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Norwegian to launch London Heathrow flights from March 2020, it seems

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Well, here’s an interesting one.  Norwegian has been awarded six weekly slots at Heathrow Airport for the Summer 2020 season.

Starting from late March and running to late October, Norwegian will be in a position to launch three flights per week, given that a take-off and landing requires two slots.

At the moment there are no clues as to what route Norwegian will launch, although as it is a Summer slot it may be targeting Florida.  There is no guarantee that Norwegian will gain Winter 2020 slots, and without the potential for operating year-round it would be trickier to target business routes.

Norwegian gains slots at Heathrow

This came to light in the Summer 2020 Heathrow slot report, published by Airport Coordination, the company which handles slot trades on behalf of airlines.

This is a very interesting document if you have 10 minutes spare and have avgeek tendencies.   It seems that there were 9,658 allocated weekly slots last Summer.  Ten were surrendered – eight by Tunisair and two by Turkmenistan Airlines.  This left 9,648 slots already allocated.  The airport seems to have squeezed out an extra three flights (not daily, three in total over the week), because the total allocation for Summer 2020 is 9,664 slots.

This means 16 additional weekly slots (ie 8 flights).  Six went to Norwegian, two to Virgin Atlantic, two to Tunisair (partly offsetting the eight they gave up), two to Shenzhen Airlines and four to China Southern.

JetBlue asked for 70 slots – enough for five daily flights to the US – and got nothing.  Virgin Atlantic asked for an extra 114 slots which must have caused a few giggles at Heathrow, given that it ended up with a grand total of two, allowing it to add just a single additional departure per week.

Category

General

Comments (151)

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  • ChrisC says:
    2 Dec2 December 06:18

    I really don’t see Norwegian using these slots. Can they even afford to buy them? And I understand the rule is they can’t lease or sell them on unless they have used them for 2 seasons. And given th issues they have had with their fleet they might struggle with the 80% use or lose rul.

    Also they won’t have any economy of scale as they would be setting up shop there from scratch so aren’t going to improve their bottom line.

    I bet they never thought they would get them but bid for the sake of it just to show willing.

    • Shoestring says:
      2 Dec2 December 06:28

      I thought the slots were free?

      • ChrisC says:
        2 Dec2 December 06:56

        Not sure. Not entirely clear to me if this allocation is free or not.

        Be pretty bad for an airlines to apply for free slots and then be able to lease / sell them without using them.

      • Rui N. says:
        2 Dec2 December 06:57

        They are free. If they get to keep them for 2 seasons (so, summer of 2020 and 2021) then they can sell them (and the airport gets nothings). Guess who created these rules? Yep, the airlines.

    • Rui N. says:
      2 Dec2 December 09:22

      While the current law is based indeed on the IATA rules, what really matters is this EU legislation about slots. Check “Regulation (EC) No 793/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports” to avoid including links here.

  • BJ says:
    2 Dec2 December 06:28

    OT: A whole bunch of excellent new amex offers this morning including TfL 10%. Others include £10 credit on £50 at J Lewis and Debenhams, £30 on £100 at Harrods, 15% Lakeland for £65, £2 on £5 at Upper Crust.

    • Polly says:
      2 Dec2 December 06:37

      Tnx BJ, good heads up. Thats a few more JL cards for us..

    • Harry T says:
      2 Dec2 December 07:56

      Thanks, got all of them on various cards. Offers do seem to be getting better.

    • Neil Donoghue says:
      2 Dec2 December 09:38

      Great spot! Well happy with the TFL offer. I am going to see if it works on a £100 purchase this morning

      • Isolde says:
        2 Dec2 December 09:48

        Hi Neil.
        Please could you let us know. Small print said contactless only. I’m not sure if that means tap in and out at the barriers or includes Oyster top ups at the machines

      • Kai says:
        2 Dec2 December 10:46

        Contactless only. Topping up your oystercard won’t work.

        • Lumma says:
          2 Dec2 December 11:33

          Can you top up via apple/Google pay with contactless at the machines?

          • Waddle says:
            2 Dec2 December 18:06

            Do swipes through the barrier using Google/Apple/Samsung Pay code as contactless though? The transactions show up with their respective logos when viewed in the app but only swipes with the card have the contactless logo…

    • Andy says:
      2 Dec2 December 11:53

      I wonder how many people will take advantage of “spend £100 at Bloimngdales’s (US stores) and get £20 back”.

  • BJ says:
    2 Dec2 December 06:33

    OT Sainsbury’s: Slots now released for online grocery shops on Monday 23 December, the last delivery date before Xmas. I found most slots already gone at 5am. Might be similar stories at other supermarkets.

