- Mr Plane Guy
- 18 hours ago
- 6 min read
Plane News Weekly
2 August 2026
By Mr Plane Guy, Travel Blogger, Flight Expert & Plane Geek
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This Week's Flight Plan
BIGGEST STORY: easyJet agrees £5.7bn takeover
AIRPORT NEWS: Gatwick's Northern Runway gets the go-ahead
AIRLINE WATCH: Could Norse Atlantic be sold?
LOUNGE NEWS: New Privium lounge opens at Schiphol
POINTS: Easier ways to find BA reward seats
DEAL: Barbados from £826pp
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.
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.
Boarding Announcements, Airline Updates & Loyalty News
easyJet Agrees £5.7 Billion Takeover
This is easily the biggest airline story of the week.
easyJet has agreed to be bought by Apollo Global Management in a deal valuing the airline at around £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion).
Apollo's offer beat a rival £5.5 billion proposal from Castlelake, which has now withdrawn from the race. The easyJet board unanimously recommended Apollo's cash offer, while founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou has also backed the deal.
Apollo already has aviation experience and says it wants to accelerate easyJet's commercial ambitions, including its rapidly growing easyJet holidays business.
There are still regulatory hurdles to clear, particularly around European airline ownership rules, but if everything goes ahead, one of Europe's biggest low-cost airlines will be taken private.
For passengers, I wouldn't expect your next easyJet flight suddenly to look dramatically different.
Longer term, though?
This could be a very interesting new chapter for easyJet.
👉 Flying easyJet soon? Read my easyJet cabin bag guide and latest easyJet reviews before you travel.
Gatwick Wins Its Runway Battle, But Will It End the Take-Off Queues?
After decades of arguments and planning battles, Gatwick Airport's second runway project is moving forward.
The airport has secured permission to bring its existing Northern Runway into regular use alongside the main runway, potentially adding around 100,000 flights and 13 million passengers a year.
That's enormous.
Anyone who regularly flies from Gatwick knows the routine:
Taxi out.
Stop.
Move 20 metres.
Stop.
Watch six easyJet aircraft take off. Sometimes wait 40 minutes due to congestion.
Whether the extra runway actually means shorter queues remains to be seen, particularly when Gatwick will also be handling millions more passengers.
But this is undoubtedly one of the biggest changes to London Gatwick Airport in a generation.
👉 Flying from Gatwick? Read my guide to the best airport lounges at Gatwick, including Gatwick North and South Terminal lounges and which ones are actually worth paying for.
I actually used to work as a performance controller at Gatwick, so I'll be fascinated to see what difference the Northern Runway makes operationally. It was one of the most exciting jobs I've ever had, although watching Gatwick at peak times certainly taught me a thing or two about congestion!
Could Norse Atlantic Airways Be Up for Sale?
Now here's one I'm watching VERY closely.
Norse Atlantic Airways could potentially be up for sale.
If you've been reading Mr Plane Guy for a while, you'll know I've followed Norse extensively from Norse Atlantic Airways Economy and Premium reviews to meals, baggage, seats and its expanding long-haul network.
The possibility of a sale raises a fascinating question:
What happens to Norse next? Another airline? An investment group? Or could its aircraft and airport slots ultimately be more attractive than the airline itself?
For now, it's one to watch.
And given how many of you apparently Google Norse and then somehow end up reading my ramblings, you can guarantee I'll be following this story.
👉 Read my Norse Atlantic Airways review before booking, including what Economy and Premium are actually like. What I Wish I’d Known Before Flying Norse Atlantic Airways
Schiphol Opens Its Biggest Privium Lounge
There's a shiny new airport lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol.
The new Privium Club Lounge South covers around 800 square metres, accommodates up to 125 guests and includes work areas, meeting rooms, showers and an expanded food and drink offering.
Even more interestingly, Schiphol plans to introduce a dedicated security lane with direct access to the lounge later this year.
Security straight into an airport lounge?
