Matt Bunnell

Airline Food and Drink Prices Compared: Who’s Cheapest?

Travel Insights / 26 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

Fancy a coffee, a gin & tonic or something to eat on your next flight? You might be surprised at how much prices vary depending on which airline you’re flying with.

We have researched onboard catering prices across six of the main short-haul airlines serving the UK: British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, TUI, Vueling and Wizz Air.

Our comparison covered 16 commonly available food and drink items, ranging from tea and coffee to wine, snacks and hot meals. We wanted to find out which airlines offer the best value and whether there really is much difference between them.

We also compared some of the onboard prices with equivalent products available at Tesco to see just how much extra you’re paying to enjoy your refreshments at 35,000 feet.

And the results were interesting. British Airways was the most consistently competitive airline, while Wizz Air was generally the most expensive.

Airline Food and Drink Prices Compared: Who’s Cheapest? Read More »

British Airways Club Changes for 2027: Status Thresholds, Tier Points and Avios Earning on Holidays

Points & Miles / 24 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

British Airways has announced another round of changes to its loyalty programme, with higher Tier Point thresholds for Silver and Gold status and reductions in the extra Tier Points awarded on premium long-haul flights.

The changes take effect from April 2027, although the date you book your flights will determine whether the new extra Tier Point rates apply.

There is some better news for most members booking British Airways Holidays, with a simpler system for earning Avios being introduced from November 2026.

Following the recent announcements about new A380 cabins and upcoming lounge refurbishments, these latest changes focus on the British Airways Club loyalty programme itself.

We’ve updated our detailed guides in the BA Club Hub, but in this article we’ll explain the three main changes, who will be affected and what they could mean for earning or retaining British Airways status in 2027/28.

British Airways Club Changes for 2027: Status Thresholds, Tier Points and Avios Earning on Holidays Read More »

Where Did We Fly in Summer 2026? The UK’s Most Popular Destinations

Travel Insights / 19 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

Where did everyone fly this summer? Spain remained the clear favourite, but behind the headline figures there were some interesting changes in where passengers were travelling.

New figures from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) show that international passenger traffic through UK airports reached 80.9 million journeys between June and August 2026, an increase of just 0.9% compared with the same period in 2025.

However, that modest overall growth hides some significant differences.

Traffic between the UK and mainland Spain increased by 7%, Barcelona saw a 13% rise and London Luton Airport continued to grow strongly. Meanwhile, passenger numbers to Turkey fell by 10%, Dubai was down 28% and both Heathrow and Gatwick recorded declines.

We analysed the CAA’s latest figures to identify the most popular countries, destinations and individual flight routes, as well as which UK airports gained or lost passengers during the summer.

One important distinction: these figures measure international passenger journeys through UK airports, not just British holidaymakers heading overseas. They also include people visiting the UK and passengers connecting between flights, so the results reflect a much wider picture of international air travel.

Where Did We Fly in Summer 2026? The UK’s Most Popular Destinations Read More »

How to Avoid Fees When Spending Money Abroad

Tips & Hacks, Travel Insights / 17 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

Using the wrong debit or credit card abroad can be an expensive mistake.

Many UK banks and credit card providers still charge around 3% every time you spend in a foreign currency. Some debit cards also add a fixed fee for each transaction, while withdrawing cash from an overseas ATM can trigger another set of charges.

Individually, these fees might not seem particularly significant. But over a two-week family holiday, paying for meals, drinks, activities and accommodation can quickly add £50 or more to the cost of your trip – without you receiving anything extra for your money.

Fortunately, avoiding most of these charges can be a relatively straightforward process. There are plenty of credit and debit cards that allow you to spend abroad without foreign transaction fees, and a little preparation can also help you avoid expensive exchange rates and unnecessary cash withdrawal charges.

In this guide, we explain the different ways of spending money abroad, the hidden fees to watch out for and how to get the most from your money. We’ll also share the combination of credit cards and bank accounts we personally use when travelling, including how we balance avoiding fees with earning Avios and cashback.

How to Avoid Fees When Spending Money Abroad Read More »

Flying Blue Experiences: VIP Events Using Miles

Points & Miles / 13 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

Fancy watching France play in the Six Nations from a VIP box, or enjoying a concert by a major international artist with food, drinks and hospitality included?

Flying Blue miles aren’t just for booking flights. Since January 2026, members of the Air France-KLM loyalty programme have also been able to redeem their miles for exclusive experiences at two of Paris’s biggest entertainment venues – the Accor Arena and Stade de France.

These aren’t ordinary event tickets. Flying Blue Experiences include access to a private VIP box, premium seating, food, drinks and other hospitality benefits, with tickets available for everything from international rugby matches to concerts by some of the world’s biggest artists.

But with redemptions costing anywhere from 40,000 to 120,000 Flying Blue miles per person, are you actually getting good value compared with using those miles for flights?

We investigated the events available, what’s included in the hospitality packages and how much value you can expect from your miles.

