Bits: BA drops Jeddah and cuts other ME routes, 100% bonus buying Hilton points
News in brief:
British Airways terminates Jeddah route
British Airways has made a number of changes to its network to reflect the continuing uncertainty in the Middle East.
The key change is that the Jeddah route will terminate on 24th April. This originally launched in November 2024.
It follows Virgin Atlantic’s decision to close its Riyadh route. It is not clear if these routes were receiving direct or indirect subsidies from Saudi Arabia, which has recently begun to cut back on infrastructure spending.
According to a Financial Times report, we will also see:
- Dubai cut to daily from 1st July
- Doha cut to daily from 1st July
- Tel Aviv cut to daily from 1st July
- Riyadh cut to daily from mid-May
- Bahrain suspended until winter timetable (end of October)
- Amman suspended until winter timetable (end of October)
The spare capacity will be used to add additional flights to:
- Bangalore (one extra daily flight, now 14/week)
- Nairobi (one extra daily flight, now 14/week)
- Mumbai (one extra daily flight, now 21/week)
- Delhi (three additional flights, now 14/week)
Avios seats for these new flights are now available. The Nairobi service is interesting because, with two daily departures, it is now easier to connect with the small aircraft which ferry you to safari lodges and which cannot usually fly in the dark.
Normal service is planned to resume from the start of the winter schedule at the end of October, except for Jeddah which is permanently cancelled.
Get a 100% bonus buying Hilton Honors points
Hilton Honors has launched a new 100% bonus for buying 5,000+ Hilton Honors points. It runs to 29th May.
If you’ve never bought hotel points, it can be a good deal. Hilton has been quietly increasing the points price of many of its top hotels, however, so do the maths for your target property before buying.
Some people may see a smaller bonus percentage, or a price discount, as part of Hilton’s market testing.
The Hilton ‘buy points’ page is here.
The annual purchase limit is 160,000 points pre-bonus.
The cost for the maximum 320,000 points (160,000 + 100%) would be £1,320 which is 0.41p per point. This is above our target valuation for a Hilton Honors points at 0.33p but you can still do ok at this level because Hilton caps the points cost of hotels on peak dates.
Do note that Hilton restricts new members from buying points immediately. The rule is:
“A new Hilton Honors Member may purchase Points 30 days after enrollment if the account reflects activity including a stay (as defined herein) or earning Hilton Honors Points through a Hilton Hilton Honors Marketing Partner. After 90 days of enrollment, a new Member is eligible to purchase Points regardless of their account activity.“
The page to buy points is here if you are interested.
PS. If you are looking for a quick way to Hilton Honors Silver status to get ‘five reward nights for the points of four’, remember that the Hilton Honors Debit Card comes with free Silver status. Your status is updated immediately when you activate the card. Our review of the base Hilton Honors debit card is here.