British Airways to let passengers go hungry on short flights

British Airways have announced plans to no longer provide meals onboard short-haul flights in an attempt to cut cost and stop the airline bleeding cash. The changes will take place from Monday 3rd August 2009 on all flights less than two and a half hours in duration.

This move is a likely to put many passengers who have already purchased tickets off-side as they will have paid for a full-service airline experience yet will be left with a budget experience. Worse still British Airways will not be offering passenger the ability to purchase food onboard, leaving it up to passengers to bring their own food and drink. This move is interesting for a traditionally full-service carriers like British Airways as it signals a move into the budget domain.

It will be interesting to see whether prices on these short-haul flights are lowered to reflect the fewer included benefits because if they remain unchanged it is likely the numerous budget carriers (who at least offer the choice to buy food onboard) will see a pick up in demand as passengers defect away from BA.

The big risk for British Airways is that if they cut services without reducing the price they will lose passenger volume, meanwhile if they reduce the price they also face the risk of lower revenue which may offset and intended savings.

It will be interesting to observe the public response to this move over coming months...

One off chance to fly on the A380 between Birmingham and Dubai

Emirates have announced that to celebrate Birmingham airports 70th Anniversary they will use the A380 on one return service between Dubai and Birmingham.

The plane will operate on one of Emirates twice daily services between the two ports on the 9th September .

For those hoping to snare one of the limited seats the flight numbers to look for are either:

EK039 Dubai to Birmingham - Departing 08:05am; Arriving 12:35pm

or

EK040 Birmingham to Dubai - Departing 03:05pm; Arriving 01:05pm(+1 day)

Tickets are sure to sell out fast so many people many be reduced to simply watching the super-jumbo land and take-off from the airport.

... however don't get too used to the sight. At present there are no plans to make Birmingham a regular A380 port, that privilege is presently reserved for London Heathrow. It may take a centenary celebration before the airport see another A380 commercial flight (although hopefully not)!!!

Singapore Airlines add daily A380 flights to Melbourne

Singapore Airlines have announced plans to fly their latest A380 between Melbourne and Singapore. The aircraft will replace the daily 747 flights between the two destinations with the remaining two daily services continuing to be operated by Singapore's 777-300 craft. Flights are expected to commence from the 29 September 2009.

This addition is expected to put pressure on Qantas' lucrative sector with passengers showing a preference for flying to A380 over other aircraft. Qantas currently operate just two services each week out of Melbourne to Los Angeles and a Qantas spokesperson said the carrier remained focused on increasing the frequency of these services when their next craft arrives, rather than to compete with Singapore Airlines on the Melbourne to Singapore route.

To view details of the new flight schedule see the following updated post:

Which Routes the Airbus A380 flies:

Air France to use A380 between Paris & NY

Air France have announced plans to launch flights between Paris and New York JFK when their first A380 commences commercial service. Flights will begin from November 2009 and will make Air France the first carrier to operate the super-jumbo on a transatlantic route.

Detail of flight schedule for the air France flight can be on the following updated post:

Which Routes the Airbus A380 flies:

Which Routes the Airbus A380 flies:

UPDATE: 17/09/09 - Table updated to include Emirates Seoul, South Korea route which commences 1 December 2009 with daily flights between Dubai (DXB) and Seoul (ICN). See route summary (below) for details.

UPDATE: 11/09/09 - Emirates announce plans to commence daily A380 flights between Dubai & Paris. See route summary which has been updated to reflect the new route which will be operational from 1 February 2010.

UPDATE: 31/08/09 - Emirates have announced plans to return the A380 to their Dubai to New York route in the first half of 2010 due to improving passenger numbers. The carrier originally pulled the airline in March 2009 due to the downturn in the aviation industry. As yet the number of returning service is unknown... stay tuned for more as it is announced

UPDATE: 16/07/09 - Air France have announced they will be commencing A380 service between Paris and New York (JFK). [Update: 04/08/09 - See route summary which has been updated to reflect new route which will be operational from 23 November 2009]

UPDATE: 17/07/09 - Singapore Airlines announce plans to commence daily A380 flights between Melbourne & Singapore. See route summary which has been updated to reflect new route which will be operational from 29 September 2009.

Since taking to the sky for its first commercial flight on 25th October 2007 the flagship Airbus A380 has continued to draw passenger wanting to experience the jet for themselves. At present 17 A380 are in service operated by Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas. As the number of planes in service has increased, so too has the number of destinations they now service.

