Members of the British Airways Executive Club should know the best way to spend their Avios on flights to maximise value. There are also the occasional sweet spots to take advantage of. All of that being said, what are the worst flights to redeem points on?
Everyone will have their own opinion on the matter. Some might say that short haul flights are a waste of Avios, and others would say never to use points for economy class travel. Personally, I think these are the worst ones…
Mid-Haul Flights
Once upon a time, there was a sub-fleet of Airbus A321 aircraft at British Airways that were inherited from BMI. These featured lie-flat seats in Club Europe (business class) and so they were allocated to mid-haul routes.
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- British Airways mid-haul A321s had lie-flat seats inherited when they bought BMI.
Mid-haul were flights from London (because how else do you fly outside the UK on BA if not from London) to Beirut, Amman, and Cairo. These days there are no flights to Beirut, so only the latter two still exist.
The Worst Flights To Redeem Avios?
The old mid-haul flights have been reclassified as standard short-haul routes, with the usual short-haul aircraft flying them. That means Club Europe (European business class) instead of Club World, and EuroTraveller instead of World Traveller down the back.
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- Club Europe on British Airways – nowadays some don’t have the middle table. The seats are the same as EuroTraveller for the most part.
The difference? Club World has lie-flat seats or the new Club Suite, versus Club Europe with standard seating. World Traveller features widebody aircraft with personal televisions at every seat. EuroTraveller is more of a Ryanair seat. This means if you’re flying the 2,292 miles from Heathrow to Amman, you get the same type of plane as a London to Manchester.
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- British Airways Club World – a very civilised experience, even in the old yin/yang configuration shown here.
By comparison, if you are going to Tel Aviv (actually 59 miles shorter), you get the full long-haul experience. Therefore you’d be mad to redeem Avios on the BA services to Amman. In fact, you’d be better off using your Avios on oneworld partner Royal Jordanian instead.
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- Crown Class on a Royal Jordanian Boeing 787. Looks good!
Off-peak, it costs 62,500 Avios return in Club to Amman (with €427.08 in taxes) and the same to Cairo (but €384.71 in taxes). Tel Aviv, also a five hour flight, is the same amount of Avios (with €379.51 in taxes), but you get the full service and a long-haul aircraft. I know what I’d be doing!
Overall Thoughts
These are certainly some of the worst flights to use your Avios on when flying outside of Europe. Virtually all other flights will be served by long-haul aircraft, so avoid using them on British Airways to Amman and Cairo.
Perhaps one day these flights will be restored to the long-haul network. After all, nothing remains the same in aviation, it’s a constantly fluid situation. For all we know, we’ll be on Boom Supersonic jets to Amman by 2040!
Do you think these are the worst flights to redeem your hard earned Avios on? Or would you suggest something else? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by BriYYZ on Flickr via Wikimedia Commons.
Mid-Haul cabin via Head For Points.
Royal Jordanian Crown Class via Royal Jordanian.
I thought that, in general, using BA Avios on BA trans-Atlantic flights was their worst use due to the crazy-high fees.
Yes, the fees are extremely high. The best use is on other airlines or on upgrades from Premium Economy to Club World.
I must admit to not being a Club Europe fan although it’s been a few years. The narrow seats are harsh but the terrible legroom is really what gets me. IMO better to fly coach and pay extra for a bulkhead or exit row although I’m unusually tall so my perspective is not the norm.
Without a doubt you’d need an exit row if you’re very tall. The seating is pretty close together otherwise – and it’s the same in Club Europe. I’m not particularly tall, so it’s all quite fine for me. Makes sense from your perspective as to why you wouldn’t rate it.