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Bits: BA Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur flights get a 787, my night with Daniel Boulud

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News in brief:

More British Airways routes get a 787 – check your bookings

I got a notification yesterday via the My Flights app that my British Airways booking to Abu Dhabi next Easter had changed.  When I took a look, the flight had moved to a new Boeing 787-900.

It seems that Kuala Lumpur flights are also moving to a 787.

If you are booked into Club World on either of these services, it is worth looking at your seating choice again.  Whilst BA usually has 2-4-2 in Club World, the 787 services are 2-3-2 as you can see below.

As we had previously booked a block of four for the family, I had to reallocate us to two pairs of seats in the front cabin.

British Airways has a dedicated website for the Boeing 787 which you can find here.

787 Club World

£30 off Air New Zealand services to Los Angeles

I spent most of yesterday at Heathrow as the guest of Air New Zealand, learning more about their product, touring their Boeing 777 and discussing a potentially very exciting Head for Points promotion.

The tour was particularly interesting.  The picture below is something you have almost certainly never seen before – the pilot rest area.  It has two seats (with an IFE screen as well, out of shot) and behind the curtains are two beds.

You will be seeing more from ANZ on Head for Points after the Summer.  In the meantime, if you are looking to visit Los Angeles, you can save £30 on any class of ticket on ANZ with code 30OFFLA.  You need to book by August 30th for flights from August 18th to March 31st.

Current LA pricing can be found here on the ANZ website.

My evening with Daniel Boulud via SPG Moments

If you follow our Twitter feed or our Instagram feed, you will have seen the pictures I shared of my evening with probably the most famous chef in America, Daniel Boulud.

Daniel Boulud Starwood

This was arranged by Starwood Preferred Guest, the loyalty scheme for Le Meridien, Sheraton, St Regis, Luxury Collection, Westin, W etc as part of its SPG Moments programme.  This lets you redeem your points for ‘money can’t buy’ experiences.  

This one, it is fair to say, was definitely ‘money can’t buy’!  It was in a private room at his Bar Boulud restaurant in London.

Daniel Boulud Starwood

This was not a freebie from SPG – I redeemed my points for it like the other attendees.  

Daniel Boulud Starwood

Quick ‘Hi’ to HfP readers Andrew and Rachel who were also there.

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

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The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

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(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

British Airways and Avios, Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (40)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Fadi says:
    17 Jul17 July 05:52

    Had this been on flyer talk you would have had to blurr your faces out.

  • Chan says:
    17 Jul17 July 06:59

    Did the event with Daniel last year and it was phenomenal. Some spg moments are tremendous value

  • Stuart says:
    17 Jul17 July 07:58

    A face to the legend

    • Rob says:
      17 Jul17 July 09:55

      My photo has always been on the LinkedIn and Google Plus pages. First time my wife has turned up though (I did ask her first!).

  • barnaby100 says:
    17 Jul17 July 08:09

    We booked 2 KL flights in 1st last November. Leaving at about 11.50pm on Sunday. We noticed a few months later in manage my booking they had been changed to about 1 am on the Sunday (almost a day earlier) -but our connecting flights hadn’t. So a day in Heathrow? Phoned up and a real hassle to get them moved- had to release inventory etc

    Finally they were put to 000.05 on the Monday- so about 20 minutes later than the original flights .All good?

    No. On Thursday we got an email (unlike last time). They had been moved to 23.45 on the Monday- so almost a day later. Connecting flights unchanged- so they left LHR before we had even left KL

    Phoned up again- this time it was easier. They are now 23.45 on the Sunday- which is about 10 minute soft where they wed when we originally booked.

    • CV3V says:
      17 Jul17 July 08:45

      I have the exact same issue for a KUL booking next year , moved forward 23hrs and 40 mins rather than moved back 20 mins, although it does suit me to stay another day in KL I have yet to sort out with BA the onward connecting flight. Seems a schoolboy error on BA’s part.

  • ukpsychiatrist says:
    17 Jul17 July 08:30

    I am booked in first class at end of the month to Abu Dhabi – am I likely to be affected?

  • Alex says:
    17 Jul17 July 08:42

    It is not a 787-900; it is a 787-9!

  • Andrew says:
    17 Jul17 July 09:14

    A great evening with Chef Boulud – can’t recommend SPG moments highly enough (just don’t bid against me ;-)) And nice to finally meet you Rob.

  • James says:
    17 Jul17 July 09:28

    What a mess, I have also had my KUL-LHR flight moved +24 hours. I was flying home Sat night and now I have been moved to Sun night and my flight from LHR-MAN leaves the day before I arrive. This really is school boy error stuff from BA, worst thing is this is the 1st weekend in Jan so all the flights are F zero so I cannot move back a day.

    Where do you stand with EU261 for a delay of 24 hours?

    • CV3V says:
      17 Jul17 July 10:23

      It’s got to be a scheduling error on BA’s part, and I assume they will have to fix it internally – I imagine this will affect every flight using the 787 from when it starts (because if not then there must be a flight returning empty from KUL between the switch). Although I spotted it thanks to flight tracking apps and because of the direct effect on a connecting flight I imagine most people won’t spot the effect of this change (i.e. you will be spending another 24 hours in KL and will be getting home a day later than planned!). BA have yet to advise me of the change!

      • Mark says:
        17 Jul17 July 10:56

        Clearly something of an oversight on the part of the booking software designers!

        It looks like all departures from the point where the clocks go back in the UK at the end of October have changed to 23:45, hence avoiding a scenario where two flights depart on the same day. That’s before the switch to the 787-9, so will not just be affecting people with a change of aircraft type but everyone with a booking from that point onwards.

        As barnaby100 points out it must happen every time a flight is rescheduled across midnight. Most people probably realise if only shortly before travel, but no doubt some will not and it will result in some interesting discussions at the airport as to whose mistake it was….

        • CV3V says:
          17 Jul17 July 11:09

          Yes, it has potential to generate so much chaos that I imagine BA will correct this in the next few days. Because of this I now have my LHR to GLA sector before my KUL – LHR sector, so if I miss the GLA sector it could cancel the KUL flight!

    • Mark says:
      17 Jul17 July 11:09

      EU261 doesn’t apply because of the length of notice. However that isn’t really the issue. In practice there is no delay (the flight time has been pulled forward), it’s just a design flaw in the IT system that has pushed everyone back onto the following day’s flight.

      The vast majority, if not all of those booked on the previous day’s flight will also have been moved back 24 hours so if BA addresses the underlying issue and moves everyone affected onto the correct flight it should be easily solvable.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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