British Airways adds new weekend flights from Birmingham and Bristol

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No sooner has British Airways confirmed their new weekend services to Europe from Manchester (see here) than BA has announced routes from Birmingham and Bristol this summer.

It is a long time – 10 years for Birmingham – since the BA logo was last seen at a check-in counter at either of these airports.

As with the Manchester service, these flights will use one of the Embraer 190 aircraft which are usually based at London City Airport but which sit idle over the weekend whilst City is closed.

Birmingham

Both airports are gaining the same routes – Ibiza, Malaga, Palma and, a surprise fourth choice, Florence.

All flights operate once a week. The operating dates are 20th May – 30th September 2017 for Ibiza / Palma and 20th May – 28th October for Florence / Malaga.

Here’s the timetable:

Birmingham – Florence

Outbound 19.20 – 22.40 Saturday
Inbound 17.10 – 18.35 Saturday

Birmingham – Ibiza

Outbound 22.10 – 01.45 + 1 Saturday
Inbound 19.50 – 21.25 Saturday

Birmingham – Malaga

Outbound 23.05 – 02.55 + 1 Saturday
Inbound 20.25 – 22.20 Saturday

Birmingham – Palma

Outbound 23.00 – 02.30 + 1 Saturday
Inbound 20.40 – 22.15 Saturday

Bristol – Florence

Outbound 13.10 – 16.25 Saturday
Inbound 11.05 – 12.25 Saturday

Bristol – Ibiza

Outbound 15.25 – 18.50 Saturday
Inbound 13.10 – 14.40 Saturday

Bristol – Malaga

Outbound 16.00 – 19.40 Saturday
Inbound 13.30 – 15.15 Saturday

Bristol – Palma

Outbound 16.30 – 19.55 Saturday
Inbound 14.15 – 15.45 Saturday

These times don’t match up between inbound and outbound flights because the aircraft are switching between Birmingham and Bristol rotations. The flight which lands in Palma from Bristol at 19.55, for example, returns at 20.40 but heads to Birmingham.

These will be two class flights so Club Europe is an option. That said, the Embraer aircraft used are 2 x 2 seating throughout so the only difference will be lounge access and a free meal.

The flights are available for booking at ba.com. As a minimum, you will have 2 x Club Europe and 4 x Eurotraveller seats available for Avios redemption.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

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British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

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Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

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You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus: