Head for Points frequent flyer website

Ever wondered how a business class airline seat is crash-tested? Wonder no more, because we headed into the depths of Norfolk last week to see it being done. Unum is a brand new UK-based aircraft seat manufacturer formed by a very experienced team which has already exited an economy seat start-up. It is focusing on lie-flat seats for single aisle aircraft, with a Boeing 737 order already lined up. It believes - with the major seat manufacturers backed-up for years in some cases - there is a gap for a newcomer to serve smaller carriers who only need hundreds rather than thousands of seats. It's a great story by Rhys Jones - link in the first comment - and I love the fact that (despite being a regulated financial services business at heart) we get to spend 90% of our time writing stuff like this. (If you're not one of the 2,900 people who subscribe to ‘The Travel Brief’, our free weekly LinkedIn newsletter for UK travel and travel loyalty professionals, click into my profile.) #unum #businessclass #aircraftseats #boeing737

Virgin Atlantic is closing two more routes. It was only last month that Virgin Atlantic closed its Shanghai route, cutting off its final ties to East Asia. Shanghai followed the closure of Hong Kong and Tokyo, although Seoul is still expected to launch in the next year. It seems that there is more to come, with two more routes now chopped. The closures are: Nassau, Bahamas – final flight outbound on 20th February 2025 Providenciales, Turks & Caicos – final flight outbound on 15th February 2025 Nassau was launched in November 2021. It seemed to be going well because a third weekly flight was added for Winter 2024. Why was a third flight added (and which still hasn’t launched) just for the route to be cut a few weeks later? Providenciales is a new route, launched in November 2023. I should note that Virgin Atlantic has said that the last flight to Nassau will be on the 23rd and the last flight to Providenciales will be on the 21st. However, as of last night, the final flights I could see that were bookable are the ones I listed above. What is interesting about Nassau and Providenciales is that they were stops on the way to Montego Bay in Jamaica. There are seven flights per week to Montego Bay. Three are direct, two go via Nassau and two go via Providenciales. It isn’t clear what is happening to the daily Montego Bay service. At present, flights to Montego Bay in March are still operating each day, and still showing stops in Nassau and Providenciales – even though you can’t book to those places on their own. Will some of the seven Montago Bay services also be dropped? Or will the flights continue and operate directly from Heathrow, cutting a couple of hours from the return journey time? (If you're not one of the 2,700 people who subscribe to ‘The Travel Brief’, our free weekly LinkedIn newsletter for UK travel and travel loyalty professionals, click into my profile.) #virginatlantic

British Airways has snuck out a devaluation of Club Europe flight redemptions. An identical devaluation has taken place for World Traveller Plus and Club World redemptions on long haul, although this is much smaller percentage increase. What has changed with Club Europe Avios redemptions? It’s very simple. The cash element has been increased by £24 return (£12 one way). This is the case irrespective of which ‘cash and Avios’ option you pick. The lowest one-way cash option is no longer 50p, it is £12.50. The highest is no longer £62.50 but £74.50. What is odd about this change is that Avios made a big song and dance about moving to a flat £1 taxes and charges figure because it was a move back to ‘free flights’. OK, you had to pay a lot more Avios to access £1 of charges, and it was substantially poorer value than the other payment options, but if you wanted to feel that you’d got a ‘free’ flight then you could book one. Now you can’t. The lowest Club Europe redemption now requires £25 of taxes and charges, which seems to defeat the point (sic) of having a ‘free’ headline rate. On long haul, £25 return has been added to World Traveller Plus and Club World redemptions. Club World flights to New York had, with Reward Flight Saver, £350 return of taxes and charges. This has now gone up to £375 return. These changes add £96 to a return trip in Club Europe for a family of four, and £100 to a return long-haul trip in World Traveller Plus or Club World. Note that there are no changes to Economy (Euro Traveller or World Traveller) redemptions. The changes follow hot on the heels of the Avios devaluation of American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and LATAM flight redemptions last week. (If you're not one of the 2,700 people who subscribe to ‘The Travel Brief’, our free weekly LinkedIn newsletter for UK travel and travel loyalty professionals, click into my profile.) #avios #britishairways

Park Hyatt London River Thames is now taking bookings, and the pricing is interesting. Back in May I had a hard-hat tour (literally) of the new Park Hyatt London River Thames hotel. I wrote what was, and may still be, the only article available by someone who had actually been inside the building. Park Hyatt London River Thames is in Nine Elms. It is at the far end of a surprisingly long swathe of new buildings, including the American Embassy, that has sprung up on the south bank. Even accounting for the huge number of new luxury residential blocks nearby (you may have seen photos of the two apartment blocks which are joined by a glass bottomed swimming pool), there seems little local demand. I was intrigued as to what sort of pricing it would want. Rooms are now bookable from 1st November. The hotel expects to open on 1st October but, to be safe, it seems that it is holding off taking bookings for October for now. Rooms are bookable from £490 or 25,000 to 35,000 World of Hyatt points. As a Hyatt comparison, taking 20th November at random, you're looking at £490 for Park Hyatt, £418 for Hyatt Blackfriars, £477 for Great Scotland Yard and £446 for Hyatt Regency The Churchill. It's a very small premium for the premium Hyatt brand. Looking at similar luxury hotels for that date: *The Emory (all suite) £1,620 *Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park £1,200 *Mandarin Oriental Mayfair £1,090 *45 Park Lane £1,000 *The Dorchester £970 *One Aldwych £940 (wow) *The Peninsula £935 *Four Seasons Park Lane £930 .... so at £490 the Park Hyatt is taking a 50% discount for its location, effectively. I look forward to seeing the finished product soon. It is VERY smart inside, I can promise you, and for £500 is a relative bargain - and worth taking a taxi south of the river. (If you're not one of the 2,700 people who subscribe to ‘The Travel Brief’, our free weekly LinkedIn newsletter for UK travel and travel loyalty professionals, click into my profile.) #parkhyatt #parkhyattlondon #londonhotels