Tag: Islands

British Airways introduces two Portuguese destinations from Heathrow for summer 2022

British Airways has said that it will add the islands of Sao Miguel and Terceira, in Azores archipelago, to its Heathrow short-haul network from next summer.

Flights to the two new summer hotspots will operate once a week, with Sao Miguel launching on July 2 until September 3; and Terceira launching on July 10 until August 28. The flight to Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel will operate on Saturdays and that to Terceira will operate on Sundays.

The Azores archipelago comprises of nine islands, all known for cuisine and wine as well as scenic views offering nature lovers a wide range of activities. The Azores is also the first archipelago in the world to be certified as a sustainable destination by Earth Check. The island of Terceira is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site with its stunning laurel forests and Sao Miguel, home to the Lake of Seven Cities, has been dubbed one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal.

Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ Director of Network and Alliances, said: ‘After a difficult 18 months, it’s fantastic to be in a position to launch two new routes next summer from Heathrow. These two Islands in the Azores will be the perfect addition to our network, offering more choice in one of the most popular regions in Europe for British sunseekers.’

British Airways will operate an Airbus 320 to both destinations. Customers travelling in the airline’s Euro Traveller (economy) cabin can pre-purchase items from the Speedbird Cafe, or can order additional snacks and drinks on board the flight directly using their mobile device.

Customers travelling in Club Europe (business class) have access to priority check in, lounges and restaurant style complimentary dining, including items from the airline’s new ‘Best of British’ menus. British Airways’ return flights to Sao Miguel, will start from £79 in Euro Traveller and £208 in Club Europe. Flights to Terceira start from £79 in Euro Traveller and £208 in Club Europe.

British Airways launches daily flights from London Heathrow to Bermuda

British Airways has said that it will operate daily flights from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Bermuda, starting from March 28, 2021.

The flights will depart from London Heathrow at 14:55, landing in Bermuda at 18:25. The route will be operated by a Boeing 777-200, which will soon feature the airline’s new Club Suite. Tickets are now on sale, with return fares from £510.

Situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda’s islands boast fantastic reefs for scuba diving or snorkelling, along with luxury accommodation options selected by British Airways Holidays. This will be the first time the airline has flown from London Heathrow to Bermuda since 1989.

BA’s Director of Network and Alliances, Neil Chernoff, said: ‘We are delighted to launch flights from Heathrow to Bermuda. This is the first time we have flown to Bermuda from London’s biggest airport for over three decades. We look forward to welcoming customers to experience our world class facilities at Heathrow Terminal 5.

‘Whether our customers are travelling on business, visiting friends and family or taking a holiday, Bermuda is now even more accessible from the UK’s largest airport – a gateway for many of our destinations worldwide.’

‘We are delighted to continue our partnership with British Airways, an airline connecting Bermuda to London for more than 85 years’, confirmed Bermuda’s Minister of Transport the Hon. Neville Tyrrell. ‘The island’s leading industry groups see clear benefits for international business and tourism as a result of this decision, which should prove pivotal in the island’s pandemic recovery.’

British Airways has introduced a range of measures to keep its customers safe and is asking customers to abide by the new measures to help manage the wellness of everyone travelling. These include checking-in online, observing social distancing and using hand sanitisers placed throughout airports; wearing a facemask at all times, asking customers not to travel if they think they have any symptoms of Covid-19; mandatory PPE for cabin crew and a new food service, and asking customers to carry their necessities in hand luggage before departure, and where possible, storing their carry-on bag under the seat in front of them.

British Airways starts new route to Montego, resumes services to Caribbean Islands

British Airways has recently announced plans to commence a new route between Gatwick and Montego Bay in Jamaica from October 13, 2020.

Montego Bay is a sought-after tourist hotspot, known for its beaches, water sports, resorts and nightlife. Flights to Montego Bay, which will be operated by a three-cabin (World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World) Boeing 777, will depart on Tuesdays and Saturdays and are now on sale on ba.com, with prices starting from £427 return. The Montego Bay service will operate over the winter period until Easter 2021.

