British – The News Desk

British Airways to use new real-time apps to help mitigate impact of weather – Business Traveller

13Apr

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British Airways to use new real-time apps to help mitigate impact of weather – Business Traveller

The new technology follows the carrier’s introduction of a new Electronic Aircraft Maintenance (eLog) system earlier this year – which replaces the old paper-based system and allows the immediate transfer of data from the aircraft to engineers, “meaning any required parts can be pre-ordered to help to resolve issues more quickly”. Commenting on the news René de Groot, chief operating officer at British Airways, said: “It’s exciting that we’ll be the first UK airline to combine the technology of both apps, which will allow us to make even better operational decisions in the moment using real-time data. “These applications represent a step-change in the quality of weather information we receive, and, in the future, will enable pilots to collaborate in real-time during a flight with operati...

British Airways launches Avios-Only flights to Barbados and Geneva – Business Traveller

11Apr

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British Airways launches Avios-Only flights to Barbados and Geneva – Business Traveller

British Airways has announced details of its latest Avios-Only flights, which will operate to Barbados and Geneva in early 2025. A total of 400 seats are now available on a flight departing Heathrow for the Caribbean island on 15 February, 2025, with the return Avios-Only service leaving a week later on 22 February. BA first launched the Avios-Only initiative last year, with initial routes from Gatwick to Sharm El Sheikh and Heathrow to Geneva. These were followed shortly after by Avios-Only flights to Las Palmas, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Nice, then Florence, Mallorca, Faro, Corfu and Ibiza, and most recently long-haul flights to and from Dubai – which sold out in less than nine hours. The initiative means that every seat in all cabins on the Barbados flights can be purchased using Avios,...

British passport fees to increase next week – Business Traveller

6Apr

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British passport fees to increase next week – Business Traveller

Application fees for British passports will increase again next week – the second hike in as many years. From 11 April an online application made within the UK for a standard adult 34-page passport will cost £88.50, up from the current £82.50, while the cost for a child passport will rise from £53.50 to £57.50. The larger 54-page “frequent traveller” passport – popular with many of our readers – currently costs £93.50 for an online appplication. Business Traveller contacted the Home Office to confirm how much this option will increase by – we were directed to a document which states that fees for all standard and frequent traveller passport applications and priority services will increase “by circa 7.5 per cent”. This would put the new fee at around £100. As mentioned above costs are als...

British Airways launches its “largest sale of the year” – Business Traveller

19Dec

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British Airways launches its “largest sale of the year” – Business Traveller

British Airways has announced its “largest annual sale”, with more than 80 destinations available to book on ba.com until 30 January, 2024. Discounts on transatlantic routes include return flights to New York from £356, to Orlando from £386 and to San Francisco from £415. The carrier is also offering return fares to Dubai and the Dominican Republic from £449 and £556 respectively, while customers can travel to BA’s latest destination of Abu Dhabi from £429. Selected routes also include the option to upgrade to World Traveller Plus (premium economy) from £199. Those planning short-haul hops can benefit from discounted Club Europe (business class) return fares from £194 to Pisa, £277 to Venice and £205 to Valencia. For those travelling long-haul, there are return Club World (business class...

LNER trials integration of British Sign Language on customer information screens – Business Traveller

13Dec

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LNER trials integration of British Sign Language on customer information screens – Business Traveller

LNER has become the first rail operator in the UK to trial sign language videos on its departure information screens. Several scenes at Doncaster Railway station now display videos translating updates into British Sign Language (BSL), including the departure time of services, the train operator, destination, calling points and platform number. Any changes to departure times or platforms will also be detailed via sign languages videos, as will updates in the event of delays or cancellations. LNER is working with Doncaster Deaf Trust and Communication Specialist College Doncaster on the project, with the trial set to run throughout December. The operator said that if the trial proves successful it will look to introduce integrated BSL videos on to further screens across its network. Earlie...

