NEWS & OFFERS: New CEO for Virgin, Iberia reward seat sale and new Amex hotel offers

Iberia reward seat sale

Iberia has regular sales for discounted Avios tickets, so it is worth joining Iberia Plus even if you never plan to credit or earn Avios with them.

The latest sale, unfortunately, only offers business class discounts on short-haul flights. However, if you plan to redeem for short-haul flights anyway or don’t mind flying economy, it is worth a look, as the discounts can be up to 60% off the amount of Avios needed. There is no discount on the taxes and charges. As an example, London to Madrid has a 30% discount including business class. The amount of discount varies according to the destination, and you can fly on Iberia, Iberia Express, and Iberia Regional Air Nostrum. Most destinations outside Asia are included. 

You can book up to 16 November for flights up to 31 December 2025. You don’t need a code; the reduced amount should show up automatically when you are logged into your account. 

New CEO for Virgin

When I read the announcement that Shai Weiss was leaving as Virgin Atlantic’s CEO, I thought, he hasn’t been there that long, but in fact he took over seven years ago. I have always had a lot of respect for Shai Weiss and found him to be straight talking and passionate about Virgin.

Shai will stand down as Chief Executive and leave the airline on 31 December 2025. Corneel Koster will succeed Shai and become CEO on 1 January 2026. Corneel re-joined Virgin Atlantic in 2019 as Board Member and Chief Customer Officer, expanding his role to Chief Customer and Operating Officer in 2020.  

It is good to see a promotion from within, but from someone with extensive outside experience. I do think it is important that leaders have a broad range of experience and understand their competitors. Corneel has extensive leadership experience in the sector, holding senior operational and commercial roles at Virgin Atlantic and partners Delta Air Lines, Aeroméxico and KLM. Earlier in his career he worked at Virgin between 2010 and 2013 when he held the position of Director of Operations, Safety and Security.

Shai joined the airline as Chief Financial Officer in 2014 and later served as Chief Commercial Officer, progressing to CEO in January 2o19.  During his tenure, the airline returned to profitability after Covid, was rated each year as the UK’s only Global Five Star operator by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX), and as No1 Most Loved Workplace by Newsweek. It has always felt to me that Shai genuinely cared about the passenger experience and his staff, whereas some other CEOs just pay lip service to it. Virgin has introduced two new business class seats on two new aircraft types (A350 and A330neo) and recovered from the pandemic. The loyalty scheme has also introduced lots of innovative changes, such as dynamic reward pricing and tier points on reward flights. 

Prior to his departure Shair recently announced a number of positive changes including aircraft refurbishments which you can read about here.

Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Atlantic said: “Shai has done an outstanding job over the past seven years. I’m grateful for his vision, passion and commitment to creating brilliant experiences that have made the airline stronger and raised the bar across the industry. I’m delighted to welcome Corneel as CEO. He embodies the Virgin spirit – bold, curious and ready to shake up the status quo. We look forward to this exciting new chapter.”

Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, commented: “I want to congratulate Corneel on his appointment, which is so well deserved. I can think of no one better to take over as he knows what it takes to drive Virgin Atlantic to the next level and he’ll continue to innovate for our people and our guests, making them smile every step of the way.

“I leave Virgin Atlantic full of pride, knowing I have played a part in its bright red history. Together, we’ve transformed through the pandemic and emerged faster, better and stronger than ever. We are now well on our way to achieving our mission of becoming the most loved travel company, having laid the foundations for a world of exciting opportunities as a premium flag carrier.”

Corneel Koster, Chief Customer and Operating Officer, Virgin Atlantic, said: “I’ve long held a very special place in my heart for Virgin Atlantic, so it’s an incredible privilege to take up the role of CEO. We’ve always done everything in our power to give our customers and our people the best experience in the skies, delivered with a smile and the special challenger spirit that Richard instilled in us from day one. I’m determined we carry that spirit forward.

“I’d like to thank the Virgin Atlantic Board for their trust and confidence and to thank Shai for his leadership and his friendship. I’m proud to lead our talented teams into our next chapter. We will deliver value for our customers, people, shareholders and the communities we serve, while ensuring that Virgin Atlantic remains the airline that dares to do things differently.”

New American Express hotel offers

Last week, we wrote about two good Marriott Amex offers in this article. Now, some more hotel offers have appeared that are worth seeking out.

I hold a number of Amex credit cards but I still think that for frequent travellers, the Platinum Amex does represent decent value if you use all the perks. The £400 of dining credit covers two-thirds of the fee if you use it, and if you regularly use some of the ad hoc money-back offers, it soon adds up.

There are two new offers on the Amex Platinum card both of which are only available on checkout spend:

• IHG Hotels – £75 statement credit when you make one or more transactions totalling £300+ by 31/12/2025. The list of hotels covers most of Europe, including Austria, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the UK . There are some decent luxury hotels included, such as the Six Senses Courcheval, InterContinental Rome, and the Kimpton Fitzroy in London. 
• Hyatt Hotels  – £75 statement credit when you make one or more transactions totalling £300+ in participating hotel(s) at Hyatt Hotels & Resorts by 31/12/2025. The list of countries is more wide-ranging, with Africa and the Middle East also being included. There are plenty of luxury hotels such as the excellent Hyatt Kotor Bay, the Park Hyatt London River Thames and Hyatt Regency Malta.

On the BA Premium Plus Amex, I also have the following offers:

• Peninsula Hotels London – £80 statement credit when you make one or more transactions totalling £400+ in participating hotel(s) at The Peninsula Hotels by 21/11/2025. The offer is for checkout spend only but is valid at the whole group of Peninsula Hotels, including London. 
• Premier Inn – £25 GBP statement credit when you make a single transaction of £125+ in participating hotel(s) or online at Premier Inn by 13/11/2025. Food and beverage purchases are not eligible even if you charge them to the room.