Plane News Weekly
October 2026
Two Lounge Visits for £59, BA Moves the Goalposts & My Winter-Sun Wishlist
By Mr Plane Guy | Plane Honest Travel, Offers & Airport Lounge Investigations
Disclosure: This edition contains affiliate links. If you buy or apply through one, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, availability and offers can change.
Behind the Boarding Pass
Welcome aboard. I’ve stayed firmly on the ground this week. Between the stormy weather and lingering memories of eight hours at Schiphol, my enthusiasm for an airport departure has temporarily departed.
That hasn’t stopped me planning somewhere warmer. Virgin is now flying to Phuket, BA has launched Colombo, and I’ve been investigating Sri Lankan hotels with pools considerably more appealing than the puddles outside.
Also this week: two lounge visits for £59, and British Airways making Silver and Gold a little harder to reach. Generous of them.
Next week I’m popping to Lille, then heading to London for World Travel Market. Come and say hello if you’re there!
This Week’s Flight Plan
This week we’re heading towards Thailand and Sri Lanka, investigating two lounge visits for £59, and checking an offer that could bring Hilton Gold to your next hotel stay.
Meanwhile, British Airways is moving the goalposts for status again. I’d suggest sitting down, preferably somewhere with complimentary snacks.
On the departure board:
DragonPass’s £59 membership and how it compares with Priority Pass.
Virgin Atlantic’s Phuket flights are now underway.
BA’s new Sri Lanka route, with a little Hoppers hospitality.
Sri Lanka inspiration for a luxury-for-less escape.
London City’s first passenger lounge gets a name.
Higher BA Silver and Gold thresholds from April 2027.
An Avios shopping reminder for anyone considering NordVPN.
Hilton’s up-to-50,000-point offer and Jack’s Flight Club’s free trial.
Boarding Announcements, Airline Updates & Loyalty News
Two Airport Lounge Visits for £59? DragonPass Has My Attention
DragonPass’s Solo Travel membership costs £59 a year and includes two lounge visits for your personal use. Use both and that works out at £29.50 a visit, before any optional pre-booking fees.
There’s also Better Travel at £229 for eight passes and Travel Together at £329 for twelve. Those passes can be used for participating lounges, airport dining or Fast Track, with allowances shareable with one accompanying guest or up to five respectively.
Guests use passes too. Eight passes could cover four lounge visits for you and a companion, rather than eight visits together. The twelve-pass plan isn’t unlimited either.
My Plane Honest take? The £59 option deserves a look for occasional solo travellers. Regular users should also compare Priority Pass Standard Plus, with ten included member visits, and Prestige for unlimited member visits.
Check your actual airports, terminals and guest needs before choosing. A membership is only good value if it gets used.
Virgin Atlantic’s Phuket Flights Have Taken Off 🇹🇭
The winter-sun departure board has become rather more tempting.
Virgin Atlantic’s seasonal London Heathrow to Phuket service launched on 18 October, with three flights a week using a Boeing 787-9.
For anyone weighing up Thailand, it’s another direct option worth comparing on fare, baggage and cabin comfort. If you’re collecting Virgin Points, check reward availability as well as cash prices. Points seats and the cash element vary, so compare the complete cost.
One useful detail: this route uses the 787, so my A350 Premium review is background reading rather than a review of the exact aircraft flying to Phuket.
BA Now Flies to Sri Lanka🇱🇰
British Airways launched London Gatwick to Colombo on 23 October, with three weekly flights for the winter season and a choice of Economy, Premium Economy or Club World.
To celebrate, Club World passengers on the outbound route can try a Hoppers-created menu until 30 December 2026, including spiced chicken or banana-leaf-wrapped cod and a Sri Lankan-inspired bread pudding.
There’s also a Hoppers Ceylon Pearl cocktail in BA’s Gatwick Club Lounge. Naturally, this is the sort of route research I take very seriously.
Thinking about Sri Lanka? Check reward-seat availability before transferring points or committing to hotels. An Avios booking still involves taxes, fees and carrier charges.
Luxury for Less: An Avios Flight and a Sri Lankan Escape?
Here’s a combination worth investigating: find an Avios flight that makes sense for your dates, then compare a separate Luxury Escapes stay or tour.
It isn’t automatically cheaper than a package. Compare the full cost, including flight charges, transfers, meals and cancellation conditions. But it could be a useful way to put your points towards the journey and your cash towards somewhere lovely to stay.
Two examples caught my eye in the offers I checked:
A Beach Break: The Bay, an Uga Experience, Pasikuda
Think beachfront surroundings, a pool and a slower pace. The listing I captured showed one night from £217.
That’s a starting-price example, rather than a quote for your dates. Confirm the room occupancy, meal plan, taxes and cancellation terms. Pasikuda is on the east coast, so check seasonal weather and the onward journey from Colombo before booking.
