Author Archives: bookingbusinesstravel

New Hilton Honors Loyalty programme

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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 account
Release date April 2017

And from July 2017 the option to shop through Amazon and from March 2017 Hilton Honors Diamond members
have the ability to take a year’s gardening leave.

Main benefits of Hilton Honors programme are:

The App Check-n ahead
Choose your room
Unlock room with digital key! (being rolled out)

And of course, … points!

More information from Hilton Honors here

Expedia Launches Loyalty Scheme in the UK

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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 I need to obtain discounts?

How many points do I need to obtain discounts?

Receive a voucher for £25 off your next hotel with as few as 3,500 Expedia+ points

This means is that if you spend £1,750 on hotels you will earn £25 against a hotel which equates to approx 1.5% rebate

You’ll need to spend £17,500 on flight-only reservations to earn the same voucher which isn’t such a good deal

Other benefits …

Silver Priority Customer Care 0203 788 4743

Free membership automatically gives you +blue status, followed by +silver status after you spend £5,000 on eligible bookings or staying 7 qualifying hotel room nights,

Silver status earns you 10% more bonus points

and +gold status after spending £10,000 on eligible bookings or staying 15 qualifying hotel room nights.

Gold status earns you 30% extra

For more details and to register visit Expedia here

How to increase your appreciation of airline food

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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 noise” levels produced by the aircraft.

A not-very-scientific experiment was conducted live on the programme where members of the panel were invited to taste cheese-cake whilst aircraft noise was played and with noise cancelling headphones and they agreed that the taste was much improved with the headphones!

Also it was stated that tomatoes and tomato juice increase our sense of taste so next time I fly, I will order a Bloody Mary!

British Airways Sale ends Tuesday 31 January 2017

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British Airways is offering some very low fares providing you book by midnight on Tuesday 31st January.

Economy class to Dubai from £299 return, New York from £369 return

Premium Economy fares are exceptional value, costing little more than the normal economy fares. For example, Dubai from £549, Los Angeles from £790 and New York from £612 return

These fares are targeted at leisure trips and may not be suitable for business travel. Fares generally have a minimum stay requirement and a Saturday night-stay requirement

Full details at the British Airways site here.

BA Strike 25 & 26 December 2016 Key Points

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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 days.

Warning:
If you apply for a refund and then discover the flight is operating and should you wish to travel as  originally planned you will be treated as a new passenger and charged what will most likely be a very high last-minute fare!

Our advice? Wait and see. And use our recommended flight-monitor tools on our useful sites page.

Routes liable to cancellation, Between London Heathrow and:

Aberdeen, Bergen, Belfast City, Bilbao, Bologna, Basel, Budapest, Dusseldorf,
Gibraltar, Gothenburg, Hannover, Hamburg, Helsinki, Kiev, Krakow, St. Petersburg,
Lisbon, Luxembourg, Manchester, Paris Orly, Oslo, Prague, Pisa, Stuttgart,
Stavanger, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb.

 

Skyscanner can only get better!

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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 that Chinese company Ctrip has bought Skyscanner for $1.75 billion
Gareth Williams of CEO Skyscanner said to Tnooz,

“Ctrip is the leading OTA in China and working with it allows us to deepen our understanding and offering to the Chinese market, where we’ve already seen great success, as well as leverage Ctrip’s product investments and insights.
In short, this allows Skyscanner to strengthen and augment its existing offering, ensuring that it’s the world leader in the metasearch field.”

We say, from the perspective of a daily users of Skyscanner, that there will be benefits in terms of content of the China market which is rapidly expanding.

And that content will assist the many of us that are unfamiliar with Chinese cities and airport codes enormously.

Hilton and DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Discounts

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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 can be as much as 10%

This rate is not available via 3rd part websites (Hotels.com, Booking.com etc) but only via Hilton.com direct or via a travel management company.

Bookings can only be made direct and online and must be via log-in using the HHonors membership number and the guests’ password.

Alternatively, you can sign-up the guest in the booking process. But, if he/she already has a membership and is an avid points collector then that’s not recommended. Ask your traveller for their password.

Book here direct on the official Hilton website here

Earn Triple Avios on British Airways Flights

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British Airways is offering triple Avios and Triple On Business Points on your flights – up to 8 flights maximum

The airline provides this example.
Buy an economy return ticket in K,L,M,N,S or V class from London Heathrow to Los Angeles, you would normally collect 5,442 Avios.
With triple Avios offer you would collect 16,326 Avios. That’s enough points for a return ticket to many European destinations

The offer is available for all flights booked and flown up to 11 December 2016

To earn triple Avios you MUST visit this page, enter your executive club number and password to register before making your booking!

Emirates to introduce seat reservation charges

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Another airline sees an opportunity to earn extra revenue per passenger!

It is announced as giving customers more choice. They say it’s another “step away from a one-size-fits-all approach”.

Of course that’s ridiculous. Everyone needs a seat. Everyone prefers an aisle or a window and no-one likes to be stuck in the middle of a row!

