Why this stylish Greek hotel is the perfect family getaway
Combining sweeping sandy beaches, lively water parks and several millennia's worth of ancient history – including the Palace of Knossos, the home of the mythical minotaur – Crete is probably the most popular of the Greek islands when it comes to fun family holidays.
With its crescent-shaped beaches, quaint harbour bobbing with colourful fishing boats, and fairy-lit tavernas dotted along the waterfront, the tiny town of Elounda on the northeastern coast feels like a real Crete secret. Book a holiday package to Elounda Bay Palace with British Airways Holidays, and you'll fly directly into Crete's Heraklion Airport. It's an easy 40-minute transfer to the resort, so the kids can be splashing happily in the Aegean Sea while you kick back with a cold drink within an hour or two of landing.
Set in 20 acres of lush landscaped gardens, Elounda Bay Palace Hotel's big USP is its waterfront setting and the spectacular views across Mirabello Bay. A member of the Leading Hotels of the World, this sprawling resort is ideal for families who are looking for both adventure and relaxation, but with some luxury thrown in too. Naturally, it runs the full gamut of five-star facilities, ranging from saltwater infinity pools overlooking the bay to attentive service, family-friendly meals and fine dining, kids' clubs and nightly entertainment galore. Its two Blue Flag sandy beaches both have plenty of complimentary sunloungers and parasols as well as a beach butler service.
And when parents crave some downtime on their holidays, Elounda's babysitting services and kids' clubs for ages four to 12 years will keep the nippers and older children happily entertained. If you have activity-hungry teenagers who want something more lively, beach volleyball competitions, water sports and tailored sports programmes will keep them occupied.
In addition to the resort's numerous facilities, the friendly concierge team can also arrange excursions such as catamaran cruises, fishing trips or private boat tours over to Spinalonga.
Alternatively, those looking to do some sightseeing will want to visit the Palace of Knossos, Crete's biggest archaeological attraction. Built around 2000 BC, when it was the capital of Minoan Crete, this fascinating Bronze Age site, with its labyrinthine ruins, is packed with minotaur myths and legends which kids will love to explore.
Much of the accommodation at Elounda Bay Palace has been designed with families in mind, without compromising on style. From the spacious interconnecting rooms, airy waterfront suites, garden bungalows and luxury villas with private pools, Elounda Bay Palace caters well for a wide variety of groups – ideal if you want to bring the grandparents along. The room styles vary from contemporary to charming and classically Grecian.
Of course, dining is a big part of any family holiday, and while the authentic tavernas and beachfront bars of Elounda are temptingly close, all hotel guests stay on a half-board basis with a buffet breakfast and dinner in the hotel's main restaurant, though you can exchange the latter for à la carte dining credits, which offer freedom and flexibility. The main restaurant is Aretoussa, which offers buffet-style cuisine and themed dinners throughout the week, while Ariadne is the hotel's charming Greek taverna and Thalassa restaurant showcases Crete's incredible seafood, set right on the water's edge. Meanwhile when it comes to relaxing with a cocktail and light bites by the beach, look no further than F Restaurant. Guests also have the option to dine next door at the sister property, Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas, home to Dionysos, its modern Mediterranean fine dining restaurant, and Blue Lagoon, which serves a variety of Japanese and Peruvian fusion dishes.
It's a leisurely 15-minute stroll along the scenic coastal path into the village – perfect for an ice cream served with views or an evening walk after dinner. Alternatively, the resort's beachfront Erato Lounge and Veghera Jetty Bar feature nightly live music and entertainment until the early hours. Well, you are on holiday after all.
British Airways Holidays packages include a generous checked baggage allowance for each customer and come with full Atol protection for complete peace of mind. Secure your holiday to Elounda Bay Palace with a low deposit and enjoy flexible payments until you fly*.
*Based on two sharing. Full balance due four weeks before departure for short-haul holiday bookings. Subject to availability. T&Cs apply.
