Wild About Travel
One of the World’s Most Remote Train lines: Australia’s Prospector
Western Australia is huge: it is about ten times the size of the UK and almost four times the size of Texas. Only around 3 million people live in the state, and roughly 2.2 million of them are in the capital, Perth, while the UK has about 67 million people...
Wild About Travel
After 300 Airports, Here Are the Best and Worst
After many decades of flying, I’ve now passed through 300 airports. It’s a slightly ridiculous milestone, but it does give me a bit of authority when I say what makes a great airport and what makes a terrible one. There are seven things that win me over with airports: 1....
2PAXfly
FINNAIR: Melbourne to Helsinki flights via Bangkok from October 2026
Finnair is heading to Australia, and not just on a wet-lease to Qantas. The Helsinki-based oneworld carrier will commence a new daily service to Melbourne, beginning 25 October 2026 (subject to approvals). It will be operated with an Airbus A350. This will be the airline’s first-ever scheduled flights to Australia....
2PAXfly
FINNAIR: Melbourne to Helsinki flights via Bangkok from October 2026
Finnair is heading to Australia, and not just on a wet-lease to Qantas. The Helsinki-based oneworld carrier will commence a new daily service to Melbourne, beginning 25 October 2026 (subject to approvals). It will be operated with an Airbus A350. This will be the airline’s first-ever scheduled flights to Australia....
Also on BoardingArea
One Mile at a Time
What A Beauty: Eye-Catching Lufthansa Centennial Livery Boeing 787 Joins Fleet
Several weeks ago, Lufthansa announced plans to introduce a special fleet of planes in a 100th anniversary livery. The first of these aircraft is a newly delivered Boeing 787 — I’ve gotta hand it to Lufthansa, this is one of the coolest special liveries we’ve seen.
Paddle Your Own Kanoo
Ryanair Slapped With Massive $300 Million Fine After Italy Accuses Airline of Abusing Market Power
Ryanair has been slapped with a massive €255 million (US $300 million) fine by Italian competition regulators over what they have described as the low-cost carrier’s “abusive strategy” towards travel agencies in Italy. Perhaps completely unsurprisingly, Ryanair has slammed the decision, saying the competition watchdog is seeking to illegally overturn...
One Mile at a Time
Qantas Bans All Staff (Including CEO) From New Airbus A350 First Class
The next year should be pretty exciting for Qantas, as the airline will start taking delivery of Airbus A350-1000s, which will be used for the world’s longest flights, and will feature an all-new passenger experience. Ahead of this launch, it’s interesting who won’t be invited into first class on these...
View from the Wing
Trump’s Transportation Chief Thinks Passenger Manners Ruin Travel—Ignores Airline Abuses, TSA Chaos, and His Own Boss’s Behavior
DOT Secretary Sean Duffy launched a campaign lecturing travelers on etiquette, blaming passenger behavior for inflight frustrations. Yet he conveniently ignores far bigger problems—including airlines shielded from accountability, TSA-induced travel stress, and, ironically, his own boss’s famously poor manners. Continue reading Trump’s Transportation Chief Thinks Passenger Manners Ruin Travel—Ignores Airline Abuses,...
TravelUpdate
The $400 Chase Sapphire Reserve Retention Offer: Realistic or Rare?
There are data points of some people getting a massive $400 retention bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve. What are the odds of getting one?
Eye of the Flyer
The Best use of Delta Air Lines Delayed Travel Digital Meal Vouchers – Just What Works?
Since it does not look like the USA is going to see an EU261 type rule anytime in the near future we have to hope the airlines do the “right thing” when we are delayed, like providing hotel rooms if you have to overnight (more on this later) as well...
Economy Class & Beyond
Travelling by Rail this Christmas and New Year in the UK? Have fun with that…
It’s fast coming up to the Christmas and New Year period. And like clockwork, it’s time for major engineering works across the UK Rail Network to kick off. Plan ahead if you can – Image, Network Rail  Why now? Network Rail notes that this is one of the quieter times...
One Mile at a Time
American Airlines Pilot Posts Salary On Reddit, Leaves Internet Speechless
In recent years, we’ve seen airline pilots in the United States (particularly at the ”big three” carriers, as well as at regional carriers) get huge pay increases, and they’re now very well compensated. As you’d expect, not everyone realizes that, though, and sometimes it’s funny to see the reactions that...