Flying Blue Experiences: VIP Events Using Miles Read More »

What Can You Take in Your Hand Luggage Through UK Airport Security?

At the Airport / 8 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

Airport security rules should be simple: don’t take anything dangerous onto a plane. In reality, working out exactly what you can put in your hand luggage can be surprisingly confusing.

Can you take a 500ml bottle of water through security? What about a power bank, razor, scissors, food or a cigarette lighter? And why can you now take two litres of liquid through security at some UK airports while others
still restrict you to 100ml containers?

The rules have become particularly confusing as UK airports upgrade their security scanners. Some airports have relaxed the traditional 100ml liquids restriction, while others still require passengers to follow it.

In this guide, we explain what you can and cannot take through UK airport security, including the latest rules for liquids, food, batteries, vapes and other everyday items – plus some of our tips for getting through security with the minimum of fuss.

These are the rules for departing from UK airports. Your airline may impose additional restrictions, and airports overseas can have different security rules, so remember to check the requirements for your return journey too

What Can You Take in Your Hand Luggage Through UK Airport Security? Read More »

Best Sites to Search for Avios Reward Flights

Points & Miles / 7 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

Finding Avios reward flights can be frustrating. You might be flexible on dates, willing to fly to several different destinations or simply looking for the elusive two Business Class seats – but repeatedly searching individual dates on airline websites can quickly become a thankless task.

Fortunately, there are several websites that allow you to search reward availability across a much wider range of dates, with some also offering useful features such as availability alerts, multiple-destination searches and the ability to see how many reward seats are available.

We tested the main free and paid options to see how they compare, looking at which airlines they cover, the information they show, how easy they are to use and whether they can help with things such as British Airways American Express Companion Vouchers.

There isn’t one search tool that is best at everything. Avios’ own new Reward Flight Finder is our favourite free option for straightforward BA, Iberia and Aer Lingus searches, while other tools are better if you want alerts, connecting flights or a wider selection of OneWorld airlines.

Here’s what we found.

Best Sites to Search for Avios Reward Flights Read More »

British Airways announces major Heathrow lounge transformation

Flights / 5 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

British Airways has announced a major overhaul of its Heathrow lounge network, including a completely new lounge at Terminal 5C, a redesigned Arrivals lounge and a new First check-in area at Terminal 3.

And this isn’t just a handful of individual refurbishments, BA says the programme will eventually see every one of its Heathrow lounges redesigned.

Some of the improvements will arrive within months, while passengers will have to wait until the end of 2028 for the biggest project. Disappointingly however, no timeline has yet been given for the refurbishment of the existing departure lounges in the main Terminal 5A building.

The announcement comes alongside the unveiling of BA’s completely refurbished Airbus A380, featuring new cabins in First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.

British Airways announces major Heathrow lounge transformation Read More »

British Airways unveils its refurbished A380 with all-new cabins

Flights / 5 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

British Airways has unveiled full details of its refurbished Airbus A380 – the largest aircraft in the fleet – with new cabins in First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.

But this is more than a cabin refurbishment. The new layout provides a fascinating insight into BA’s strategy of going big on premium travel, with substantially more Business Class and Premium Economy seats at the expense of Economy.

The entire upper deck will become Club World, giving the aircraft a huge 106 Club Suites, while World Traveller Plus increases from 55 to 84 seats. Overall, almost half of the refurbished A380’s 417 seats will be in First, Club World or World Traveller Plus.

The first refurbished aircraft is due to enter service in the coming months, with all 12 of BA’s A380s eventually receiving the new interiors.

And the announcement goes beyond the A380. A number of the new onboard service improvements will be rolled out across BA’s wider long-haul fleet, while the new A380 cabins could also give us an indication of what the next generation of British Airways’ long-haul aircraft will look like.

It is a proper nose-to-tail refurbishment rather than simply replacing BA’s old Club World business-class seat. Each aircraft requires more than 35,000 individual parts, with even the galleys and staircases being redesigned.

British Airways unveils its refurbished A380 with all-new cabins Read More »

What Can You Spend Avios On Apart From Flights?

Points & Miles / 5 October 2026 / Matt Bunnell

For many Avios collectors, the ultimate goal is to use their points for Business Class flights or to book trips when cash fares are particularly expensive.

But not everyone wants to use their Avios for flights. You might have more points than you can realistically spend, not have enough for the reward flight you want, or simply prefer to turn them into something useful today rather than save them for a future trip.

Fortunately, flights are far from the only option. Avios can be used towards hotels, car hire, wine, shopping, Eurotunnel LeShuttle and even a meal at PizzaExpress – or converted into Nectar points to spend at places such as Sainsbury’s and Argos.

But these redemptions don’t all offer the same value.

We researched the main ways of spending Avios without flying, calculated how much value you get for each point and compared prices elsewhere to see whether you are actually getting a good deal.

What Can You Spend Avios On Apart From Flights? Read More »