NEWS & OFFERS: TLFL party tickets, S Africa & Seychelles from £1403, and Heathrow & BA batten down for strike,

TLFL Party tickets

As previously announced TLFL is holding its first reader party for over 3 years on Friday 13 January at the Conrad St James in London. Tickets are now on sale and include a glass of Hambledon English sparkling wine or non-alcoholic cocktail and some nibbles. There will be a prize draw on the night and the chance to meet most of the TLFL team including me. 

We have also negotiated a special rate if you wish to stay the night:

Conrad special rate

£314.00 in a Deluxe King including breakfast per room

Book through our partners GTC (Pro-travel) through this special Conrad booking page here.

GTC also offer an Impressario rate which includes:

• Complimentary Breakfast
• USD100.00 Hotel Credit
• Room upgrade subject to availability at check-in
• Early check-in and Late check-out subject to availability

The Impressario rates are:

• Superior King  £335.00
• Deluxe King     £375.00

If you wanted to make a break of it, there is still the Hilton long stay offer for stay 4 nights and pay for 3 nights.

Book through our partners GTC here.

You can now purchase your tickets from Eventbrite here. I look forward to meeting you all in January. 

Heathrow & British Airways batten down the hatches for strike

While Heathrow had said they did not expect to cancel any flights for the Border Force strike which starts on 23 December, they never specified any other measures they may take. A couple of people pointed out to me that British Airways had taken some of their flights from sale for the strike period. In fact, they have now withdrawn most inbound flights from sale for the strike period. The flights are still due to operate as planned but BA has limited the number of passengers that will be arriving by not selling any more tickets.

According to Paddle Your own Kanoo, the action was a result of a request from Heathrow Airport despite them withdrawing initial plans to bring back passenger number limits over Christmas. 

BA is also offering passengers the chance to change their tickets. For passengers travelling on/between 23-25 December and 28-30 December, whose final destination is London, or those with a connecting ticket booked as part of their journey to another airport in the UK or Ireland, may alter their travel dates and rebook onto a British Airways operated flight up to 14 days earlier or later than their original date of travel, subject to availability. To change your ticket call BA on 0344 493 0787.

Prior to the strike, BA is only selling full-fare tickets on many short-haul flights I have looked at. So if you have a Gold Guest List “joker” voucher-like me and were hoping to use it shortly, you will be out of luck. It appears long-haul flights still have various fare buckets available until the strike. 

Virgin Atlantic is also restricting ticket sales on 23, 28, 29 and 30 December as they believe those will be the busiest days at the airport.

South Africa and Seychelles business class return from £1403

This deal is brought to you by our partners, Luxury Flight Club. The flights are with Etihad which is a good airline. The flights are from Amsterdam and feature the B787-10 with great business studio seats on the route to Abu Dhabi. Johannesburg is also on a B787 although it does involve a longer stopover. However, you could use it as a chance to enjoy Abu Dhabi in one of the many luxurious hotels available. The Seychelles is only a 4-hour flight from Abu Dhabi, so is on a A320 with recliner seats rather than flat beds. 

• Minimum stay: 3 days requirements
• Stopover restrictions: 2 free stopovers permitted 

The deal is available until the end of June with very limited availability in January and February. 

You can book with Etihad here.