Iberia fires British Airways from its ground handling role at Heathrow

Almost all HfP readers will know that British Airways is part of a Spanish business called IAG (International Consolidated Airlines Group) and that BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL are sister companies.

IAG’s management has always insisted that each individual airline should be run separately, with no concern for the others.

The parent company only gets involved when, for example, it comes to ordering new aircraft where bulk deals can be negotiated and aircraft shunted between carriers.

If you needed proof of this independence, Iberia has just fired British Airways from its role as ground handler at Heathrow Terminal 5. Iberia believes that all of its ground operations can be obtained more cheaply from a third party versus what it pays its sister company.

Those British Airways employees who currently spend the majority of their time servicing Iberia have been told that they can either stay with BA – redundancies are unlikely given the desperate staff shortage at Heathrow – or transfer across to the new handling company. The change is expected to happen in early July.

It isn’t clear if Iberia will move from Terminal 5 as part of this change, or if an external handling company will be fitted in alongside BA at T5. American Airlines already uses its own staff for its Terminal 5 flights, I believe.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

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Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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British Airways American Express

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You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

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There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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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.

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.