Now you're talking.
As someone who passes through Schiphol rather a lot, I suspect some serious lounge "research" may be required.
👉 Heading through AMS? Read my Amsterdam Schiphol airport Aspire lounge review.
Manchester Airport Gets Top Accessibility Rating
Some genuinely positive airport news: Manchester Airport has achieved the CAA's highest "Very Good" accessibility rating, improving from its previous "Good" classification.
The regulator highlighted improvements in assistance waiting times and facilities in the redeveloped Terminal 2.
Around 700,000 passengers requiring mobility or additional assistance travelled through Manchester Airport over the past year, so improvements like this matter.
Night Trains Make Gatwick and Stansted Early Flights Easier
Booked one of those cheap flights that looks fantastic until you realise it departs at 06:00?
Both Gatwick and Stansted are trialling extra overnight trains this summer.
Gatwick has additional overnight services from London Victoria and Reading, while the Stansted Express is trialling overnight Friday trains between Stansted Airport and Tottenham Hale.
Finally.
Because nothing ruins the excitement of a £29 flight quite like an £85 taxi to reach it.
Plane Points Tip of the Week: Finding BA Reward Flights Just Got Easier
There's also good news if you're trying to find British Airways reward flights using Avios.
Avios has improved its reward-flight calendar, making it easier to see availability across multiple dates rather than repeatedly searching one day at a time.
But for those particularly elusive BA reward seats, I've also been testing Reward Flight Finder, which lets you search availability and set alerts when seats appear.
It's considerably less tedious than repeatedly searching BA and hoping for the best.
And if you're new to points, start with The Plane Guide to Avios, where I explain how to collect, spend and maximise Avios.
Plane Deal of the Week: Barbados from £826pp
Fancy some Caribbean sunshine?
This week I spotted 4 nights at the Butterfly Beach Hotel in Barbados from £826pp, departing Heathrow on 26 October 2026.
The three-star hotel scores 8.6/10, and the package is currently available from £826 per person.
Prices and availability can change, so always check the current price before booking.
American Express Deal: £25 Back at Premier Inn
Before booking an airport hotel, check your American Express offers.
Some cardholders are currently being offered £25 cashback when spending £125 at Premier Inn.
It needs to appear on your card and be saved before spending, but if you already have a Premier Inn stay planned, it's an easy saving.
Plane Honest Tip: Don't spend an extra £30 purely to earn £25 cashback. That's not a travel hack. That's maths having a breakdown.
Coming Soon...
I've been busy building out the Plane Guides section of Mr Plane Guy, with new and updated guides covering Avios, Virgin Points, airline baggage rules, airport lounges and travel extras.
And I've got plenty more actual flying coming up too. I'm visiting the Air France lounge at Heathrow this week. Je suis tres exciteé.
More flights. More lounges. More questionable airport breakfasts.
Normal service, basically.
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About Me
I’m Mr Plane Guy, sharing UK airline news, flight deals and loyalty tips with a Plane Honest perspective.
I test lounges, review flights, and break down what’s actually worth your money, so you can fly smarter, spend less and make the most of your points.
✉️ Subscribe to Plane News Weekly for exclusive flight deals, loyalty tips, and aviation updates every Sunday. Sign up here.
Plane Question of the Week
If you could change ONE thing about easyJet, what would it be?
The seats? The baggage rules? Boarding? The app?
Let me know in the comments.
FINAL BOARDING CALL
It's been a surprisingly big week for UK aviation.
easyJet is heading for new ownership. Gatwick is heading for another operational runway. Norse Atlantic could potentially be heading for new owners.
Meanwhile, airport lounges continue to multiply, finding Avios reward flights is getting easier, and I've found a Barbados holiday that's making me question why I'm sitting here writing this rather than packing a suitcase.
Until next Sunday...
Keep collecting points. Keep discovering airport lounges. Keep travelling smarter.
Mr Plane Guy
Let's make travel better.
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