British Airways is paid £125,000 per month to fly to Newquay

British Airways was recently awarded the UK Government-subsidised contract to operate flights between London and Cornwall Newquay Airport.  The service finally began last week after various delays.  It had previously been operated by Flybe until the airline went into receivership.

The details of the contract have now been published.  British Airways submitted the only compliant bid and, as such, has struck a great deal.

It is being paid £878,000 to operate flights for a seven month period.  Given that there are only three flights per week at present, increasing to seven per week from September, this is a very attractive deal.  Once at full capacity, British Airways is receiving (£878,000 / 7 / 31) £4,046 per return flight.  It gets to keep the money from ticket sales on top.

Given the short flight time and the reduced loads likely on other short haul routes once the Summer holiday period is over, it is possible that Newquay will become the most profitable British Airways short haul route this Winter.

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.)