British Airways returns to Stansted and unveils Avios-Only Dubai flights – Business Traveller

12Dec

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British Airways returns to Stansted and unveils Avios-Only Dubai flights – Business Traveller

Dubai announced as Avios-Only flight destination In long-haul news, the airline has announced that Dubai will be the next destination for its Avios-Only flight initiative, where every seat onboard is available to purchase using Avios. Normally BA guarantees a minimum of 12 and 14 reward seats on short- and long-haul flights respectively. The BA105 route from London Heathrow to Dubai will offer 214 reward seats across three cabins on 26 October, 2024. BA108 will return a week later on 2 November, 2024 with 256 reward seats available across four cabins. These are available to book from £100 + 60,000 Avios. The carrier first launched the Avios-only service in April this year, initially with routes from Gatwick to Sharm El Sheikh and Heathrow to Geneva, followed up by a second round of fligh...

British Airways to launch flights from Edinburgh to Olbia and San Sebastian – Business Traveller

9Dec

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British Airways to launch flights from Edinburgh to Olbia and San Sebastian – Business Traveller

British Airways has announced plans to serve two new destinations from Edinburgh airport next summer. The carrier will offer twice weekly flights to San Sebastian and a weekly service to Olbia in Sardinia, under its BA Cityflyer subsidiary. The San Sebastian route will operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays between 25 May and 30 July, 2024, with the following schedules: Tuesday BA2919 departs Edinburgh at 1040, arriving into San Sebastian at 1405 BA2920 departs San Sebastian at 1450, arriving into Edinburgh at 1620 Saturday BA2919 departs Edinburgh at 1700, arriving into San Sebastian at 2025 BA2920 departs San Sebastian at 2110, arriving into Edinburgh at 2240 Meanwhile the Olbia route will operate on Saturdays between 25 May and 10 August, 2024, as follows: BA2332 departs Edinburgh at ...

British Airways aiming to restore online access to On Business platform “early next year” – Business Traveller

6Dec

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British Airways aiming to restore online access to On Business platform “early next year” – Business Traveller

British Airways has provided an update on ongoing issues with its On Business loyalty programme. As detailed in this forum thread, users have been unable to access their accounts online since around February this year. In an email to members BA said that “Our teams are continuing to work with our third-party provider to restore online access to the platform, and we’re pleased to let you know that they’ve made great progress and are on-track for launch early next year”. The carrier stressed that members continue to earn On Business Points on flight bookings made through ba.com or their travel agent, providing their account number is included in the booking. BA also noted that “there may be a slight delay to your points balance and any requested account changes being reflected within your ...

British Airways outlines plans for festive celebrations – Business Traveller

4Dec

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British Airways outlines plans for festive celebrations – Business Traveller

All customers will be handed farewell chocolates when departing flights, and seats will be decorated with specially designed headrest covers featuring the airline’s Christmas ribbon design. There will also be a dedicated Christmas countdown channel on the carrier’s IFE system, with more than 20 festive films and 50 TV Christmas specials. Back on the ground, departure halls at Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports,will be decked out with festive check-in screens, Christmas décor and seasonal music playing, and customers have the chance to submit welcome messages for loved ones arriving into London, with the chance of them being displayed on billboards and airport screens. Commenting on the news Calum Laming, British Airways’ chief customer officer, said: “Christmas is one of our favo...

British Airways launches Black Friday sale – Business Traveller

23Nov

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British Airways launches Black Friday sale – Business Traveller

British Airways has launched its Black Friday promotion, with savings on flights and holiday packages. The deals are available until 27 November, and include flights to European destinations such as Barcelona, Faro, Nice, Pisa and Valencia from £39 each way. Customers can also get three nights for the price of two on selected European city breaks when travelling in January 2024. Examples include economy flights and three nights at the four-star Plaza Hotel in Venice from £169 per person. Discounted holiday packages are also available to long-haul destinations including Dubai, St Kitts, Cancun and St Lucia, and customers can get up to £300 extra off selected holidays when they spend £10,000 or more on flight and hotel packages. This additional discount works on a sliding scale, starting f...