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Metro
4 hours ago
- Metro
I'm an ex-flight attendant — there's unexpected protocol for medical emergencies
At 30,000 feet in the air, you really don't want to experience any kind of emergency, but these situations are usually outside our control, as Stephen Graham's story proves. The 51-year-old Adolescence star recently shared the 'scary' moment he had to have an emergency operation on a plane after urinating blood. During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Stephen explained that he had a blood clot lodged behind his urethra and a surgeon had to perform a catheter procedure right there and then on the flight, which took place in a makeshift operating area between the economy and first class cabins. According to Del Wilden, an ex-flight attendant who worked with British Airways for 26 years, major medical emergencies like this do occur on flights but are relatively rare – he only experienced two in his entire time as cabin crew. In the event that this happens, there are some little-known protocols staff have to follow and Del, a former purser (Senior Cabin Crew Manager), has revealed them to Metro, as well as the one thing most Brits don't realise about cabin crew training. Fuel your wanderlust with our curated newsletter of travel deals, guides and inspiration. Sign up here. In the event of a medical emergency, Del says cabin crew would always start by asking passengers if there was a medical professional on board, and while they were ideally seeking a doctor, nurse or paramedic, there was one other profession help could be accepted from, and it might surprise you. 'We were always told that if a medical professional didn't come forward, but a vet came forward and was prepared to help, we were allowed to accept that, he says. 'We had to get them to sign a form of indemnity before they started to help and it would usually only be if a situation was so serious it warranted help urgently.' Until someone came forward, cabin crew would provide as much first aid assistance as they could and Del claims they have much more rigorous training in this area than most Brits realise. 'Until a professional came forward, we would act accordingly. So if it was a heart attack, we'd commence CPR immediately, while another crew member would gather equipment, like a defibrillator and oxygen, and someone else would keep the captain informed of the situation.' As well as being trained in CPR, Del says he was also taught to deliver a baby, in case someone ever went into labour during a flight. If there were no experts on the flight to help, cabin crew would be able to call a company called MedLink for advice in the event of an on board medical emergency. Each plane also had its own special medical kit on board known as an M5. According to Del, half of the kit was for crew to use, while the other half was intended for professional medical use, and this is where the catheter for Stephen Graham's operation would have been found. As well as medical emergencies, Del says there are two other types of emergencies flight attendants may have to deal with – pre-planned and catastrophic. A pre-planned emergency is a situation that develops during a flight and is something that cabin crew have been prepared to respond to. They'll have protocols in place for dealing with the issue and there's usually a bit more time to handle it. An example of a pre-planned emergency might be that the plane has lost its hydraulics for landing. In a situation like this, Del said there would be an 'alert call' over the PA system from the captain, who would ask the senior cabin crew to report to the flight deck immediately. 'As crew, if you hear that during the service you would put your trolley away and go to your station (door) and await a call from the senior crew member,' he says. When the senior team member returned they would then give their crew what's called a 'NITS' breakdown for the emergency, which stands for nature, intention, time and special instructions. For the hydraulics example, the nature of the emergency would be that the plane has lost the hydraulics, the intention might be to dump some fuel and for time, the pilot might have said they have about 45 minutes until they need to land. In this situation, Del says the special instructions could be not to evacuate the plane immediately once they've landed. Following this, the next step would be for the crew to brief passengers on the situation. 'We would go out into the cabin and we'd all have various positions. The captain would do a PA announcement and tell them that there's a situation and what's happening and then they would play a pre-recorded announcement,' Del explains. More Trending 'This always starts with 'Attention, attention, this is an emergency announcement' and then it would tell passengers to follow the crew's instructions.' He adds: 'We would always go through the announcements twice, because we were taught that passengers won't really take much in the first time as they'll be a bit shell shocked, but once you play it a second time, it starts to sink in.' For a catastrophic emergency, such as a plane crash, there isn't the same amount of time to prepare, so Del says staff who are able to do so would have to act instinctively on whatever the situation is. 'If you survive whatever is happening, there's no time involved to make a plan, you basically based on your training would have to use your instincts and find a way to get passengers out of the plane. But before you open any doors, the most crucial step would be to look for fire or any other kind of danger.' Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Stephen Graham had emergency operation on a plane after 'very scary' health problem MORE: Ireland has a US border — it could help travellers nervous about Trump's America MORE: 9 UK companies that give staff a share of profits — including bonuses up to £14,000
