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The first Qatar Airways A350-1000 aircraft arrives, to be used on London Heathrow

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On Tuesday Qatar Airways received its first (and the world’s first) A350-1000 at the Airbus factory in Toulouse

This makes Qatar Airways the first airline worldwide to operate an A350-1000.  The airline has ordered a total of 37 A350-1000 and after a delay of a few months they are finally here.

With 327 seats there is a seat increase of 44 compared to the shorter A350-900. It will be the first Airbus to feature the new Qsuite Business Class product which has so far been installed on 15 of Qatar’s Boeing 777 aircraft.

Qatar A350 1000

As well as having advanced air system technology, renewing the air every two to three minutes, the A350-1000 claims to have the quietest cabin of any twin-aisle aircraft.

Qatar Airways says that:

“The A350-1000 is the first aircraft to systematically offer internet connectivity, providing passengers with a global broadband connection, a high-bandwidth fibre optics delivering high-definition video to passengers, cameras installed on the tail and belly of the aircraft that provide passengers with a 360° outside view throughout the flight and advanced design technologies that contribute to fuel consumption, which is 25 per cent lower than other aircraft in the same category.”

The first A350-1000 flight will be on the Heathrow to Doha route as QR15 on 24th February.


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

British Airways American Express

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British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

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:

Nectar American Express

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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American Express Platinum card Amex

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:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

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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:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express card

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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.)

Comments (55)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Roger says:

    OT-

    Can someone please post the link to upgrade from PRGC to Platinum?

    Thanks.

  • Tom says:

    Hi Rob,

    Actually QR15 is DOH-LHR rather than LHR-DOH, LHR-DOH will be the second flight 🙂

    Tom

    • HarryKUK says:

      Is there any special event at LHR to mark the occasion?? I’ll coincidentally be there at the same sort of time but flying on MH1, also on an A350 but the previous version.

  • Holger says:

    Interesting to see that the Arab airlines still investing heavily into new aircrafts and lead the way. Considering BA’s planes are so old and shabby maybe they can ask Qatar and co for their “older” planes. When flying back from Cancun the other day I couldn’t not believe the state of the 777 plane. Ripped carpets, overhead lockers didn’t close properly, plastics broken and the overall plane was very very dirty overall. Not to mention the Inflight Entertainment screens being so small and crappy you need to go to spe savers first in order to see beyond the checkerboard displays. For a premium airline this is really a bad show.

  • menachem says:

    as well on the gold is there a link to get a additional user and get 5k for it (believe saw it somewere on your post )

  • JamesB says:

    OT Nationwide, apologies for being way off topic but I kow from past comments quite a few HFP readers manage the Nationwide FlexDirect account to achieve 5% saving in alternate years. Sadly, this is no longer possible, I got this message from them today:

    “Please note, the FlexDirect Account terms and condition recently changed from 13 January 2018, Current Account Terms & Conditions will change and members will only be entitled to 5% the first time they open a FlexDirect account.
    Any members opening additional accounts or switching back from another product to FlexDirect, or members that have previously held a FlexDirect with the 5% rate, will be entitled to 1%. (Members are still entitled to benefit from the introductory offer on both a sole and a joint account).”

    • Grimz says:

      I had the Nationwide 5% savings account last year and my year was up in January. I now have another 5% savings account but the max is £250 a month now instead of £500.

      • JamesB says:

        Yes, been a great year for Nationwide, they added £3 to the FlexPlus a few months ago too and reduced the benefits. CS agent tried to impress by stating my 15yr loyalty saver had been increased to 1% so I just informed her I could get 1.3% at Tesco as a new customer.

        • Grimz says:

          Yes I have been thinking of moving all my accounts as well. The £3 rise was just about the last straw but I haven’t got round to moving yet!

        • EwanG says:

          Grimz/James
          Remember that FlexPlus still provides 3% AER credit interest on balances up to £2,500 so not quite as good as the 5% on free FlexDirect account.

          Agree it’s disappointing that FlexPlus cost increased and benefits decrease but overall I still consider it worthwhile for me.

  • Chris says:

    OT Possibly not most HFP readers favoured destination but there is a new Hampton in Blackpool due to open in June, no bookings being taken currently i cant see what category it is.

    • JamesB says:

      I have not been there in years but any new Hampton is welcome, I like the brand.

  • Doodles says:

    OT Has anyone any recent experience of points from Melia hotels going to their Iberia account? I checked out two weeks ago and while the points show as transferred to Iberia on my Melia account, I still haven’t received them.

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.