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

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.

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

Revolut is moving from banking apps into actual airport lounges, KLM is about to take away one of the most Dutch things in aviation, the complimentary cheese sandwich and I've just been to Heathrow to try the Air France Lounge at Terminal 4. Plus, Tesco has brought back its 30% Virgin Points transfer bonus and I've discovered a rather clever route that could potentially turn Hilton Gold into SkyTeam Elite Plus. Let's board.

And this week certainly hasn't been quiet. easyJet being bought for £5.7 billion has me worried about my favourite airline! Gatwick has finally won its second runway battle, Norse Atlantic could be up for sale, and there's a brand-new airport lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol. Plus, I've found this week's Plane Deal of the Week and we're off to Barbados.

Welcome back to another edition of Plane News Weekly, your Sunday roundup of airline news, loyalty updates, airport lounges, travel deals and everything happening in the world of aviation. (OK sometimes Monday if I'm too busy!) This week has been a mixture of loyalty bargains, airline shake-ups and and a nostalgic return to Lille, where I used to live a few years ago. It was brilliant wandering around the old streets again, although I don't remember it ever being quite so ho

One of the UK's busiest airports made the headlines today after a water outage affected both terminals, leaving toilets unable to flush and many cafés and bars unable to serve drinks. Thankfully, flights continued operating, but it shows how quickly airport operations can be disrupted. It actually reminded me of my time working at Gatwick. On one particularly chaotic day, the airport's departure board system failed. Flights appeared to be departing from completely the wrong

Welcome back to another edition of Plane News Weekly, your Sunday roundup of airline news, airport lounges, loyalty updates, travel deals and everything happening in the world of aviation. This has been one of those weeks where aviation completely took over my life... and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This Week Got Me Thinking...this week has been one of those weeks where I had to stop and appreciate how far this little aviation blog has come. Most of my week was spent in my day job, travelling across Europe during the heatwave, working in both Brussels and Amsterdam. Then yesterday I swapped airport terminals for Belgian chocolate, celebrating my sixth wedding anniversary with a fantastic day trip to beautiful Ghent thanks to FlixBus. If you've never been to Ghent, I gen

London’s busiest airport is about to get a little more French. Air France has opened a chic new lounge at Heathrow Airport, designed to bring a refined slice of Parisian elegance to one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs.

If you've ever tried to book a flight to Phuket, you'll know it rarely starts with excitement. It usually starts with compromise. A connection in Doha. A layover in Dubai. Maybe a dash across Istanbul Airport trying not to miss your next flight whilst carrying a £6 bottle of water you panic-bought at the gate. By the time you've finally arrived in Thailand, you've spent half a day in airports and forgotten what time zone you're in. That's why this announcement caught my a

Flights are still expensive. Airport sandwiches still require a small mortgage. But look at what's happening. London to Zanzibar is finally getting direct flights. Phuket is becoming easier to reach. Bangkok is returning to Manchester. And after decades of rumours, delays and aviation daydreams, direct London to Sydney flights are finally starting to feel real.

Welcome aboard this week's Plane News Weekly, your Sunday roundup of airline news, loyalty updates, route launches, flight deals and Plane Honest travel experiences. This week got me thinking... Is luxury travel becoming more expensive whilst simultaneously becoming more accessible? I've just returned from Sardinia where I stayed at a supposedly five-star Hilton resort. I used Hilton Honors points to slash the cost of the stay from almost £2,000 to around £1,000 by buying

Welcome aboard this week's Plane News Weekly, your Sunday roundup of airline news, airport chaos, loyalty updates, flight deals and "luxury for less" travel hacks. This week got me thinking... Are we slowly witnessing the death of traditional short-haul Business Class? Because one airline has just unveiled a Premium Economy product that honestly looks better than some Business Class cabins I've flown in recently. Meanwhile British Airways has launched more Avios-Only flig

Welcome aboard this week’s Plane News Weekly, your Sunday roundup of airline news, airport chaos, loyalty updates, flight deals and “luxury for less” travel hacks. And honestly? This week I may have accidentally fallen deeper into the Hilton Honors rabbit hole. Because I’ve just booked a 5-star Hilton resort in Sardinia that should have cost well over £2,000… …for roughly HALF the price. No scam.No weird timeshare presentation.No “attend this 4-hour hotel breakfast semin

Welcome aboard this week’s Plane News Weekly, your Sunday roundup of airline news, loyalty updates, airport chaos, Avios drama and “luxury for less” travel hacks. And honestly? This week I discovered something horrifying… Birmingham Airport before a bank holiday. I genuinely think I aged three years in under two hours. Think: Alton Towers-style security queues overflowing toilets gate chaos lounges packed beyond capacity and people fighting over prosecco

Zanzibar has quietly become one of the hottest luxury-for-less destinations in the world right now. White sand beaches. Turquoise water. Rooftop cocktails in Stone Town. Luxury resorts that somehow still cost less than many European beach holidays. But getting there from the UK? Honestly… it’s never been particularly easy. On my own trip to Zanzibar, I flew Qatar Airways via Doha, you can read my full Qatar Airways Zanzibar flight review here. That could finally be changing

Welcome aboard this week’s Plane News Weekly, your Sunday roundup of airline news, travel deals, airport chaos, loyalty updates and “luxury for less” travel hacks. This week I’ve basically lived inside airport lounges… and honestly? UK airport lounges are getting VERY interesting right now. Especially if you fly from Liverpool or Birmingham. Because Aspire may have quietly created one of the BEST regional airport lounge experiences in the UK. More on that in a second…

Welcome aboard this week’s Plane News Weekly, your Sunday fix of UK airline updates, aviation news, loyalty deals and travel hacks. And honestly? In my world right now, travel is starting to feel a little… tense. Politics, rising fuel prices, Middle East uncertainty, new virus outbreaks appearing again, and airlines tightening costs just before the busy Summer 2026 season. It genuinely feels like the industry is entering another tricky period. Fuel is now creeping towards

Welcome aboard this week’s Plane News Weekly, your Sunday fix of UK airline updates, aviation news, loyalty deals, and travel hacks. This week I fell straight down an aviation rabbit hole. I watched an old BBC documentary on British Airways cabin crew training from 1987… and it instantly took me back to my own training days. The drills, the discipline, the intensity, it’s amazing how much has changed… and how much really hasn’t

Hilton made me Diamond for the day during a recent stay one of those surprise upgrades that should feel like a win. On paper, it came with the usual perks: room upgrade, drinks, a bit of “VIP” treatment. In reality, it didn’t quite land like that. I’ll be breaking it down properly soon, but if you want the unfiltered version, my latest TikTok already tells the story.