The Independent
10 hours ago
- The Independent
Simon Calder on all your passport questions – from expiration dates to Brexit red tape
Q We are due to fly to Greece on 1 July for a week. To my horror I have realised that my son's passport expires on 9 August 2024. I am caught by the 'three-month rule'. My son does not have enough unexpired time on his passport to enable me to travel to Greece with him for our much-needed holiday. Worse, he is now 16 so must apply for a new adult passport in order to travel. While a renewed adult passport can be obtained in two days, so far as I can see there is a minimum of a week in obtaining a brand new adult passport. This would take us past the date of our flight and would mean we could not take our holiday. Is there any way to obtain a passport for my son before Sunday 30 June? Name supplied A I am so sorry: eight years after the vote to leave the European Union, thousands of British travellers are certain to lose their summer holidays due to inadvertent breaches of the post- Brexit passport rules: Under 10 years old since issue date on the day you go in At least 3 months before expiry date on the day you plan to leave Please apply immediately, online, for a renewal of the passport. Send off the old passport, special delivery, to the address given at the end of the application. Then cross your fingers. Straightforward online renewals are often completed within a week. Alternatively, the holiday company may be prepared to let you shift the date a week or two later. If this does not work, then all you can do is pass on the holiday to someone else. Assuming it is a package (flights and accommodation bought in a single transaction) you can transfer it for a payment of £50 or so. In your position, I would be sounding out family and friends in case this becomes necessary. Q I have a query about the benefits of an Irish passport. When you live and work in Northern Ireland but have an Irish passport, you can't get a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic). So when travelling within Europe, you need your British passport and UK Global Health Insurance Card (Ghic) to receive the free health treatment. Please correct me if I am wrong. Alison McQ A As I have written previously, in terms of documentation and ease of travel, the people who are in the strongest post-Brexit position are those with the good fortune to have Irish passports. Thanks to being EU citizens they can speed through Schengen area formalities just as the British once did. And by 2 April they will comprise the only group of foreign people who don't need an Electronic Travel Authorisation for the United Kingdom, due to the age-old Common Travel Agreement. It is quite possible to be a UK citizen and an Irish passport holder at the same time. That is why I have said that I can understand why British citizens who have the good fortune to possess an Irish passport might choose to dispense with the UK version: it offers precious little extra benefit. Having said all that, for the issue of healthcare in the European Union, the key consideration is your country of residence. If you live in Northern Ireland you qualify for a Ghic, which offers free or very heavily subsidised treatment at public hospitals across the EU. The fact that you might also have an Irish passport is not relevant. Indeed, while it is always a good idea for a UK traveller to have a Ghic when travelling to Europe, it is not strictly essential to possess one in order to qualify for treatment on the same basis as local people. The hospital can make contact with the section of the UK NHS Business Services Authority that handles overseas medical care, and verify a patient's status. But best to carry the card. Q I am lucky enough to be a dual passport holder, UK and Irish. I believe that an Irish passport holder exiting the UK and entering the European Union will avoid the forthcoming biometric passport control issue. Coming back, however, how does this apply? For example: can I use my EU passport to enter the EU and when returning use my UK passport to enter the UK? And what happens if I book flights just using the EU passport? Paul Connolly A Once the European Union entry-exit system is running, the value of an EU passport for British travellers will increase still further. The wretched fingerprinting and facial biometric rules – to which we asked to become subject – are currently slated for introduction in November. Once the extra red tape becomes a reality, I predict a surge in applications for Irish passports for those fortunate enough to qualify. Those of us with only a UK passport will have to line up for fingerprints to be taken (on first entry to the Schengen Area) and to have facial biometrics checked (on every arrival and departure). In contrast, EU passport holders will be able to breeze through a fast-track channel. The only check border officials can make is that the document is valid, and that it is yours. Anyone like you who can swerve the system should