Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand has compassionate fares to those needing to travel to Christchurch, oneway for $50 domestic (on standby basis until 31 March 2011) and other confirmable fares for those travelling to funeral or memorial services.  They are available by calling Air NZ.  In addition those with existing bookings to Christchurch for travel until 31 March 2011 have change fees waived – tickets can be rebooked to later date (fare difference may apply), an earlier date or another destination (fare difference will apply).

For more information please refer to Air NZ Christchurch update page.

Emirates

Emirates Christchurch disruption notice

Passengers flying to Christchurch are asked to provide proof of living in Christchurch or onward travel arrangements.  Failure to do so will result in denied boarding.

Fees are waived for cancellation or changes of travel booked to Christchurch up to 10 March 2011.  Change of dates is limited to 7 days.

Singapore Airlines

Period for rebooking waivers has passed. Normal terms & conditions apply.

Qantas

Qantas Christchurch disruption notice.

Travel between 1 March and 25 March 2011 can be rebooked to a later date, rerouted or held as a credit withouth change fees – no refunds.

Jetstar

There has been some media criticism of Jetstar’s handling of customers seeking rebooking.

Jetstar Christchurch disruption notice. 

Travel between 3 March and 25 March 2011 can be rebooked to a later date, rerouted or held as a credit withouth change fees – no refunds.  All changes must be made within 14 days.

Pacific Blue

Pacific Blue Christchurch disruption notice.

Travel until 25 March 2011 can be rebooked to any date up to 30 June 2011, or cancelled (for a credit not a refund) without fee.

Air Asia X

First flight to Christchurch is still due 1 April 2011.  I’ll update if this changes.

A short note on accommodation

Most inner city hotels are within the cordon and are closed until further notice, and some have suffered major damage.  There is a significant accommodation shortfall due to emergency personnel and displaced residents.  For travel to Christchurch in the next month or so, please check if your accommodation is available and strongly suggest to stay outside the city.

Latest information on flights to Christchurch by airlines other than Air NZ.  For Air NZ Christchurch information please see the separate post.

Emirates

Emirates Christchurch disruption notice

Passengers flying to Christchurch are asked to provide proof of living in Christchurch or onward travel arrangements.  Failure to do so will result in denied boarding.

Fees are waived for cancellation or changes of travel booked to Christchurch up to 10 March 2011.  Change of dates is limited to 7 days.

Singapore Airlines

SQ Christchurch disruption notice

Until 3 March 2011 (ex-Singapore and 4 March ex-Christchurch), flights are operating via Auckland and a new schedule applies.

Fees to change dates or destination (to Auckland), or for cancellation are waived until 6 March 2011.  Singapore’s Christchurch ticket office is located in the CBD and is closed until further notice.

Qantas

Qantas Christchurch disruption notice.

Travel until 28 February 2011 can be rebooked, rerouted or cancelled without change/cancellation fees subject to conditions.  Travel between 1 March and 25 March 2011 can be rebooked to a later date, rerouted or held as a credit withouth change fees – no refunds.

Jetstar

Jetstar Christchurch disruption notice. 

Travel until 28 February 2011 can be rebooked, rerouted or cancelled without change/cancellation fees subject to conditions.

Travel between 1 March and 25 March 2011 can be rebooked to a later date, rerouted or held as a credit withouth change fees – no refunds.  All changes must be made within 14 days.

Most flights to & from Christchurch on the afternoon of 22 February 2011 and on 23 February 2011 were cancelled.

Pacific Blue

Pacific Blue Christchurch disruption notice.

Travel until 15 March 2011 can be rebooked or cancelled (for a credit not a refund) without fee.

Air Asia X

First flight to Christchurch is still due 1 April 2011.  I’ll update if this changes.

