British Airways launches five Gatwick short-haul services – wide open for Avios redemptions

British Airways has announced the launch of five new short-haul services from London Gatwick.

As usual when a new route is announced, flights are wide open for Avios. You will find eight economy and four business class seats available on every single flight, except where they have been snapped up in the last hour or so.

The full Winter 2023 schedule from London Gatwick has also been put on sale, allowing you to book services from the last few days of October through to 355 days from today, so roughly Christmas Day 2023.

What new routes has British Airways launched today?

Here are the five new routes:

Montpellier

British Airways has not flown to Montpellier since 2019 when it was a Heathrow route.

There will be three flights per week from Gatwick starting on 27th May. Flights will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Corfu

British Airways will fly to Corfu from Gatwick in Summer 2023, supplementing the existing Heathrow route.

There will be three flights per week, starting on 30th May. Flights will operate on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Salzburg

Salzburg, above, will become a year-round route from London Gatwick, complementing the existing Winter flights from Heathrow and Gatwick.

There will be three flights per week from 30th March, operating on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Mykonos

British Airways is adding a weekly Mykonos flight from Gatwick in Summer 2023, departing on Saturdays.

The route will start on 10th June.

Innsbruck

Innsbruck is an addition to the Winter 2023 timetable. There will be eight flights per week, starting on 8th December. The existing six weekly Heathrow flights will continue.

All 21 routes for the Winter season from London Gatwick have gone on sale today so it is a good time to jump in and make your cash or Avios bookings for travel before Christmas 2023. The rest of the Winter season will open up on the usual ‘355 days before departure’ schedule.

You can book or check times at ba.com.

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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:

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. 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.

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.

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

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.