British Airways announces new London City, Manchester and Edinburgh routes for 2018

Last week we published details of the new 2018 weekend flight schedules that British Airways will be operating from Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.

BA has now announced three new summer routes from the regions as well as increased frequencies on three key London City routes.  This is due to the arrival of two new Embraer 190 aircraft in January and April, taking the BA Cityflyer fleet to 22 planes.

Here are the changes:

From London City from January

Flights to Milan double, from 11 per week to 23 per week

Flights to Frankfurt increase from 20 to 24 per week

Flights to Dublin increase from 32 to 36 per week

From Manchester

Flights to Dublin launch 18th May – outbound Sundays 09.55, inbound Fridays 22.20

Flights to Florence launch 19th May – outbound Saturdays 19.25, inbound Saturdays 17.10

From Edinburgh

Flights to Florence launch 19th May – outbound Saturdays 10.45, inbound Saturdays 15.30

These flights went on sale last Friday on ba.com here and the regional services will operate until September.  Good Avios availability should still be there.  The problem, of course, is that unless you plan to stay away for a week the new Manchester and Edinburgh services are not very practical.  You may end up travelling in one direction via London.

Note that the extra Milan flights are an interesting option if you are looking for a ski holiday.

These will be two class flights so Club Europe is an option.  That said, the Embraer aircraft used are 2 x 2 seating throughout so the only difference will be lounge access and a free meal.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (July 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 Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express Credit Card

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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 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 points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 on the FREE standard card and 1 Avios per £1 on the Pro card. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 0.8 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 Card

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.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

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

The American Express Business Gold Card

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.