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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)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

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.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

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You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

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You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

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

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(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.

  • Ian H says:
    17 Jul17 July 09:53

    Is there any way to convert avios to SPG Starpoints?

  • Mark says:
    17 Jul17 July 10:16

    Having already changed from a 787-8 to a 777 flights to Austin are also now changing to a 787-9 from 22nd February, at least until the end of the winter schedule (26th March). Whether that will change again who knows…..

    Some Delhi flights (5x per week) are going to a 787-9 from the 25th October.

  • Rebecca Hayes Tieken says:
    17 Jul17 July 11:00

    That Flight Deck Crew Rest area looks like the KLM one I was lucky enough to sit/sleep in when there was only jump seats available on a full 6hr flight. (I was flying on a staff rebate ticket) Very comfy – slept beautifully!

  • Mike says:
    17 Jul17 July 11:11

    Great to put a face to the name. It is always did seem strange raising a champagne toast in ba first, or a ba lounge whilst on my holidays to chap I only knew by the pseudonym Raffles. Thanks as always for a great site. My leisure travel involves significantly more free champagne as result of HFP – just don’t give away too many 3v tricks in your forthcoming article…….

  • Trevor says:
    17 Jul17 July 11:17

    My Flight home from KL in December was changed yesterday to 787 but overnight last night has been switched back to a 777!

    • Mark says:
      17 Jul17 July 11:25

      Some of the switch dates were delayed yesterday, less than 24 hours after having been initially loaded. Same happened to Abu Dhabi/Muscat and Austin.

      Reading between the lines it seems that the availability of the First seats is constraining things somewhat as BA also announced that some of the aircraft would be fitted with extra Club World seats initially and used on the Toronto and Austin services in 3 class configuration once they start arriving in September/October.

  • mark2 says:
    17 Jul17 July 11:35

    OT
    can I ask a question for a friend about 241 please (well two questions for one)
    a) can it be Avios + cash or does it have to be all Avios?
    b) if going out LHR – JFK is Barbados too far from JFK for return leg?
    This sounds impractical to me but they are half my age!

  • Geoggy says:
    17 Jul17 July 11:36

    So SPG moments is a bid rather than an outright purchase?

    What happens when you bid then?

    • Rob says:
      17 Jul17 July 12:50

      Some are bid, some are outright purchase. This was a bid.

      You bid your maximum amount and then it takes you up in steps depending on other bids, so you don’t necessarily pay your maximum.

      If someone bids in the last 5 minutes of the auction, the closing time is extended by 5 minutes. This means that hotly contested ones can drag on for an hour beyond the closing time! This was wasn’t bad as there were 5 packages to buy.

  • Nick says:
    17 Jul17 July 12:11

    So….will the 787-9 have a new F cabin – if so, are their any hints as to the layout in MMB?

    • CV3V says:
      17 Jul17 July 13:07

      787-9 has a ‘new’ F seat/cabin, seating layout is on BA website and does show (for the cabin you’re booked into) in MMB. The Club World cabin is divided into 2 sections, with a more private row of 2 just behind the First cabin.

    • Mark says:
      17 Jul17 July 13:08

      Yes. 8 seats (2 rows of 1-2-1).

      http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/fleet-facts/boeing787-9

      • Geoggy says:
        17 Jul17 July 15:34

        That’s a nice layout both for F and that 2 row CW cabin looks good.

        If only they would run this instead of the 777 to ANU where most of my BA 241s get used

        • Mark says:
          17 Jul17 July 15:48

          Not likely to see them operating out of Gatwick any time soon – maybe it will get hand-downs from Heathrow in ten years time or so once the majority of 777-200s have left the fleet!

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

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