Written by Rob @ Head for Points
The Sunday Telegraph will report tomorrow that Sir Richard Branson has abandoned plans for a Government bailout of Virgin Atlantic and is now desperately seeking a trade buyer. The airline will be put into administration at the end of May if this cannot be achieved. […]
Category: Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Flying Club
Bits: Virgin extends passenger suspension until 10th May, good hotel deals in a Bonhams charity auction
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
News in brief: Virgin Atlantic extends passenger suspension until 10th May Two week ago, we reported that Virgin Atlantic had completely suspended passenger flights for a week. We predicted it would be subject to a rolling program of cancellations and we were right. According to […]
Richard Branson addresses criticism in an open letter to Virgin Group employees
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
Sir Richard Branson published an open letter to Virgin Group employees yesterday, in part to address some of the criticism he has received – including in our comments – over issues including his liquid (as opposed to asset) wealth and his tax status. It includes […]
Virgin Australia ‘in administration’
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
In what would be the biggest coronavirus-related airline failure so far, reports from Sydney say that Virgin Australia has been placed into administration with an announcement due on Tuesday morning. The airline had been in bail-out talks with both regional and federal Government, with reports […]
Virgin Atlantic told to resubmit its proposal for a £500m Government bail-out (FT)
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
Virgin Atlantic’s initial proposal for a £500 million bail-out has been thrown out by the Government, according to a Financial Times report, although it has been encouraged to make a new submission. The report suggests that the Government did not believe that the airline had […]
Virgin Atlantic scraps Sao Paulo before it launches, and offers 10,000 miles for PayPal bookings
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
Virgin Atlantic has scrapped its new Sao Paulo route before it even took its first flight. This was to be Virgin’s first route into South America. It was going up against British Airways and LATAM, who both offer direct services from Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic put […]
Government hires Morgan Stanley to advise on Virgin Atlantic bailout, talks ongoing (Sky News)
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
Sky News reported this afternoon that Morgan Stanley has been appointed by the Government to give additional advice on Virgin Atlantic’s application for a bailout. It has already been confirmed that Rothschild and EY are working with the Government, although EY is theoretically conflicted having […]
How does YOTEL’s Club@YOTEL scheme work?
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
This is our review of Club@YOTEL, the membership scheme for YOTEL hotels. You can sign up for Club@YOTEL on the website here. Back in 2018, YOTEL launched a free membership scheme called My YOTEL. It was, frankly, useless. It gave absolutely no benefits at all […]
No Virgin Atlantic passenger flights – zilch – for at least a week in late April
Written by Rhys @ Head for Points
Virgin Atlantic has been running a skeleton service for the last few weeks. It had previously announced it was only operating New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong flights this month. This bare-bones schedule enabled the repatriation of UK residents. Whilst these flights are set […]
Coronavirus cancellation and refund policy summary: BA, Virgin Atlantic, easyJet, Hilton, Marriott and IHG
Written by Rhys @ Head for Points
Due to rapidly changing policies over coronavirus cancellations and travel waivers, we have decided to compile all the information we have in one up-to-date reference post. Hopefully this gives you an overview of your cancellation and refund rights with the major travel companies we cover […]
Rolls-Royce and Airbus support £500m Virgin Atlantic bail-out (FT)
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
Rolls-Royce and Airbus are pressuring the UK Government to back a bailout of Virgin Atlantic, according to a report in the Financial Times this afternoon. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has been told by both companies that Virgin Atlantic plays a key role both in […]
Virgin Atlantic to ask for state aid (FT)
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
The Financial Times has reported this afternoon that Virgin Atlantic is about to submit an official request for state aid to avoid bankruptcy. The article is behind a paywall but you can see it by clicking here to trigger the correct Google search and then […]
Bits: join our HFP Instagram surgery from 10am, Virgin Atlantic closes at Gatwick, London City Airport closes
Written by Rhys @ Head for Points
News in brief: Join our HFP Instagram travel surgery today! First, a big thanks to everyone who is responding to queries from other readers in the comments section. They are a great resource if you are looking for advice regarding your existing flight and hotel […]
Virgin offers incentives to rebook, Aer Lingus gives a 10% bonus and Lufthansa offers €50 – will BA follow suit?
Written by Rhys @ Head for Points
Now that the majority of flights are grounded, different airlines are choosing different strategies on how they try and retain future customer bookings. (We are not, for once, talking about the ‘strategy’ of denying customers their legal right for a full refund on cancelled flights, […]
Government to UK aviation industry: Drop Dead
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
Following a number of days of talks with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, easyJet and representatives from UK airports, the Government has refused to provide a package of financial support for the UK aviation sector. According to reports, a letter was sent by the Chancellor of […]
End of IAG? UK Government may take stakes in British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet this week
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
There is increasing speculation that the UK Government may move to take partial control of British Airways, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic this week as part of a bail-out of the aviation sector. It may not get this far, of course. One option for an airline […]
Morrisons supermarkets will no longer award Virgin Flying Club miles from late March
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
We told you yesterday that you will no longer be able to earn Virgin Flying Club miles at Waitrose from 26th March. What I didn’t realise at the time is that the Virgin Atlantic deal with Morrisons supermarkets is also being dropped. The closing date […]
Norwegian secures a Government bail-out, whilst easyJet puts a UK-wide deal at risk
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
The first European airline bail-out (if you don’t include the nationalisation of Alitalia, which was already doomed!) has been finalised. A 2nd bail-out, for Finnair, is expected to be agreed imminently albeit the Finnish Government is already a 56% shareholder in the airline. Norwegian has […]
Waitrose will no longer give you Virgin Flying Club miles from 26th March
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
In a bit of a blow for our household, Waitrose will no longer be awarding Virgin Flying Club miles from 26th March. Here is a screenshot to confirm it: ….. although no-one seems to have received an email about it. This is not necessarily anything […]
Should you be concerned about losing your Avios and Virgin Flying Club miles to bankruptcy?
Written by Rob @ Head for Points
Is there a risk of losing your Avios points and Virgin Flying Club miles if the airlines go bankrupt? And is it even a realistic possibility? To be honest, this isn’t an article I wanted to write. However, I am being inundated with emails from […]