A NEW luxury train service with an on-board spa, private cabins and other lavish touches is set to launch in the UK next year.

The Britannic Explorer will be the first luxury sleeper train in England and Wales by the hospitality and leisure company Belmond.

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Brit holidaymakers will know Belmond as the luxury train operator behind the British Pullman, the Royal Scotsman and the Orient Express.

A statement on the Belmond website reads: “See Britain through new eyes aboard the first ever luxury sleeper train in England and Wales.

“Paying homage to the Great British tradition of touring, the Britannic Explorer celebrates the art of slow travel, preserving Britain’s pioneering railway history while ushering in a new era of culture and creativity.”

Train journeys will launch in July, 2025, with services departing from London.

Holidaymakers can choose from three routes, including the Lake District, Cornwall and Wales.

One each route, passengers can explore some of the UK’s prettiest destinations like St Ives in Penzance, Haverfordwest and Porthmadog in Wales and Ribblehead Viaduct in the Lakes.

Curator-led tours of art galleries, foraging experiences and wild swimming excursions will also be organised for passengers.

It’s not just about the destination but rather the journey.

The luxurious locomotive will have 18 private cabins, including three grand suites, double suites and twin suites.

Each of the grand suites will feature a double bed, a marble dining room, an en-suite bathroom with a marble basin and shower cubicle and a personal butler.

Meanwhile, the double suites, which have been decorated with a green colour scheme, will have a double bed, an en-suite bathroom, and a fold out table and stool.

Lastly, the twin suites have twin beds with an en-suite bathroom and a fold-out table and stool.

The twin suites will also feature artwork by English artist and designer Luke Edward Hall.

On-board dining on the Britannic Explorer has been described as a “moveable feast” by the luxury travel brand.

The food menu has been designed by chef Simon Rogan, owner of L’Enclume, a restaurant in the Lake District that holds three-Michelin stars.

Each train journey includes lunch, dinner and an afternoon tea, with meals served in the Dining Car.

Alternatively passengers can unwind in the Observation Car that features a bar where cocktails, gins and craft beers are served.

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The luxury sleeper train will also have an on-board spa where passengers can book massages and facials.

Tickets for three-night stays start from £5,800 per passenger for a twin suites, with six-night stays start from £11,600 person for the same cabin.

Breaks are already on sale, with more information available here.

Other luxurious train journeys

At the end of last year, the Royal Scotsman in Scotland was named one of the best train journeys in the world by Conde Nast Traveler.

The Scottish train made the list thanks to its indulgent and intimate atmosphere.

Another fancy train journey in the UK is the four-night Welsh Dragon holiday, run by Steam Dreams Rail Co.

Travelling from London Paddington through Wales, there is an onboard bar as well as a dining car with a specially made menu.

Starting from £995pp, the steam train trip is set to run this September.

Sun Travel’s favourite train journeys in the world

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SUN Travel’s journalists have taken their fair share of train journeys on their travels and here they share their most memorable rail experiences.

Davos to Geneva, Switzerland

“After a ski holiday in Davos, I took the scenic train back to Geneva Airport. The snow-covered mountains and tiny alpine villages that we passed were so beautiful that it felt like a moving picture was playing beyond the glass.” – Caroline McGuire

Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen

“Nothing quite beats the Shinkansen bullet train, one of the fastest in the world. It hardly feels like you’re whizzing along at speed until you look outside and see the trees a green blur. Make sure to book seat D or E too – as you’ll have the best view of Mount Fuji along the way.” Kara Godfrey

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London to Paris by Eurostar

“Those who have never travelled on the Eurostar may wonder what’s so special about a seemingly ordinary train that takes you across the channel. You won’t have to waste a moment and can tick off all the top attractions from the Louvre to the Champs-Élysées which are both less than five kilometres from the Gare du Nord.” – Sophie Swietochowski

Glasgow to Fort William by Scotrail

“From mountain landscapes and serene lochs to the wistful moors, I spent my three-hour journey from Glasgow to Fort William gazing out the window. Sit on the left-hand side of the train for the best views overlooking Loch Lomond.” – Hope Brotherton

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Beijing to Ulaanbatar

“The Trans-Mongolian Express is truly a train journey like no other. It starts amid the chaos of central Beijing before the city’s high-rises give way to crumbling ancient villages and eventually the vast vacant plains of Mongolia, via the Gobi desert. The deep orange sunset seen in the middle of the desert is among the best I’ve witnessed anywhere.” – Ryan Gray

Meanwhile, this is one of the best overnight train journeys in the world.

And this scenic train route is in the UK and costs just £23.

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PASSENGERS wanting to fly with Jet2 from London have been given a major boost today.

Today (November 13, 2024), Jet2 announced the opening of its 13th airport base in the UK at London Luton Airport.

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The UK’s largest tour operator will open a brand-new airport base in London Luton Airport for summer 2025.

Jet2 flights will start operating from the airport on April 1, 2025, with the first services flying to Majorca on the same day.

The airline will fly to 17 summer holiday destinations from London Luton Airport, with 430,000 seats already on sale.

In total, 36 weekly flights will operate from the London-based airport next summer.

From London Luton Airport, Jet2 will fly to the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Mainland Spain, Portugal and Turkey.

