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British Airways cancels BA1, London City to New York, and Beirut

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The A318, ‘all business class’ British Airways flight from London City Airport to New York JFK may have met its match.

The last flight (for a while) will be Wednesday 25th March, allowing British Airways to escape its EC261 compensation obligations by cancelling more than 14 days in advance.

In theory, the flight is set to return in September and tickets can still be purchased for the Autumn.  Nothing is certain, of course, and we may have seen the end of it.

Of course, when I reviewed the flight last year I titled the first part “Review: Should British Airways scrap BA1, the ‘all business’ London City to New York service?“.  I felt that the lack of property IFE and the 2×2 open seating was no longer good enough.  The extension of Global Entry meant that the ability to clear immigration in Shannon was also becoming less of a draw, and Crossrail will soon make Heathrow a lot nearer to Canary Wharf.

BA1 A318 interior view

British Airways drops Beirut

Talking of dropping flights, British Airways has dropped – permanently – flights to Beirut.

This is not linked to coronavirus, and indeed the cancellation does not take effect until 12th May.

As it happens, this is exactly the same time that British Airways gets back 12 daily slot pairs from Flybe.  Beirut uses an ex-BMI A321 short-haul aircraft, albeit with proper business class seats, and this aircraft could cover a number of short-haul flights in the Flybe slots.

The economic situation in Lebanon has been troublesome for some time and it appears that the volume of passengers is no longer there to make the route viable.  Royal Jordanian will remain a oneworld option via Amman.

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Comments (302)

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

  • MarianC says:
    12 Mar12 March 08:48

    OT: Had a one-way flight with Virgin Sao Paolo-London for september, booked with companion voucher. Just hung up on Virgin as they told me that, since this is a points redemption, the only options are refund or delay my return until October. Re-route options are only for cash payers. Is that right?

    • Chabuddy geezy says:
      12 Mar12 March 19:04

      No a points redemption is eligible for a reroute too. They are trying to fob you off.

  • Shoestring says:
    12 Mar12 March 08:49

    just back from the shops – stockpiled another 6 packs of pasta – can’t be too careful 🙂

    actually, talking to my father yesterday – he is 80, late onset diabetes, no exercise taken for last 60 years, was obese but has slimmed down now (he was trying to reverse the diabetes), had his big toe amputated LY when infection set in and his circulation is so bad he didn’t notice until it was too late – so higher risk 70+ group – and his strategy is to hole up in his home with no social contact at all until he deems the risk of catching Covid-19 has mostly passed

    my job will be to deliver boxes of food and ring the bell 🙂

    timing – he’s estimating time to start it might be next week, though he has little social contact except family anyway (through choice – he prefers his computers/ TV)

    • Anna says:
      12 Mar12 March 09:14

      Hope he stays well, I assume he’s ok for NOW TV?!

      • Shoestring says:
        12 Mar12 March 09:18

        thx, that’s a point, I know he got a NowTV stick the other month, I’ll ask him if he needs Cinema or Ents added

    • Peter K says:
      12 Mar12 March 09:31

      Makes me wonder how long before comments about why you’re not giving advice to your dad to man up and fly somewhere as it’s a pussycat virus and that his chance of catching it is 0.0001% come up.

      • Nyh7 says:
        12 Mar12 March 09:38

        I agree – I come to these comments mainly for Shoestring’s infinite medical wisdom, gathered no doubt from years of stacking credit card offers, which he dispenses so easily and with great conviction.

        What’s your advice today, doc?

      • Shoestring says:
        12 Mar12 March 09:38

        🙂 they can’t see the difference in risk according to demographic/ state of health

        up to other people if they want to worry irrationally when they’re in the lower risk group so I won’t comment and I’m definitely not a Dr lol

        • Aston100 says:
          12 Mar12 March 16:21

          You have no regard for the impact this will have on people with health issues and dismiss the whole thing as something trivial.
          Your comments the other day along the lines that elderly people will die of something anyway – that was distasteful.
          Very disappointing.

      • ChrisBCN says:
        12 Mar12 March 13:26

        +1 he changes his tune with the weather, full of nonsense

        • Shoestring says:
          12 Mar12 March 13:34

          I don’t as a matter of principle ever defend myself from petty accusations but I will defend my opinions – I have been *entirely consistent* throughout the Covid-19 sequence of events – there are people in the high risk group/s – they are at an elevated risk of mortality & their fears are rational – and there are people in the lower risk group/s with an extremely low risk of mortality & their fears are irrational (though understandable enough if you have a tendency to worry rather than analyse and draw logical conclusions)

          • P says:
            12 Mar12 March 15:07

            Not quite shoestring. You did a swerve from “nothing to be worried about” to “nothing for the healthy to be worried about” a bit back.