do so. You will enjoy much smoother progress, and also reduce the queues for us single-passport unfortunates. You could happily enter and leave the EU and wider Schengen Area on your Irish passport and return to the UK on your British passport (there are no formal checks outbound). But I am not sure why you would want to do that: you can speed through the UK Border just as fast with an Irish passport as with a British document. In your position I would leave the UK passport behind, and check in for every flight, ferry or train using your Irish one. Simple and effective. Q I am lucky enough to have a big year of travel planned. It currently looks like this: South Korea in April, Antwerp in September and Japan in November. I'd also like to squeeze in a possible trip to either Florence or Berlin. My problem is: my passport was issued on 23 December 2015 and expires on 23 March 2026. I'm worried about the trip to Japan as I will have less than six months left by the time I go. What is your advice? Olivia C A Lots of people – including some in the travel industry – seem to believe there is some kind of globally ordained rule that your passport should be valid for six months longer than you intend to remain in a foreign country. Fortunately, there is no such edict. Each nation – or, in the case of the European Union, a group of states – decides its own policy. Many countries, including South Korea and Japan, allow tourists to use their passports up to the expiry dates. To run through each of your targets, starting with South Korea: you may read that it is obligatory to obtain a K-ETA (Korea Electronic Travel Authorisation). It isn't. For the whole of 2025, British visitors are exempt, during what the authorities say is a bid 'to stimulate tourism'. That will save you some bureaucracy and 10,000 won (about £5.50). For Antwerp, Berlin or Florence: you can be anywhere in the European Union (and wider Schengen Area) up to 23 December 2025. That is both your passport's 10th birthday, beyond which is not valid for entering the EU, and three months before it expires – the last day you can be in the zone. For Japan, you will just need a blank page for your visa stamp. So make the most of the remaining life of your passport – and make a note in your calendar to renew it perhaps a year from now. One caveat: if there is any likelihood that you may need to travel for work, or family reasons, to a country with a 'six-month rule', look at renewing after your Antwerp trip in September. Egypt, for example, wants six months until expiry on the day you enter. Q I have two passports, French and British. At present, I always travel between the two countries on my French passport. If I used the British one to leave or enter France, the border officers would want to stamp it and might also ask about my length of stay – which is not relevant as I have dual nationality. But when the ETA [electronic travel authorisation] comes in for European visitors to the UK next month, if I travel on the French one I will need to apply for one. What is the best strategy? Jaine F A Travellers who are blessed with the benefit of a European Union passport as well as a UK travel document can swerve all the post-Brexit rules. Using the EU passport they speed through the (almost always) faster Schengen area queue on arrival at their destination, with no need to have their passport stamped. All that border staff can do is check that the EU document is valid and that it belongs to the holder. They will also be able to avoid the future need for biometric checks and the Etias permit. Conversely, going through UK Border Control with a British document avoids any issues with length of stay and, soon, the ETA, which will be mandatory for all EU visitors (except the Irish) entering the UK from 2 April. So travel with both passports; use the French one for crossing into France, the British one for the UK Border. You might be thinking: but I need to give passport information in advance to the airline. Just choose one passport for flight bookings and stick to it. You will need to produce it when boarding flights, but this is a simple ID check rather than anything affecting your immigration status. By the time you arrive at your destination, the airline has lost interest in you. Please note this advice applies only to an EU scenario. Some countries do not allow people to carry two passports. The people who are in the strongest post-Brexit position are those with the fortune to be Irish. They don't need an ETA for the UK thanks to the age-old Common Travel Agreement, and thanks to being EU citizens they can speed through Schengen Area formalities just as the British once did. Q Can you help me with an urgent passport question but not one about expiry dates? I travel often to the EU for work and have no blank pages left in my passport. Will France let me in next week? Name supplied A Relax, at least for your trip to France. If you plan to travel no further than the European Union and the wider Schengen area (including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), don't worry about your passport filling up. Some background: after Brexit, the UK asked for citizens to become 'third-country nationals' in the eyes of the EU, and Brussels agreed. The Schengen border code insists: 'The travel documents of third-country nationals shall be systematically stamped on entry and exit.' I fear you will not qualify for the very few exemptions, unless you are a