Currently 18 destinations exist across the three companies networks, however some flights on these route are still operated by older aircraft including 747's and 777's. As such for passengers wanting to plan their trip to travel on the super-jumbo picking the rights flight remains important.

Below is a summary of each route flown by the A380 plus the relevant carrier, flight number, departure and arrival time, weekly schedule and the classes offered by each carrier. I hope this proves useful for those trying to plan their trip to experience this spectacular aircraft:

Click on the following table to view all current A380 routes and schedules...

Note: Routes correct as at 17/09/2009 (Updated)

Or to see all the routes on a map visit the following page...

Airbus A380 Route Map:

Which Frequent Flyer Program is more Rewarding???

Qantas Frequent Flyer vs. Virgin Blue Velocity Rewards

A common question I am asked is which airline loyalty program is more rewarding. Qantas for many year have had their Frequent Flyer (QFF) Program which has rewarded people for flying with them. Despite its long history the program underwent a major revamping last year primarily in response to Virgin Blue who have established their own rewards program Velocity Rewards. While Qantas has historically had many partners who members can earn points through Virgin's Velocity Rewards has had fewer. Despite this over the last year Velocity has increased the range of partners members can earn points from bringing it more closely aligned. For the purposes of this review, I have ignored points earned from partners and credit card as these are affected by individuals spending habits and less so the airlines. Consequently the following review is of which airline rewards members for flying the most often.

During this review I have for simplicities sake only made all calculations based on the entry level for each program (QFF=Bronze/Velocity=Red) as this is the level that the majority of members find themselves at. If you have a particular interest in higher levels let me know and i will post an updated article.

First lets look at the earning rate for each program:

• QFF members earn 1 point per mile flown (with a minimum points guarantee of 1000 points per flight).
• Velocity members earn 5 points per $ spent on their fare (inclusive of all booking charges).

For the sake of comparison the following table shown the points earned for a given route on each carrier, plus the number of flights needed to earn a rewards flight:

From the above tables it is possible to see that under all routes tested Virgin Blue's Velocity Rewards Programs requires both more flights and more money to be spent (in most cases almost twice as much) before members are rewarded with a free flight (including taxes). This casts considerable doubt over the value that the Velocity program is offering consumers and suggests that Qantas' Frequent Flyer program remain the industry leading rewards program in the aviation industry.

*Note: I realise Virgin Blues fares may appear to offset the reduced benefit however for an explanation of why fares are not always as they see the following post: Do low-cost airlines really cut it???

Do low-cost airlines really cut it???

With Budget airline popping up left right and centre in both domestic and international markets the question has to be asked, if they really are providing cheaper fares than full fare airlines. While it is true the increased competition has certainly forces full-service carriers like Qantas to be more cost competitive, does choosing to book with a discount carrier instead of a traditional full service one actually result is a cheaper flight overall.

It is true that budget airlines are cheaper in you are genuinely happy to forego all the extras which they charge for, however don't be fooled simply by the quoted internet fare as there are a number of add-ons, booking fees and hidden charges which quickly bring the fares of budget carriers much closer. For example observe the following tables comparing the four main carriers in the Australian aviation market (Qantas, Virgin Blue, Jetstar & Tiger Airways).

In the following scenario, the quotes base fare as at the carriers website has been listed (from a snap-shot on 07/07/09). Then some of the common hidden charges have been added to observe the difference between using the same services whichever carrier you choose to fly. It has also been assumed that a person will still eat and drink on the flight by purchasing a sandwich and drink where they are not included.

The results of a number of several randomly chosen routes (3 Domestic, 2 International) are shown below:

Click on the following tables to enlarge...

While in most cases the budget carriers do provide cheaper fares, by the time any extras are added in the cost difference is much less. In particular on international routes often due to hidden taxes and booking charges the full service carrier may even prove cheaper as with Qantas (SYD-SIN). Other factors to consider are that budget carriers do not always fly the most direct route meaning additional baggage costs for each sector quickly offset a cheaper base fare. Also you spend more time spent sitting on a plane and in airport lounges and less at your destination.

Overall if you are happy to fly without the extra ad-ons, budget carriers may provide you with a cheaper fare, however often as soon as you begin to add one or two extras onto your base fare you may find full service carriers a much more competitive option. While I'm not advocating one particular airline over the other the moral of the story, as with many other things in life, is to "shop around". Budget Airline does not always mean cheapest and a few extra minutes just visiting the websites of the other airline may reward you with a better deal.