            Some of us do read the comments and remember.

            You also have been advising people, even within the past few days, to not worry about travelling etc without caveating it with “if you are healthy”.

          • ChrisBCN says:
            12 Mar12 March 18:28

            Maybe you can’t see what you have done. Either way, wind your neck in and stop causing harm.

  • The Man says:
    12 Mar12 March 08:59

    Kind of related. Can someone remind me the rules of cancelling a redemption using avios on BA and AA? E.g. how long before departure you can cancel, what you get back and what you lose out on etc.

    • Lev441 says:
      12 Mar12 March 09:05

      Avios on BA is 24 hours before outbound flight..

      • Lev441 says:
        12 Mar12 March 09:06

        You get full Avios refund and cash refund minus £35 per person

        • Anthony says:
          12 Mar12 March 09:18

          Can someone confirm if this refund policy is the same if a BA flight is booked using Avios with the Avios.com website? I understand that the cancellation can only be done on the phone with Avios.com. Thanks in advance.

  • Alex says:
    12 Mar12 March 09:07

    Due to fly to Amsterdam this weekend on a cash club Europe ticket, then due to fly to US next week on a redemption ticket. Did the POUG so has become fully non-refundable. BA won’t refund us for Amsterdam, will refund taxes only, I just spoke with them. We have more to lose from cancelling New York, I think best option will be travel insurance for cancellation of Amsterdam? Do we think BA will issue a new policy today for people like me in this situation? Can’t decide what is better

    • Anna says:
      12 Mar12 March 09:13

      Will travel insurance cover you if there’s no travel advisory for Amsterdam though?

      • Alex says:
        12 Mar12 March 09:16

        That’s my issue. It’s a weird consequential booking issue. We can cancel our hotel in Amsterdam, but only 24 hours before. So need BA to issue an update ASAP.

        • Shoestring says:
          12 Mar12 March 09:20

          did you pay on credit card? I’m thinking possible S75 protection for unfulfilled contract

          • Alex says:
            12 Mar12 March 09:25

            Yes I did, BA Amex for both bookings thankfully. The only reason we can cancel the hotel booking is the new Hilton policy below.

    • AJA says:
      12 Mar12 March 09:38

      Can you move the reservation to later in the year instead of cancelling? You may have to pay any difference in fare.

      • Alex says:
        12 Mar12 March 09:41

        Yes good point, would be happy to do this

        • Colin MacKinnon says:
          12 Mar12 March 09:59

          Remember, only cancel just before the flight – it might get cancelled, delayed because of weather etc and so you’d get a free cancellation.

          If unable to do online/phone lines are blocked – take a screen shot with the time (and make the phone call on Skype so as to take a timed screenshot of that too) and then you can claim later/take them to court.

          Cancel the hotel now – you will always be able to rebook. Can’t see a shortage of hotel rooms!

  • The Jetset Boyz says:
    12 Mar12 March 09:14

    News in from Hilton…

    “We know that earning Hilton Honors Points and Status is an important way we show appreciation. We also know the current travel environment may limit your ability to stay with us.

    * We will pause the expiration of all points scheduled to expire between now and May 31, 2020.
    * We will make updates to the requirements for earning tier status for 2021. Since the situation is still evolving, it is too early to make and announce specific changes. We are committed to sharing details as soon as possible.

    We remain committed to offering you flexible booking options. Given these unique circumstances we are making additional adjustments to our individual booking policies to give you extra peace of mind:

    * Government Restrictions. In regions affected by government-issued travel restrictions, we will continue to waive change fees or offer full refunds. Please click here for the latest information on our travel waivers.
    * Existing Reservations. All reservations – even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”) – that are scheduled for arrival before April 30, 2020, can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival.
    * New Reservations. Any reservation you make – even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”) – that are booked between today and April 30, 2020, for any future arrival date, can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival.

    • Crafty says:
      12 Mar12 March 09:19

      Not good enough for me. IHG is doing free cancellations globally.

      • Crafty says:
        12 Mar12 March 09:20

        Oh hang on. Are Hilton doing that too? Initially I read the latter bullets as subsets of the first. Bit unclear…

        • Grant says:
          12 Mar12 March 09:47

          I read the email this morning and to me the bullets about cancelling existing and new reservations up to 24 hours before stay are separate points on their own, and not conditional on Government travel restrictions.