member of a ship's crew; a national of Andorra, Monaco or San Marino; or a dignitary 'whose arrival has been officially announced in advance through diplomatic channels'. Since the rules we asked for took effect, each visit to the Schengen area uses half a passport page: one stamp to enter, another to return. But even if your passport is completely full, frontier officials are required to provide an additional sheet of paper on which the stamps are applied. Problems arise, though, if you wish to travel beyond Europe to a country that demands a blank page on which to stamp you in and out. For example, the Foreign Office warns: 'To enter Thailand, your passport must have at least one blank page.' Many other non-EU countries have the same requirement, and India and South Africa both demand two clear-facing pages. This is yet another consequence of Brexit that you may feel you were not warned about. But the problem is not permanent. From November this year, if all goes according to plan, the European Union's entry-exit system will end manual passport stamping and replace it with electronic registration – except for travellers to Cyprus, which is remaining outside the Schengen area, and Ireland, where British residents do not require a passport and will not be stamped in or out. Q I am flying from London to Edinburgh in early August. I have sent my passport off for renewal and I know it could take 10 weeks, which would mean the end of August. I checked with the airline's customer service line to ask if I can use my photo driving licence. To my consternation, they said 'no, it has to be a passport'. If the new one doesn't arrive on time, can I cancel, get a refund and go by train instead? Name supplied A You have been misled. No airline asks for a passport for flights within the UK, and I can only imagine the customer service person didn't quite grasp that this was a domestic flight. There is no legal requirement for photo ID on internal UK flights but airlines are allowed to ask for proof of identity to reduce ticket fraud (such as Person B using a ticket sold to Person A, breaking the conditions of contract and possibly making a profit into the bargain). Ryanair asks all passengers aged 16-plus to carry 'any photo ID which matches the passenger's name in the booking'. For easyJet it's something official: a driving licence or a passport that has expired in the past five years, for example. British Airways merely 'advises' that you carry photographic identification, adding enigmatically: 'This may be requested at certain points in your journey.' And Loganair needs photographic ID only when you are checking in luggage. This should be 'government issued' but the definition is broad enough to include a bus pass. As I have previously mentioned, the 10-week stipulation by HM Passport Office for a straightforward renewal such as yours is ridiculously pessimistic, and I will be surprised if you do not have the document within two weeks of posting the old one off. Finally, even though the government is enticing more people on board domestic flights by halving air passenger duty three months ago, the train is much more civilised and environmentally friendly. And unless you are travelling on a railcard-reduced ticket, you won't be asked for ID. So go by rail next time, perhaps. Q Later this year, I hope to travel to Australia via Sri Lanka and come back direct. I am lucky enough to have both British and Australian passports. What I'm confused about is which one do I use at each stage of the journey? Charlotte E A People who have two passports are in an excellent position, but you need to be careful about how you manage them. Starting with first principles: two types of organisations are interested in the nationality of your passport. The immigration authorities of the country you are travelling to want to know that you are entitled to enter, and also want you to enter and leave their country on the same passport. (One exception to this: the UK has no checks on departure.) The airline wants to know that you are entitled to travel to the destination of your ticket. It is not interested in how you later leave that destination. From the UK to Sri Lanka: the British government doesn't care about when you leave. The airline wants to know that you have a valid passport and visa; for most people, that will be Sri Lanka's electronic travel authorisation (ETA), price $50 (£38). Organise this with your British passport. At the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, use your British passport to enter and leave. From Sri Lanka to Australia: on departure from Colombo, the airline will want to know that you are entitled to enter Australia. Therefore, present your Australian passport to the airline, which gives you the automatic right to enter with no additional formalities. This will apply even if you are on a connecting flight, eg on Singapore Airlines rather than SriLankan Airlines direct to Melbourne or Sydney. On arrival in Australia, show the passport control people your Australian passport. You should also use this to leave Australia. From Australia to the UK: use your British passport for the flight – otherwise you will be asked, as an Australian, to obtain a UK ETA. On arrival in the UK, just go through the eGates with your British passport. If this all seems too complicated, just apply for the free Australian eVisitor pass, which is fast and easy to obtain, and do the whole thing on your British passport.
