In this post:
Qatar new Route
Whilst Qatar’s new route is not likely to be somewhere you want to fly to on Qatar, it could provide some interesting ex EU fares given the usual bargains available from Stockholm. Qatar has announced that they will start flying from Gothenburg in Sweden from 12 December this year. Flights will be 5 times a week, with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. Given the recent poor passenger numbers from Cardiff and low fares from Sweden I am slightly surprised that this route is being launched. Traditionally Gothenburg has been a source of low fares on other airlines so it bodes well should Qatar ever have a proper sale again!
Fairmont Ajman from £108 per room half board
Ajman is one of the lesser know destinations in the UAE but is very much an up and coming destination. It is easy to get to being only a 30 minute drive from Dubai airport and fortunately it is not a dry Emirate! There is a good offer for the Fairmont Ajman which gets 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor.
Secret Escapes have the offer which includes breakfast and dinner at the Fairmont. Secret Escapes is a members only website with hand-picked hotels, holidays and exclusive offers. They guarantee to offer the best rates online during a sale. Every week they run up to 140 short ‘flash sales’ lasting around ten days each. It is free to join and if you use this link to sign up you will receive £15 credit off your first booking.
The cheapest offer for the Fairmont is for a minimum of 3 nights in a Deluxe room and starts from £108. This includes:
- Accommodation in a Deluxe Double Sea View room
- Minimum three-night stay required
- Breakfast included
- Dinner included
- 30% spa discount
- Daily shuttle bus service to Dubai Mall
There is also a Junior Suite offer from £158 a night per room. The offer is valid until the end of October although prices in October itself are much higher. I had a look at some random dates in September and the prices were around £108 but without any breakfast or dinner.
Virgin/KLM/Air France/Delta joint venture
I have written a few times about the proposed joint venture between Virgin, Delta, Air France and KLM. If you want an alternative to oneworld or BA miles then this could be an interesting proposition if it goes through. With the new Virgin credit cards from Virgin Money offering some useful perks such as upgrades and companion vouchers, this could be enough to sway some people’s loyalty.
Virgin already have a good range of partners that you can earn and redeem on such as Singapore and ANA but it is not that easy to earn miles flying from the UK except on expensive long-haul flights. If the merger goes ahead this could all change. The companies have now submitted their proposal to the Department for Transportation in the US for approval of the joint venture confirming what they expect to happen if the merger goes ahead. This confirms some of the things which had already been mooted as a possibility:
- The airlines will keep their separate loyalty schemes but there will be earning and redemption possibilities across all the programs.
- The airlines hope to co-locate at Heathrow which I would imagine would be to Terminal 3 given the huge Virgin lounge. I would assume that if they are keeping separate loyalty schemes they would not be extending privileges to KLM and Air France status holders to use the Clubhouse.
- Virgin plan to codeshare with KLM and Air France from London to Paris and Amsterdam. Hopefully, this may include Tier Points in Virgin as well. There will be other codeshares between the airlines globally.
Now we just need to the merger to be approved so we can start enjoying the benefits!
Virgin Cruise ships
Virgin have recently branched out into cruise ships with the aim of providing something quite different from the normal cruise ship experience. I am generally a fan of the Virgin brand and like the quirky Britishness so I will be interested to see how the ships turn out. Virgin have recently released rendered images of their first ship called appropriately Scarlet Lady.
The images look quite different from the cruise ships I have been on and are luxurious in a more modern, less blingy style. Virgin have enlisted the help of some very cool designers such as the creators are of The Standard High Line and Mondrian Hotels. There will be a focus on wellness at sea too known as “Vitamin Sea”with deck yoga, running tracks and a spa. The ships will be “adult by design”, so only available to those 18 years old and over. Virgin have 3 ships on order with the first due in Miami in 2020 to do Caribbean routes.
You can sign up to receive the first special offers and find out more at Virgin Voyages.
