British Airways joins the sales rush

British Airways launched their flight sale today with some great long haul and winter sun prices.

Flights to New York start at £299 (saving £63); Los Angeles £389 (saving £61) or Orlando £399 (saving £32).

For winter-sun, Dubai is down to £325 (saving £69); Montego Bay £399 (saving £227); Sydney £669 (saving £146) and Buenos Aires £629 (saving £245).

Ski enthusiasts can head to Geneva where flights start at £39 (one-way) or Zurich £50 (one-way).

For more information, visit the British Airways website>>

BA and Iberia finally land $7bn merger agreement

British Airways last night confirmed that it will merge with the Spanish flag carrier Iberia in a $7bn (£4.2bn) deal, creating the world’s third biggest airline. The announcement comes after a day when the boards of both companies were locked in separate meetings, combing through the fine details of the plans which have been under discussion for nearly 18 months.

Under the terms of a binding agreement signed yesterday, BA will take control of 55 per cent of the combined group, rising to 56 per cent when cross shareholdings held by the two companies are cancelled next year.

Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive will become the head of the new BA-Iberia, while Iberia’s chief executive and chairman, Antonio Vazquez is set to be appointed chairman. The deal is expected to be signed in late 2010.

Source: Independent

British Airways resume flights to Sharm el Sheikh

British Airways is launching its thrice-weekly direct non-stop services from Gatwick to Sharm El Sheikh from October 26, 2009. This signifies a return for the airline’s colours to this popular Red Sea resort, with the new direct non-stop London Gatwick flights to Sharm El Sheikh departing on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

As well as the new flights to Sharm El Sheikh, British Airways will also be adding The Maldives to its already extensive network. Richard Tams, British Airways’ head of UK & Ireland sales, said: “These new routes will be great assets to the BA network and a real winner with customers. They are both perfect holiday destinations, known for their great beaches and fantastic diving. We’re particularly pleased to be serving a completely new destination, the Maldives, and returning to Sharm El Sheikh. We expect both routes to perform well.”

Holidays in Sharm El Sheikh have proved popular with tourist for years due to their promise of sun-filled days on the beach and spotting turtles on the coral reefs, as well as offering the ability to explore the desert by camel and spend the nights feasting on traditional Bedouin food and stargazing.

British Airways have a number of superb Sharm El Sheikh hotels – all with easy access to beautiful beaches. The range of hotels in Sharm El Sheikh includes something for everyone ranging from 3 to 5*. Romantics can pamper themselves at the 4*+ Grand Rotana ideally located on the shores of Sharks Bay. The 4* all inclusive Hilton Sharks Bay Resort offers fun for the whole family, or for pure relaxation and a round of golf there is the 5* Maritim Jolie Ville Golf and Resort.

All of the new Sharm El Sheikh flights will be operated by Boeing 777 aircraft with a three-class configuration: World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World.

To book your flights direct with British Airways, please visit their website>>

Explorer Travel can book your holiday to Sharm el Sheikh with British Airways. Please contact them on 0208 816 8789 or via their website (http://www.redsea.explorertravel.co.uk/sharmelsheikh.htm)

British Airways doubles its service to St Kitts

St Kitts will gain a second weekly British Airways flight next spring. The additional service will fly every Tuesday from March 23.

BA will use 280-seat Boeing 777 in a three-class configuration with 40 Club World, 24 World Traveller Plus and 216 World Traveller seats.

The new flight, linked with Antigua, increases capacity to the destination while offering even greater flexibility to the duration of visitor nights.

The announcement came just eight months since the first BA scheduled service touched down in St Kitts.

The island’s tourism sports and culture minister Richard Skerrit said: ““I speak for our key partners, our hoteliers and all stakeholders involved in the tourism industry in St. Kitts & Nevis in welcoming this excellent news from British Airways at a time when there is still uncertainty in the industry; we are delighted that British Airways has had the confidence in our destination’s future growth to bring in two new flights in just 14 months.

“The UK is increasingly becoming an important market for St. Kitts with British Airways bringing in more than 4,000 passengers in the first half of 2009 alone.”

BA head of UK and Ireland sales Richard Tams said: “We’re delighted to be increasing the number of flights into St Kitts.

“The island has been proving extremely popular with our customers thanks to its beauty; atmosphere and the warm welcome travellers receive.

“We now operate more flights into the Caribbean than any other carrier, serving 14 destinations with 55 flights a week and we remain committed to the region.”

To book your British Airways flights to the Caribbean, visit British Airways>>

New members for Star Alliance and Oneworld

Two of the leading airline frequent flyer networks have announced new members. Russian carrier S7 Airlines is to join Oneworld in sometime in 2010 and will be sponsored by British Airways during its 18 month alliance implementation programme. S7 will be come Oneworld’s 12^th full member with Mexicana due to join later this year.

Meanwhile, Greek carrier Aegan will join Star Alliance and the process is expected to take about a year. Aegan currently operates 23 routes in Greece and a further 24 international destinations including London Stansted. Star Alliance currently has 21 members with a further five more airlines confirmed for the future (the other four being Air India, Brussels Airline, Continental Airlines and TAM).

British Airways releases London city to JFK flights

Tickets for British Airways all-business class flights from London City (LCY) to New York JFK have gone on sale. The service commences on 29 September 2009 and the route will initially be flown once a day (except Saturdays). British Airways will operate the route with an Airbus A318 configured with 32 flatbed seats.

The outbound leg will stop for refuelling at Shannon in Ireland and passengers will also be able to clear US customs and immigration at this point.

To book your London City to JFK flights, visit British Airways>>

British Airways July Sale

The British Airways July Sale is now live on ba.com, featuring reduced fares on World Traveller and Euro Traveller flights starts today and runs up until midnight on the 14th of July.

Example prices for long haul destinations:

• London Heathrow to New York (JFK) from £259 return
• London Heathrow to Dubai from £299 return
• London Heathrow to Los Angeles (Int’l) and San Francisco (Int’l) from £339 return
• London Heathrow to Hong Kong from £379 return
• London Heathrow to Tokyo (Narita) from £449 return
• London Gatwick to Barbados, Bermuda and St Lucia (Hewanorra) from £459 return
• London Heathrow to Buenos Aires from £639 return

Example prices for short haul destinations:

• London Gatwick to Dubrovnik and Genoa from £39 one-way
• London Heathrow to Budapest, Istanbul and Lisbon from £49 one-way
• London Gatwick to Rome (Fiumicino) from £49 one-way
• London Heathrow to Helsinki from £59 one-way

New routes included:

Our new routes are also included in the sale, with direct flights starting at the end of October:

• London Gatwick to Sharm el Sheikh from £249 return
• London Heathrow to Las Vegas from £379 return
• London Gatwick to Punta Cana £479 return
• London Gatwick to Montego Bay £459 return

Additional information:

• Travel varies by destination but covers 01 Sept – 23 Jun 2010
• Book by midnight 14 July 2009
• Upgrade to World Traveller Plus (premier economy) from £99 one-way

For more details, visit the British Airways website>>