Summary

The Airbus A380 is a great aircraft and is always a popular choice for flying. Although no US-based airlines operate the type, British Airways flies several routes between the UK and the US using the A380. This winter, these include Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Points and miles from any one world member loyalty program can be used to book flights with varying rates and terms. This includes American Airlines AAdvantage and Alaska Airline Mileage Plan - plus many more.

British Airways and the A380

is a major operator of the Airbus A380 – especially on routes to North America. This gives US-based flyers an excellent opportunity to fly the aircraft when heading to the UK or onwards within Europe.

It also includes routes from London to Dubai, Singapore, and Johannesburg. All the A380 aircraft are configured the same, with four cabins. This notably includes a first class service – the only airline to now operate this on these routes.

Using British Airways Executive Club to book the A380

The obvious option for flying the British Airways A380, is, of course, to use British Airway’s own loyalty program, British Airways Executive Club . This uses Avios as a loyalty currency – a shared currency between a number of loyalty programs.

Executive Club is the British Airways loyalty program. It uses the Avios point also used by other IAG owned airlines and some of its partners.

Executive Club uses a fixed-price award redemption system. Unlike many airline loyalty programs (including the major US airlines), it has not switched to a variable or dynamic pricing system. This generally means you will get better value awards, but with the disadvantage that awards are either available or not.

The one-way Avios rates for the US A380 flights are as follows. Note that there are several combinations of Avios and cash offered that can represent different value. The rates below are the standard, and they require higher cash co-pay. You can use more Avios to reduce the cash element.

The best value is in using Avios for flights - with a range of airlines and a flexible booking system.

Love learning about points and miles? Read more of our loyalty news and guides here .

Using American Airlines AAdvantage

A popular choice for US-based travelers is to use American Airlines AAdvantage to book British Airways flights. As is a member of the one world alliance, AAdvantage miles can be used to book award flights on any one world airline.

This is also based on a fixed price system (although AAdvantage uses dynamic pricing for American Airlines flights, partners use fixed prices). AAdvanatge generally offers better value than British Airways Executive Club, but there are several differences.

The American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flyer program was launched by the United States carrier on May 1st, 1981. It was the second loyalty program to be launched by an airline worldwide, and today it is the oldest still in existence.

Using Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles

There are many other programs that can be used. As a one world member, you can use any one world loyalty program to book British Airways flights. Another useful option for North America-based travelers is Mileage Plan. If used well, this can be the most valuable program, with further advantages.

Launched in 1983 as the Gold Coast Travel program, Alaska Airlines' frequent flyer program is now known as Mileage Plan.

Before 2023, Mileage Plan published fixed route-based tables for all airlines. This has now been changed, and pricing is variable. Starting price levels are published for all partners based on region. At present, most flights seem to be priced at this level, or not at all – but this could quickly change.

A major advantage with Mileage Plan is that it allows one free international stopover. This is unusual among loyalty programs and can create some great value opportunities.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

There are 13 members of the Oneworld alliance , and all these loyalty programs can be used to book British Airways flights. We will look here at just one further major program – Qatar Airways Privilege Club .

This also uses Avios as its currency. Avios can now be freely transferred between any of the programs that use it – including British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Finnair Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club. This opens up many different earning, redeeming, and status earning opportunities for travelers in different regions.

With Privilege Club, flights are priced similarly to those of the British Airways Executive Club. There is a fixed rate for every flight sector (with connections costing more), based on flight distance and travel class. Unfortunately, there is no published official chart.

Qatar's Avios points can be used to purchase Qatar flights, upgrades, hotels, and partner flights.

The other one world programs can all be used as well, and each has their own perks and differing rates. Feel free to discuss the ways you collect and book in the comments section.