There are some airlines serving NZ for the first time in 2011, ahead of the rugby world cup (and also some airlines returning after years of absence).  Announcements to date include:

• China Airlines – from Taipei to Auckland via Brisbane starting January
• Low cost airline Jetstar Asia – from Singapore to Auckland starting March
• Skyteam member China Southern Airlines – from Guangzhou to Auckland via Melbourne starting March
• Low cost airline Air Asia X – from Kuala Lumpur to Christchurch starting April
• Star Alliance member United Airlines (Continental) – from Houston to Auckland starting November (maybe)

The trans-Tasman flights will, as usual, have 5th freedom rights meaning they can be bought standalone.  Typically there is good award availability on these “tag” flights, and fares in premium cabins are low as the airlines try to win customers off more well-known competition (Air New Zealand, Qantas/Jetstar, Emirates and Pacific Blue).

One of my peeves are websites that don’t hold a fare when you select flights and only after you’ve entered your details let you know the fare is not available.

Low cost airline Jetstar does this whenever there is a super sale, which is why I no longer bother.  Air New Zealand grab-a-seat also does this meaning getting $1 (or $20 or whatever) fares is a lottery even after you’ve selected the flights.

Yesterday I encountered similar on a normal, non-sale fare with Emirates.  No matter which flights I selected from the many options available, when I hit the button for purchase now (after entering all my details) I was advised the fare wasn’t available and to use search by schedule function instead.  The search by schedule consistently returned fares about $2000 more than the search by price function, for the exact same flights and dates.

This website flaws are annoying and not limited to the 3 airlines I’ve mentioned.  What airline/online TA website issues do you find annoying?  What do you do about it?

Last month The Economist had an article on the new gulf super hubs being developed at Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha in the Persian Gulf – largely as a result of the ambitions of their home airlines of Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways respectively.  John Macilree’s comment on the article included a nifty diagram from Boeing showing some of their 777 aircraft can fly almost everywhere from the Persian Gulf.

I thought it may be useful to see where these airlines already fly. The map below (courtesy of Great Circle Mapper) excludes routes under 1500 miles from the hubs.

The combined route map of the 3 airlines is far flung. A hemispherical view centred on the gulf, shown below (also from GCM) shows more clearly how useful the Persian Gulf is located geographically for a super-hub, especially on the Europe to South Asia/Australia/NZ or Asia to Africa routes.

Each of the 3 airlines is now getting to the size where it’s route network is only one order of magnitude less than a full airline alliance, albeit with limited local flights (intra Middle East and some fifth freedom routes excepted).  No wonder these airlines haven’t been in any rush to join an alliance!

Emirates have a sale today through Thursday 22 July in economy and business class for New Zealand to Australia (ie Auckland to Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne and Christchurch to Sydney). Economy class travel dates for next several months excluding school holidays, business class travel dates now until mid December.

As usual Air NZ and Qantas have matched, kind of. Air NZ business class fares are slightly higher than Emirates, with Qantas higher again (and blackouts on certain flights).

I’ve written about A380 a few times (A380 tag link), and there seems to be a lot of interest in how to fly A380 cheaply, especially in first and business class.  This post summarises all the currently operating regularly scheduled A380 services, which I’ll update from time to time [last updated 12 December 2011].

There are currently 7 airlines flying A380:

• Singapore Airlines
• Emirates
• Qantas
• Air France
• Lufthansa
• Korean
• China Southern

The next airline to operate A380 is Malaysia Airlines which is scheduled to commence July 2012, initially on Kuala Lumpur to London Heathrow route.

Singapore Airlines A380 routes

• Frankfurt to New York JFK (from January 2012)
• Singapore to Frankfurt to New York JFK (from January 2012)
• Singapore to Hong Kong
• Singapore to London Heathrow
• Singapore to Melbourne (until January 2012)
• Singapore to Paris
• Singapore to Sydney
• Singapore to Tokyo Narita to Los Angeles
• Singapore to Zurich
• Tokyo Narita to Los Angeles

Emirates A380 routes

• Bangkok to Hong Kong
• Dubai to Auckland via Sydney
• Dubai to Bangkok
• Dubai to Beijing
• Dubai to Hong Kong via Bangkok and also nonstop
• Dubai to Jeddah
• Dubai to Johannesburg
• Dubai to Kuala Lumpur (from January 2012)
• Dubai to London Heathrow
• Dubai to Manchester
• Dubai to Munich
• Dubai to New York JFK
• Dubai to Paris
• Dubai to Rome
• Dubai to Seoul
• Dubai to Shanghai
• Dubai to Sydney
• Dubai to Toronto
• Sydney to Auckland