Times
12 hours ago
- Times
Rolls-Royce has wowed the City — can it charm airlines too?
With the temperature gauge nearing 40C, it was a typically stifling June day in downtown Delhi last Sunday. The temperature inside the air-conditioned Taj Mahal hotel was more amenable, but Sir Tim Clark was still getting hot under the collar. The British executive, who co-founded Emirates in 1985 and has led the airline since 2003, is known for lambasting aircraft engine manufacturers — and especially Rolls-Royce. Clark has refused to take delivery of multibillion-dollar order of Airbus aircraft until a fix can be found for what he has described as the 'defective' Rolls-Royce engines that power the specific type of planes. Is it frustrating, then, that Rolls's share price is at record highs? 'Just a bit,' he responded sardonically. • Rolls-Royce reinstates dividend and announces £1bn buyback To rub salt into the wound, Rolls's chief executive, Tufan Erginbilgic, cancelled a lunch date with him at the biennial Paris Air Show next week, the 75-year-old claimed during a fringe event as Delhi hosted the annual conference of airlines trade body IATA. This allegation was later hotly disputed by the Rolls camp. Clark is not alone among airline executives in directing his ire at the Derby-based engineering giant. Bosses at British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have been left fuming at chronic problems with Rolls engines that have grounded planes, leading to swathes of cancellations. The situation is worse still on the other side of the Atlantic. Issues with engines built by the Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney led to a violent sell-off in Wizz Air shares last week. Bosses at the London-listed budget carrier were forced to issue a profit warning and remove forecasts amid concerns about contaminants in the powdered metal used to make its turbofan engines. Sentiment in the Square Mile towards Rolls-Royce, meanwhile, could hardly be more different. The company's shares have risen more than 800 per cent since Erginbilgic, a former BP executive, took office in January 2023. Five-year profit targets have been hit early, and investors have been showered with dividends and share buybacks. Rolls now boasts a stock market value of almost £75 billion, putting it among the five biggest companies in the FTSE 100 last week. The company's success has been built on the back of building and maintaining aircraft engines. Civil aerospace generates 51 per cent of Rolls's revenue and nearly two-thirds of its profits. So having won back the City, can it do the same with the airlines that ultimately keep it aloft? Rolls produces four main engine types: the clunkily named Trent XWB-84 and XWB-97, as well as the Trent 1000 and 7000. 'Yes, everybody who has Trent 1000s has the right to be very cross,' said Nick Cunningham, an analyst at the equity research firm Agency Partners. 'But the whole aero-engine industry is struggling with the latest generation of engines because they collectively ran up against the laws of physics — where the attempt to optimise fuel consumption, emissions and reliability ended up with them pushing the envelope too far.' The Trent 1000 is facing durability issues. 'The blades end up looking like someone with very bad teeth,' said Cunningham. 'We have been taking decisive action and moving quickly to prioritise the resources needed to reduce the impact created by the current industry wide supply chain constraints, it's the highest priority for our civil aerospace division,' Rolls said. The problem with the newer XWB — the -97 version of the engine that, so far, Emirates won't accept — is its propensity to be compromised in hot, sandy conditions such as those in the Middle East. The turbine blades are designed with tiny air-cooling holes. Inspections have found that these have become clogged up with glass, contained in sand blown into the engine, which melts and restricts airflow. A spokesman for Rolls said that Emirates had accepted the XWB-84 version of the engine on its A350-900 jets. The -97 will power A350-1000 aircraft. The interim response has been for Rolls to increase the number of engine inspections and replace parts more frequently. The company is working on a longer-term fix and could make an announcement as early as this month on progress. The increased number of inspections is one reason why BA and Virgin's jets are grounded more often. This has been compounded, across the aero-engine industry, by supply chain problems and labour issues. The roots of this can be traced back to the pandemic, which has led to planes being stuck in maintenance shops for longer. As a result, 15 per cent of the global fleet of aircraft is grounded, compared with the long-term average of 12 per cent, according to IATA. 