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BA news: Avios 2023 peak/off-peak analysis, Jersey flights to remain at Heathrow

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News in brief:

British Airways peak/off-peak Avios analysis

A couple of weeks ago we published the British Airways peak and off peak calendar for Avios redemptions in 2023.

Our friend Andrew has taken the data and compared it to previous years. You can read his full finding here. Here are a few of his findings:

  • The number of peak and off-peak dates has remained fairly static over the past four years, with between 138 and 140 peak days per year. In 2023 there are 139 peak dates, or around 38%.
  • Like this year, BA has shifted a number of peak days from the summer holidays and spread them out across weekends throughout the year

Andrew concludes that:

“So if you can fly midweek in the Summer, you should be happy with the 2023 British Airways Avios calendar.

But if you like weekend flights, or getting away in June, then you need to budget for some extra Avios in 2023.“

British Airways guarantees Jersey flights will remain at Heathrow

Ports of Jersey issued a press release yesterday which confirmed that British Airways flights between Jersey and London will remain at Heathrow for the next five years.

This is a rather unusual press release to issue. You can only assume that Ports of Jersey has offered British Airways a generous ‘incentive’ if it agrees not to transfer the flight back to its long-term home of Gatwick.

With short haul flights not operating from Gatwick during the pandemic, Jersey services have operated from Heathrow since the island reopened to visitors in July 2020.

The Jersey Government has been active in encouraging passenger flights to and from the island. In July 2020 it gave a soft loan of £10 million to regional airline Blue Islands in return for it moving its operating base to the island.

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Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (23)

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

  • Daniel Bateman says:
    6 Apr6 April 05:14

    That document regarding Jersey is interesting. Asserts that the route moving back to Gatwick will have an equal business travel spend by 2025 than if BA stopped service altogether. (Page 15)

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:
    6 Apr6 April 06:18

    That’s mostly good news for residents of Jersey or indeed even those who want to visit Jersey from most overseas destinations. If things pick up maybe next summer JER could be served by both airports. This year BA leased a lot of LGW slots to EZY. I’m sure they’d love to keep them but hopefully for the sake of competition BA will take them back

    Does anyone know what BA are doing to keep their LHR slots? Have they short term leased any of those out?

    • Panda Mick says:
      6 Apr6 April 08:16

      It’s a shame Wizz couldn’t establish a base at LGW. That would certainly provide some competition…

      • Rhys says:
        6 Apr6 April 09:13

        Wizz has a base at Gatwick!

        • Gordon says:
          6 Apr6 April 09:42

          Wizz also fly out of Luton which is more accessible to us north Essex folk, M25 South is diabolical 😉

          • john says:
            6 Apr6 April 10:39

            The eastern side is usually okay aside from the tunnel/bridge. It’s only when you get to M3/M4 towards Heathrow it gets bad!

        • Save East Coast Rewards says:
          6 Apr6 April 11:44

          I think BA’s intention was they’d rather easyJet loan the slots than Wizzair being able to grow at LGW or any other new airline getting considerable slots. It was in neither BA/EZYs interests for that to happen

          • Rhys says:
            6 Apr6 April 12:37

            Absolutely, BA can take the loaned slots back at any time.

    • ChrisC says:
      6 Apr6 April 09:52

      Mix of lease and some careful schedule planning and selective cancellations to meet the 70-30 requirement.

      Also a lot of the LGW services haven’t moved back (which is why they are short of planes at LGW and having to get Vuelling to operate some flights)

      • Gordon says:
        6 Apr6 April 11:26

        @John. We join M25 at Brentwood from A12 so we would go Dartford crossing Clacket lane etc and that can be terrible. We go west to Heathrow. But we are talking M25 now, I use it daily for work and I have spent many hours stuck. We have now decided to stay in a hotel the night before just in case, Less stress.

  • Greenpen says:
    6 Apr6 April 07:32

    The table for private dining looks very small, as does the general space associated with it. The couple are happily smiling in anticipation of their gourmet meal but they’re a bit squashed together!

  • yorkieflyer says:
    6 Apr6 April 08:10

    Mmm virgin wine tastings, we enjoyed wine in cans in Premium on Saturday.

    • Rhys says:
      6 Apr6 April 09:12

      Much better than the plastic bottles they usually serve in imo!

      • yorkieflyer says:
        6 Apr6 April 23:07

        We’d had our fill in the VS joburg lounge buying our way in, very good f &b and top notch service, coupled with two welcome drinks aboard made declining the tinnies easy, so sadly don’t know whether they were palatable

  • Js says:
    6 Apr6 April 12:00

    Hope BA don’t cancel their flight and keep our money

  • The Savage Squirrel says:
    6 Apr6 April 13:26

    I love the idea that a plane bog is in fact a “monument”. Commemorating what, exactly? 😀

  • Andrew says:
    6 Apr6 April 14:53

    I’m glad you found my Avios peak days analysis useful

    Still impressed that BA have NOT increased the total number of peak days!

  • Nicky says:
    6 Apr6 April 18:13

    Bits: I signed up to Qatar and got the 2,500 Avios but how do I transfer them to my Avios account (I can’t see how to do it). Thanks

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

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