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

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

Every time I travel through Heathrow, I see people paying the full Heathrow Express fare. And honestly? Most travellers have absolutely no idea you can often get exactly the same journey for around £10 instead of £26. The catch? You need to book at least 30 days before travel. Heathrow Express Advance Discounted Single tickets start from £10 when booked online 30+ days in advance, compared to the normal £26 Standard Class single fare. For a train journey that only tak

If Heathrow Terminal 2 is the calm, underrated sibling… Then Heathrow Terminal 3 is where the REAL airport lounge action happens. Honestly? This is probably Heathrow’s strongest terminal overall for premium lounges. You’ve got: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse American Express Centurion Lounge No1 Lounge Clubrooms airline lounges Priority Pass lounges even an arrivals lounge …and some of them are genuinely world class. Others? Well… Let’s just say “pre

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

A couple of years ago, Hotels.com took one of the simplest loyalty schemes in travel… and completely overcomplicated it. They rolled everything into One Key, tried to merge multiple brands together, and in the process made it worse for pretty much everyone. Less value. Less clarity. Less reason to use it. Now? They’ve reversed it and I’ll be honest, I didn’t think they would.

There are airport hotels… and then there is the TWA Hotel. Honestly, calling this place an “airport hotel” almost feels unfair. This is part aviation museum, part retro time capsule, part luxury New York stopover and somehow also one of the coolest hotels I have ever stayed in. I booked a day room before my JetBlue Airways flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport and within about 10 minutes I realised I had made a huge mistake… I should have stayed longer. Becau

For years, easyJet avoided traditional airline loyalty schemes. No points. No status cards. No complicated mileage maths. No airport lounge obsession. But that’s officially changing. easyJet has now confirmed it plans to launch a brand-new loyalty programme in 2027… and honestly? I’m kind of fascinated by this. Because unlike some airlines desperately trying to create loyal customers, easyJet already has them.

’ve reviewed a LOT of airport lounges over the years. Luxury lounges. Airline lounges. Tiny regional lounges. Priority Pass lounges all over Europe. Some brilliant. Some forgettable. But the No1 Lounges at Birmingham Airport may genuinely be one of the most stressful airport lounge experiences I’ve ever had. And honestly? The lounge wasn’t even the worst part.

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

After my genuinely chaotic experience at the No1 Lounges lounge at Birmingham Airport, I was desperately hoping Clubrooms would restore some faith in Birmingham Airport lounges. And to be fair? It WAS better. But honestly? It still didn’t quite deliver the premium airport lounge experience I expected.

Priority Pass has revealed its best airport lounges in the world for 2026, and as someone who spends far too much time judging lounge pastries, prosecco temperature and whether the ambience is giving airport chaos or pre flight luxury , I obviously had to take a look. The Priority Pass Excellence Awards are based on more than 700,000 member ratings and reviews. Vienna Lounge at Vienna Airport has been named the best Priority Pass lounge in Europe, while No1 Lounge at Je

There’s one HUGE reason people book the Yotel Gatwick hotel: Convenience. The hotel is literally inside Gatwick South Terminal arrivals. No shuttle buses. No dragging luggage through the rain. No panicking about missing a 5am flight. You walk out of arrivals… and you’re basically there. Sounds perfect, right? Well… after finally staying here myself? Honestly, I’m still not entirely convinced the convenience outweighs the claustrophobia.

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

Qatar Airways QSuites is regularly ranked as one of the BEST business class experiences in the world. Private suites.Sliding doors.Lie-flat beds.Restaurant-style dining.And on some aircraft… even double beds in the middle seats. Honestly? It’s closer to first class than most business class products. The problem? Cash fares can easily cost: £3,000 £4,000 sometimes MUCH more But using Avios, you can sometimes fly the EXACT same Qatar Airways QSuite experience for far less than

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…

So I fell down a bit of an aviation rabbit hole. I came across an old BBC documentary showing cabin crew training at British Airways back in 1987 and honestly, it is brilliant. It follows trainee crew going through the full process, safety drills, service training, and all the bits passengers never see. Some of it is fascinating. Some of it is unintentionally hilarious. And some of it feels like a completely different world.

British Airways is facing serious backlash from frequent flyers and if you’re a British Airways frequent flyer, this one matters. Over the past few days, reports have emerged of random loyalty status extensions being handed out… while others, including long-term loyal members, have lost their British Airways Silver or British Airways Gold status completely. And here’s the real issue: 👉 Those who lost status also lost lounge access, priority perks, and key travel benefits

Dublin Airport can be absolute chaos. Crowded gate areas, nowhere to sit, expensive food, endless construction works, passengers charging phones on the floor and that strange feeling that the airport has somehow been under renovation since about 2021. Sound familiar?

If airport hotels usually make you think of beige walls, sad carpets and a £19 microwave lasagne… the Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport is a bit different. This hotel has actual character. Built into the old airport terminal near Liverpool John Lennon Airport, the hotel leans heavily into its aviation history with proper Art Deco styling throughout. It is not quite the full-blown aviation spectacle of the TWA Hotel in New York… but for UK aviation geeks, it absolut

Plane Honest truth: this hotel is now showing its age quite badly in places. The location is excellent.The convenience is unbeatable. The hotel itself? It feels overdue for a refresh. If you care more about an easy airport stay than luxury, it still works well. Just don’t expect a modern Hilton experience.