As part of its commitment to the Caribbean, the airline resumed flying to Antigua, Barbados, Kingston and Jamaica and St Lucia in July, although with reduced frequencies.

Diane Corrie, British Airways’ commercial manager for the Caribbean, said: ‘We’re excited to be extending our network once again between London Gatwick and the Caribbean with the start of this new flight to Montego Bay in October, as well as resuming our services to Antigua, Barbados, Kingston and St Lucia.

‘We know people are keen to travel and the sunshine and beaches across the Caribbean combined with great resorts and entertainment makes it a winning destination. And with flights to our new Montego Bay route starting from under £500 return, what’s not to love?!’

Colin Pegler, Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation Chapter UK & Europe, said: ‘The CTO Chapter UK & Europe is greatly encouraged by BA’s return to the Caribbean. As one of the Caribbean’s most crucial and longstanding flight partners we are delighted to see such endorsement from our national carrier. It is vital to the region, our tour operator, hotel and destination partners that the resumption of airlift is quick and comprehensive as we look forward to welcoming tourists once more.’

British Airways has introduced a range of measures to keep its staff and customers safe from the health risks of Covid 19. These include: checking-in online, downloading boarding pass and where possible self-scanning their boarding passes at the departure gate; observing social distancing and using hand sanitisers that are placed throughout airports; wearing a facemask at all times and bringing enough to replace them every four hours for longer flights; urging customers to avoid travel in case of any symptoms of Covid-19; requiring cabin crew to wear PPE and a new food service, which reduces the number of interactions required with customers, among others.

Jet2.com announces expanded winter programme, opens operational base at Tenerife South Airport

The UK-based travel and holiday company Jet2.com has announced the expansion of its flights programme to the Canary Islands for this winter, adding that it has opened an operational base at Tenerife South Airport to support the winter programme.

Jet2 has added over 200,000 departing seats from across nine of its UK bases this winter, in response to increasing demand from British holidaymakers looking to visit Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.

To support this expanded Canary Islands operation, the company has opened an Operational Base at Tenerife South Airport, enabling it to have a spare aircraft and replacement crew on permanent standby. The new base will support an expanded flying programme, with daily and multiple weekly flights operating to Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria this winter.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: ‘We are the UK’s leading operator to the Canary Islands, and we continue to demonstrate our confidence and commitment by adding more flights and holidays to the Islands. The opening of this Operational Base at Tenerife South Airport underlines our commitment to the Canary Islands and will play a key role in supporting our expansion, whilst also ensuring that we continue to deliver our award-winning customer experience.’

Pedro Manuel Martin Dominguez, President of the Island Government of Tenerife said: ‘We are thrilled that Jet2.com has chosen to open an operational base in Tenerife. It shows their continued commitment to the island after adding in a lot of extra capacity this winter proving that Tenerife remains a top choice for UK holidays.’

Jet2.com was recently recognised as the Best Short-Haul Airline by readers of Telegraph Travel. The Telegraph Travel Awards are based on the opinions of thousands of holidaymakers, who had voted their choice of airlines, both short-haul and long-haul. The short-haul category was based on how airlines ‘impress their passengers’, with Telegraph Travel recognising Jet2.com ahead of other short-haul airlines for ‘friendly low fares’ and customer service.

The airline was also recognised for delivering a VIP customer service at the 2019 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, with five top awards: Best Airline – UK, Best Airline – Europe, Best Low Cost Airline – Europe, Best Economy Class – Europe and Top 10 Airlines of the World.

Monarch offers half term holidays from UK airports

British low cost airline Monarch has announced the launch of half term holidays in February to popular winter sun destinations such as Lanzarote and Tenerife-Canary Islands, and Costa del Sol from Birmingham, Manchester and London Gatwick, at reduced fares.

For holidaymakers seeking snow, Monarch offers a traditional winter holiday to Lapland with its ‘Arctic Experience’ trips. Winter sun or Lapland holidays are offered at prices starting from £299.00 per person.