'The single biggest challenge remains supply chain performance,' said Rob Watson, president of civil aerospace at Rolls. 'Things have improved, but there are still challenges. So that Covid impact is still washing through.' During the pandemic, engine manufacturers' complex network of suppliers had to stop production and furlough staff. Some of the suppliers failed. More recently, geopolitical events have affected access to raw materials. For example, titanium, a crucial metal in the production of engines, was almost exclusively sourced from Russia. 'We still see some fragility in our supply chain,' said Watson. 'So we've invested a lot in our forecasting capability, and we've now got an even better view of our supply chain's ability to order and deliver parts. 'We're doing a lot of work with our quality teams, making sure we've got the right quality in the supply chain and, in some cases, placing employees in supply chain organisations.' Cunningham at Agency Partners pointed out that labour shortages in maintenance workshops have put further strain on the ecosystem. 'All those old guys in the workshop that you used to see — the ones who, in the case of the American workshops, look like members of ZZ Top, and their equivalents in Europe — either got fired during Covid, or decided that it wasn't worth working the last few years of their career after being furloughed,' he said. This has left large parts of the sector with less experienced staff who are not as productive as their older predecessors. For BA, maintenance work on the Trent 1000 engines for its Boeing 787 Dreamliners means that the UK flag carrier has three to four planes grounded at any one time. Sources familiar with the situation said this will continue for the rest of 2025 at least. Such groundings put further pressure on other aircraft in BA's fleet — principally its older-generation Boeing 777 aircraft, which in turn require additional maintenance to compensate for extra flying hours. Sean Doyle, chief executive of British Airways, is thought to be waiting on Rolls to come up with a plan for 2026. BA this weekend declined to comment. • Everyone bashes it but BA is surging ahead … what's its secret? Virgin Atlantic said that aircraft availability continues to be 'slightly impacted' by the continued supply chain shortages related to Trent 1000 engines. 'We work very closely with Rolls-Royce to mitigate impact, and the reliability of our schedule is delivering strong results for our customers,' a spokeswoman said. British Airways recently gave the strongest sign yet that its patience with Rolls has run out in relation to the Trent 1000, however. BA's parent company, IAG, announced in May that an order of 32 Dreamliners would be powered by engines made by GE, Rolls's rival. Watson, Rolls-Royce's civil aerospace chief, said: 'Of course we were disappointed that IAG opted for GE on the recent Dreamliner order. But it's always our customers' choice. 'Let's not forget that at the same time the Dreamliner order didn't go our way, IAG placed a significant order of Rolls-Royce-powered Airbus aircraft [for BA's sister airlines Aer Lingus, Iberia and Level], which I think demonstrates the strong relationship we've built with IAG.' As for the Trent XWB-97 on which Clark at Emirates claims he is waiting, Erginbilgic has set aside £1 billion to find a long-term fix to legacy issues with it and other engines. 'Since he [Erginbilgic] took over from Warren East [as chief executive], he really has transformed that business,' said Clark. 'Maybe he's a little bit more confident about his engineering capabilities. But I haven't seen any 'we will give you the engine' or 'we will guarantee the engine'.' Maybe Clark will find out over their lunch later this month at the Paris Air Show. Assuming their date is still going ahead.
