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What it’s like to fly Air Belgium business class when you’re expecting British Airways Club World

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If you are due to fly to Abu Dhabi in the near future, you may be in for a surprise.  Air Belgium has been standing in for British Airways due to its problematic Boeing 787-9 fleet.

Reader Gill recently took this service and dropped me a note with her thoughts.  The key fact is that, despite flying on what is basically a Finnair cast-off Airbus A340, it is better than Club World …..

  • The crew are employed by Air Belgium and the cabin is branded Air Belgium
  • Service is the standard Club World offering
  • White Company bedding and washbags are offered, as per Club World
  • The seats are good, comfortable and with a novel massage feature

  • The crew are “incredibly delightful” – “I got a welcome as a Gold member (can’t remember the last time that happened) and they also came and spoke to me to reassure me that my Gluten Free Meal was on board.  They also spoke to each passenger to wish us well and hope we enjoyed our flight before landing.”
  • Staff numbers seemed a lot higher than on a normal Abu Dhabi run, with six in Business Class

The downsides Gill noted were:

  • The in-flight entertainment is rubbish – a selection of about 10 films and nothing else (take your tablet and load it up)
  • The staff were incredibly nervous and slow with the service
  • For those that like to purchase duty free there is none on board

Gill concluded:

“I would fly this service again and want to reassure people who may feel they are getting a budget airline.  It’s not BA or a brand new Dreamliner that’s the real downside, but the staff and their mode of operation really impressed me.  I do think that some BA staff could take a leaf out of the Air Belgium staff who were happy to help and really pleasant.  They made sure each and every passenger was well catered for.  The Air Belgium substitution is not an ideal situation, but its also not to be feared.”

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

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Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

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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

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

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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.

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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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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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

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American Express Business Gold

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

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (197)

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

  • BSI1978 says:
    24 Oct24 October 09:43

    56k x 500 points = a significant chunk of easy/’free’ points being loaded onto the market….

  • Samuel says:
    24 Oct24 October 10:04

    I don’t see an Avios offer but rather a £5 statemet credit if I spend £10 at small shops. I don’t see a way to sign up, I think it is loaded automatically but correct me if I am wrong. I have the free Blue BAEC Amex

    • Mark2 says:
      24 Oct24 October 10:12

      In previous years the ShopSmall has appeared in the offers to sign up for just before it starts i.e. late November

      • Samuel says:
        24 Oct24 October 14:49

        Ok, just discovered the offers section when scrolling down (which I never do because I only used this card for the Avios bonus). Loaded to card, and now off to spend some money 🙂

  • Chris says:
    24 Oct24 October 10:07

    OT: Lloyds amex avios. Has anybody received any avios in their BAEC account from their lloyds card yet? My latest statement says to visit ba.com/lloyds, which gives ‘page not found’. The points have not arrived in my BAEC account or my avios account as of yet.

    • BJ says:
      24 Oct24 October 10:14

      +1

    • Anna says:
      24 Oct24 October 10:17

      My October statement also says that, but my avios.com account is still open and the avios have gone into that.

      • John says:
        24 Oct24 October 11:37

        Same

        • Chris says:
          24 Oct24 October 13:43

          My avios account is still open as well, normally the points would show the day after the statement was generated. How long after your statement do your points normally show?

      • Anna says:
        24 Oct24 October 14:17

        My statement was the 21st and they are showing now.

    • Kathy Mallam says:
      30 Oct30 October 14:47

      RE Lloyds duo, has anyone tried to use their upgrade voucher recently?
      I am a novice to ‘Head for points’. On my Avios account (still open) the vouchers say ‘use’. I tried tapping this,- get the page to put in the flight I want , and then at that point, when I press ‘go’- rather than finding me flights, it says ‘problem- pages no longer available’ – or something very similar. It worked OK when I tried to use it a couple of months ago.
      I got the card originally as I want an upgrade on a very specific day- not available for another month but ‘I want to be sure I know how to go about using the voucher as I think there will be. a lot of people trying to get the flight I want. If I have to go to avoid by phone, then it will probably be too late.
      Advice gratefully received

  • Riku says:
    24 Oct24 October 10:22

    There is no premium economy on Air Belgium planes, so those booked in WTP are likely to end up in economy class which doesn’t sound a good deal to me.

  • The Lord says:
    24 Oct24 October 10:30

    OT – Any tips on Manchester airport parking? Good deals etc.

  • Sididdly says:
    24 Oct24 October 12:11

    O/T but the bits post seemed the best place to post this today. The Fitzroy by Kimpon is now available to book on the IHG site. It is a top end 70,000 points per night.

  • Anna says:
    24 Oct24 October 12:12

    OT – is there any kind of decent Accor loyalty scheme? I can’t bear the thought of staying anywhere other than the Sofitel at T5 but the prices are ludicrous. This is not a snob thing, none of us can cope with the prospect of transferring from T5 to a hotel then having to transfer back at stupid o’clock for security and an early flight. Also all transfers cost money which wipes out a lot of the savings of staying away from the terminal. Why don’t we have nice free shuttle buses like they do in America (and Manchester in a few cases)?!

    • Shoestring says:
      24 Oct24 October 12:14

      Nothing on Top Secret Hotels?

      • Stu N says:
        24 Oct24 October 12:23

        I got Sofitel for £90 via Secret Deals on Lastminute.com in Sept. There’s a T5 Sofitel thread on BAEC board on Flyertalk with more details on how to find the deal, including full description you need to look out for.

        T4 Premier Inn is the other option often mentioned, it’s a (long) walkway from T4 and there’s a free TfL bus that runs T4-T5. Rates often <£50 for that.

      • Anna says:
        24 Oct24 October 14:24

        The problem with the secret hotel-type deals is that they are always for 2 people. Ask for an extra bed and you’re talking another £50 on top of the price you pay.

    • Alan says:
      24 Oct24 October 12:51

      Aren’t the Thistle and Premier Inn on the route for free TfL bus travel?

    • Rob says:
      24 Oct24 October 13:00

      The Crowne Plaza at T4 opened two weeks ago, is linked to the terminal and has an exec lounge. Transfer from T5 is a minor issue at very later / early hours though.

      • Anna says:
        24 Oct24 October 14:21

        It’s just too much (first-world!) on top of connecting from MAN and getting an early, long haul flight. It would push us over the boundary between “enjoyable trip” and “journey from hell”!

    • Genghis says:
      25 Oct25 October 09:50

      Accor loyalty scheme isn’t great IMO and redemptions are cash price based so no outsized redemptions.

  • David says:
    24 Oct24 October 12:16

    OT: Any word on the new LHR T4 CP/ HI complex? Have a stay booked for both the CP there and the old CP for a couple of weeks’ time, and wondering which one I should cancel. Landing late into T5, and have a lunchtime departure from T3, and aim to get a pre-flight brunch in the T3 F lounge.

    • Graham Walsh says:
      24 Oct24 October 23:19

      Yep, I stayed there the other week after my VS flight was canceled, so had to get the train from T3 to T4 and walk, should have got a cab really. Trains from are every 15 minutes, so not the best. I’d probably do a cab/Uber when you land if its that late and then just walk/train the next day back to T3.

      I liked the CP, but didn’t get to use the lounge. Just be aware restaurant closes at 10:30pm (which I find odd for an airport hotel).

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