The holiday service to Lanzarote – Canary Islands will depart Birmingham on February 12, for a seven night stay at the four-star Occidental Lanzarote Playa. The offering starts from £479.00 per person, and includes return flights and seven nights all-inclusive accommodation based on two adults and one child sharing a twin room.

The airline also offers a holiday service to Tenerife – Canary Islands from Manchester. The flight will depart on February 11, 2017 for a seven night stay at the five star Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife. With prices starting from £695.00 per person, the package includes return flights and seven nights bed and breakfast accommodation based on two adults and one child sharing a deluxe room.

From Birmingham, the holiday service to Tenerife – Canary Islands will depart on February 12, for a seven night stay at the five-star Gran Tacande Hotel. Priced from £935.00 per person, the package includes return flights and seven nights bed and breakfast accommodation based on two adults and one child sharing a twin room with a sea view.

Meanwhile, the holiday service to Costa del Sol, Spain will start from £299 per person. The flight will depart Birmingham on February 12, 2017 for a seven night stay at the four star Puente Real. The service includes return flights and seven nights half board accommodation based on two adults and one child sharing a one bedroom apartment.

The airline also offers its ‘Arctic Experience’ holidays to Lapland. The flight will depart London Gatwick on February 14, 2017 for a three night stay at the three star Lapland Hotel Akashotelli. Priced from £325.00 per person, the holiday package includes return flights and three nights bed and breakfast accommodation based on two adults and two children sharing a one bedroom apartment with a sauna.

Monarch’s All Flights Reduced sale has 100,000 seats. In addition to a selection of sun, city and ski destinations, the airline is also offering 60,000 seats for the Canaries, Madeira and Dalaman.

Thomas Cook Airlines expands winter schedule at Birmingham and Glasgow

Thomas Cook Airlines has announced its new Winter-2016 schedules from Birmingham and Glasgow, adding extra A321 aircrafts at the two airports to support the expansion of services.

For winter sun seekers flying from Birmingham in 2016, the new A321 aircraft will add 30,000 more available seats. While services to Gambia will increase from one flight per week to two, Tenerife flights will increase from one to four per week; Lanzarote from two to three weekly flights; and Gran Canaria is new with one flight per week.

Customers can now buy return flights to Banjul on the new aircraft for Winter 2016 priced from £324.99 return; and Tenerife from £91.98 based on a seven-day stay.

William Pearson, Aviation Development Director at Birmingham Airport, said: ‘This is great news and shows just how successful Thomas Cook is here at Birmingham Airport. The airline offer routes which are extremely popular with our passengers and demand for seats is continuing to increase. As an airport we look forward to welcoming the extra 30,000 passengers that this news aircraft will bring.’

Thomas Cook Airlines has also announced plans to base an extra new aircraft at Glasgow to support its newly launched Winter 2016 programme there.

At Glasgow Airport, sun seekers will be offered an additional 25,000 seats available to the Canaries throughout the winter from the fleet of three full-time A321s. There is also an additional five flights per week to the popular Canary Islands: Tenerife flights increase from seven to eight a week; Lanzarote moves up from two to four per week; Gran Canaria from one to two per week; and Fuerteventura will move from two to three per week. Return flights to the Canary Islands are available from £129.98 return in November 2016.

Paul White, business development manager at Glasgow Airport, said: ‘This is great news for Scottish travellers, particularly those looking to get away for some winter sun in 2016. The fact that Thomas Cook Airlines is bolstering these routes demonstrates the popularity of the Canary Islands amongst our customers, and also demonstrates the airline’s ongoing commitment to Glasgow.

‘We are excited that Thomas Cook Airlines will be basing an additional aircraft here at Glasgow for the winter season and we look forward to working in partnership with the airline to continue their growth at Glasgow Airport.’

Commenting on the plan, Thomas Cook Airlines’ director of sales and planning, Henry Sunley, said: ‘And as well as a new plane, our customers can take advantage of our new pre-order duty free service, Airshoppen, and get their holiday treats delivered straight to their seat.’