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BA Holidays £100 off
You can save up to £100 on winter sun holidays with British Airways Holidays when booking between 22 October – 28 October and travelling between 1 November 2024 – 31 March 2025 can book a flight + hotel holiday and make the below savings:
- £100 discount with a min spend of £2,500 per booking
- £50 discount with a min spend of £1,250 per booking
Destinations include, Canary Islands, Portugal, St Lucia, Dubai and more.
You can find the offer page with full details here.
Qatar Airways Starlink wi-fi launch
Qatar Airways has operated the world’s first Starlink-equipped Boeing 777 aircraft from Doha to London on Tuesday, 22 October 2024. Other airlines have announced that they will using this technology including Air France and United. Semi-private airline JSX already offers it free to passengers.
Starlink ultra-high-speed, low-latency internet and is free to all passengers and operates from gate to gate. Older systems have to be switched off below 10,000 feet. It also has far better coverage than older systems so hopefully big wi-fi coverage gaps will be a thing of the past in the future when most airlines are likely to upgrade to this technology.
Qatar is also set to exceed its initial target of three Starlink-equipped aircraft by introducing 12 Boeing 777-300s upgraded with this service by the end of 2024. Qatar Airways has further committed to rolling out the technology on its entire Boeing 777 fleet in 2025 – one year ahead of schedule – with the Airbus A350 fleet following in the summer of 2025.
Engineered by SpaceX, Starlink is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit that will provide passengers reliable, high-speed internet so they can stay connected with friends and family, stream their favourite entertainment, watch live sports, play online games, or work efficiently at 35,000 feet – all for free and with a simple ‘one-click-access’.
Qatar Airways’ Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said: “We are thrilled to launch our first Starlink-equipped flight, proving once again why Qatar Airways is at the forefront of the aviation industry.
“This milestone, paired with our commitment to rapidly roll-out Starlink across our entire modern fleet, demonstrates our relentless pursuit of offering passengers an in-flight experience that transcends the constraints of traditional air travel.
“By providing Starlink reliable, seamless internet on board, we are connecting people to the things they love the most even at 35,000 feet, making every journey with us a memorable one.”
New W hotel announced for Vegas
Marriott and MGM Resorts International have announced plans to convert an iconic property on the Las Vegas Strip to the W Hotels brand within the Marriott Bonvoy® portfolio. The transition is anticipated to complete its conversion later this year, with additional plans for the property to be announced in the future.
The hotel that is being converted is the Delano which is a separate building within the grounds of Mandalay Bay. I have stayed here twice recently and like the hotel, so hopefully they won’t change too much. Currently, they are all suites and look pretty good. The only downside is the walk to the pool which is within Mandalay Bay.
With the addition of W Las Vegas, MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy will encompass 12 destinations on the Las Vegas Strip, including Bellagio, a Luxury Collection Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino, Autograph Collection, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Autograph Collection, and Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, MGM Collection, among others.
What we don’t know is if Marriott will try to water down the benefits for Bonvoy members like they do at the Cosmopolitan. Hopefully, as this is one of Marriott’s core brands, you will get your full benefits, in which case I will definitely be staying there from now on.
