The HfP chat thread – Friday 18th September

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eligold says:

18 Sep18 September 12:18

travelling form Tel Aviv to Manchester via Heathrow on Tuesday.
Sadly i can’t make it for an onward flight to manchester same day, as I arrive at Heathrow an 19:55.
We’re a family of 7 and will need to do an overnight stay to get the 7:55 to Manchester Wednesday morning.

what’s the best hotel option?
- Neil says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 14:57
  
  Sofitel is the obvious choice for T5 and check if its available via last minute deals – think Rob did an article about this a while back.
  Also – if this is due to an airline change so you miss a planned connection see if you can get them to pay.
  - Cheshire Pete says:
    
    18 Sep18 September 18:58
    
    Sofitel is generally £100 at the moment most nights.
- BP says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 19:31
  
  Staybridge Suites is very nice and a short (~9 min) bus/taxi ride. Good for a family due to cheap 1 bedroom suites.
- memesweeper says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 20:26
  
  Premier Inn terminal 4 has family rooms, is open, and may be discounted on booking.com
Chris K says:

18 Sep18 September 13:50

Advice appreciated. Need to use a Lloyd’s Avios upgrade voucher that expires next week.

Want to to CE in Europe with a friend,

Am I better off booking two One Ways in CE for both of us, and two normal one ways back, or using the voucher just for me as a return and booking his return separately?
- Anna says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 19:25
  
  It’s swings and roundabouts really but if you use the voucher to upgrade outbound for both of you, at least you’ll be on the same PNR if anything goes wrong, and possibly more likely to get seats together at checkin. Also i usually book CE out and ET back as lounges abroad tend to be not worth it IME (even compared to BA ones!)
  However, if you end up having to cancel for a FTV, you may be stuck travelling with your friend and having to find a convenient re-scehduling date for both of you, whereas I assume if you get a FTV for one person, you’re then free to use it to suit yourself.
  - Chris K says:
    
    18 Sep18 September 22:20
    
    Thank you Anna!
Steve S says:

18 Sep18 September 14:05

@Rob.
Are there any advantages/disadvantages to the Skywards Miles My Family account ?
- Rob says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 15:05
  
  I need to have another look now they appear to have changed the rules re merging non-flying miles.
Jill (Kinkell) says:

18 Sep18 September 14:06

Hoping ( its a big hope that things will be a lot better in another year!) to head to Midwest USA next autumn. Looking at Avios availability in CW looks fine for the first week in Sept, but no F across anywhere. I know it’s 2 club and 4 econ on all flights, but whilst F is available in most places up until 31 August, zilch for September so far. Any idea when F might become available? Probably pot luck !
- Jill (Kinkell) says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 15:12
  
  Scrap that! Just checked and lo and behold, some F availability. Snapped them up to Denver on 787-10….. only 8 seats in F. Won’t get super excited as anything can change by next year!
Aston100 says:

18 Sep18 September 15:28

Hello can I get your view on something please?
I had a flight DUB > JNB that was cancelled.
I’ve been offered a full refund or a reroute via LHR.
However, they’ve asked for £130 airport tax because (and I quote) “As Heathrow airport too expensive to operate from”.

I don’t want the refund as the fare was really good. However, it doesn’t feel right that they would want to charge me “airport tax”.
Can they do that?

Thanks.
- Rob says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 16:02
  
  If you are not stopping over in London, ie DUB-LHR-JNB with only a few hours in Heathrow, there is minimal tax – just the Heathrow passenger charge. If you want to start your trip in London then asking you to pay the APD is not unreasonable.
  - Aston100 says:
    
    18 Sep18 September 18:28
    
    Hi and thanks.
    It would be starting from LHR.
    Since the airline cancelled the DUB > JNB route totally, they would normally have been expected to pay for a flight from DUB to LHR, and then onwards from there.
    I’m saving them money by making my own way to LHR.
    Are airlines open to negotiations like this?
    - Jonathan says:
      
      18 Sep18 September 19:04
      
      Doesn’t really work like that with airlines. You’re actually getting a more valuable product starting in LHR than DUB. Plus the £176 APD is an extra cost the airline has to hand over to HMRC that they wouldn’t if you left from Dublin (even with a connection at LHR).
    - Lady London says:
      
      18 Sep18 September 20:17
      
      I think the solution is to tell them in that case you’d like to reroute the whole trip from DUB same as before. They will then be responsible if there is a misconnect in LHR.
      
