Where can I fly with Avios from UK regional airports?

What flights can you book with Avios if you live in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham or anywhere outside London?

The “Avios Redemption University” series is a good starting point for beginners, although I hope everyone will learn something from it.  Click here to see the other “Avios Redemption University” articles.

When British Airways sold its regional operations to Flybe a few years ago, it became an airline with NO flights which did not begin or end in London.  This situation has been reversed slightly in recent years as a few weekend routes were added using aircraft which were idle whilst London City Airport was closed, but to all intents and purposes there is no substantive route network outside London.

Luckily, there are still some good value options available if you live outside London.  In this article we have summarised direct flights from the UK regions which can be booked with Avios points.

NOTE:  Obviously, with almost flights now suspended due to coronavirus, these lists are not currently accurate.  We have based it on lists we compiled last year, plus the 2020 BA CityFlyer leisure routes schedule, which is the best we could do.  There is no guarantee that all of these routes return when flying restarts.  

What regional flights can be booked with Avios?

We have given this list our best shot but I am sure a few options have slipped past us. Please post below with any additions and I will add them in. If you are reading this via email, please take a look at the online version later on to check for additions and deletions.

Remember that short-haul redemptions are NOT covered by Reward Flight Saver unless operated by a British Airways franchise such as SUN-AIR. These flights will often be a very poor use of Avios points because the taxes represent a very high percentage of the fare.

Some services may be seasonal. Domestic British Airways flights have been ignored. Isle of Man and Channel Islands departures have been ignored.

This list keeps on getting shorter ….

I update this article annually.  Every year it gets shorter.  We’ve lost, entirely, Aurigny, Monarch, Air Malta and Flybe.  In 2019, British Airways dropped its weekend routes from Birmingham and Bristol.  American Airlines dropped out of Glasgow and stopped the New York flight from Edinburgh.

The major gain in the last couple of years was Cardiff, which launched its Doha flight with Qatar Airways.  In 2020, Manchester gains a Royal Air Maroc service to Casablanca as the airline has now joined the oneworld alliance.

A note on redeeming

Nothing is ever simple when it comes to redeeming Avios, but I think the caveats below show that the level of confusion has now got beyond silly.  For the airlines listed below:

Aer Lingus can be booked online at avios.com but taxes may be lower if you ring up British Airways Executive Club and book from your BA account.  For additional confusion, avios.com has different availability to ba.com.

Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair and American Airlines should only be booked at ba.com – you can book them via iberia.com but they are not refundable so this should be avoided

Vueling can only be booked at vueling.com and iberia.com – bookings via vueling.com are revenue-based (more expensive flights need more points) whilst bookings via iberia.com are priced off the standard Avios redemption chart

Iberia and Iberia Express can be booked across all platforms but there is better availability via iberia.com

Long haul flights have been marked in bold for easy reference.

Avios flights from Aberdeen Airport:

Aer Lingus to Dublin

Avios flights from Birmingham Airport:

Qatar Airways to Doha

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork, Shannon

Vueling to Barcelona

Avios flights from Bristol Airport:

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork

Avios flights from Cardiff Airport:

Qatar to Doha

Vueling to Alicante, Majorca, Malaga, Rome, Barcelona

Avios flights from Edinburgh Airport:

Qatar Airways to Doha

American Airlines to Philadelphia (Summer only)

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork, Shannon

Iberia Express to Madrid

Vueling to Barcelona

Finnair to Helsinki

British Airways CityFlyer weekend routes to Palma, Florence (seasonal)

Avios flights from Exeter Airport:

Aer Lingus to Dublin

Avios flights from Glasgow Airport:

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork

British Airways CityFlyer weekend routes to Palma (seasonal)

Vueling to Barcelona

Avios flights from Leeds Bradford Airport:

Aer Lingus to Dublin

Avios flights from Manchester Airport:

American Airlines to Philadelphia

Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong

Qatar Airways to Doha

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork

British Airways (SUN-AIR) to Billund

British Airways CityFlyer weekend routes to Alicante, Florence, Ibiza, Malaga, Mykonos, Nice, Palma, Salzburg, Chambery (seasonal)

Finnair to Helsinki

Iberia Express to Madrid

Royal Air Maroc to Casablanca

Vueling to Barcelona

Avios flights from Newcastle Airport:

Aer Lingus to Dublin

Avios flights from Newquay Airport:

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork

Avios flights from Southampton Airport:

Aer Lingus to Dublin

It is also worth remembering that most oneworld partners fly to other European capitals. Instead of flying from Edinburgh to London or Manchester to pick up a Cathay Pacific redemption flight to Hong Kong, why not fly to Amsterdam instead and connect there? If you separate your tickets, you would make a substantial saving on Air Passenger Duty. You may also find better availability out of Europe.

The only thing to check is the type of plane used. Airlines generally send their newest aircraft to Heathrow because demand and competition is higher. Routes like Amsterdam often get older equipment with older-style seats. Check before you book.

Want to learn more about how to maximise your Avios redemptions?

You can see the full list of all 15 articles in the ‘Avios Redemption University’ series here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (September 2023)

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.

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.

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.

EDIT: Applications for this card are temporarily suspended due to IT issues with the British Airways On Business SME loyalty scheme.

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.