Bits: Atlantis The Palm Avios promo, all food now free at Escape lounges, airberlin closing

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• TripRep says:

  12 Oct12 October 06:47

  Bits OT: Awardwaet isues this am?

  None of my accounts updating.

  • Gavin says:

    12 Oct12 October 07:02

    Fine for me about an hr ago

    • TripRep says:

      12 Oct12 October 09:42

      Working now since 9am

      • RussellH says:

        12 Oct12 October 11:24

        It was playing silly buggers yesterday too.

• Mycity says:

  12 Oct12 October 06:52

  OT, looks like Virgin have added a lot of reward flights to MCO for example overnight, only catch is nearly all with stops and using Delta as part of the flight,

  • Mark says:

    12 Oct12 October 13:42

    its not just MCO looks like delta is now bookable via virgin, only after they hiked the charges though.

    • Alan says:

      12 Oct12 October 14:20

      Prices for transcontinental flights in the US on Delta One seem not bad value though for the length of flight.

  • Mikee says:

    12 Oct12 October 16:59

    1 way US-UK Delta Business Class miles redemption charges went up a couple of months ago from £5 to £105…but is now £382, same as redeeming on Virgin flights!

    The benefit of using Virgin miles on Delta flights from the US to UK just went up in smoke…looks like they have aligned the charges without telling anyone in advance.

    • Rob says:

      12 Oct12 October 17:23

      Still £5 if you redeem into Paris I think, or any other route outside the JV.

• Yuff says:

  12 Oct12 October 06:56

  The rates on the website are normally very expensive even with the extra bonuses.
  Plus they never reduce peak times by 15 & 25 %

  • Rob says:

    12 Oct12 October 08:59

    Funny that ….

• IslandDweller says:

  12 Oct12 October 07:26

  I used the escape lounge at Stansted last week, unimpressed. As a Priority Pass card user, I had to sweet talk my way in – a sign at the door said they were full and taking pre paid guests only. They were nowhere near full, but about a third of the tables were locked out, awaiting pre paid guests, some of whom weren’t due to arrive for hours (I looked at the reservation cards).
  Food: maybe it was last hurrah of old system before a new system launches this week, but all they had were a few sandwiches and some sausage rolls that Greggs would never have put their name to. The food items must have sat out for who knows how long as they were dried out and stale. Despite the lack of food supplies, there was no rush by staff to replace items.
  I was unimpressed as a priority pass user – if I’d paid £25 (or whatever the public rate us) I’d have wanted my money back.

  • John says:

    12 Oct12 October 08:24

    I used the Escape lounge at STN three months ago as BA Gold. It was all right, and better than BA Club lounges at least.

    I also saw the sign saying they were full, and every unused table had a “reserved” card. Only a third of tables were occupied. I arrived at 1130 and sat at a table that was reserved from 1300.

    My table was near the entrance and so I saw plenty of lounge card holders entering. Nobody did anything that sounded like “sweet talking”, and noone was refused entry (except someone trying to enter on the basis of BA Bronze – on the way out she suddenly turned round and mentioned she had a PPass….)

    Food: sandwiches and sausage rolls were absolutely fine. I haven’t stepped in a Greggs for 2-3 years so can’t compare. They had some meat pies which were probably from Tesco. All the hot items were replenished promptly when running low. Also some passable sweet pastries and plentiful fresh and non-stale salad items.

    Not sure why anyone would pay £25 for a lounge when they can get a proper meal at a restaurant for less. I’m not in a rush to fly from STN again, but it was Sunday so LCY was closed and nothing was available on Avios from LHR.

    • Wally1976 says:

      12 Oct12 October 09:41

      “Not sure why anyone would pay £25 for a lounge when they can get a proper meal at a restaurant for less.”

      Probably for the promise of “free” alcohol mostly!

      • Lumma says:

        12 Oct12 October 13:22

        £25 is good value at Stansted just to not have to sit in the main terminal there if you ask me (I think I paid £19 with holiday extras the last time I was there). A few drinks in the Wetherspoons and you’re close to the entry fee.