      • Nick says:
        12 Mar12 March 09:26

        IHG is also reducing elite qualification requirements, spire elite down from 75k to 55k for 2020.

        • Neil Donoghue says:
          12 Mar12 March 10:25

          This was a great move! Just waiting for Hilton & BA to follow now

          • Zac says:
            12 Mar12 March 11:14

            I called up Hilton and cancelled an adv purchase booking in Helsinki. I’d booked it a good month ago. No questions asked, super friendly agent and service for a change!

          • Chrisasaurus says:
            12 Mar12 March 11:51

            They undoubtedly will but they are wise to wait on an bouncing the threshold I think until the scale is better known

    • Anna says:
      12 Mar12 March 09:27

      I need Marriott to do this!

      • Russ 😷 says:
        12 Mar12 March 10:04

        Phone them up and ask them. Don’t wait for them to answer your emails. Phone them up today and get them to confirm what they said in writing. Don’t let this slide. Just waiting for them to get back to you isn’t giving you the answers you need to make proper plans.

    • Vit says:
      12 Mar12 March 11:05

      Waiting for travelodge to do the same… Don’t think they will do though. 😐

      • tom1 says:
        13 Mar13 March 00:00

        I *think* that even the non-refundable Travelodge rates can be changed to a later date for a small fee. Here you go..
        “This is a saver rate and is non-refundable. Subject to saver rate availability you may be able to amend stays for a £5 fee.”

  • Aston100 says:
    12 Mar12 March 09:15

    Sorry not used curve before. Are there any charges or things to be aware of if using the basic free version to pay monthly council tax with either an Amex or IHG card?.
    Council allows online payments with debit cards and credit cards (not Amex).
    Thanks.

    • Secret Squirrel says:
      12 Mar12 March 10:06

      Just as well as Curve does not support Amex as underlying card.
      No charges for using MC or Visa.

    • Lumma says:
      12 Mar12 March 10:07

      Why not just pay direct with the IHG card and save your curve limits for other things? You can’t pay with AMEX through curve anyway

    • Peter K says:
      12 Mar12 March 10:08

      You cannot use amex via curve. If you can already pay council tax by credit card (with no fee) there is no point using curve to do it.

    • Nick_C says:
      12 Mar12 March 11:42

      If your Council allows you to pay at paypoint (includes All Pay), then pay with an Amex at a Co-op food store

  • Yukon2 says:
    12 Mar12 March 09:44

    O/T

    Any opportunities to bag some decent Xmas cash flights anywhere?

    I know it could be wishful thinking to imagine the world has settled by December, but I’m wondering if anyone here has been able to bag flights for winter sun? E.g. 19th Dec to 3rd of Jan

    Airlines still seem to think demand will be there as cash prices for economy tickets are sky high for the usual suspects (e.g. London to Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, Caribbean, etc.) which seems a tad brave.

    I haven’t made plans yet but am itching to get away…has anyone been able to find decent deals for the Xmas break? I’m flexible but most of South East Asia or Latam would be great contenders – any tips appreciated.

    Y

    • Anna says:
      12 Mar12 March 09:55

      Those dates correspond almost exactly to the school Xmas holidays, if you’re not already aware and airlines and holiday companies will be looking to squeeze as much cash as possible out of families and other people who want to spend the festive season abroad. Unless there is still a crisis I doubt very much there will be any bargains. If I was looking to travel then I would bag an Avios redemption as availability was pretty good last time I looked.

      • Yukon2 says:
        12 Mar12 March 10:54

        Precisely my point. I’m obviously aware airlines try to squeeze people during these dates, but given CURRENT EVENTS they may need to reassess their position, which is what I wrote in my post…

        I may just hold off booking anything until closer to Xmas to see if this crisis is still ongoing.

    • mr_jetlag says:
      12 Mar12 March 09:57

      other than usual deals ex EU – Asia, afaik no price drops late 2020 yet. I’ve even seen some go up presumably to recoup losses this half of the year…

    • Rob says:
      12 Mar12 March 11:41

      If anything, because many people have ‘use it or lose it’ annual holiday entitlements, I would expect far higher demand than usual this Christmas as people use up their days.

  • Sloppy says:
    12 Mar12 March 10:04

    I feel very small with all this going on in the world and me still turning up the website to look out for the ‘deals’

    • Anna says:
      12 Mar12 March 10:22

      It doesn’t do any harm and will probably help the economy if people carry on making medium to long term plans.

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