The charges are as follows:

£10 short haul,
£20 medium hall (that’s UK to Dubai)
£30 long-haul e.g. Dubai to Australia / New Zealand.

I assume that for travel from UK to Australia then that’s £20+£30 each way, Total £100 per passenger…

The fees apply to the lowest fare types booked in X, V, T, L, Q classes
Higher fare classes K, U, B, M, W, R, E, Y, and Business Class and First Class fares are exempt.

Skywards Gold and Platinum provide free seating for all in the booking, Silver, for silver passenger only.

British Airways Business Class to Dubai lowest ever fares

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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!

You need to book by 22nd September 2016

You need to book direct on our British Airways links and use the multi-city search

Earn Double Avios on British Airways Long-Haul Flights

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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 do is submit your exec number and password.

Flights must be booked and ticketed in the UK and is available to both published AND corporate negotiated net fare return flights, in any class!

Applies to the following destinations:

USA / AMERICAS / CARIBBEAN

Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York JFK, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, Cancun, Mexico City, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Antigua, Bahamas (Nassau), Barbados, Bermuda, Grand Cayman, Punta Cana, Grenada, Kingston, Port of Spain, Providenciales, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Tobago, Buenos Aires, Costa Rica, Lima, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo.

AFRICA / INDIAN OCEAN

Luanda, Cairo, Accra, Nairobi, Abuja, Lagos, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Mauritius, Maldives.

 MIDDLE EAST

Bahrain, Tehran, Amman, Kuwait, Beirut, Oman, Doha, Jeddah, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Baku, Bangalore, Chennai/Madras, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Sydney, Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, Tel Aviv.

And Moscow!

 

British Airways New European Fare Rules

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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 FARE

Check-in bag 23kg
Seat choice from 48 hours before departure
Changes: No fee, fare difference may apply
Changes: Free on the day of departure
Not Refundable

Fares are approximately £30 higher than Basic

PLUS FLEX

Check-in bag 23kg
Seat choice at time of booking
Changes: No fee, fare difference may apply
Changes: Free on the day of departure Fully-refundable

Plus Flex Fares are the very expensive last-available seats (Y and B class).
Example PLUS FLEX Fare to Nice (South of France), from Heathrow, £821 – £957 return!
Compare that to the lowest fares from £92 return (BASIC) , £121 (PLUS), up to the highest fares of £538 (BASIC) and £588 (PLUS)
we believe the PLUS fares are very good value

To make reservations online, the lowest fares are only available on British Airways.com and not from any other online agent.

British Airways free upgrade to First Class April 2016

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Where’s the catch?

Only valid for new bookings made on/after 5th April to 14th June 2016

If you have already booked – and paid – forget it!

The upgrade offer only applies to bookings made in expensive booking classes:
J, C, D, R, in the Club World fare ladder.

As a guide, Club World return to Dubai, cheapest fares have ranged from £1,600 – £2,600 and the upgrade offer does not apply to these prices.

Here are the approximate fares:

R Class starts at £2,985
D class starts at £3,640
C Class starts at £4,187
J Class starts at £5,181

Valid for travel 5 April – 28 August 2016.
Return travel must be completed by 8 September 2016.

For bookings, please search via our British Airways page or contact your travel agent

British Airways First and business class flights and holidays on sale

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British Airways typically announce sales five times a year.

My article, “When do airlines announce sales” here give a guide to when to expect fares to be reduced. It focussed on British Airways because, as they are the dominant carrier in the UK, most airlines follow their patterns. For example, Virgin Atlantic nearly always have the same sale periods, to compete.

The current sale is an early Spring Sale and you must book by midnight 22 March 2016

Remember that an additional £200 can be saved by using part-pay with Avios (air miles) The value in redemptions is 1.3p per Avios if you redeem the maximum 15,000 for a £200 saving

The complete list of British Airways Sale Prices can be found here

Fares are extremely low. For example, Dubai Club World (Business Class) from £1,376 return

Please be aware that the long haul fares are targeting leisure travellers and not generally suitable for booking business travel. This is achieved by the following rules:

Travel from London Heathrow and London Gatwick to all longhaul destinations, must include a Saturday night stay Travel to European Destinations requires a minimum 3 night stay

Travel to most US and Caribbean holiday destinations require that you book at least 2 weeks in advance.

Hilton Hotels Flash Sale Book by Sunday 13 March 2016

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The sale prices apply to weekends only so it’s not really applicable to booking business travel, but some travellers may wish to stay a weekend which is why I am posting this article. The sale launches on Sunday afternoon at 4pm so it really is targeting the leisure market!

Savings of up to 35% and rates start from £59
Applies to stays throughout 2016
Guests must sign up to the Hilton Hhonors loyalty programme to be eligible.

There are two promotional codes:
Bed & Breakfast: PR02FR
Room Only: PR02FB
Applies to bookings made from the Sunday 6th March at 4pm and ends on the 13th March 2016

Bookings must be made online only via this Hilton Official Website link.

New – Free Automated Online Checkin

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It’s always been another task to do. Now, Lufthansa Innovation Hub have created a process that automates the checkin procedure across approximately 100 airlines!

