Manchester news: 25% off Iberia Express, BA and Loganair add flights, Virgin Atlantic cuts flights

News in brief from Manchester:

Get 25% off Avios flights to Madrid

Iberia Express is offering 25% off Avios redemptions from Manchester to Madrid.  

This means that Economy tickets are reduced to:

• 5,625 Avios each way on peak dates (was 7,500)

• 4,875 Avios each way on off-peak dates (was 6,500)

You need to book via Iberia Plus which means moving your Avios across from BA via ‘Combine My Avios’.  Following the Avios IT upgrade last Christmas, this should work OK as we explained here.

Details are on the Iberia website here.  You need to book by 31st October and fly by 30th November.  Blackout dates are 28th October to 1st November.

Our review of Iberia Express business class (yes, it has one) is here.  Our past Madrid hotel reviews include Hyatt Centric here, Aloft Grand Via here and the impressive Gran Melia Palacio Los Duques here. We’ll be covering Hyatt’s new Thompson Madrid later this month.

Whilst less relevant to HfP readers, the 25% discount also applies to flights from Madrid to Santa Cruz de la Palma, Malaga, Menorca, Lyon and Toulouse.

SUN-AIR to resume franchised British Airways flights to Billund

SUN-AIR, the airline which operates British Airways flights out of Denmark under a franchise agreement, is returning to Manchester.

The route from Manchester to Billund (home of LEGOLAND, and indeed the LEGO HQ) will restart on 31st October.

This follows the earlier resumption of London City Airport to Billund flights on 5th September.

There will be one flight every weekday. The Monday flight leaves Manchester in the morning (8.55) whilst on Tuesday to Friday it is a 18.15 departure. The aircraft used is a Dornier 328, which is a novelty.

Tickets are bookable at ba.com for cash and Avios.

Reward Flight Saver does not seem to be offered on SUN-AIR so the base cost for a reward flight is 19,000 Avios + £115 return. There is no business class cabin.

(EDIT: the comments say that you can do RFS on SUN-AIR so I may have been the victim of an IT bug.)

The other SUN-AIR routes – from Billund to Brussels, Dusseldorf and Oslo – remains suspended.

Loganair increases Manchester to Aberdeen

Talking of new Manchester flights, Loganair has added a fourth daily service between Manchester and Aberdeen.

The extra rotation will depart Aberdeen at 10.30am, with the return leaving Manchester at 12.20pm.

Virgin Atlantic cuts flights from Manchester

Finally, two bits of Virgin Atlantic news from Manchester Airport.

The first is that the airline is cutting services on two routes.

• Atlanta will be suspended between 1st April and 31st May

• Orlando will be reduced from 12 per week to 7 per week for the early part of the Summer 2023 timetable (April / May / early June)

The second story is that Virgin Atlantic will be offering ‘air and rail’ tickets on TransPennine Express.

This will allow customers to book a single ticket from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Preston, Newcastle, Sheffield and York through to Atlanta, New York or Orlando, and vice versa.

Importantly, disruption protection is included in both directions. If your train or plane is late, you will be moved to the next suitable plane or train connection with no additional charge. Upper Class flight tickets will include a First Class rail ticket.

These services can only be booked via the Delta Air Lines website for now, not the Virgin Atlantic website. It is part of a broader European ‘air and rail’ scheme operated by the US carrier.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

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.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.