Will you be the first today to fly the new British Airways A321 with the tiny loos?

The first ‘densified’ British Airways A321 – G-MEDN – is back from the hanger and is ready to fly.

If you are travelling on Thursday, keep an eye on the following flights:

LHR-GLA BA1474 0740
GLA-LHR BA1479 0955
LHR-NCL BA1332 1215
NCL-LHR BA1333 1425
LHR-GLA BA1488 1655
GLA-LHR BA1495 1915

This list only applies to Thursday.  The plane is likely to be flying to entirely different cities on Friday.

It turns out this aircraft has NOT been fitted with the new super-thin seats.  This will only be installed on new deliveries.

USB and standard power sockets have been added.  That is the good news.

Here’s the bad news, as per cabin crew rumours online:

Total A321 seating goes up from 205 to 218 (I’m not sure exactly how that works with 13 extra seats instead of 12 but I quote directly from BA’s Investor Day presentation)

The rear toilets have been moved.  Smaller, thinner toilets have been built into the back wall of the aircraft.

Two additional rows of seating are added

No duty free, as there is no space for the trolley (although today the aircraft is on domestic routes)

There will be no waste facilities or potable water supply at the rear of the plane, due to the need to free up space to fit in the loo.  This means that all waste will be carried through Club Europe for disposal at the front, and all requests for free tap water will require a trip to the Club Europe galley.

The Club Europe wardrobe will remain but will also be used for general storage of medical equipment and may not be available for coats

If you find yourself on this aircraft today (registration G-MEDN) please take some photos and send them over.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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:

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

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.

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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

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.

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