BA Onbusiness site still unavailable

As of 19th April 2024 the BA On Business site is still unavailable. This has been the case for many months. The website returns this response , “We’re experiencing ongoing issues with the availability of our On Business platform. Our teams are working hard to resolve this, we apologise for any inconvenience caused.” The telphone […]

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BA Flexible Booking Policy Extended

British Airways has extended their flexibile booking policy period. As with most airlines, you may change reservations without incurring a change-fee or penalty-fee. This is now extended to any flights you book for travel by 31st August 2022 Any fare difference is still payable

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Travel restrictions – Switzerland 2021

UK passport holders will be refused entry into Switzerland from 1st January 2020 as citizens lose freedom of movement rights. This has been confirmed to me in writing from the Swiss authorities this morning. Switzerland currently refuses entry from countries that they have designated as being “high risk”. But EU/EFTA/UK citizens have enjoyed an exemption […]

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BA Black Friday Sale 20% discount

British Airways – Bookings made before midnight on Friday 27th November qualify for 20% discount using the code BASpecial. Unusually, the 20% discount applies to the entire price including tax and fuel surcharges The discount is not available via online or offline travel agencies, only via the BritishAirways.com website. Full details here

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Prepare for Brexit – Travel from 1st January 2020

1. If you have a British passport you’ll need at least 6 months remaining and it must have been issued within the last 10 years You can check the validity of your passport on the UK gov website here. Be sure to do this as you may be surprised by the result. My passport expires […]

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Where can we travel to?

As we know, at present, all travel is severely restricted. All borders are currently closed to any “non-essential” travel. Some borders that are open require 14 days quarantine. No-one knows when travel can begin again, for UK citizens, with any surety. Some gradual changes are scheduled: Austria, Switzerland, Germany and France appear likely to agree […]

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Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania open borders

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania open borders with each other. Anyone who has not been outside of these countries in the last two weeks, is not infected and has not been in contact with an infected person may travel freely within the three countries. Anybody arriving from outside the zone must self-isolate for 14 days.

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Free advance seat assignment on Emirates

If you’re booking business class or first class flights on Emirates, your choice of seat is available free of charge. But if you’re booking the lowest economy fares then pre-seating is normally a chargeable extra cost which is not immediately clear. Members of Emirates Skywards loyalty scheme however, are eligible for free advance “regular” seat assignment, […]

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US Visa ESTA change to processing time

Visitors to the U.S. require a visa which is known as a “Electronic System for Travel Authorisation” Up until now, it has sometimes been possible to gain the approval immediately or within an hour which has been a lifeline for those that have forgotten to apply or who choose to travel at short notice. Customs […]

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How to prepare for a no-deal Brexit eventuality

The UK Government has provided advice regarding the impact on travel to the EU if there is no deal, from the 29th March 2019 The main issue is one of passport validity. You will have to show that your passport is still valid for at least 6 months from the date you arrive in the Schengen area. If […]

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British Airways Data Breach

We are awaiting more detail from BA but at the moment, it appears to only apply to bookings made or changed and paid for online at ba.com Quote from the BA website: “This [data breach] relates to customer bookings made or changed between 22:58 BST August 21 2018 and 21:45 September 5 2018 inclusive. We […]

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How to book easyJet using Emirates Rewards

If you log in to your Emirates Skywards account and choose to redeem miles, the only city pairs offered are those that Emirates fly. So, you cannot select Edinburgh to Geneva, for example. What you need to do is to go to this site which is the “Emirates Partner Rewards” site. However, you must first be […]

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How secure is your hotel room?

If I stay in a very cheap hotel with minimal security I take extra care to ensure that valuables are placed in the room-safe and that the door is locked securely I have always assumed that when I close the door in one of the international chains such as Radisson, Grand Hyatt, Sheraton, Waldorf Astoria, […]

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Laptop Ban – Latest Update

Direct flights from these countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia You will not be able to carry laptops, tablets and larger mobile phones in your hand baggage on these flights. Only mobile phones smaller than the following dimensions will be allowed in the cabin: Length: 16 cm Width: 9.3 cm Depth: 1.5 cm […]

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Should we book Eurostar Tickets via a Travel Agent?

Booking Eurostar online is very easy. So, what are the benefits of requesting (and paying for) a travel agent, or a management company to do so on your behalf? Every booking scenario is different so we recommend you choose with the following observations in mind. Benefits of online: If you are shopping for lowest fares […]

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New Hilton Honors Loyalty programme

Yes, Hilton has rebranded and dropped the superfluous two h’s, previously “Hhonors” Other changes? Part pay for reservations using Points and Money. A great benefit especially for those of us with only a few points Release date during February 2017 Pool points with family and friends This is idea is similar to the Avios Household […]

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Expedia Launches Loyalty Scheme in the UK

We have long recommended Expedia as the best online travel agent and now we recommend you to Register for the Expedia+ Points scheme too. How many points will I earn? Hotels, Packages, Activities and some car hire: Earn 2 points per £1 spent Airline tickets: Earn 1 point per £5 spent How many points do […]

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How to increase your appreciation of airline food

This topic was discussed on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday morning 28th January, when Jay Rayner, Andi Oliver, Tim Hayward, Henry Dimbleby and Barry Smith were at Woburn Abbey for “The Kitchen Cabinet” programme. We know that the high altitude etc reduces our appreciation of taste but I wasn’t aware of another problem …the “white […]

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BA Strike 25 & 26 December 2016 Key Points

British Airways Strike Dates Sunday 25 and Monday 26 December 2016 Does not affect London City airport or London Gatwick airport All long-haul flights expected to operate to normal schedules The short-haul routes listed below are being reviewed and BA is offering refunds or free rebooking to travel the same route as originally ticketed and to travel within 355 […]

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Skyscanner can only get better!

We have always recommended skyscanner for general flight search and have hosted their search widget on our flight search page. The company, based in Scotland, has always been best for the UK market with better links to more UK low-cost carriers than other companies such as Kayak from the USA, etc. And we are delighted […]

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Hilton and DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Discounts

The BookingBusinessTravel.com service is unique. We find business travelers the best deal irrespective of agency commission and without bias towards preferred booking systems. Wherever the best deal is, we’ll offer it. Every time. Hilton Hotels offer a discount to members of the Hilton Loyalty Club, HHonors™ The percentage discount is typically 2% – 3% but […]

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British Airways Business Class to Dubai lowest ever fares

This must be one of the best fares I’ve seen for a long time! It’s an example of how European originating tickets are still competitive despite the decline of the pound against the Euro: Venice – London, London – Dubai, Dubai- London, London to Venice/Milan/Rome at a later date, From £1,257 return. Business Class throughout! […]

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Earn Double Avios on British Airways Long-Haul Flights

Book and travel before 31st July 2016 and you could earn up to double the normal Avios (Air miles) that you would normally. You need to register on the BA website here: You may or may not be accepted or eligible for this offer. I was declined. But it’s worth checking. All you need to […]

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British Airways Premium Class Sale, Book by 17 May 2016

British Airways has launched another sale, for travel in Premium Economy, Business and First Class. Fares valid for travel up to and including April 2017! You cannot combine the sale fares with the free upgrade offer as described in my previous article, from Business to First! Book before midnight of Tuesday 17 May.

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British Airways New European Fare Rules

British Airways has introduced some new fare rules and a better advance seat-selection policy. In short, pay approximately £30 extra to ensure you can choose your seat, make same day change, and check-in one bag if you wish to. BASIC FARE No check-in bag No seat choice Changes incur a fee Not Refundable Cheapest fares PLUS […]

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