Qatar Airways Double Avios Offer for Inactive UK Members

Qatar Airways Privilege Club has launched a new promotion giving eligible members the chance to earn double Avios on flights booked before the end of the month.

The offer is available to Privilege Club members with an account registered in the UK or other eligible European countries, but it isn’t open to everyone.

To qualify, you must either have had no Avios earning or spending activity in the last 24 months and no active bookings, or have joined Privilege Club between 1 August 2024 and 31 March 2026 without making a booking yet.

Eligible members need to book by 30 July 2026 using the promo code JULYPC, with travel completed by 15 December 2026. The offer applies to Qatar Airways-operated flights only, with codeshare flights excluded.

As well as 2x Avios, the promo code also provides 5–10% off the base fare on selected Economy, Business and First Class booking classes. The discount only applies to the fare itself, with taxes and fees charged as normal.

For anyone who’s had a Privilege Club account sitting unused, this could be a good excuse to dust it off. Just don’t book a trip purely for the bonus, it’s worth comparing prices first, as airline promo fares don’t always work out cheaper than other available fares.

London Gatwick to Launch UK’s First Robotic Airport Parking

London Gatwick Airport is about to become the first airport in the UK to introduce a robotic parking service, letting passengers hand their cars over to robots instead of traditional valet staff.

Developed with Stanley Robotics, the new service launches next month at the South Terminal. Drivers simply park in one of eight dedicated cabins, scan their booking and leave with their keys, while a robot lifts the car by its tyres and takes it to a secure parking space.

When passengers return, the system uses their flight details to have the car waiting in a collection area. After dropping it off, travellers can either walk around seven minutes to the terminal or hop on a free shuttle bus.

The parking area is monitored by 24-hour security, uses ANPR-controlled entry and exit, and works with around 95% of vehicles.

At launch, robot parking will only be available for stays of five days or more, operating between 09:00 and 17:00 on weekdays, with no weekend arrivals or collections. A week’s parking in August costs £129, compared with £98 for Long Stay and £144 for valet parking.

It’s definitely a cool bit of tech, and being able to keep your keys is a nice touch. That said, if you still have to walk or catch a shuttle bus to the terminal, it’s hard to say it’s a huge step up from existing parking options. With just eight parking cabins, though, this feels more like a trial of what could become much bigger in the future.

Although Stanley Robotics has already rolled out the technology at Lyon Airport in France, Gatwick is the first UK airport to give it a go.

Emirates Unveils New ‘U-Dream’ Headrest 

Emirates has unveiled what it says is a world first for Economy Class passengers, a new ‘U-Dream’ headrest designed to make sleeping on long-haul flights much more comfortable.

The new headrest is already flying on selected Airbus A350s and will be rolled out across all Emirates A350s by the end of the year, before gradually being fitted to the airline’s Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 fleets from 2027.

Unlike a standard adjustable headrest, the U-Dream features padded, foldable side wings that gently support your head and neck while you sleep. It can also move up and down and tilt to suit passengers of different heights, helping to stop the all-too-familiar problem of your head falling forwards halfway through a flight.

Emirates says the design has been independently certified to meet European aviation safety standards and has already received positive feedback from passengers using it on the airline’s newest aircraft.

The airline says the headrest will eventually be installed on all 270 Boeing 777X aircraft it has on order, making it a standard feature across much of its future fleet.

It’s genuinely refreshing to see an airline investing in Economy, especially at a time when Business Class fares are becoming increasingly out of reach for many travellers. While premium cabins continue to grab the headlines, the vast majority of passengers fly in Economy, so upgrades like this arguably make a much bigger difference.

Will a headrest completely transform a 14-hour flight? Probably not. But if it means fewer sore necks, less reliance on bulky travel pillows and a better chance of getting some sleep, it’s exactly the sort of practical improvement we’d like to see more airlines focusing on.