More Than a Beach: A Twelve-Day Sri Lanka Tour
The Deluxe 12-Day Best of Sri Lanka 2027 with Dambulla, Kandy & Five-Star Galle Stay was listed from £1,624 per person for non-members, or £1,560 per person with LUXPLUS+, based on a twin-share room and selected departures.
The advertised itinerary includes a Yala National Park jeep safari and a scenic train journey through tea country. It’s an option for someone who wants more of the island than a sunlounger, although I would still be scheduling some very important pool time.
The listing covers travel from January to December 2027.
BA’s new service is seasonal, so check that your chosen tour departure lines up with available flights. Check the full inclusions, international flight arrangements and any separate LUXPLUS+ membership cost before comparing prices.
The prices above are examples shown in the listings supplied for this edition, not live quotations. When booking flights and accommodation separately, check the protection and cancellation arrangements for each booking.
London City’s First Passenger Lounge Has a Name: 09:LDN Suite
London City Airport’s forthcoming passenger lounge will be called 09:LDN Suite, with opening planned for early 2027.
The name nods to Runway 09, while Aspire says the experience will draw on London’s food, culture and hospitality. The opening will also coincide with the airport’s fortieth year.
The lounge will be independent of any airline, with paid online and walk-in entry planned, followed by an annual membership option in time.
Plane Honest verdict: I’m interested. A good name is lovely; a comfortable seat, decent food and sensible access arrangements will decide whether it earns a place in my airport routine.
BA Silver and Gold Are Getting Further Away
BA’s website now lists higher status thresholds from 1 April 2027:
Status | Current tier points | From 1 April 2027 |
Bronze | 3,500 | 3,500 |
Silver | 7,500 | 8,000 |
Gold | 20,000 | 21,000 |
That means another 500 tier points for Silver and 1,000 for Gold.
These are future thresholds, so don’t apply them to your current collection year. And remember: tier points determine status; Avios are the currency you spend on rewards.
My take? Before spending extra to chase a shiny card, work out what the benefits are worth for the trips you actually take. An upgrade you genuinely want is one thing. Booking travel purely to reach a moving target deserves a much harder look.
Avios Tip of the Week: Check the NordVPN Offer
Last week I highlighted 80 Avios per £1 of eligible NordVPN spending through the Avios shopping portal. Check the rate displayed in your account before buying, as I haven’t independently reconfirmed the live portal rate for this edition.
If it still shows 80, £100 of qualifying spending would earn 8,000 Avios. Follow the retailer conditions and click through from the portal, rather than using a separate affiliate link. Accept the required cookies, avoid competing cashback or coupon extensions, and keep your confirmation.
My advice remains the same: useful if you actually want the subscription. Less useful if you’re buying something you don’t need just to collect points.
Want to turn Avios into Business Class flights?
👉 Start with my full hub: The Plane Guide to Avios
Hilton’s Up-to-50,000-Point Offer: Hello Again, Gold
The Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card welcome offer is still running, with instant Hilton Honors Gold status on activation and up to 50,000 bonus points for eligible new customers.
The card costs £150 a year, and the welcome bonus has two stages:
10,000 points after your first eligible purchase of £1 or more.
A further 40,000 points and ten bonus Elite Qualifying Nights after £2,500 of eligible foreign-currency spending within six months.
The promotion ends on 14 December 2026. Eligibility restrictions apply, including previous-cardholder rules.
The regular spending benefit can earn up to thirty Elite Qualifying Nights per calendar year, with the ten promotional nights additional once the offer conditions are met. Those are status-qualifying nights, not free hotel-night vouchers.
Foreign-currency spending carries a 0.5% fee above the Currensea Realtime Rate, so weigh the rewards against the fee and annual cost.
My own satisfying redemption was 40,000 Hilton points for a night at Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow, saving almost £200 on that particular stay. Less motorway before dawn, more sleep. That’s my kind of luxury for less.
Jack’s Flight Club: Thirty Days Free
If all this winter-sun talk has you opening flight-search tabs, Jack’s Flight Club is another option for spotting deals without spending your evening refreshing fares.
The offer gives you thirty days free, followed by £48 a year unless cancelled. Check the joining terms before signing up.
I use it for flight-deal inspiration, including Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class opportunities. Availability and prices can move quickly, so compare the fare conditions before booking.
About Me
I’m Mr Plane Guy, sharing UK airline news, flight deals, loyalty tips and airport lounge investigations with a Plane Honest perspective.
I review the experience, question the headline and look for ways to help you fly better without spending more than you need to.
FINAL BOARDING CALL
This week, compare the lounge options against your actual travel plans, and check whether the Hilton offer suits spending you already have planned.
After that, I’m rather taken with the idea of Sri Lanka: a flight booked sensibly, somewhere lovely to stay and a little less British winter. I’m sure that counts as practical planning.
Plane Question of the Week: Would you choose Thailand or Sri Lanka for your next winter escape? And are we saving on the seat or upgrading it?
✉️ Subscribe to Plane News Weekly for the next round of routes, lounges, points and Plane Honest verdicts.
Until next Sunday,
Mr Plane Guy
Let’s make travel better.
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