News: Qatar Airways and JAL move to Terminal 5, more countries added to quarantine exemption list

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News in brief:

Qatar Airways and JAL to move to Heathrow T5

A few weeks ago we reported that Qatar Airways was due to temporarily move into Terminal 5 with British Airways, Iberia and American Airlines on 21st July.

This never happened, but it looks like the revised date for the move is this coming Monday. Japan Airlines will also be making the move but two days later – Wednesday 29th.

Both Qatar Airways and JAL are oneworld airlines so it makes sense that they are moving into Terminal 5 now that Terminal 3 and Terminal 4 are temporarily closed. They were previously operating out of Terminal 2, which is normally used by Star Alliance airlines.

Finnair is also likely to make the move in mid-August, whilst Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, Royal Air Maroc and SriLankan Airlines remain (when they resume flying to the UK) at Terminal 2.

Five countries added to travel corridors list

On Friday the Government announced the addition of five countries to the quarantine exemption list for England. Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have followed suit.

Travellers returning or arriving from Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia and St Vincent and the Grenadines will no longer have to self isolate for 14 days on arrival from 28th July. Portugal is still notably missing.

You will still be required to complete a passenger locator form when you travel from these destinations. You should also check each country’s entry restrictions before undertaking travel, as a travel corridor only ensures quarantine-free travel on your return.

The travel corridors list will now be updated on a weekly basis to ‘reflect the shifting international health picture.

Category

oneworld alliance partners, Qatar Airways and Privilege Club

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

Secret Squirrel says:

25 Jul25 July 07:24

Accor deal is only worth it if you would already book flexi rates, 500 pts is minimal. Choose other 3rd party providers, i did last week & saved £80 on going direct.
- Lady London says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 09:28
  
  are we talking the mainstream OTA’s?
  - Secret Squirrel says:
    
    25 Jul25 July 11:41
    
    Yep, expedia.
- ChrisC says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 09:52
  
  Depends on the hotel and when.
  
  Expedia is offering me the same rate per night and cancellation policy for the Ink hotel in Amsterdam but booking direct with Accor gets me dinner and breakfast included. Now the meals may be included in the Expedia rate but they aren’t specifically mentioned.
  
  Plus at the moment the hotel is only offering flex and semi flex rates for my dates.
  
  Also at the moment I get a better cash back offer for a direct booking.
  
  Basically people need to look at their options. At present I’m only doing direct bookings just because it’s easier to deal with cancellations.
  
  YMMV.
  - Secret Squirrel says:
    
    25 Jul25 July 11:41
    
    Yep, it was Expedia that I got exactly the same room for £80 cheaper for 2 x nights. The points earnt is approx value £10 worth If went direct. I also earned £13.50 in money back so £93.50 better off overall.
    I also tested accor direct through c@shb**k and they up the price by other 10% towards going direct.
    - Lady London says:
      
      26 Jul26 July 02:11
      
      Intersting. IIRC uder the rules of c?#hb?ck a merchant is not allowed to charge a different price than the direct price. I reported a vwndir for that oncr with screenshot priof snd it was fixed – this was on the dominant player site.
Ray says:

25 Jul25 July 07:52

When is T3 due to open?
- Marcw says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 08:00
  
  Not anytime soon.
- Rhys says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 10:13
  
  End of the year!
Bobby says:

25 Jul25 July 07:56

A few weeks ago we reported that was due to temporarily move into Terminal 5 with British Airways, Iberia and American Airlines on 21st July.

Who was due to move?

There have been a few articles on here lately that have missed out a key word, this bring the latest.
- Rob says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 08:22
  
  Er, no.
  
  You have an adblocker which deletes hyperlinks. Turn it off.
- TokyoFan says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 09:46
  
  😂
- Peter K says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 17:31
  
  Ooops Bobby.
EwanG says:

25 Jul25 July 09:48

A word of warning on the Accor deal(s).
I had one booking earlier this month on the flexible deal, for 2 rooms. Selected the ‘Super Bonus’ rate for each of the rooms yet only one bonus of 500 points posted. Offer T&Cs say it cannot be used on consecutive bookings at the same hotel but nothing there to say you do not get bonus points on multiple rooms (except to say it doesn’t apply to group bookings), awaiting a response from ALL support.
- Lady London says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 10:21
  
  It would not be unknown for Accor to claim that even though there’s no statement in the terms of the promotion to say more than 1 room cannot earn per night, this applies and Accor will deny you the points.
  
  Please let us know the outcome.
Matt says:

25 Jul25 July 09:50

O/T has anyone been to the IC Danang who can advise best time of year to visit i.e. hot, dry and low cloud cover? Thanks.
- Darren says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 12:35
  
  May/June is good weather if you like it hot.
  - Polly says:
    
    26 Jul26 July 07:05
    
    Nov and Feb good time too. Lovelu warm sea swimming.
Alex Sm says:

25 Jul25 July 09:53

Russia announced yesterday that flights to/from the UK will resume from Aug 1. But this doesn’t make much sense with quarantine still in place, so we might expect a shift here soon
RussellH says:

25 Jul25 July 13:40

Stays paid partly or wholely with points do not qualify

Stays in France not included.

Neither good.
- Secret Squirrel says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 14:27
  
  Sneeky, I don’t trust Accor one bit after seeing before my eyes price fixing on their main website.
  Checked room rate, wrote down all the exact details then didn’t book. Hour later returned to main site and the same room had gone up by £40.
  Next morning, back to the original price. 😯
  - Lady London says:
    
    26 Jul26 July 02:24
    
    deleting cookies or diff browser may fix it with Accor. Rebooting as well may be needed with Hertz who go through perioda of this sort of stuff.
    
    Sometimes prophylactically doing a search on kayak immediately before a hotel search or a car search just might put a “I am a cheapo” cookie on your computer beforw you do the direct search. The one time I am sure this worked for me I used kayak.com in USD not .co.uk and gbp. Whatever you do dont use an i-thing to search on as apparentlt that marks you out as a rich git with money to burn 🙂
    - Secret Squirrel says:
      
      26 Jul26 July 12:14
      
      I tried deleting cookies but didn’t alter the price, I didn’t try a different browser though!
      I’m just extra cautious now with Accor over pricing, always try OTA’s first then go to Accor.
      My next stays will be mostly paid by Survey points, don’t mind putting £10 in their wallet.
- Lady London says:
  
  26 Jul26 July 02:30
  
  Accor are a bit like BA, in France. They dont put their best offers on home territory.
John says:

25 Jul25 July 13:56

Hotels.com seems to be the best place to book right now. Hilton rates are sky high and most hotels aren’t really doing much in the way of diamond benefits. Ihg points are ok if the rate is right since there aren’t any status benefits too, but otherwise they seem to think it’s the peak of all peak seasons
- mvcvz says:
  
  25 Jul25 July 17:32
  
  Couldn’t disagree more. I’ve just booked 10 different hotels (mostly IHG + a couple of Accor) hotels for a 12-night driving trip on mainland Europe in second half of August. Prices are consistently cheaper than they’ve been for at least 20 years.