British Airways delays launch of flights to Newquay

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Perhaps not surprisingly, British Airways has postponed the launch of its Heathrow to Newquay service.

The first flight was due to take place on 2nd July.

The delay is only a short one, however. The first flight is now scheduled for Saturday 18th July although there are now only three flights per week initially.

I am booked on this for the August Bank Holiday weekend so hopefully it does go as planned.

Cornwall Airport Newquay

As far as I know, there is still no word on who is picking up the contract to run subsidised flights between Newquay and London.

Until it collapsed, Flybe was paid £850,000 per year by the Government to underwrite the cost of operating year-round flights between Newquay and London. The service had been running into Heathrow but Flybe had negotiated a deal to move flights to Gatwick in return for launching additional routes out of Newquay.

Newquay Airport was hit particularly hard by the collapse of Flybe, which accounted for 66% of its passenger traffic. Given the current economic circumstances, it is possible that British Airways shows more of an interest in picking up the Government subsidy and operating the route year-round.

Our last review of the Executive Lounge at Newquay Airport is here.

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British Airways and Avios

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

C77 says:

3 Jun3 June 04:42

Also NQY bound Aug BH weekend
Guessing I can kiss goodbye to row 1 then 😆
- C77 says:
  
  3 Jun3 June 04:49
  
  I’ve actually been contemplating GWR as a serious alternative. I’m finding car hire a nightmare at NQY (their opening times don’t fit well to the BA schedule plus they’re all extremely expensive). I can also get to within 10mins of where I’m staying by train and advance First fares are pretty reasonable at the moment.
  - Michael C says:
    
    3 Jun3 June 07:14
    
    You could always get off at Par or an even earlier stop, and rent there.
    
    Having said that, the trip down is so lovely, we drive & stop off. Maybe
    Stonehenge this timeas our little one has never been, and it’s slated to re-open
    4 July, with timed slots (same goes for Tintagel Castle if anyone’s interested,
    as sure slots will disappear in minutes).
    - Nick says:
      
      3 Jun3 June 16:24
      
      It’s not on-airport, but there’s an Enterprise base in Bodmin (bus from Newquay) which often has reasonable car hire deals.
    - C77 says:
      
      3 Jun3 June 16:47
      
      That’s where I’m looking to get off (for Fowey).
      Didn’t realise there was a car rental location there.
      I’m not really up for the drive all the way from Surrey on a short BH weekend. If we were going for longer I might be up for it but as it is, it’s too short a duration for a 4+HR journey each way and all the additional BH traffic
- Rob says:
  
  3 Jun3 June 10:35
  
  I think we only have Row 1 one way. Need to check!
Nick G says:

3 Jun3 June 07:10

The flight times to NQY suck as do the outrageous prices for such a short journey plus as others have said hire car isn’t cheap there. Think I’ll drive my own car
Cuchlainn says:

3 Jun3 June 09:03

Hilton queries please :
Having HH Gold status via Amex Platinum how do I :
1. Work out what room I “may, if available” be upgraded to ?
2. Do I book a breakfast rate in UK / IRL / Western Europe, if “continental breakfast” is my preferred MyWay benefit ?
3. Does the 5 nights for 4 benefit only apply to standard rooms and does it include breakfast ?

Thanks
- Genghis says:
  
  3 Jun3 June 09:07
  
  1. You cross your fingers. Book and pay for what you actually want.
  2. Book room only
  3. Book room only 5 for 4 gets breakfast as Gold.
- Anna says:
  
  3 Jun3 June 09:30
  
  The 5 for 4 applies to any room category on points, but anything other than a standard room usually requires a disproportionately high number of points.
  Re upgrades: it varies from hotel to hotel, sometimes they upgrade you before check in, which will show on your account, sometimes at check in, (sometimes you have to ask at check in!). There’s nothing to stop you contacting the hotel before your stay and ask what they can do, e.g. I’ve been upgraded to a family room when I’ve booked for 3 of us to stay, rather than having to use a standard room plus rollaway bed.
  - Peter K says:
    
    3 Jun3 June 09:50
    
    5 for 4 is only on basic room categories. Premium redemptions do not get the 5 for 4 discount.
    - ankomonkey says:
      
      3 Jun3 June 13:53
      
      Peter is correct – standard redemptions only can do the ‘5 for 4’ offer.
- Cuchlainn says:
  
  3 Jun3 June 23:50
  
  Thanks to all folks – seems to be a bit of a lottery, as opposed to a science !!
ADS says:

3 Jun3 June 13:51

aren’t PSO funds there to ensure connectivity to airports that aren’t big enough to enable a commercial operation ?

if BA are prepared to operate the route commercially, why on earth should taxpayer money go into subsidising an *additional* operator on the route ?!
- Charlieface says:
  
  3 Jun3 June 14:10
  
  It would only add for them if they did the PSO
  - Charlieface says:
    
    3 Jun3 June 14:11
    
    ^ add up
- Rob says:
  
  3 Jun3 June 15:09
  
  BA was Summer only, 5 times per week I think (and now only 3x for July). Not exactly going to encourage business travel. The PSO is for a 12-month service with multiple daily frequencies.
  - ADS says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 10:50
    
    ah, hadn’t appreciated BA would be operating a Summer only service.
    - Rob says:
      
      4 Jun4 June 11:10
      
      PSO works out at £2,328 per day so, assume 3 x return flights, £388 per leg. For Flybe, £388 was probably the equivalent of 5-10 seats sold on a 78-seater so it made a difference.
      
      Would BA want to run 6 one-way flights per day to/from Newquay in November for a subsidy of £388 per flight?
Dubious says:

3 Jun3 June 16:45

Do NQY airport still charge the £10 departure fee payable in cash prior to security?
Jake says:

4 Jun4 June 14:00

Is NQY – LON still exempt of APD?
- Rob says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 15:28
  
  Yes