NEWS & OFFERS: New Year’s sales start BA, Virgin & EasyJet worth a look and Heathrow T4 revamp

Boxing Day sales start early – worth a look?

British Airways

As expected, there is not a lot to get excited by in the BA sale, which is on until 27 January 2026. Sale prices are generally in the same ballpark as the previous sales, but there is the odd destination with a slightly better value return business class fares:

• Denver £1874
• New Orleans £1771
• Antigua £1922
• St Kitts £1937
• Dubai £1889
• Athens £370
• Belfast £180 (makes a really interesting weekend break)
• Berlin £236
• Cairo £695
• Dublin £198
• Ibiza £240
• Madrid £250

The US and Canada have a minimum Saturday night stay, other long-haul destinations have a 3-day minimum stay, and there is no minimum stay for the Club Europe sale.

You can find the cheapest sale prices using BA’s Low Far Finder here.

There are no extra money off offers on Holidays yet, but I would put money on one appearing shortly. However, there is always the risk that the holiday itself may rise in price for your dates. 

Holidays can work out cheaper than booking separately, and of course, you get the extra tier points on your total spend per person. 

Here are a few sample prices:

• Maldives. Business class flights + 7 nights full breakfast hotel from £2999 per person, from London, Jun 2026
• Dubai Business class flights + 3 nights room only hotel from £1894 per person, from London, Jun 2026
• New York Business class flights + 4 nights room only hotel from £1949Per person, from London, Aug 2026

You can check the prices of holidays easily using BA’s Holiday finder page here.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin’s sale in on until 2 February 2026 for flights for various travel dates from 1 January 2026 to 30 November 2026 and includes flights and holidays. There are some better deals than BA to the US and similar deals to the Caribbean. I think the Heathrow departure experience is far superior if you fly in Upper Class than flying BA business class. That’s because if you arrive by taxi/Uber/Virgin’s chauffeur, you get dropped off at an exclusive entrance just for Upper Class and I also rate the lounge way above even the BA’s Galleries First lounge. 

• London – New York £1497 (August)
• London – Seattle £1979 (July)
• London to Antigua £1953 (June)
• London to Montego Bay £1575 (April)
• London to Seoul £2447 (September)

Holidays have the advantage that with Flying Club you can earn double Tier Points on holidays, and there is also a low £75pp deposit offer on holidays. Book between now and 6th January ’26 and travel from 12 March 2026 for the Holiday offers.

EasyJet

EasyJet also has a sale on. Since buying my place in Spain, I have been using EasyJet regularly. BA no longer serves Murcia, and to be honest, I have been impressed with EasyJet. The fares are often incredibly cheap, such as £46 return. Obviously, this does not include luggage and only an underseat bag, but it works well for me. You’d be surprised how much you can fit in an underseat bag!

You can also make your own EasyJet version of Club by buying an empty seat next to you. When prices are this low, it can make sense if you are no longer worried about BA status. It is also worth pointing out that some people (not me, sadly) have an offer on their American Express card for half price EasyJet Plus membership, which almost gives a business class experience for a year. It does not include checked luggage, but you do get priority security, speedy boarding, free seat selection, including front row, and a large hand luggage bag.

The EasyJet sale has one-way prices starting from a crazy £14.99. It costs as much to travel 30 minutes on the train to London as that! There is also up to £400 off package holidays and up to £300 off city breaks which are vailable for bookings until 3 March 26. 

You can find the sale page here.

Heathrow announces new plans for Terminal 4

Sadly, I’m just about old enough to remember when T4 was the shiny “new” terminal at Heathrow. Unbelievably, that was in 1986! It has been well past its sell-by date for a while now, so it is good to hear that Heathrow will take action. After years of underinvestment, the airport finally seems committed to making things better, though it will take time. 

Construction will start on a revamp of Terminal 4 in the new year, which will include a new multi-storey car park and upgraded check-in area. The works will be phased to ensure T4’s current operations run as normal and are expected to be completed in 2031.  

Works will also begin on the new dedicated baggage system for Terminal 2. I find it astonishing that Heathrow Terminal 2 is still using the 30-year-old baggage handling system housed within the now-closed Terminal 1 building. When you check in a bag at Terminal 2, it is sent to the derelict Terminal 1 for processing. Once complete, this will be capable of handling 31,000 bags per day. It will also further reduce costs for airlines, which will have fewer misconnected bags to reunite with passengers. 

In addition, a new network of cameras is being installed across Heathrow’s stands. Using AI to analyse data captured, Heathrow is trying to speed up turnaround times between flights. The rollout will continue across all terminals with full coverage expected by the end of 2026. 

2026 will also see investment for passengers with accessibility needs. A new purpose-built assistance area in Terminal 2 will offer direct, dedicated access to security for the first time. Alongside new mobility equipment, Heathrow is investing in upgrades to assistance areas across the airport. The airport will also introduce its new Tailored Travel Guide, enabling passengers with access needs to input their travel details and receive a personalised step-by-step guide to navigate the airport.

I’m hoping that the Amsterdam trial with self guiding wheelchairs may come to Heathrow (and other UK airports) or something similar for solo travellers that perhaps have a condition where they don’t neeed assistance most of the time, but can use them if it is a very long walk or their condition is particularly bad that day, or even if something unexpected happened and it was too late to book assistance.

Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: “Passengers should expect that every time they travel through Heathrow their journey is better than the last. Last December, we said we’d invest in operational performance and this year we’re the most punctual hub in Europe, almost 99% of bags travelled on expected flights and 97% of security queue times were below 5 minutes, and in January, all passengers in all four terminals will benefit from going through new next generation security. I’m excited to unveil next year’s programme, which will make Heathrow more user-friendly, more efficient, and more resilient for our customers. This investment will flow directly into our nationwide supply chain helping to drive economic growth whilst we make Heathrow even better and more efficient for our customers.” 

Today’s announcement is part of Heathrow’s current five-year investment programme (known as H7). 

What improvements would you like to see at Heathrow? Let us know in the comments below.