Qantas A380 routes

• Melbourne to London via Singapore
• Melbourne to Los Angeles
• Melbourne to Singapore
• Sydney to Hong Kong (from January 2012)
• Sydney to London via Singapore
• Sydney to Los Angeles
• Sydney to Singapore
• Singapore to London Heathrow

Air France A380 routes

• Paris to Dubai (until March 2012)
• Paris to Johannesburg
• Paris to London Heathrow (ceased)
• Paris to Los Angeles (from May 2012)
• Paris to Montreal
• Paris to New York JFK
• Paris to San Francisco (until ???? 2012)
• Paris to Tokyo Narita (suspended until March 2012)
• Paris to Washington Dulles

Lufthansa A380 routes

• Frankfurt to Beijing
• Frankfurt to Houston (from August 2012)
• Frankfurt to Johannesburg
• Frankfurt to Miami
• Frankfurt to New York JFK (resumes May 2012)
• Frankfurt to San Francisco (resumes March 2012)
• Frankfurt to Singapore
• Frankfurt to Tokyo Narita
• Munich to New York JFK (ceased)

Korean A380 routes

• Seoul to Hong Kong
• Seoul to Los Angeles
• Seoul to New York JFK
• Seoul to Paris CDG
• Seoul to Tokyo NRT

China Southern A380 routes

• Beijing to Guangzhou
• Beijing to Shanghai PVG

A380 destinations in the Americas

• Houston – Lufthansa (from Frankfurt) from August 2012
• Los Angeles – Air France from May 2012, Korean, Qantas (from Melbourne & Sydney), Singapore Airlines (from Singapore via Tokyo Narita)
• Miami – Lufthansa (from Frankfurt)
• Montreal – Air France
• New York JFK – Air France, Emirates, Korean, Lufthansa (from Frankfurt) resumes May 2012, Singapore Airlines (from Singapore via Frankfurt) from January 2012
• San Francisco – Air France until ???? 2012, Lufthansa (from Frankfurt) resumes March 2012
• Toronto – Emirates
• Washington Dulles – Air France

A380 destinations in Europe

• Frankfurt – Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines (from Singapore to New York JFK via Frankfurt) from January 2012
• London Heathrow – Emirates, Malaysia Airlines from July 2012, Qantas (from Melbourne and Sydney both via Singapore), Singapore Airlines
• Manchester – Emirates
• Munich – Emirates
• Paris – Air France, Emirates, Korean, Singapore Airlines
• Rome – Emirates
• Zurich – Singapore Airlines

A380 destinations in Middle East and Africa

• Dubai – Air France until March 2012, Emirates
• Jeddah – Emirates
• Johannesburg – Air France, Emirates, Lufthansa

A380 destinations in Asia

• Bangkok – Emirates
• Beijing – China Southern, Emirates, Lufthansa
• Guangzhou – China Southern
• Hong Kong – Emirates (from Dubai via Bangkok and nonstop), Korean, Qantas (from Sydney) from January 2012, Singapore Airlines
• Kuala Lumpur – Emirates from January 2012, Malaysia Airlines from July 2012
• Seoul – Emirates, Korean
• Shanghai PVG – China Southern, Emirates
• Singapore – Lufthansa (from Frankfurt), Qantas (from Melbourne and Sydney to London), Singapore Airlines
• Tokyo Narita – Air France suspended until March 2012, Korean, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines (from Singapore and to Los Angeles)

A380 destinations in the Pacific

• Auckland – Emirates (from Dubai via Sydney)
• Melbourne – Qantas, Singapore Airlines
• Sydney – Emirates, Qantas, Singapore Airlines

Maps from gcmap.

Emirates have long had a fantastic deal on trans-Tasman flights (between Australia and New Zealand) in first or business class, in that limo airport transfers at both ends were included.

For a trip between Auckland and Melbourne (say) that could easily be worth $200+ round-trip in saved taxi fares and account for most of the difference between an economy fare and a business class fare.  At least when business class is on sale, which it often is on these routes.

