In this post:
New Club World bedding routes
More Club World routes from Heathrow are due to receive the new White Company bedding from now onwards but there is still no sign of it expanding to the Gatwick routes yet. The new routes are: Baltimore, Montreal, Calgary, Sydney (end of May) and New Orleans. The full list of services with the New Club World bedding and/or food is:
| Rollout | New Dining | New Bedding |
| Baltimore | Accra | |
| Boston | Atlanta | |
| Chicago | Bahrain | |
| Dallas | Baltimore | |
| Dubai | Beijing | |
| Hong Kong | Bombay | |
| Houston | Boston | |
| Las Vegas | Calgary | |
| Los Angeles | Cape Town | |
| Miami | Chicago | |
| Montreal | Dallas | |
| New Orleans | Delhi | |
| New York JFK | Denver | |
| New York Newark | Dubai | |
| Philadelphia | Hong Kong | |
| Phoenix | Houston | |
| San Diego | Johannesburg | |
| San Francisco | Kuwait | |
| San Jose (US) | Los Angeles | |
| Seychelles | Luanda | |
| Toronto | Lagos | |
| Washington | Las Vegas | |
| Denver | London City to JFK | |
| Mexico City | ||
| Miami | ||
| Montreal | ||
| Muscat | ||
| Nairobi | ||
| New Orleans | ||
| New York JFK | ||
| New York Newark | ||
| Phoenix | ||
| Rio de Janeiro | ||
| Riyahd | ||
| San Diego | ||
| San Francisco | ||
| San Jose (US) | ||
| Sao Paulo | ||
| Seattle | ||
| Seychelles | ||
| Shanghai | ||
| Singapore | ||
| Sydney | ||
| Tokyo (NRT +HND) | ||
| Toronto | ||
| Vancouver | ||
| Washington | ||
| December- January 19 | Singapore | |
| Sydney |
BA leasing Gatwick slots to Qatar Airways and Thomas Cook
It was always going to be a tall order when BA bought Monarch’s former 7,100 Gatwick flight slots and needed to fill them for the summer 2018 schedule at short notice. Under EU rules an airline must operate flights for at least 80% of each slot or lose the slot. As we know BA has been wet leasing aircraft to fill these slots over the summer with airlines such as Titan which has allowed them to operate 5,400 of the required flights.
What has only just come to light is that they have actually leased some of these slots out to other airlines. One of them is Thomas Cook but the other one is of more interest for TLFL readers. Qatar leased out the slots to start its Gatwick route this year. This explains why there was such little notice when it was announced at ITB in March. Part of the reason for the Gatwick launch is likely to be due to the surplus crew and aircraft that Qatar Airways have due to the blockade by neighbouring countries. What remains to be seen is Qatar’s long-term plans for Gatwick, particularly if the blockade ends.
Montcalm Hotel – 5* London hotel offer
I will staying at the Montcalm Marble Arch in a few weeks‘ time but if you fancy booking a London stay there is a special offer at the moment on all the Montcalm hotels. The Marble Arch hotel has a spa with steam, spa and pool. There are Montcalm hotels in several London locations from Marble Arch to trendy Shoreditch. Montcalm rooms have great amenities such as complimentary Wi-Fi, plasma TV’s, free minibars in Club Rooms and Suites, customized in-room aromas, a tailor made pillow menu and more.
The special packages include:
- Overnight stay with full English breakfast.
- Complimentary upgrade to the next room category.
- £15 credit to use at the bar.
Terms & Conditions:
- Advanced reservation is required.
- This package is cancellable up to 48 hours prior to check-in time.
- No part of this package can be changed/redeemed for cash or substituted with any alternative item.
You can find more details about Montcalm hotels and the offer here.
Hotels.com discount code
If you are planning on booking any hotels and don’t need to book direct, TLFL has a special code for 10% off your purchase at hotels.com. You can use the code AFGENUKM18 to book between 21 – 27 May 2018 for stay dates: 21 May – 31 December 2018. This is better than either TopCashback or Quidco are offering except for hotels in a few UK cities, plus you make the saving immediately. You must book using this link.
No 1 lounge discount deals for summer
If you were thinking of buying lounge access for your next trip, there are a couple of reasonable offers from No 1 lounges. There is a special Champagne offer at all No1 Lounges, a £10 upgrade to the Clubrooms at Gatwick, and a 50% off for kids at My Lounge.
All No1 and Clubrooms bookings at Birmingham, Edinburgh and Gatwick come with complimentary fast-track security as standard. Another bonus for this sale only is that bookings for the Heathrow lounge include a 15% discount on any spa treatment. You will need to book using the discount code SUMMER18. The offers work out as:
- Clubrooms (no children)
£38.50 – Only at Gatwick (£10 upgrade from No 1 lounge) - No1 Lounges – includes a glass of champagne
- £24 – Birmingham
- £24 – Edinburgh
- £28.50 – Gatwick
- £28.50 – Heathrow T3
- My Lounge – Gatwick North
- £6 (usually £12) – per child
- £20 per adult
At the My Lounge there are some family-friendly features with the Den area transformed into a mini cinema, make-your-own pancakes and welcome kids packs.
However, not all the deals are as good as they appear. Until 31 July you can get the Clubrooms for £35 with Travelzoo. You will need to sign up to Travelzoo but it is free. You can read my Clubrooms Gatwick South review here. If you collect Virgin Atlantic miles you may be better with the Virgin Atlantic offer as it is cheaper for some options plus it includes a small number of miles.
You can read my reviews of Gatwick No 1 lounges here. The No 1 Summer Sale is on until 31 May, for visits any time before the end of September 2018. You can find more details of the offer here no1lounges.com/summer18 .
