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British Airways terminal changes from today – whilst Virgin Atlantic launches Mumbai

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Today, 27th October, is the official start of the Winter flying season.  This is the day when most airlines change their timetables and schedules.

There are seven terminal changes by British Airways which take effect today:

Terminal 5 to Terminal 3: Billund, Hanover, Zagreb, San Diego

Terminal 3 to Terminal 5: Luxembourg, Lyon, Phoenix

Today is also the first day for the Virgin Atlantic service to Mumbai.  This is to fill the gap left by the collapse of Jet Airways earlier in the year.

The Mumbai service will have an early morning arrival into, and departure from, Heathrow in order to connect with as many UK-North America flights as possible.

The outbound will leave Heathrow at 10.15, arrving at 00.40

The return will leave Mumbai at 02.55, arriving at 07.35

It will use a Boeing 787-9 aircraft with 31 Upper Class seats, 35 Premium and 192 Economy.


How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points):

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Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

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You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

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American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points

(Want to earn more Virgin Points?  Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)

Comments (106)

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

  • Lady London says:

    Why not approach thé hôtel directly first and ask them what compensation for thé reduced amenities did they have in mine? Eg free brekky, free bar or dining tab up to a certain amount, extra night free if youre staying a few, etc.

    If you cant reach a satisfactory agreement with the hôtel i would find another reasonably near with similar amenities, potentially in a higher grade, and request Marriott to transfer the booking free of charge and no increased cost in points or money.

  • Jake says:

    Apologies. Revolut does have a banking licence. Not UK though so could be brexit affected

    • Sandgrounder says:

      The do have a banking licence in Lithuania, but at the moment due to the way the accounts operate they are not part of a compensation scheme. You need to rely on their promise that all funds are segregated and held in client accounts at Barclays and Lloyds.

  • Rob says:

    Permanently? That’s a shame, pool was impressive.

    I know Marriott Cromwell Road closed their pool when it turned out a refurb would cost £1m and the Bristol pool is far bigger.

    I would try for something, yes. Brekky or a dinner credit?

  • Pieter says:

    Very OT – I have the free BA Amex card and have spent >£10,000 on it. Can I now upgrade to the BAPP and immediately trigger the voucher? To ‘upgrade’ the card, do I need to choose the ‘apply for a new card’ on the Amex website?

    Many thanks all!

  • Optimus Prime says:

    OT – Ordered a supplementary Plat card for my OH last Friday. PP arrived on Thurs but card hasn’t yet. Then this afternoon my wife got a text from Amex with an activation code for a card we didn’t recognise… Amex fraud team gave us a call a few mins later – Looks like the card has been delivered to Mr or Ms Thief 🙁

  • R says:

    Isn’t Phoenix changing from T3 to T5?

  • Niels Benatar says:

    I regularly fly between Hannover and Heathrow and I was not the only passenger caught entirely by surprise that BA moved these flights from Terminal 5 to 3. A major inconvenience! None of these decisions need be permanent. Who can I turn to and how can I as an effected frequent flyer help BA to revert to better habits and reverse its decision??

    • Shoestring says:

      Nobody & you can’t

      • Shoestring says:

        Anyway, T3 is LHR’s best terminal in many respects – easy to get to off the M4, cheap Meet & Greet parking 5 mins walk from Departures, nice BA presence @ Check In, efficient Security with plenty of spare capacity for busy periods, Heathrow’s best range of Lounges with more to come (Amex), a decent pub – the worst I can find to say about it is the absence of a Burger King/ McD’s/ KFC for the kids.

        What are you complaining about?

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