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New Avios routes from Gatwick with Vueling
Vueling, the low-cost sister airline of British Airways (BA) and Iberia, has announced that it will start flying from London Gatwick from summer 2022. Normally I wouldn’t really feature much about low cost airlines but since it opens up some new routes that you can earn and burn Avios on, I thought it was worth a mention.
The Spanish carrier plans to operate 12 short-haul routes, five of which are new additions. It will base three of its aircraft at Gatwick from April.
Vueling will add Granada, La Coruña, Malaga, Menorca and Seville as new routes from Gatwick. It already flies to Gatwick from Barcelona, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela, and Valencia, as well as to Paris Orly, Rome, and Florence. BA will also offer flights to Malaga, as well from Gatwick to Menorca and Seville.
While Vueling is not exactly the epitome of luxury it was awarded the most punctual European airline – with 92.1% of flights arriving on-time in Cirium’s (travel data and analytics experts) 2021 On-Time Performance Report.
How to earn and burn Avios on Vueling
Buying flights on Avios for Vueling flights are poor value generally as it is based on the price of the flight with money off rather than distance. The other option is to have an Iberia account and redeem through there at a set price based on distance (see more information here). Similarly, you earn Avios based on your ticket price (unless you buy them from Iberia as a codeshare where you earn based on the distance flown).
It’s also slightly convoluted as you need either a Vueling, Aer Lingus or Iberia account. However, once you have earned the Avios you can use Combine my Avios to transfer them to BA if you wish or vice versa. You earn 3 Avios per €1 spent on Basic fares and 4 Avios per €1 spent on Optima, Family and Timeflex Fares.
Switzerland to ease entry restrictions
When I visited Switzerland in 2021 it was remarkably easy once you got your head around what the rules actually were (the Swiss site is not easy to understand). Then sadly Omicron hit and it became a bit of nightmare with constantly changing and unclear rules. Fortunately, that is about to change as it becomes easier to get into than the UK! I am planning to book to return to the Montreux area again this year as it was so beautiful, so let’s hope it stays that way.
Fully vaccinated travellers or those who can prove they have recovered from Covid will no longer be required to present a negative test before entering Swizterland from 22 January. You also will also no longer be required to take follow-up tests four to seven days after entry. The only requirement will be to fill in the very simple passenger locator form if you are travelling to Switzerland by plane or on a long-distance bus service.
You can find the official website here.
Aer Lingus continues Manchester-Barbados for winter 22/23
Another option for using Avios is the Aer Lingus service from Barbados. You should transfer your Avios to an Aer Club account using Combine my Avios and book with Aer Lingus rather than through BA. This is because the taxes and charges are way cheaper – starting around £160 to the US in business class. Plus some routes are cheaper on Avios as well.
Aer Lingus has now confirmed it will continue its Manchester Barbados for winter 22/23 route after it stops for the summer on 29 April 22.
The non-stop service is recommencing from 2 November this year and flights are on sale now at aerlingus.com for travel from 2 November 2022 between Barbados and Manchester every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The route is operated by Airbus A330-300 aircraft, offering both a Business Class cabin with 30 fully lie-flat seats with 287 seats in Economy.
Flight EI031 will depart Manchester at 11:00am arriving in Barbados at 4:35pm local time. The returning EI030 flights from Barbados to Manchester will depart at 6:40pm local arriving into Manchester at 7:10am the following morning.
Reid Moody, Aer Lingus’ Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, said: “We are delighted to announce the return of our Barbados route from Manchester for winter 2022.
“When we launched the route last year, there was strong interest in the new non-stop transatlantic service from the North of England to the sandy beaches of Barbados.
As travel measures are relaxed further, and consumer confidence returns, we look forward to extending a warm Aer Lingus welcome to families and sun seekers to and from the Caribbean.”
