British Airways launches flights from London Heathrow to Florence

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• Save East Coast Rewards says:

  30 Dec30 December 04:06

  The reason Florence has traditionally been a LCY route is because of the runway there’s a limit to the size of the aircraft that may use the airport. It used to be limited to shorter aircraft like the Embrarers used by CityFlyer but an extension has made it possible to be used by smaller airbuses. In most cases this is the 319 but BA are using the 320neo. I’m not sure if they will need to limit the number of passengers on board to fit within take off limits.

  It’s worth remembering that Bologna is just a short train ride to Florence (Firenze) if the times of those flights work out better for you (or indeed if the FLR flight is cancelled and you need to suggest an airport to reroute to)

  • yorkieflyer says:

    30 Dec30 December 04:18

    And Bologna well worth a visit in its own right, especially for foodies

    • Paul says:

      30 Dec30 December 09:08

      Bologna is one of my favourite places in Europe. Well off the tourist trail. The food & wine is on another level. Highly recommend.

  • mark2 says:

    30 Dec30 December 08:13

    Florence is also a short train ride from Pisa.
    You walk from the terminal onto the platform at Pisa Aeroporto station.

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:

      30 Dec30 December 08:20

      I forgot about PSA. Actually thought it was an LGW destination but that doesn’t seem to be the case. But LHR-PSA seems less frequent than LHR-BLQ

  • Erico1875 says:

    30 Dec30 December 09:58

    “It’s worth remembering that Bologna is just a short train ride to Florence (Firenze)”

    Really? I hadnt thought of using Florence to get to Bologna region.
    BA fly to Florence from Edinburgh on a saturday and there is Avios availability.

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:

      30 Dec30 December 15:35

      It’s great. I live in Bologna now and I can go between Bologna Centrale and Firenze SNM stations in about 30 minutes on the high speed trains.

      • Alex Sm says:

        30 Dec30 December 21:32

        Italy is blessed with trains. UK is centuries behind it

        • Save East Coast Rewards says:

          31 Dec31 December 04:32

          Not all the local trains are good though. I live on the Bologna-Portomaggiore line and as well as been closed every summer, the services are infrequent even when it is running. The long distance network is amazing though

  • Nick says:

    30 Dec30 December 10:06

    The runway at FLR is the only reason Vueling keeps a small fleet of A319s.

• SamG says:

  30 Dec30 December 07:07

  Pisa another option with BA flights too. A full A320 on a hot day…might not see your luggage for a while…

• tilly c says:

  30 Dec30 December 07:49

  Found watchfinder very good , the company which owns them (richemont) also own Cartier , Panerai and lots of other high end watches and brands

• Andrew J says:

  30 Dec30 December 08:17

  To bring the somewhat off-topic Watchfinder plug back to points and miles – they’ve just opened a shop at Bicester, so you can earn Avios (or your chosen FFP miles) on purchases made there.

• Ross says:

  30 Dec30 December 08:31

  The Pisa-Lucca-Florence-Sienna trains are very regular and cheap. Aside from the piazza di miracoli (where the tower is) there isn’t much to Pisa, but Lucca is a joy. Montecattini, it’s spa and it’s pretty hill top are on the same train line. We fly to Pisa because this is (was) a T3 flight and Golds can avail themselves of the Cathay lounge. I don’t think the Pisa lounge has reopened since COVID though, and it wasn’t up to much beforehand.

  • Jamie P says:

    30 Dec30 December 08:59

    The Pisa lounge was open when we went through in October. As you said though, quite limited and no views.

    • Richie says:

      30 Dec30 December 15:49

      It was open in November and busy, the staff are very good. The lounge is near to the non-schengen gates that BA uses.

  • lumma says:

    30 Dec30 December 09:41

    I actually liked Pisa away from the tower.

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    30 Dec30 December 11:07

    +1 that Lucca is pretty much perfect and an ideal base to explore all the great destinations along the train line mentioned. Viareggio a short hop too if you fancy a day at the beach.

• Nick M says:

  30 Dec30 December 09:18

  For the IHG sale – does booking the sale rate actually force the hotel to take payment at the point of booking? Usually when I book a prepaid rate the charge isn’t taken until the day of the stay – which doesn’t help with the Amex offer!

  • John says:

    30 Dec30 December 18:29

    No, IHG hotels take payment manually. Prepaid rates are charged when the front desk staff have some free time

• Michael C says:

  30 Dec30 December 09:23

  As others have said, Bologna is indeed fabulous, but should point out that, when departing from there, there is one single security line for every, every passenger.
  When we were there 10 days ago, a sign said you should start queueing 3 hours before your departure time (having already checked in). We were very fortunately syphoned off into the family line (in theory for age 5 and under), still queued for 40 minutes, but definitely “saved” another 40.

  Our other top tip is that the Bologna-Florence train route is great, but you have to buy well in advance for lower fares. On the day is around 50 quid return for a 38-min trip.

  Florence and Verona are also only an hour for other trips.

  • RussellH says:

    30 Dec30 December 10:28

    Gosh – how things change!

    Our first ever AirMiles flight (early 1990s) was to Bologna – and the least faff of any arrival I have ever seen. Plane landed, then about ¾ of the way along the runway it turned 90° sharp right and headed for the terminal, stopping just a few metres from the building.
    Steps turned up and we headed for the terminal. As we headed towards passport control a door on the right opened, and a man came out, putting his uniform cap on straightish and adjusting his tie, and headed for the passport checkers booth.
    He looked as though he was still recovering from a rough night, and basically waved everyone through without actually looking at any of the passports.
    Another 10 metres or so to the door of the terminal with the bus stop into town just outside.
    Plane to bus stop in less than 10 mins.
    I have no memory at all of the return trip, though I am sure that if there had been a security queue like yours, I would have remembered

    • Michael C says:

      30 Dec30 December 10:47

      The arrival is indeed pretty much like that still! With the addition of the hilarious train shuttle into the centre, which throws you from side to side like buckaroo! (NB if there are 2 of you, it’s the same price to get a cab from the stand straight to your hotel).

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    30 Dec30 December 17:08

    I fly out of Bologna multiple times a month and I do agree that the regular security line looks bad (but there’s many scanners) as the lounge is landside they give everyone with access to the lounge fast track. Fast track (depending on time of day) is either a dedicated security channel within the lounge or a dedicated entrance to the main security area. It tends to be very quick. So if you don’t have BA status but do have Priority Pass then go to the lounge and get your boarding pass enabled for fast track. If you have none of this then look at the BLQ website and consider purchasing lounge access.

    I know someone on Twitter who has no BA status and uses BLQ a few times a year and doesn’t have too many problems with the regular queue

• BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

  30 Dec30 December 09:36

  I wouldn’t say a 7.50 departure is all that good for connections off TATLs.

  With the 60 mins MCT at T5 that means you need to be scheduled to land by 06.50 which would preclude a lot of of the late evening ex USA departure from connecting onto it.

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