The included airport transfer even applied to upgraded economy tickets. Great for when Emirates Skywards had promotions to upgrade for 1 mile.

Now, however, the rules have been changed. For Emirates passengers flying only between Australia and New Zealand business class does not include limo airport transfer. First class still does. Longhaul passengers in first and business will also keep the airport transfer.

I’ve been fortunate enough to fly in business class on A380 on all the airlines which operate it excluding Air France. I think it may be useful having a comparison between the three products.

In each case, the A380 business class is the best business class offering of the relevant airline. Singapore Airlines even has restricted bookings in this class to require a surcharge on paid fares on many routes, double mileage cost in their Kris Flyer program and no awards for other Star Alliance frequent flyer programs (other than Lufthansa Miles and More).

Emirates between Auckland and Sydney

source: Emirates

Qantas between Sydney and Singapore

source: Qantas

Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Tokyo Narita for example.

source: Singapore Airlines

On the ground

On the ground treatment of A380 business class passengers is standard fare (for business class).  The only stand-out is Emirates which offers airport limo transfers at both ends for business class (and first class) passengers on most routes (including trans-Tasman).

Qantas in Sydney and Melbourne, and Emirates in Sydney, also have a priority security queue for first class, business class and frequent flyer elite passengers. At Singapore security is processed at the gate, and the gates used by A380 do not have a priority lane.

In air amenities

The treatment in the air is also standard for each airline’s business class. So pre-depature bubbles or water, nice food & drink, hot towels. Qantas offers pajamas on some longhaul flights. Qantas and Emirates have a full amenity kit while Singapore Airlines has socks and eyeshades (with other amenities in the bathroom). Note due to the short flight duration, my Emirates flights did not offer pajamas or the normal amenity kit.

On all three airlines noise cancelling headphones are used. Qantas hands out the headphones after take-off and also doesn’t switch on the IFE (except for the tail camera) until well after take-off, Emirates hands out the headphones before departure so you can start watching movies straight away, whilst Singapore Airlines doesn’t hand out headphones until after departure but the IFE is available to watch once the safety video has finished.

The seats

Emirates business class A380 seats are partially enclosed and in staggered layout. I found them claustrophobic (despite not having problems with the fully enclosed first class suites on a number of airlines) and also there is a tight squeeze for the table since it is not very adjustable.  The side table provides plenty of space. The seats are fully flat. Emirates has a business class bar where you can meet fellow passengers in some comfort while drinking or nibbling.

Qantas business class A380 seats are a slightly modified version of their skybed seats found on their other longhaul aircraft. The main difference is this version is fully lie flat whereas the other version (which will be phased out during 2011) is not. This means the seat in front is also further away.  As an added extra, Qantas has a small business class lounge (which doubles as an emergency bed) with large screen, some magazines and a comfy couch.

Singapore Airlines business class A380 seats are very similar to the “new” business class seats found on their 77W and A345 aircraft. The differences are trivial width and length differences. For those unfamiliar, the seat is rather wide for business class but with short pitch. The fully flat bed operates by bringing up a flat surface to the seat in front, with a cubby hole to put your feet in – the length of the bed is thus diagonal along the seat. There are cubby holes to put things and the tray table has generous dimensions.  The monitor is very large for business class, but some people find it too close (due to the shorter pitch).

How can you experience A380 business class for low cost?

Emirates flies A380 between Auckland and Sydney with business class fares under US$500 return when on sale. iscounted fare and award availability for business class is good on Emirates A380.

Qantas longhaul business class fares are rarely cheap. Look for British Airways Club World sales on the kangaroo route – thanks to the joint services agreement these fares are also valid on Qantas flights (on the BA codeshare).  Mileage redemptions generally require booking well in advance 330-360 days ahead of travel, or close to departure.

Singapore Airlines heavily restricts A380 business class from awards. Best option is to book the A380 flights between Singapore and Hong Kong on a paid fare.

Summary

I was very disappointed with the Emirates A380 business class (see also my trip report), but both Qantas and Singapore Airlines have great products.