‘The Travel Brief’, the weekly Head for Points travel trade newsletter

Welcome to your weekly trade round-up of UK business travel and travel loyalty news as well as our latest reviews and features.

This newsletter is the successor to Malcolm Ginsberg’s Business Travel News which Head for Points has acquired. If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up here to receive this free newsletter in your inbox every Monday.

Malcolm’s new monthly forward-looking Travel News Update is available at travelnewsupdate.co.uk.

Special feature:

British Airways seems to have thrown Alex Cruz under a bus (again) in a Sunday Times interview. We take a look at Cruz’s legacy and ask if the criticism is justified.

The latest UK business travel news:

Avis Budget adds an office in Glasgow Central Station. Image above.

Norwegian buys Widerøe

SIXT opens the first car rental base in Heathrow Terminal 2

First Direct drops foreign exchange fees on its debit cards

easyJet scraps free cabin bags for all Up Front seats

Newham Council intends to block London City Airport’s expansion plans

IHG launches a flash one-week sale at UK hotels

Southend Airport gains a winter Geneva service

See Stansted Airport’s plans for a new terminal extension

Sparkling wine returns to BA World Traveller Plus (premium economy)

British Airways is matching 100% of charitable Avios donations

BA rebrands its buy-on-board ‘Speedbird Cafe’ for shorthaul flights

Emirates offering £150 off business class and £30 off economy class flights via a code

Is easyJet Plus worth the £215 annual fee?

Business travel stories we recommend from other sites:

Gatwick formally applies to bring second runway into use (Business Traveller)

Thousands of UK flights at risk as EU controllers plot strike (TTG)

Airbus has an 8,000 aircraft backlog with 91% for single aisle jets (Simple Flying)

Ruby Zoe hotel opens in Notting Hill (Business Traveller)

Dutch Government wins case to cut flights at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (Simple Flying)

Our latest reviews:

Rhys heads to the Grand Hyatt La Manga Spa & Golf in Murcia, Spain. The resort has recently been renovated and rebranded as a Hyatt and features expansive sports facilities. Image above and below.

The latest UK travel loyalty news:

17th July is your last chance to salvage value from your Radisson points

Here are the best hotel promotions for July

Why Caffe Nero remains the best Nectar redemption

How many Avios do you need for flights on British Airways partner airlines?

The two best ways to use Avios to get to Australia and New Zealand

Which airlines (including Avios) let you transfer miles into hotel points?

REMINDER: Get 40,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum – and an extra £100 bonus

Get a 25% bonus on HSBC Premier credit card conversions to Avios

Another good Virgin Wines redemption launches

Thank you for reading

Please drop me a note at rob@headforpoints.com with any feedback. See you next Monday.

Rob, Rhys and Sinead @ Head for Points

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