The final topic is one about Virgin getting sustainable fuel. As you will know I cover some sustainability news for airlines but tend to focus more on things that affect the passenger experience.
I would like to get some feedback on what aspects of travel sustainability you would like to read about. Or would you rather I concentrated on other topics altogether? Let me know in the comments below.
In this post:
Virgin Atlantic 70% buy bonus
From today until 11 March, Flying Club members have the chance to earn a bonus of up to 70% when buying Virgin Points, which is their best offer to date!
If you’re a Flying Club Gold or Silver Tier member you have the chance to boost your points balance by up to 70%, whilst all other members can boost their balance by a bonus of up to 60% depending on how many you buy.
So should you buy? I always say not to buy miles speculatively unless you know what you want to spend them on and that it saves money. Airfares are very high until at least the summer on many US routes, so if you are looking for a short term flight it could be worth working out if that would be cheaper. If you want to top up to make a booking, the lower levels are not particularly generous if you are only buying a small amount, so it depends on how urgent it is. You should also make sure that there is availability for the route and dates you want.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold and Silver Tier members can earn up to 70% bonus when making a purchase:
• 5k – 24k = 20% bonus
• 25k – 69k = 30% bonus
• 70k -119k = 50% bonus
• 120k -200k = 70% bonus
All other members can earn up to up 60% bonus points when making a purchase:
• 5k – 24k = 15% bonus
• 25k – 69k = 20% bonus
• 70k – 119k = 40% bonus
• 120k – 200k = 60% bonus
New Virgin Red partner
SquareMeal, the UK restaurant review and booking platform, has partnered with Virgin Red to offer members a way to earn points when they eat out and review restaurants. Booking a table, linking a payment card or leaving a review are now the latest ways that members of Virgin Red can easily earn points on their spending.
Via SquareMeal, Virgin Red members can earn 100 points for booking a table, earn between 100 – 3000+ points for paying for a meal using a linked payment card at participating restaurants or 25 points for leaving a review – it’s that simple! Members can take advantage of this partnership by logging into their Virgin Red account, selecting SquareMeal, clicking ‘Get Points’ to be taken to SquareMeal’s website, signing up to SquareMeal, and confirming that they want to earn Virgin Points.
I think this sounds like a decent deal since if you eat out a lot, you could earn a fair number of points doing this if you link the payment card and leave a review every time you eat out.
Virgin secures sustainable aviation fuel supply
Virgin Atlantic Limited and Neste Oyi have announced the UK supply of 2.5 million litres/2,000 metric tonnes of neat Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which will be delivered in the first half of 2022 to London Heathrow. The supply is an important step towards the airline’s target of 10% SAF by 2030.
Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ is made from sustainably sourced, renewable waste and residue raw materials. In its neat form, it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%* of life cycle, compared to traditional fossil jet fuel.
Virgin Atlantic has also committed to achieving net-zero by 2050. 100% of its fleet is currently twin-engine and 70% are next generation, making it one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the skies for long haul aircraft.
Holly Boyd-Boland, VP Corporate Development, Virgin Atlantic said: “After fleet renewal, SAF represents the greatest opportunity to decarbonise aviation in the short to medium term. This supply is the beginning of commercial SAF at scale for Virgin Atlantic and whilst only enough to operate 140 flights** between London and New York, it’s a starting point.
“To meet our 10% SAF target in 2030 we need to deliver this volume more than seventy times over, requiring cross industry and Government action to support commercialisation of SAF at scale, particularly in the UK. We will continue to work closely with Neste and ExxonMobil, as well as wider industry partners, to find innovative solutions to achieve this goal.”
5 comments
Hi Michelle, I often feel conflicted because I really care about the environment and sustainability but love travel too. I’d be interested to read more alternative fuels, as well as airline recycling. I’d be interested to know more about how they manage food and drink waste and their approach to reducing plastic use. Thank you.
Thanks for letting me know!
Focus on other things – with 80% of the CO2 coming out of China/India /US and the UK if it hits it targets will have a 0.05% effect lets other focus on that
Jusy my view
Like many here, I suspect, I both care about the environment and am/will continue to be a life-long traveller. While I dont feel guilty travelling, I do like to know the impact my travel has and what measures airlines (since much of travel involves flying) are doing to reduce that impact. Aviation fuels and airline waste management (i.e. recycling) are things I am interested in. Virgin in particular, with its relatively young/modern fleet could forge a path that other airlines could follow.
you might be interested in what cruise ships do with their waste. I would hope the airlines have a like way of handling food waste.
Comments are closed.