gingeola

Available to book although not announced yet.

Operates twice per week on a Tuesday and Saturday from 31st March.

Pascoe

Cool - nice part of Spain

corporate-wage-slave

Interesting. This was one of just a few Monarch services where BA did not have a service. So keep an eye out for Preveza.

EDIT: Here is the text of today's BA Media Centre press release:

British Airways customers will be able to bask in beautiful Almeria next year when the airline starts a new twice-weekly service to the southern Spanish city on March 27, 2018. Situated in the southeast of Spain and perfectly positioned on the Mediterranean Sea, Almeria is famous for its Spaghetti Western film sets, untouched beaches, white-washed villages and medieval history.

Flights will depart on Tuesdays and Saturdays from Heathrow Terminal 5 and operate until October 27, with hand baggage only, with return fares starting from £66 per person. Sean Doyle, British Airways’ director of network and alliances, said: “We’re extremely happy to start flying to Almeria, situated on part of Spain’s most unspoilt shores. If you want to jump into crystal clear water, explore the volcanic cliffs of the Wild West and drink sangria in the desert, then this stunning part of Andalucía is a dream holiday destination.

“British Airways already operates 36 flights a week from Heathrow, Gatwick, London City and Stansted to nearby Malaga and two flights a week to Murcia so holidaymakers now have even more choice to explore this diverse part of Spain.”

Those looking for off-the-beaten track adventure can explore the coves of Cabo de Gata-Nijar nature reserve, or drive to the nearby Tabernas desert, the back drop of Sergio Leone’s classic movie ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. Divers can delve deep below the rocky coastline with 40 designated sites around the Cabo de Gata Unesco marine reserve, while night owls can start the evening with a crawl of the city’s tapas bars, before heading to the clubs on Calle de las Tiendas.

British Airways operates flights from the UK to 17 Spanish destinations, including Alicante, Barcelona, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Granada, Ibiza, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia and Seville. Later this month the airline will also launch direct flights from Heathrow to Tenerife for the winter season. British Airways also has a code share agreement with sister airline, Vueling, offering customers access to more than 170 of their routes across Europe.

Flights include free online check-in and seat selection 24 hours prior to departure and the airline recently launched its multi-million pound investment plan to benefit its customers with a focus on excellence in the premium cabins and more choice and quality for all.

Timetable (flights to/from T5)
BA420 LHR to LEI 1315 1700 Tues, Sat
BA421 LEI to LHR 1750 1935 Tues, Sat

• *based on an each way fare
• British Airways customers will be able to choose from seats in Club Europe and Euro Traveller cabins, when it begins flights, using Airbus A320s with each aircraft offering up to 143 seats and up to 168 seats, respectively.

BarbicanLondon

I would highly recommend doing an open jaw and take the train to/from Almeria as the train ride is stunning!

Can do it with Malaga via Cordoba. Madrid on a direct train.

On my twitter are images and videos of the wonderful train ride @AndyBTravels

frenzie01

But is it in the long band with proper CE catering?

oxtailsoup

Great news for us! Avios awards completely open... just managed to book May school holidays and August school holidays.... most dates have at least 4 ET and 2 CE award seats.

Also some very good fares between April and July in ET (under £100 return).

Prospero

A lovely part of the world. LEI airport is a bit basic mind - no lounge for example

corporate-wage-slave

Definitely Long, Almería is over a thousand miles from LHR.

LCY8737

Would that put it in the 80 TP range?

Shame about the Tue/Sat schedule though... Makes it very difficult for a weekend break.

corporate-wage-slave

Almost certainly not. It's not quite as far out as AGP, which is 40TP (but a lot further than ALG which is 80TP) but normally BA doesn't carve out exceptions within a country area such that some are just in and some are just over. There is only one exception to this, CTA is in the 80 TP group, the only Italy location which is, whereas PMO, on the same island, is 40. However CTA is 1230 miles from London, PMO 1130.

KARFA

It's down as 1026 on the BAEC claculator and already showing as 40 TPs.

This isn't too surprising. The following are all longer and all 40 TPs.

Pascoe

We went for Semana Santa a few years back and had a great time.

That timetable looks pretty ok as well - Sat out Tue back is a nice little 3 night break. And for the die hard TP gatherers here I assume that timing would work fine for an immediate turnaround if that's your thing. But to me that would be a waste as it's a genuinely nice little town.

The bars round the main square are decent, and the Andalucian thing of rewarding beer purchases with tapas gets me every time. It's a downward eating drinking spiral in the nicest possible way ;-)

Dicksbits

This is amazing news. My parents have a house in Mojacar, about 80km north of Almeria.
I've been flying via Madrid with IB for years now (when not using Granada, Murcia, Alicante). This route will be a welcome addition! On a 319 I noticed.

Dicksbits

Just followed you...I'll check these out

Dicksbits

Bit of a geek's query but is the 420/421 a brand new call sign or one from the 'old days'? Didn't BA used to fly to Almeria under the guise of GB Airways from Gatwick once upon a time...?