Bits: BA launches Dublin and Edinburgh flights, new BA Milan routes, new BA strike dates

BA news in brief:

BA announces weekend routes from Dublin and Edinburgh

British Airways has announced another two random European weekend routes using aircraft freed up by the weekend closure of London City Airport.

First up is Dublin to Ibiza.  This will operate from 19th May to 1st October.  The flight will depart Dublin at 22.25 (arr 02.20 +1) on a Friday and return on a Sunday at 09.00 (arr 10.55).

The second route is Edinburgh to Palma.  This will operate from 2nd June to 1st October.  The flight will leave Edinburgh at 06.15 (arr 10.15) on Fridays and return at 11.10 (arr 13.15) on Fridays.

Each will be a two-class service using an Embraer 190.  There is something intriguing about BA operating a scheduled service which doesn’t touch the UK, albeit you can argue that the ‘fifth freedom’ flights – such as Singapore to Sydney – have been doing this for years.

Two new routes to Milan

BA CityFlyer – the legal entity which operates the Embraer flights – is also launching two new year-round routes to Milan Linate.

London City to Milan Linate is a standard CityFlyer route with two services per day midweek and one per day at the weekend.  It launches on 24th April.

London Stansted to Milan Linate is odder.  This is another weekend-only route.  It launches on 29th April with an oddly timed 19.25 departure on a Saturday and a 10.10 departure on a Sunday.  Return flights depart at 17.55 on Saturday and 06.55 on Sunday.

Tickets for all of these flights, for cash or Avios, are bookable now at ba.com.

New British Airways strike announced

Finally, another wave of mixed fleet cabin crew strikes have been announced for next week.

Certain cabin crew will walk out on Wednesday 22nd, Thursday 23rd, Friday 24th and Saturday 25th February.

Disruption will be minimised by merging certain flights and using charter aircraft for others.  BA is promising that everyone will be able to fly on the day they are booked if not on the exact flight.

Services from Gatwick and London City are not affected.

Updates will be announced on this page of ba.com.

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 American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

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

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

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:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)