    • ChrisC says:
      2 Dec2 December 06:53

      Website for me says 23rd December slots only available from the 3rd December

      • BJ says:
        2 Dec2 December 07:02

        Just booked my parents for 4pm 23rd. Might depend on region, whether they are delivering 24th in some areas?

        • Shoestring says:
          2 Dec2 December 07:45

          yep booked 3 slots yesterday, 1 just before Xmas and 2 between Xmas & New Year

          could be a few people like me, booking too many slots to get a bit of flexibility, cancel unwanted later

          • ChrisC says:
            2 Dec2 December 08:28

            I feel discrimination here lol

            Latest booking date for me (Brighton) is Sunday 22nd that’s logged in and out of my account.

          • BJ says:
            2 Dec2 December 09:58

            Probably staggered release by region to manage website traffic. They might mix it up again for new year and Brighton folks will get their booze in first.

          • Mikeact says:
            2 Dec2 December 15:40

            Cancel slots ? Bit like cancelling my Avios double bookings I suppose !

          • BJ says:
            2 Dec2 December 15:53

            I doubt Harry is paying £35 to cancel a supermarket slot 🙂

          • Alex Sm says:
            2 Dec2 December 21:51

            It’s called greed and gluttony – deadly sins by the way, double punishment during holy periods like Christmas

          • Shoestring says:
            2 Dec2 December 21:59

            delivery #1 arriving 8am the morning after we fly out to our place in the sun; #2 will replenish supplies after a few days; #3 will be cancelled (but it might be #2)

            just don’t fancy supermarket shopping on my hols

  • Louie says:
    2 Dec2 December 06:50

    OT: Looking for advice on what to do in 3 days in Kuala Lumpur in February and for hotel recommendations. From what I’ve seen even luxury hotels are relatively inexpensive, so we might push the boat out a bit after a month in less-than-flash places.

    • Shoestring says:
      2 Dec2 December 06:58

      https://headforpoints.com/2019/11/29/meliarewards-points-being-sold-by-amazon-spain/

    • Eugene says:
      2 Dec2 December 07:04

      Go to see Batu caves on city outskirts- make sure you go when they open at 0630 or so otherwise the 200 plus steps up aren’t much fun when temp gets up later in day- also it’s empty up there apart from priests prepping for the day.
      Eat at street food market up behind Bukit Bintang
      Petronius Towers best from outside only.
      Get the train from airport to KL Sentral unless arriving late at night. Traffic is brutal.

    • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:
      2 Dec2 December 08:12

      Mandarin Oriental is worth a look, especially for its pool.

      Hilton is a decent option if you want a good connection to the airport.

    • Chris says:
      2 Dec2 December 08:12

      I’m a fan of the Mandarin Oriental – awesome service matched with an excellent location. It’s close to the tower, and their mall and there is a nice park right next to it. It has a lovely pool to cool off in after being the heat.

    • Roberto says:
      2 Dec2 December 09:09

      We generally stay at the shangri la. A balance of quality, location and price..

    • Sarah says:
      2 Dec2 December 09:29

      another vote for the Mandarin Oriental.

    • BJ says:
      2 Dec2 December 10:01

      Hotels in KL are excellent. For that reason I would still recommend a budget price on a 4* and enjoy spending saved cash on something else. Surely you are going to visit KL , not a hotel.

      • Polly says:
        3 Dec3 December 08:44

        Yes, agree, we use the Millennium, right opposite the Towers. Book a club room, or just pay for lounge access at reception. Nice food and drinks on balcony.

    • Qrfan says:
      2 Dec2 December 10:12

      The Hilton sentral is the best Hilton we’ve ever stayed at. Easily beats several Conrad’s. Executive lounge was incredible vs the European rubbish.

      • Crafty says:
        2 Dec2 December 22:33

        Yes, stay at the Hilton, assuming it’s £50-60 a night. The suite we were upgraded to there, from a basic room on a part redemption, was absolutely phenomenal. Even without an upgrade the rooms and service are very good, as is the location.

    • CV3V says:
      2 Dec2 December 11:39

      Same rule as other cities in Asia, chose a hotel thats near to an LRT station. Traffic in city centre can be very busy, and walking in the heat and traffic can be hard work. A lot of the hotels in the Bukit Bintang area are linked up with an air conditioned elevated walkway.

      The hotels around KLCC park are well located – park, LRT station, airport train, and walkway into Bukit Bintang area.

      Personally, I would pick a 4 or 5 star hotel as they are great value there and the service is excellent.

      One of the big things in KL is food – almost all Asian food is well done there, and very cheap compared to the UK. Find an Indian shop that does banana leaf.

      In the countless times i have been to KL i have never been in Petronas Towers, its much better being outside in the park, especially in the evening.

    • Russell Evans says:
      2 Dec2 December 14:09

      Some ideas for KL that I shared with a colleague –

      Opium Bar/Restaurant – Changkat Bukit Bintang – In all honesty, this whole street Changkat Bukit Bintang is great for nightlife. Felt really safe and clean and everywhere was really nice to go and eat/drink. Food and drinks at Opium are excellent.

      In the same street as Opium, there were plenty of places for Foot Massage. We went for the best one we’ve ever had in our lives after eating and drinking at Opium. It was a small place, very cheap, and we had like a 45 minute treatment – great value and very relaxing! Don’t think this is the exact place, but Google Maps has a place called D’Care Foot Reflexology.

      Taps Beer Bar – went here for Food and beers – not the best place, to be kept in reserve if you want to find a place that serves good beer, this is the one, food ok, not disgusting, but just ok.

      La Boca Latino Bar – Somewhere I wanted to go, but never got the chance – well reviewed.

      We stayed at the Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur – There was a Sky bar on the rooftop of the hotel which was (inside with big open windows) but a decent place if you’re nearby. Surreal drinking with loud music playing next to an indoor swimming pool! Had a Petronas Towers View suite. Great value for money and includes Executive lounge access. You could conceivably eat your entire evening meal in the lounge and a good selection of alcoholic drinks. Excellent view of the Twin Towers from here.

      Batu Caves – Good place to go and see a historical Religious site – easiest access by Train from KL Sentral Station (we got an UBER there and then the train back). Be careful of the monkeys!

      Menara Tower – Weather was bad when we went to go up to the top of this one. It’s a toss up between here and the Petronas Twin Towers, but I wanted to go up this one and have a view of the towers rather than be looking out from the towers

      KL Butterfly park – If this is your thing you can go and walk around the gardens and be in a confined space with all of the butterflies (takes maybe an hour) – relatively inexpensive

      KLCC – “City Centre” a big shopping mall underneath the Twin Towers. No bargains to be had here, mostly designer shops at UK prices. Just outside (behind) the mall underneath the Twin Towers there are some dancing fountains (Lake Symphony) that have displays throughout the evening (possibly the daytime, but best seen after dark). There are some great photo opportunities out the front of KLCC Mall for pictures of the twin towers, they’re simply massive!

      Brickfields – “Little India” area – some good food, sights, smells, colours to experience here

      • Polly says:
        3 Dec3 December 08:49

        Great memories of some of those places. We had to stay at Traders one time, as couldn’t get a room at the Millennium. Rooftop bar, lounge food and booze really good. We were late for club entry, but they left a great selection of club food, bottle of red and white in our room for us.
        Service levels really good in KL and Asia generally.

  • King says:
    2 Dec2 December 07:33

    How long does it take for the points + bonus points to post to your account? Is it instantaneous?

  • Metopes says:
    2 Dec2 December 08:32

    Plat travel insurance question, will I be covered for everything if the holiday was purchased (on another amex) before I got the card?

    • pauldb says:
      2 Dec2 December 08:56

      Should be fine (only saying *should* as I’m no lawyer, but they don’t seem to mess about).

      The charges must be made to “your consumer and small business cards issued by American Express in the UK, excluding corporate cards and any American Express cards issued by bank partners”.

      Potentially it needs to be your own card account, not a supp amex on your partners (albeit then they might be a valid claimant).

    • jc says:
      2 Dec2 December 09:00

      On a quick browse of the terms I would expect this to be valid. But ask them!! -if you do have problems claiming later I’m not sure “a dude on the internet said it would be fine” would cut it

      • Sundar says:
        2 Dec2 December 15:26

        On a related note, would curve insurance(from black) cover paying on another card?

  • J says:
    2 Dec2 December 09:15

    I know I should know this by now, but do purchased IHG points count towards status? I’m fairly close, so buying 7,000 would let me give the curve a well deserved break for the rest of the year.

    • SammyJ says:
      2 Dec2 December 09:32

      No, unfortunately they don’t. I buy a couple of hundred thousand every year.
      I think the ones that you can buy when you book a room do though, the ones where you get so many extra included with a particular room rate.

      • J says:
        2 Dec2 December 21:50

        Thanks for the reply. Hopefully I’ll just about squeeze the spend through before the cutoff. Good to hear you’re getting good value from the points.

  • Harry says:
    2 Dec2 December 09:17

    OT: Does anyone know if AMEX will be doing their Xmas pop-up for Platinum Cardholders in Covent Garden this year? We’re due a trip to London and wouldn’t mind someone else wrapping my presents again 😛 usually would have heard by now.

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