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British Airways A380 Club Suites update
There were a lot of comments on my article the other day about BA’s A380 routes for winter 23/24. One of the questions that gets asked a lot is the timescales of the A380 refurbishment to the Club Suites. There was a rumour a couple of years ago that they were about to get refurbished, but this was not correct.
BA’s first priority is the B777s at Heathrow, although there is at least one B777 scheduled to operate from Gatwick to Mauritius and some New York flights with Club Suites for winter 2023/24 currently. They still have around 7-10 B777s to finish, which is likely to take until the late summer, and then after that, the B787 will be next. With 30 of those to get through, it’s not going to be quick. The first retrofitted B787 is not expected to be in service until around October 2023.
My personal guess is that once the B787s are closer to their refurbishment finish date, BA will evaluate the life left in the A380s and how many they choose (if any) to refurbish. BA has a number of aircraft on order, but many have been delayed due to Covid, including the B777x.
Qatar Airways launch Formula 1 holiday packages
Qatar Airways, the Global Partner and Official Airline of F1®, in partnership with Qatar Airways Holidays, announced today the launch of its exclusive travel packages for the upcoming F1® races this season. The travel packages allow fans to be up-close to the action, and exclusively enjoy unique experiences, including pit lane walks, guided track tours, and special events with select F1® drivers.
Fans have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to purchase an array of flexible packages for all of the upcoming F1® race destinations, including the forthcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix and Qatar Airways Gran Premio del Made in Italy e Dell’Emilia-Romagna. In addition, the airline’s Privilege Club members can also earn Avios points – the world’s leading loyalty rewards currency, based on the total value of these Ultimate F1® Fan Travel Packages.
The packages include return flights, hotel accommodations, F1® Paddock Club or Grandstand race tickets, and more. If you are planning to attend the Formula 1® Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2023, you can purchase the Early Bird Offer until 31 May 2023. Prices start at $1,110 USD. You can browse what’s available and book by visiting: qatarairways.com/F1.
Qatar Airways Birmingham start date confirmed
I previously wrote about Qatar returning to Birmingham. The airline has now confirmed that they will start daily flights again from 6 July 2023. So if you have been looking for Avios flights on Qatar and have not found what you need, it could be worth considering Birmingham.
The flights will be on a B787 which does not have the new Premium Suites.
1 comment
The A380 refurbishment is not dependent on completion of the 777 or 787 CS embodiment program because they will not be refurbished in Cardiff or any other BA facility which cannot accommodate the A380. It will be an outsourced job like the A380 heavy maintenance. So this is much more dependent on capex sign off and timetabling of taking aircraft out of service for a prolonged period than it is on than the 777/787 program.
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