Mr Plane Guy Plane Blog,
Flight Reviews,
Airport Lounges
& Travel Hacks.

This Week’s Flight Plan BIGGEST STORY: British Airways is adding Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar for summer 2027, alongside changes across its long-haul network. NEW AIRLINE: Riyadh Air is bringing its Boeing 787 to Manchester. LOUNGE NEWS: A new Aspire lounge opens at Manchester Terminal 2, while Etihad reveals its future Heathrow lounge. PLANE HONEST: What a UK air traffic control disruption taught me about communication. HOTEL DEAL: A targeted £50 Radisson cashback offer on

At some UK airports, a single pre-booked lounge visit can now cost around the same as a budget flight and that is before you have even bought the flight, selected a seat, added a bag or paid £7 for an airport sandwich that appears to have gone through security three times. If you have already decided that Priority Pass could work for you, there is no reason to pay the full membership price without checking the latest offer first. This guide explains how the current Priority

Finding the best carry-on suitcase isn’t just about size or brand. It’s about how it moves through an airport. After 15+ years working in aviation and travelling constantly, from long-haul flights I’ve used everything from budget cabin bags to premium suitcases. Most look good online. Very few actually perform in real life. In this review, I’ll break down exactly how the LEVEL8 20” carry-on performs across: airline cabin bag rules (easyJet, Ryanair, BA) real-world travel (air

Istanbul is the sort of place where you set out for a quick coffee and return six hours later having eaten a fish sandwich, crossed between continents and somehow bought a lamp. I explored the city with my Turkish partner, Tansu. That made a difference: between the big-ticket sights, we stopped for tea, ducked into streets I might have walked past and remembered that the ferry is public transport as well as a rather wonderful way to see Istanbul. You don't need a luxury budg

A Wigan pie before a flight to Dubai? That wasn’t on my Emirates bingo card. The Emirates lounge at Manchester Airport is now open in Terminal 2. It’s the first UK location to receive the airline’s new lounge design, following a £10 million investment. Alongside the expected Champagne and polished interiors, Emirates has added live cooking, Manchester-inspired food and a Vimto cocktail. The headline feature, though, might be direct boarding from the lounge to the aircraft

After 15 years working as cabin crew, I’ve flown with rather a lot of airlines. Some have been fabulous. Some have been forgettable. And some have left me trapped at an airport for eight hours, questioning every life decision that led me to the departure board. Looking at you, Schiphol. So, when Pegasus Airlines invited me to experience its new direct flight from London Gatwick to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, I was genuinely curious. Would this be bargain brilliance or

Cappadocia had been sitting very comfortably on my travel bucket list for years. Then Pegasus Airlines invited me to try its new daily flight from London Gatwick to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, followed by a connecting flight to Kayseri. Suddenly, I was actually going.

Based on my experience, absolutely not. It was overcrowded, noisy and dirty, with no empty seats and some of the worst airport-lounge food I have encountered. I normally like Plaza Premium Lounges, which made this experience even more surprising. I paid £24 to enter and, quite honestly, I felt as though they should have paid me £24 to go inside. My advice? Save your money, find a restaurant in the terminal and avoid this lounge. Like, ever. I have visited plenty of disappoi

Is The Ritz-Carlton Istanbul worth staying at? Evet, yes! For a few days in Istanbul, the outstanding service, elegant room, lovely partial Bosphorus view and wonderfully calm pool terrace made this one of my favourite luxury hotel stays in the city. The spa and gym were excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed breakfast even if a couple of Turkish items failed my Turkish partner’s authenticity test. We arrived around 2 pm and waited 20–30 minutes for the room, but the hotel’s st

Some hotels welcome you with a glass of Champagne. Doors of Cappadocia welcomed me with Turkish tea, astonishing views across Göreme and Maya - an adorable pug who appeared ready to supervise my entire stay. This small, family-run Cappadocia hotel immediately felt warm and personal, but its real showstopper is the infinity pool overlooking Göreme's extraordinary landscape. After experiencing the room, breakfast and wonderfully personal service, those first impressions only

My Lounge Gatwick South has something no other lounge at Gatwick Airport can offer: an outdoor terrace after security. Now, before you start picturing yourself sipping a gin cocktail in the sunshine while a Boeing 787 taxis elegantly past, allow me to manage your expectations. This is less “exclusive rooftop aviation bar” and more vapour’s paradise. The terrace is primarily used by passengers smoking and vaping before their flights. If you need a cigarette or vape after pa

British Airways is launching flights from London Gatwick to Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar in May 2027 and honestly, somebody at BA understood the assignment. Safari first. Beach later. Then back to Gatwick by breakfast. The new British Airways Tanzania route will operate three times per week between 29 May and 31 October 2027. It uses a clever triangular routing from London Gatwick to Kilimanjaro, onwards to Zanzibar and then nonstop back to London.

This week, American Airlines has revealed another batch of Airbus A321XLR routes, Discover Airlines is giving Bristol, Glasgow and Inverness new links to Germany, and Plaza Premium has opened not one but two lounges at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. There are also two very tempting points offers. Amex is offering up to 12,000 Membership Rewards points for adding your first supplementary cardholder, while the biggest Hilton Honors debit card offer so far ends Monday 7 September.

Emirates has unveiled what it calls the world’s first fully electrically powered Premium Economy seat complete with a full-height adjustable privacy divider between every seat. And I’m just going to say it: this could be a Premium Economy game changer. I recently flew Emirates Premium Economy on its then-brand-new Airbus A350 and, despite the beautiful cabin and comfortable seat, I actually hated the overall experience. The cabin was polished, but the service felt robotic,

TUI has finally launched a loyalty programme in the UK and yes, it is free to join. The TUI Smiles Rewards Club lets you collect Smiles when you book eligible TUI holidays, flights, hotels, cruises and experiences. Collect enough and you can move through three membership levels, unlocking offers, games, travel treats and faster customer service along the way.

Did you know you can claim up to £520 per person for flight delays or cancellations?

Your flight has been canceled. The departure board has turned red, the airline app is having a meltdown and the customer-service line already appears to have its own ZIP code. What should you do now? I spent 15 years working onboard aircraft and later worked in airport operations managing delays and disruption. When cancellations begin, the remaining seats can disappear astonishingly quickly. The passengers who recover fastest are usually not those standing silently in th

This Week’s Flight Plan BIGGEST STORY: United announces its biggest-ever international expansion AIRLINE NEWS: easyJet pulls out of Leeds Bradford Airport POINTS UPDATE: Flying Blue strips benefits from its cheapest rewards AIRPORT LOUNGES: JetBlue opens in Boston and Emirates opens in Manchester PLANE POINTS: BA Amex doubles its welcome bonuses DEAL: Save up to £400 with Virgin Atlantic Holidays COMING SOON: My Pegasus Airlines trip

Virgin Atlantic’s baggage allowance is more generous than many low-cost airlines, but the amount you can check in depends heavily on your fare. Economy Light includes hand luggage but no checked bag, while Premium and Upper Class include two checked bags as standard.

United Airlines has announced the largest international expansion in its history and one route in particular shows why this is much more than another seasonal timetable update. From 31 May 2027, United plans to fly nonstop from Newark Liberty International Airport to Ibiza four times per week using its new Airbus A321XLR. New York to Ibiza on a long-haul, single-aisle aircraft would have sounded highly unlikely not long ago. Ibiza has traditionally been reached from the Uni