Bits: BA launches Dublin and Edinburgh flights, new BA Milan routes, new BA strike dates

BA news in brief:

BA announces weekend routes from Dublin and Edinburgh

British Airways has announced another two random European weekend routes using aircraft freed up by the weekend closure of London City Airport.

First up is Dublin to Ibiza.  This will operate from 19th May to 1st October.  The flight will depart Dublin at 22.25 (arr 02.20 +1) on a Friday and return on a Sunday at 09.00 (arr 10.55).

The second route is Edinburgh to Palma.  This will operate from 2nd June to 1st October.  The flight will leave Edinburgh at 06.15 (arr 10.15) on Fridays and return at 11.10 (arr 13.15) on Fridays.

Each will be a two-class service using an Embraer 190.  There is something intriguing about BA operating a scheduled service which doesn’t touch the UK, albeit you can argue that the ‘fifth freedom’ flights – such as Singapore to Sydney – have been doing this for years.

Two new British Airways routes to Milan launched

BA CityFlyer – the legal entity which operates the Embraer flights – is also launching two new year-round routes to Milan Linate.

London City to Milan Linate is a standard CityFlyer route with two services per day midweek and one per day at the weekend.  It launches on 24th April.

London Stansted to Milan Linate is odder.  This is another weekend-only route.  It launches on 29th April with an oddly timed 19.25 departure on a Saturday and a 10.10 departure on a Sunday.  Return flights depart at 17.55 on Saturday and 06.55 on Sunday.

Tickets for all of these flights, for cash or Avios, are bookable now at ba.com.

New British Airways strike announced

Finally, another wave of mixed fleet cabin crew strikes have been announced for next week.

Certain cabin crew will walk out on Wednesday 22nd, Thursday 23rd, Friday 24th and Saturday 25th February.

Disruption will be minimised by merging certain flights and using charter aircraft for others.  BA is promising that everyone will be able to fly on the day they are booked if not on the exact flight.

Services from Gatwick and London City are not affected.

Updates will be announced on this page of ba.com.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.