Route news: Jet2 opens Bristol, Loganair returns to Teesside, Iberia Express adds to Manchester

Some airline route news:

Jet2 opens new base at Bristol Airport

Jet2 is hoping for a big post-Covid summer season next year. It will station three aircraft at Bristol Airport in order to serve 33 European destinations.

Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Turkey will all see direct flights from Bristol.

Four routes will be completely new to Bristol Airport: Almeria, Kalamata, Lesvos and Izmir.

Loganair returns to Teesside

After a three year absence, Loganair is relaunching at Teesside International with routes to five destinations.

It will use an Embraer 145 aircraft to operate Aberdeen and Belfast City from 1st February, whilst Dublin, Jersey and Newquay are set to launch over the summer.

Loganair will go head to head with domestic competitor Eastern Airways, which also plans to operate four of the five new routes. Only Jersey is currently unserved since Flybe pulled out last year.

Manchester gets Iberia Express flights

Following on from our coverage of the three new Avios redemption opportunities from Newcastle over the Christmas holidays with Iberia Express, Manchester has also received a boost.

Iberia Express will run 16 flights to Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Madrid from the 26th December until 3rd January.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (April 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review