      Personally before I call them and say that,I’d look up the last
      flight out of DUB to LHR on the day and prompt them for that. This gives you time to reach DUB and also an overnight on LHR or at home giving you another safety cushion.
      
      No way I’d pay that amount of extra tax they’re asking.
      - Lady London says:
        
        18 Sep18 September 20:22
        
        if it’s QR you could also offer to to depart from another of their European airports if it’s not JNB but just DUB that they’ve canned. Provided they refund you any tax that turns out to be lower 🙂
    - Rob says:
      
      18 Sep18 September 20:59
      
      You booked from DUB, you’re flying from DUB! You’re not saving them a penny. It is cheaper to hub you through another airport in Europe with no APD.
Gruntfuttock says:

18 Sep18 September 15:32

Just announced on Airlineroute…
British Airways extends London Gatwick short-haul suspension to late-March 202

British Airways in this week’s schedule update extended short-haul service suspension at London Gatwick. Previously scheduled to resume from 08/09NOV20, the oneWorld carrier has suspended all short-haul flights until 27MAR21.

Due to latest extended suspension, following destinations will be operating to/from London Heathrow. Operational frequency listed below is solely based on the week of 10JAN21, as of 13SEP20, as frequency varies pending on seasonal demand. On existing destinations already served from London Heathrow, there are no latest revision to operational frequencies.

Algiers 4 weekly
Alicante 3 weekly
Amsterdam 23 weekly
Bilbao 7 weekly
Bordeaux 5 weekly
Dubrovnik 1 weekly
Faro 7 weekly
Funchal 5 weekly
Geneva 25 weekly
Gran Canaria/Las Palmas 2 weekly
Grenoble 2 weekly
Innsbruck 5 weekly
Jersey 34 weekly
Lanzarote 5 weekly
Malaga 10 weekly
Malta 2 weekly
Marrakech 6 weekly
Naples 5 weekly
Palma Mallorca 3 weekly
Paphos 2 weekly (No service 23NOV20 – 13FEB21)
Porto 5 weekly
Salzburg 11 weekly
Seville 5 weekly
Tenerife South 10 weekly
Tirana 7 weekly
Turin 14 weekly
Venice 14 weekly
Verona 6 weekly

Following destinations will not be transferred to London Heathrow, as service is cancelled: Cologne, Genoa.
Following flights and/or frequencies to/from London Gatwick will not be transferred to London Heathrow: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nice, Rome.
- planeconcorde says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 17:11
  
  Yes. BA.com was updated yesterday and people with existing reservations were notified by email. People on cancelled Gatwick flights to Scotland have been given the option to update their booking to one of the existing flights from Heathrow to the same destination.
Harry T says:

18 Sep18 September 16:53

Uber have just emailed me to say they’ve retrospectively refund me £5 for two separate journeys – this must be them finally deciding to honour the promotional code for £5 discount.
- @mkcol says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 16:56
  
  Jinx!
  
  Now, do I complain about their initial refusal?! 😉
  - Harry T says:
    
    18 Sep18 September 17:09
    
    I didn’t actually ever complain or contact them!
    - @mkcol says:
      
      18 Sep18 September 17:19
      
      That’s interesting that you handn’t.
      So they’ve done the right thing…finally.
@mkcol says:

18 Sep18 September 16:54

Data point: I’ve just had £5 refunded by Uber after I complained the recent promo code wasn’t applied. It has taken several back & forth in the app, a couple of messages on Twitter and warning them I’d request a chargeback if they didn’t refund it.

https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/09/12/virgin-atlantic-boosts-manchester-barbados-flights/
- Andrew says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 17:08
  
  +1 I just had an email from them saying they are refunding me because the promo code didn’t work properly. Following the HFP comments that Uber weren’t doing anything to honour these I didn’t bother to even raise it with them – so it seems they are maybe just refunding everyone.
- Cheshire Pete says:
  
  18 Sep18 September 17:10
  
  Me too just now! I had a frustrating CS responses and had actually asked them to close the account, which they actually put on hold for a 30 day ‘I could come back’ window. Not sure if this had anything to do with the refund.
  - Jonathan says:
    
    18 Sep18 September 19:08
    
    I added the code on the first day it was in circulation but didn’t actually use Uber until last night when it worked spontaneously. I wasn’t expecting it to based on reports here so they must have decided they needed to honour. Remember they’re still on the naughty step in London so probably mindful of the negative publicity it was generating (did Martin Lewis have anything to say about it?)