Weekly services will also operate to Greece, Italy and Madeira – with a full list of destinations below.

Jet2 will operate three exclusive routes from the airport to Girona, Madeira and Verona.

Steve Heapy, Jet2 boss, said: “We are very excited to announce London Luton Airport as our 13th UK airport base today, further expanding our footprint and bringing our award-winning holidays and flights to even more customers.

“Customers and independent travel agents have been asking us to open at London Luton Airport for many years now, so we know how enormously popular this announcement will be.

“We have seen time and time again how popular our product is when we bring it to new customers, and we look forward to delivering our VIP customer service to holidaymakers from our newest airport base.”

Alberto Martin, Chief Executive at London Luton Airport, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Jet2, the UK’s leading package holiday provider, to London Luton Airport.

“The arrival of Jet2 is fantastic news for the millions of passengers who choose to fly from the airport each year and marks a major expansion of Jet2’s operations in the south of England.”

Flights and package holidays are already on sale; all packages are ATOL-protected.

Two brand-new Airbus A321neo aircraft will be based at the airport.

My View: Jet2’s London Luton Airport Base

THE Sun’s Head of Travel Lisa Minot explains what Jet2’s new airport base at London Luton Airport means for holidaymakers in the south of England.

JET2’s latest base at London Luton Airport sees the airline consolidating its growth in the south of England and further cements its position as the UK’s biggest tour operator.

The airline and package holiday company has seen astonishing growth in the last two decades – and this October increased its ATOL licence yet again to more than seven MILLION passengers.

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From its first Jet2 flight in 2002 from Leeds Bradford, the company has grown steadily off the back of excellent regional connectivity and superb customer service.

Its early years expansion in the north of England saw it offer millions of passengers direct flights from their local airports and recently it has sought to bring its flight offering to the south of the country, opening new bases in Bournemouth and Bristol.

Luton is its second base in the capital – it currently flies out of Stansted.

But with Luton’s fast, direct train access to central London as well as the opportunity to offer flights and holidays to the millions living in the capital and the commuter belt counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire this is sure to be a winner.

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Jet2’s success is no flash-in-the-pan. The company has invested heavily in its customer service teams and grown at a pace where it can continue to offer the same level of support to its customers.

While it may not be the cheapest airline at Luton in terms of fares, its reliability and smooth experience both in airports and onboard will continue to convince yet more of us to fly with them.

The new Jet2 base will generate more than 125 jobs in the area.

The announcement follows a wave of successful launches from other UK airports in recent years.

Earlier this year, Jet2 announced the launch of 16 brand-new routes from Bournemouth Airport following huge demand.

Holidaymakers in Bournemouth will have a number of new places to fly to as of February 2025, when the budget airline’s flights begin.

Popular holiday destinations including Spain, Turkey, Greece and Portugal are among the new destinations to be served by the airline, once the routes take to the skies in 2025.

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic has also launched two brand new routes to exciting destinations.

And this small airport has plans for three brand new Ryanair routes.

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A MAJOR budget airline is set to file for bankruptcy, it has been reported.

Spirit Airlines, a US low-cost carrier, was in discussion to merge with Frontier, another budget airline.

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However, Frontier is no longer going ahead with the merger – putting Spirit at risk.

It is thought that the airline will file for Chapter 11 within weeks, the Wall Street Journal reports.

While Chapter 11 is bankruptcy, it will prevent a full airline closure.

Instead, routes and staff will be reduced, but flights will still operate on a more limited capacity.

Last year, Spirit carried 44million passengers, operating thousands of weekly flights to more than 600 airports.

However the airline, based in Florida, has already made huge cuts after failing to make a profit in the last five quarters.

Last month, 330 pilots were furloughed which will be enforced from January 31.

And 23 Airbus aircraft are being sold by Spirit, raising $519million.

Spirit already tried to merge with Frontier back in 2022, although this was beaten by JetBlue.

The Sun has contacted Spirit Airlines for comment.

The airline launched as Spirit Airlines in 1992, making it one of America’s younger commercial carriers.

However, the company was founded in 1983 as a smaller airline, Charter Ones Airline.

Spirit was the first airline in the US to charge passengers for their carry on luggage in 2010.

A number of other airlines have been forced to shut down in recent years.

Monarch Airlines ceased operations in 2017, which at the time was the UK’s largest ever to collapse.

Thomas Cook shut down in 2019, resulting in the largest ever peacetime repatriation, although the airline has since relaunched.

Flight compensation rules

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A look at your rights if a flight is delayed or cancelled, when your entitled to compensation and if your travel insurance can cover the costs.

What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?

Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.

If you’re flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight.

You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven’t used yet.

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So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded.

But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline.

When am I not entitled to compensation?

The airline doesn’t have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather.

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Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are not eligible for compensation.

Some airlines may stretch the definition of “extraordinary circumstances” but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Will my insurance cover me if my flight is cancelled?

If you can’t claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you.

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Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer.

Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof.

If your flight is cancelled entirely, you’re unlikely to be covered by your insurance.

Also in 2019, Icelandic airline WOW Air stopped operations, with the airline operating cheap flights from the UK to US.

Flybe ceased operation in 2020, offering the majority of domestic UK flights outside of London.

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