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Heathrow new runway gains government support
In a surprising move for a government that seems hellbent on Net Zero, Rachel Reeves has announced her support for a third runway at Heathrow. She believes it could be completed within 10 years and wants to see construction started during Labour’s parliament term. She added that the expansion would go ahead despite Mayor Saddiq Khan’s opposition to the proposals.
Heathrow currently has about 70% of the UK’s long haul flights. Apparently, proposals for the terminals include demolishing Terminal 3 and then expanding Terminals 2 and 5. Terminal 5 is touted to become a oneworld hub, similar to during Covid. The older readers of TLFL will remember the old terminal 1 at Heathrow that was demolished after it closed in 2015. Terminal 3 is now the oldest terminal and despite being spruced up in places, the check-in area feels very dated.
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said,
“We welcome the Chancellor’s support for the aviation industry and recognition of the critical role we play for the economy and in delivering growth across the UK.
“Heathrow is the UK’s gateway to growth and prosperity. A third runway and the infrastructure that comes with it would unlock billions of pounds of private money to stimulate the UK supply chain during construction. Once built, it would create jobs and drive trade, tourism and inward investment to every part of the country. It would also give airlines and passengers the competitive, resilient hub airport they expect while putting the UK back on the map at the heart of the global economy. With strict environmental safeguards, it would demonstrate that by growing our economy responsibly we can ensure our commitments to future generations are delivered.
“This is the bold, responsible vision the UK needs to thrive in the 21st century, and I thank the Government and Chancellor for their leadership. It has given us the confidence to confirm our continued support for expanding Heathrow. Successfully delivering the project at pace requires policy change – particularly around necessary airspace modernisation and making the regulatory model fit for purpose. We will now work with the Government on the expected planning reform and support Ministers to deliver the changes which will set us on track to securing planning permission before the end of this Parliament.”
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said:
“A thriving aviation sector is crucial to the success of the Chancellor’s growth agenda. Heathrow is critical national infrastructure and the UK’s only hub airport, enabling connectivity and trade to global markets, yet it remains the world’s most expensive airport with a service that falls short. We are supportive of growth and expansion at Heathrow, if, and only if, there is fundamental reform to the flawed regulatory model to ensure value for money for consumers, affordability for UK plc and support a competitive UK aviation industry.”
Avios boost offer – worth it?
If you have not heard of it before, boosting your Avios is one of the most cost effective ways of buying Avios. It normally allows you to buy or boost up to 3 times the amount of Avios you have earned from most sources including shopping and credit cards by up to 3 times.
The new offer is available until 4 February and allows you to boost your Avios by up to four times the amount earned. Not only that, but it allows you to boost your Avios from the whole of 2024, which could be a substantial amount.
The first 300,000 Avios boosted per calendar year are priced at the cheapest buying rate. Here are the prices per Avios:
If you were to buy Avios, the best rate available is around 56 Avios per £1, although you can often get a 50% bonus taking it up to 75 Avios per £1. For example, you can buy 200,000 Avios for £3539 or boost them to around 200,000 for about £2000.
To take advantage of the offer, simply sign in and then head to this page where you can select which transactions to boost and by how much. It offered me the chance to buy 800k Avios for a measly £12,000 but I think I will give that one a miss!
Marriott Bonvoy redemption devaluation
Since Marriott changed to dynamic pricing, it is harder to keep track of the standard pricing, but this week a number of blogs reported seeing a substantial rise in the costs for redemptions. Marriott, rather than the hotels, sets the prices for redemptions, but hotels have a cap of the maximum they can charge per night, which is usually when the hotel is nearly full and close to the date. Some popular properties are reportedly showing rates up to 60,000 points more per night than previously.
In general, most of the rises are more modest at around 5- 12% apart from special properties such as the Maldives where prices are over 200,000 points per night on occasion. Also the rises do not apply to all hotels, just a small selection.
So far there has been no official notification of a rise by Marriott.
Have you noticed a jump in a Marriott redemption? Let us know in the comments below.
