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BA and Virgin Holiday discounts
Virgin Atlantic Holidays has a new discount June for Dubai and Maldives as follows:
Offer : Save up to £250 per booking
Book: Thursday 22nd June – Tuesday 11th July
Departure: 22 Oct 2023 – 29 Mar 2024
Destinations: Maldives £250 per booking & Dubai £150 per booking – Virgin Atlantic flights only
Minimum stay Stay: 4 nights
You can check prices and availability here. Prices should include the discount.
British Airways Holidays is also offering up to £100 off New York holidays with prices in Club World starting from £1549 for flight and 3 nights’ accommodation based on two sharing. Book by 27 June to qualify for the offer. Theroffer applies to new Holiday Package bookings to New York where travel is completed on selected dates between 09.02.2024 and 09.03.2024 inclusive only.
Emirates’ summer treats
Emirates is launching a range of summer experiences for customers that echo Emirates’ sentiment of ‘travel is not just about the end destination; it’s also about how you get there’. These include complimentary ice cream in the airport, duty-free summer specials, seasonal delicacies and summer mocktails onboard.
Complimentary Emirates ice-cream
Travel through Dubai International Airport on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and get a free Emirates ice-cream for the whole family. From June 23 – July 16, Emirates will have 6 ice-cream carts positioned around the various Departures areas to offer passengers a vanilla, Arabic coffee and dates ice cream, or mango sorbet.
Summer food and drink
Passengers onboard Emirates will have a range of summer dishes to try like fresh, seasonal strawberries and burrata. Emirates summer mocktails include Tropical Twist, Rose Iced Tea, Citrus Twist, Raspberry Spice and Mint Lemonade which will feature on all flights in July and August.
In July, all passengers flying to and from the UK with Emirates will enjoy strawberries that are grown in Bustanica vertical farm in Dubai, without any pesticides or herbicides. First Class passengers will enjoy strawberry tarts with compote, or rhubarb and strawberry charlotte served with whipped cashew cream and custard. Business Class passengers will be offered white chocolate cheesecake served with strawberry basil confit or strawberry éclair, a choux pastry filled with crème anglaise, topped with fresh seasonal strawberries.
Premium Economy passengers will also enjoy éclairs or strawberry panna cotta. Economy passengers can have strawberry cheesecake topped with crumble or fresh strawberries with vanilla whipped cream and hazelnut streusel. Even the lounges will be serving, a Strawberry and Basil Gin Fizz alongside classic strawberries and clotted cream, with a dollop of almond butter crumble.
Throughout August, First and Business Class passengers on routes to and from Italy will be treated to the perfect summer dish – creamy Burrata and fennel salad with grapefruit and orange segments, garnished with a tapioca crisp.
Emirates has also announced a new personally selected private whiskey blend, Woodford Reserve Emirates Personal Selection which will be available for First and Business Class passengers in the signature A380 Onboard Lounge, on selected routes across the UK, USA, Australasia and Southeast Asia.
United’s clever new app features
United has announced a new mobile app feature that aims to save customers time and reduce stress if their travel plans get disrupted. Now, instead of waiting in line to talk to an agent or search for new options, the airline’s new self-service tool automatically presents travellers with personalized re-booking options, bag tracking information and meal and hotel vouchers when eligible if their flight is delayed or cancelled. Obviously, if the flights offered are not suitable you will still have to ring up or speak to someone.
This is a great step forward, and I can only hope more airlines do this. It would make disruptions so much better if you did not have to stand in long queues or try to reach someone on the phone. BA offer rebooking easily online, when I have had a flight cancelled, but nowhere near to this extent.
While United had the lowest mainline flight and seat cancellation rates of any airline in the country during the first three months of the year (according to United), the airline still has the most flights impacted by weather, given the location of its major domestic hubs.
“Our goal is to get our customers to their destination on time, but we know things don’t always go as planned and that’s when a tool like this can make a real difference,” said Linda Jojo, Chief Customer Officer for United. “Our new mobile app feature offers more transparency, saves time and reduces stress for our customers, and it shortens lines at customer service desks so our employees can better assist passengers with complex issues or questions. Plus, it’s another example of United’s continued investment in new technology and tools.”
When a flight is delayed by more than 60 minutes or cancelled, customers will automatically see options for delays and cancellations on the home screen of the United mobile app. Here’s how it works:
- Get notified: Click the link in the automatic text notification or enter flight details in the mobile app or united.com to open the tool. For customers who have their reservation already loaded in the app, they’ll see a prompt right on the home screen.
- Check flight and re-booking status: Confirm the status of your flight and see if you’ve been re-booked. Customers also have the option to look at other flight options and book based on their preferences.
- Track your bags: Follow the status of your checked luggage to see when it is checked-in, loaded on your flight and received at your final destination.
- View eligible vouchers: Receive hotel, meal and/or rideshare vouchers if eligible.
- Connect to a United customer service agent virtually: Call, text or video chat with one of hundreds of United agents who can offer the same assistance as the agents at the airport.
For those without the United mobile app, the self-service tool is accessible on a mobile device or computer at united.com, and customers still have the option to connect in-person with a customer service agent.
