British Airways rosters A350 training flights to Madrid in October – bookable with Avios

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British Airways has added a new wave of A350 training flights to ba.com for October.

This is interesting because, for the current August wave of training flights, BA has been very cautious about publicising the dates. The aircraft only appear in the timetable a few days before departure.

It looks like it is more confident about the 2nd aircraft because the flights are ‘official’ and bookable as A350 services.

When can I fly the British Airways A350 to Madrid?

The aircraft – which is presumably the 2nd one to be delivered – will fly to Madrid between Tuesday 1st October and Monday 7th October inclusive.

It will be doing TWO rotations per day:

06.20 Heathrow – 09.20 Madrid (BA456)

10.55 Madrid – 12.15 Heathrow (BA457)

16.45 Heathrow – 20.05 Madrid (BA464)

21.20 Madrid – 22.25 Heathrow (BA465)

If you are tempted to book one of these purely to try out the new Club Suite, PLEASE use Avios and not cash. There is a chance that the aircraft is switched out.

You could get advance notice – if the aircraft is delivered late by Airbus it will be cancelled in advance – but it could also be pulled at short notice, since it would presumably be switched for the first A350 on the Dubai route if that aircraft developed any issues. The 2nd aircraft itself could also have problems as well of course.

If the times do not work, remember that the following services also use long haul aircraft and have flat beds in business class. You could mix and match these services with an A350 flight:

13.20 Heathrow – 16.45 Madrid (BA460 on a Boeing 777)

15.55 Madrid – 17.15 Heathrow (BA7058, Iberia codeshare on an A330)

18.15 Madrid – 19.40 Heathrow (BA461 on a Boeing 777)

18.45 Heathrow – 22.05 Madrid (BA7059, Iberia codeshare on an A330)

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

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

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:

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: