- Mr Plane Guy
- 11 hours ago
- 9 min read
This Week's Plane News
23 November 2025
By Mr Plane Guy, Travel Blogger, Flight Expert & Plane GEEK
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, I might earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep this blog running (and fuels my habit of buying overpriced lattes at the airport). Thanks for your support! Note: I’m also not a financial advisor just sharing my experience.
Welcome aboard this week’s Plane News Weekly, your Sunday fix of UK airline updates, aviation news, loyalty deals, and travel hacks from the skies.This week I'm flying fom Amsterdam Schiphol to an exotic destination! Check out my instagram stories to find out where!( clues are, culinary delights, some would say a decent football team andI will probably need my BIG coat!) I was just offered a business class upgrade for £60!!! So look out for my KLM Schiphol Aiport Lounge review coming very soon!
American Express has quietly dropped one of the biggest referral bonuses I’ve ever seen on the Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card:
If you use my referral link:
You’ll earn: 45,000 Membership Rewards Points (usually 22,000!) when they get approved and spend £5,000 in 6 months.
That’s enough for:
A return to Europe,
A one-way long-haul in Premium,
Or a big chunk towards a Business Class Avios upgrade.
Offer ends 13 January 2026. Very limited and genuinely one of the best Amex Gold boosts in years.
Black Friday is around the corner and yesterday I was told I could offer my readers a HUGE 40% OFF deal on a Priority Membership! This is unbelievable value! So that means you can get an annual pass form £41, that will get you into over 1800 lounges worldwide for around £24, depending on the lounge! THIS IS CHRISTMAS GIFT territory, what a cool gift!
(I've never seen this deal this good!)
✉️ Subscribe to Plane News Weekly for exclusive flight deals, loyalty tips, and aviation updates every Sunday. Sign up here.
Plane News Weekly: Black Friday Flight Frenzy
Black Friday lands on November 29, followed by Cyber Monday (Dec 2) and Travel Tuesday (Dec 3) three of the biggest deal days of the year for savvy travellers. Expect flight sales, hotel flash offers and plenty of luggage, tech and travel-essential bargains on Amazon.
Plane Tip: My Amazon Storefront is already stocked with the best early Black Friday travel deals, from noise-cancelling headphones and cabin-size suitcases to travel adapters up to 40% off.
My favourite luggage brand Cabin Max has some amazing Black Friday sales on Amazon already, this is why I love Cabin Max cases!
Boarding Announcements, New Routes & Airline Updates
Plane Tip: Don’t waste those gate-wait minutes Audible for Travel turns every layover into a first-class story time, and right now you can start listening for just 99p. Get the trial here.
Condor Brings Frankfurt Back to Gatwick (After Lufthansa Dropped It)
German carrier Condor, yes, the one with the striped “flying toothpaste” planes is launching daily Gatwick–Frankfurt flights from 1 April 2026, stepping into the gap left when Lufthansa scrapped the route in 2024. It means business travellers in the Gatwick catchment finally regain a direct link to Europe’s financial hub. Timings aren’t perfect for a classic day trip (first LGW departure is 10:20), but the schedule still works for meetings, overnights, and fast Euro-hops. If you’re flying this route, don’t forget: Gatwick has some of the best lounges in the UK, check out my full Gatwick airport lounge guides →
JetBlue Goes Big: Barcelona & Milan Added to Boston Map for 2026
JetBlue is expanding its Boston transatlantic push with two major new European routes for summer 2026. Daily seasonal flights from Boston to Barcelona launch 16 April, followed by Milan Malpensa on 11 May 2026. JetBlue’s first-ever service to Italy and its second city in Spain. Both routes will use the Airbus A321 with Mint suites (yes, the ones with doors), free Wi-Fi and seatback screens at every seat. With BCN and MXP added, JetBlue will serve nine European airports from Boston next summer as it builds BOS into its main transatlantic gateway. Tickets go on sale 20 November, pending government approval. If you want a taste of what JetBlue is like onboard, check out my full JetBlue review here.
Manchester Airport Enters New Era as Terminal 2 Takes Over
Manchester Airport has officially completed its £1.3bn Terminal 2 migration, with Emirates and easyJet the final airlines to move across this week. It means around 75% of all passengers will now travel through the upgraded “super-terminal,” including the new pier that can finally handle the Emirates A380.
Ryanair is now the only airline still using Terminal 1/3 for check-in and security. Its passengers can now access the Aspire Lounge in T1/T3, head through Duty Free, turn left, go upstairs and it’s the first lounge on the right. Read my full T1 Aspire review here.
With T1 closing early next year, work on Terminal 3’s expansion is accelerating, bringing new security lanes, more seating, fresh dining options and a new 500-seat bar.
My Escape Lounge and 1903 Lounge reviews for Terminal 2 are coming soon perfect timing as T2 becomes Manchester’s new home base. In fact when you read this I will be checking the temperature of the prosecco! Here is all the goss on Terminal 1 closing.
BA Makes Bonus Tier Points Permanent
British Airways is making its bonus tier points scheme permanent from 25 November, meaning members will automatically earn extra tier points on every flight without opting in.
Bonuses range from 75 points in Euro Traveller to 550 in First, giving flyers a faster route to BA Silver and BA Goldunder the new spend-based system.
You’ll still earn 1 tier point per £1 of eligible BA spend, but these built-in bonuses now make status a little easier to reach.
If you're hunting Avios seats, Reward Flight Finder can track BA & Qatar rewards 355 days ahead with instant alerts. Read more about this.
New BA Routes: Tivat & Guernsey for Summer 2026
British Airways is adding two fresh destinations next summer.Tivat, Montenegro will see three weekly flights, ideal for Bay of Kotor beaches, marinas and old-town exploring.BA will also launch twice-daily year-round flights to Guernsey from Heathrow, bringing Channel Island sunshine and rugged coastal walks even closer.
easyJet Expands UK Network for 2025–26
New Routes From London (Gatwick)
Munich, Frankfurt, Scandinavian Mountains, Salzburg
New Routes From Newcastle
Tenerife South, Bilbao, Prague, Reus, Rhodes, Sharm El Sheikh
New Routes From Scotland
Malta, Pisa, Sharm El Sheikh, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Bologna
New Routes From Birmingham
Aberdeen, Montpellier, Rome Fiumicino, Derry–Londonderry, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria
New Routes From Manchester & Liverpool
Montpellier, Preveza, Bari, Paphos, Marseille, Scandinavian Mountains
Pre-Flight, Lounge & Airport Experiences
🔥 Black Friday Deal: Priority Pass Up to 40% Off
This is the BEST Priority Pass offer I’ve EVER seen and I don’t know when it will end.
Right now you can get Priority Pass from just £41!! Giving you access to over 1,800 airport lounges and airport experiences worldwide at massively reduced rates.
If you’ve ever wanted lounge access, this is the time to grab it.
Hurry, this Black Friday deal won’t last long.
Frequent Flyer Briefing, Loyalty Offers & Points
Want to Land 2000 Virgin Points in 2 minutes?
Sign up with my affiliate link and get a 2,000 Virgin Points welcome bonus! (Very limited time offer be quick!)
💳 Want Virgin Points to Upgrade? Here’s the Current Offer
Virgin Atlantic Credit Card Offer
If you want fast-track access to upgrades, the Virgin Atlantic Credit Cards are offering up to 18,000 bonus points right now and spending £10,000 a year gets you an upgrade or companion ticket. Use my referral link for 5000 extra points. Check if you're eligible here
🔑 dtkJLUuPjzWyCqbQUtJNTw==
Use this when applying to get 5,000 extra Virgin Points.
Reward seat pricing starts from as low as 6,000 Virgin Points (plus taxes/fees), subject to availability. Or from 29000 in Upper Class! I last flew for 10500 in Premium Economy, you can read all about it here. or my Upper Class review here.
Important: This isn’t financial advice. Credit cards are subject to status, terms and conditions, and affordability checks. Please consider your own financial situation before applying.
Avios Tip of the Week:
🔥 Avios Black Friday: 50% Bonus on 1,000+ Brands (Now Live)
BA’s Avios eStore has launched its biggest promo of the year: 50% bonus Avios on 1,000+ retailers until 28 December. If you’re doing Christmas shopping, this is the easiest, laziest way to turbo-charge your balance and yes, it stacks with your Amex / Chase / BA credit card points.
Big wins this week include Selfridges (12 Avios/£1), Harvey Nichols (16 Avios/£1), M&S (8 Avios/£1) and huge boosts at Sainsbury’s for new Click & Collect customers.
Plane Tip: Always click through the BA Shopping portal first, then pay with a points-earning card. With the 50% bonus on top, you’re basically double-dipping your way to a Europe return 2,615 Avios from one £40 shop Sainsbury's shop, Full details here.
Once you’ve got the Avios, find seats before they vanish with Reward Flight Finder or grab Jack’s Flight Club for £1 and bag ridiculous flight deals when cash beats points.
Earn 500 Bonus Skywards Miles Just for Linking AccountsEmirates is giving you an easy win: link your Emirates Skywards and Marriott Bonvoy accounts by 21 December 2025 and you’ll pocket 500 bonus Skywards Miles.Once linked, you’ll earn Skywards Miles and Marriott Bonvoy points on Emirates flights and stays across 30 Marriott brands, from affordable luxury to full-on five-star escapes, here is my review of Emirates Premium.
Takeoff, Travel Deals & Flight Opportunities
Jack’s Flight Club Black Friday: 15% Off Premium (Code: BF25JACK15)
Jack’s Flight Club has dropped a rare Black Friday offer on Premium memberships.
15% off quarterly membership
Use code BF25JACK15
Only $17.85 for 3 months
Includes long-haul mistake fares, Business Class deals & rare Avios sweet spots
14-day money-back guarantee
Code: BF25JACK15
If you want cheaper flights in 2026, this genuinely pays for itself in one deal. Last year I had an amazing trip to Morocco and the flight cost £40 return!!
I even squeezed my outfits into a Cabin max Metz backpack which met strict camel baggage rules!
Christmas Market Spotlight:
Also with Christmas Market season fast approaching, now is the time to plan festive European trips check out my Christmas Market guides. Full details of Christmas Market dates for 2025, amazing deals, reviews and guides.
Last year I visited the Edinburgh Christmas Market and stayed at this stunning hotel, anyway I just noticed that Luxury Escapes has it on an amazing deal right now!
Plane Talk, Insider Insight & Reader Engagement
Have a lounge or route you’d like reviewed? Drop a comment or DM me on Instagram, your question might feature in next week’s edition! Follow me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes travel updates and real-time airline news from my journeys.
This week I am off to Manchester to check out two Airport Lounges and I am also popping into KLM's Crown Lounge at Amsterdam's Schiphol. Check out next week's Plane News Weekly for the full low down, KLM's Crown Lounge review will be full of drama!
I’m Mr Plane Guy, sharing UK airline news, flight deals, and loyalty tips with a plane honest perspective and loyalty tips each week.
I test lounges, try new routes, and offer practical travel hacks so you can fly smarter, save money, and make the most of your points.
✈️ Plane Extras Express
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🅿️ Airport Parking Compare prices and save up to 75% at airports across the UK from Heathrow and Gatwick to Manchester, Birmingham and beyond with
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Get 30% off Priority Pass membership and relax in 1800+ lounges worldwide.
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Plane News This Week, 23 November 2025.
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