  • Smid says:

    12 Oct12 October 08:46

    I don’t remember them offering much on a paid for menu at all, I have seen paid for options in other lounges, but I can’t recall a menu from the Escape lounges so it all seems a bit of a pointless enhancement. Food wasn’t actually that bad the few recent times I’ve been in one…

    However, like most PP lounges, Aspire, Number 1, they’re got the fake full thing. Tables reserved for hours before the people attend (Gatwick), people counted in to a largely empty place (Manchester), Aspire in Birmingham is the only lounge I’ve seen where they seem ok with filling the place up past half full, but they’ve got an Escape lounge around the corner…

    • Lady London says:

      12 Oct12 October 14:26

      You should try LTN Escape Lounge then. On the time I used it it was as rammed as the main terminal area at STN on a Bank Holiday weekend. The only thing was, the main LTN terminal was even worse! I think there needs to be a competing lounge at both STN and LTN.

• John says:

  12 Oct12 October 08:31

  Anika, FYI the plural of aircraft is just aircraft not aircrafts (second-last paragraph)

  • Brighton Belle says:

    12 Oct12 October 08:47

    What’s the plural of mongoose then? I always wanted to know.

    • TripRep says:

      12 Oct12 October 09:34

      BB – a band of mongooses?

      • joelyp says:

        12 Oct12 October 11:08

        A mongoose. Plus another one.

    • AVM says:

      12 Oct12 October 14:58

      mongeese?

      • the real harry1 says:

        12 Oct12 October 21:51

        http://walkinthewords.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/plural-of-mongoose-mongooses-or.html

        I think I’d just say ‘2 mongoose’

        often when I am ordering trees & plants etc for our place in the sun I will say: 2 Buddleia xyz, 2 Prunus xyz etc with no need to try and form a plural

        I admit that ‘2 black cat, 2 spotty dog’ etc doesn’t sound quite right

        • Rob says:

          12 Oct12 October 22:08

          Just for you tomorrow Harry – “How to buy Avios for 0.77p whilst making your next redemption!”

      • the real harry1 says:

        12 Oct12 October 22:17

        nice one, Anna hacked on about it as well

  • Anna says:

    12 Oct12 October 09:01

    But the plural of aeroplane is aeroplanes…(and never airplanes in British English!)

    • RussellH says:

      12 Oct12 October 11:21

      You expect LOGIC in English Grammar??!?

      Thinking about it, ‘crafts’ does, of course, exist – as in ‘arts and crafts’. But the plural of ‘craft’ meaning a ‘means of transport’ is, indeed, just ‘craft’.

      Being a German speaker, Anika will be far more familiar than many of us with weird and strange ways of making nouns plural!

  • Jimmy says:

    12 Oct12 October 21:02

    What about sheep?

    • Brian W says:

      12 Oct12 October 22:38

      I’d get my coat if I were you!

• EwanG says:

  12 Oct12 October 08:44

  OT: my Iberia points posted in the last day or two from the Economist offer – that was approx 5 weeks to after purchase and did not require chasing.

  • Rob says:

    12 Oct12 October 08:58

    Spooky!

  • Gulz says:

    12 Oct12 October 10:03

    Mine posted too! Exactly 5 weeks and 3 days after subscribing. And no chasing required!

• Dips says:

  12 Oct12 October 08:45

  Where do you see the blackout dates on the website? Seems to price up with the promo in Nov

  • Rob says:

    12 Oct12 October 08:59

    If you can book it, it will be fine.

• Ade says:

  12 Oct12 October 09:09

  O/T – Concerning the recent Tesco / Amex offer.
  It was mention (by Genghis) that supplementary cards also benefit from the offer, both my wife and myself used our cards in tesco (seperately) but we only seem to have attracted one lot of bonus points.

  Is there another link in the chain / part of the process that I’m missing ?

  Thanks for any help

  • Brian says:

    12 Oct12 October 09:23

    Supplementary cards only get the offer if you have a separate account for the supp. card and the offer has been saved on that account. It’s not automatic.

    • Ade says:

      12 Oct12 October 09:34

      Thanks,

      Have now done that..

  • Andrew says:

    12 Oct12 October 11:00

    The TK Maxx offer is quite good too. £10 off £40.

  • Anna says:

    12 Oct12 October 12:41

    Not sure if it’s related, but I bought a case of Champagne @ £162 ( 6 bottles with 25% off) for Christmas from Tesco wine via avios.com, got 1900 avios from them and when I looked at my Amex statement I’d got 1000 “bonus” avios on top of the spend, even though the offer was for 500! So not a bad result.

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