. Those eligible for Pre-Check enjoy expedited security screening, where they don't have to take off their shoes, or take their liquids out of…
A couple of weeks ago, the 100,000 Avios welcome bonus was brought back on the British Airways Visa Signature® Card. This bonus has the potential to be extremely lucrative, though earning the full 100,000 Avios does require a significant amount of spend.…
A week ago I wrote about how Qatar Airways was willing to lease British Airways some widebody aircraft. British Airways has a fleet of 26 Boeing 787s, though there are some serious issues with the Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines being used on many of…
In March I wrote about the changes that British Airways Executive Club is planning over the coming years. The changes essentially match the trend we're seeing with loyalty programs globally. British Airways plans to move more closely to a revenue based…
My layover at Heathrow was roughly five hours, as I was arriving in London around 3PM, and departing for Paris shortly after 8PM. Ford was on a different transatlantic flight, and landed in London about an hour after I did. My flight from San Jose arrived…
I boarded through door L2, where I was welcomed by name and escorted to my seat in the first class cabin (coincidentally, that was the only time during the flight that I was addressed by name). I could tell immediately by the age of the flight attendants…
Welcome to my next trip report, covering travel in British Airways first class, Etihad/Air Seychelles business class, Turkish business class, and stays at the two Four Seasons properties in the Seychelles. While I plan a lot of my travel last minute,…
You will often see reference to the 'US3' or the 'ME3' when reading about global aviation. The US3 refers to the biggest three airlines in the US -- American, Delta and United which as a result of mergers and consolidation now have by far the most market…
In mid-April IAG (the parent company of British Airways) acquired a 4.61% ownership stake in Norwegian. This seemed to come out of left field, as there weren't really rumors of this leading up to the announcement. British Airways also expressed interest…
Qatar Airways owns a 20% stake in IAG, the parent company of British Airways. Not only are they investors in the company, but they seem to generally have a good relationship with British Airways beyond that. For example, last year British Airways crews…
British Airways does a great job with much of their marketing, in my opinion. For example, their 2013 "Visit Mum" campaign had to be one of the most touching airline ads I've ever seen. Since then they've had a great series called "BA Magic," where they…
British Airways often gets a bad rap in the miles and points community because of the steep surcharges they slap onto award tickets. The Air Passenger Duty (APD) fee on flights out of the U.K. really hikes up the cash cost of awards. Not to beat a dead…
A popular increased sign-up bonus has returned on the British Airways Visa Signature® Card. This is a card I have and one that I think offers a great bonus that's worth taking advantage of. In general there are a few things that make this card interesting…