Check-in online opens at different times, sometimes 24 hours or 36 hours before departure. You no longer need to schedule this task. Forward your confirmation emails to AirlineCheckins.com and they will automatically check-you in as soon as checkin opens. You can lodge your seating preference with them and they’ll assign the seats you prefer.

There are just three problems I see with this ….

  1. From a security point of view, you will no longer be asked to confirm, or told about the baggage restrictions and dangerous articles etc. You are advised about dangerous and prohibited goods when you first register though.
  2. You will not be forced to familiarise yourself with check-in times, terminals etc.,
  3. You’ll miss out on airline offers to upgrade and additional purchases

Currently, only the German language version accepts your passport details so you will need to ensure that your booking contains this information for the check-in process to work.

If you’re content with these issues, it’s a fabulous idea and should prove to be very popular with frequent travellers

Visit airlinecheckins.com here to register.

Which airline frequent flyer schemes work with British Airways?

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British Airways has a loyalty scheme, the “British Airways Executive Club” Membership earns you points, called Avios, and Tier Points, providing status, lounge access, free advance seating etc.

Avios can be used to discount future ticket purchases via the airline website or they can be transferred to Avios.com where you can spend them on hotel bookings and other services.

If you’re a frequent traveller with another airline, and only foresee the occasional trip on BA, here is a list of other airline frequent flyer schemes that work with British Airways.

You can provide membership numbers to BA online via manage-my-booking, or give to your travel agent, to earn points on their respective schemes:

British Airways – BA Executive Club
Iberia – Iberia Plus
Avios
Aer Lingus – Gold Circle
airberlin – Topbonus
Alaska Airlines – Mileage Plan
American Airlines – AAdvantage
Avianca – LifeMiles
Binter Canaries – BinterMas
Cathay Pacific – Marco Polo / Asia Miles
Finnair – Finnair Plus
Japan Airlines – JAL Mileage Bank
LAN – LAN Pass
Malaysia Airlines – Enrich
Meridiana – Meridiana Club
Qantas – Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qatar Airways – Qatar Privilege Club
Royal Air Maroc – Safar Flyer
Royal Jordanian – Royal Plus
S7 Airlines – S7 Priority
SriLankan Airlines – FlySmiles
Taca – Life Miles
TAM – Fidelidade

British Airways Sale

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Many of you have been waiting for the Boxing Day and January Sales to see if prices drop.

Well, here you are – Christmas has arrived early!

Book between 17th December 2015 and midnight 2nd February 2016!

Most economy fares are valid for departures through to 8th or 15th December 2016

Most Premium and Club World Business Class are through to January 2017!

For the complete list of destinations visit the official BA Sale Page

Where to find cheapest flights to Bangkok with EVA Air

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You’d be forgiven for thinking that the lowest fares may be on the EVA website and they would be, except that their website technology is limited in that you can only request an economy return fare or a premium economy return fare but not economy in one direction and premium in the other.

EVA Air call their Premium Economy class “Elite Class” but we’ll stick with the generic name even though that was invented originally by Virgin Atlantic.

We looked for specific dates around half term holidays so seats were quite limited. We wanted the cheapest fare and obviously Premium Economy, would be nice if cheap….

Asking EVA Air for economy return and the site said no availability. Asking for Premium Economy, the site offered a return fare of £1,638

Expedia however, when asking for economy return flights, offered Premium Economy outbound and economy back at £1,019 Expedia didn’t even highlight the fact that the flight was Premium but it was in small print!

There is a way around this … On the EVA Air Website, instead of choosing a normal return availability search, choose the “More Destinations / Stopovers” option. This would normally be your choice if you were looking for multiple flights or a more complex itinerary. Then, when you search for economy and choose specific flights, the next page will tell you what’s available and it offered a price of £1,036 So Expedia was still the cheapest

If you choose Expedia and appreciate this advice then please click through from my Expedia Page Here (and above), Thanks!

Neither of these websites charge for credit card but note that with EVA, there is this warning.

“You are required to present the credit card used to purchase the ticket during check-in at the airport. If you will not be among the travel party, you must go to any EVA Air office and sign an Indemnity of Payment form during business hours and at least 48 hours before the passenger’s scheduled departure. Passengers who fail to do so will be denied boarding unless they purchase a full-fare ticket. I agree to the above terms and conditions for using a credit card.”

No Seat Choice on British Airways Hand Baggage Fares

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For frequent travellers and business travellers the choice of seat is usually quite important.

Whilst we may suffer a middle seat on an occasional leisure trip, for business travellers it can be quite an annoyance.

Save on average £30, or £15 each way for a “no-bag fare” and you will not be allowed to choose a seat.

Even at check-in. The specific seat is allocated randomly.

We’ve seen the very last row at the back of the plane next to the toilet allocated on no-bag fares.

A seat at the back means the passenger is likely to be the last off the plane and at the back of the arriving security queues etc.

Not very good for business travellers who have tight schedules and appointments to reach.

Even Silver executive members do not have the option of choosing a seat on British Airways Hand Baggage Fares

So, our recommendation is to choose the higher with-bag fare.