Live and Let’s Fly
Qantas Cuts Off Retired Executives From First Class On New A350s
Some airline perks are generous. Others are so extravagant they eventually become too difficult to defend, as past and present executives at Qantas are now finding out. Qantas Quietly Ends First Class Flights For Retired Executives On New A350s For decades, Qantas has offered some of the most lavish executive...
One Mile at a Time
Oh My: Sean Duffy Talks To Etiquette Coach About How To Act On Planes
A few weeks back, United States Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched a campaign to bring back the golden age of air travel, by having passengers behave better. Well, heres his latest episode in this campaign (thanks to @istrakhov for flagging this)
Wild About Travel
One of the World’s Most Remote Train lines: Australia’s Prospector
Western Australia is huge: it is about ten times the size of the UK and almost four times the size of Texas. Only around 3 million people live in the state, and roughly 2.2 million of them are in the capital, Perth, while the UK has about 67 million people...
Frequent Flyer Bonuses
Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus celebrates 20th Anniversary in 2026 with bonus points and discounted award flights
In 2026 Thailand’s boutique airline Bangkok Airways will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their FlyerBonus frequent flyer program. At the moment the celebrations includes bonus points on flights, and discounted award flights but I’m sure we’ll see even more offers during the course of next year! Bonus Points on...
Frequent Miler
Your turn: Frequent Miler’s People’s Choice Bonvoyed Awards 2025
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for! On last week’s Frequent Miler on the Air, we announced our picks for the 2025 Bonvoyed Awards. Now it’s your turn. In the poll below, you can give your take on the most important award of all: the readers’ choice winner for...
Points With a Crew
Get up to 40% off at Amazon with 1 Amex Membership Reward (targeted)
Act fast if you want to get up to 40% off your Amazon purchases, possibly even including gift cards. Find out how by ...
The Gate with Brian Cohen
Uzbekistan to No Longer Require Visas For Citizens of the United States
Uzbekistan will offer visa free entry to visitors of the United States effective as of Thursday, January 1, 2026, which means that visitors from those countries will save as much as $20.00 in fees. The purpose of this measure is to increase tourism, boost the economy, support entrepreneurship, and strengthen...
Monkey Miles
Chase Sapphire Preferred® & Chase Sapphire Reserve®
A look into how I analyze and assess the value of the Chase Sapphire Reserve and why I chose to downgrade it to a Chase Sapphire Preferred The post Chase Sapphire Preferred® & Chase Sapphire Reserve® appeared first on Monkey Miles.
Your Mileage May Vary
Will Your Carry-On Get Gate-Checked? 7 Ways to Avoid It
A while ago, one of our friends reached out to us with a travel-related question. He’s not a frequent traveler and was headed out of town for a quick weekend.…
One Mile at a Time
United Removes Stumbling Woman From Flight, But Not All Employees Agree
It’s not uncommon to see people removed from flights for poor behavior. However, here’s an interesting twist on that, as it seemed not all employees at the airline were on the same page about removing a traveler.
Frequent Miler
Some cardholders receiving generous retention offers to keep Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
The refresh of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card left many of us disappointed. In fact, the highly couponified refresh made our list for Bonvoyed of the Year awards, and early reactions from readers indicate that many readers share the same disappointments. Now, Doctor of Credit reports that some cardholders are...
View from the Wing
Two Cats Karen Screams “You Are Ruining Christmas” — Alaska Airlines Won’t Let Her Stuff Two Pets Under One Seat
Alaska Airlines staff refuse to let her fly after she shows up with two big cats in a single underseat carrier and insists she has “done this for years.” She escalates into a “you are ruining Christmas” rant, demands to be shown the policy “where I booked,” and argues there’s...
The Bulkhead Seat
Taste Test: Jon & Vinny’s Braised Meatballs on Delta Air Lines
Meatballs are another favorite food and I want to taste them if they’re on… The post Taste Test: Jon & Vinny’s Braised Meatballs on Delta Air Lines appeared first on The Bulkhead Seat.
Points With a Crew
Should you buy Alaska Miles With (up to) a 100% Bonus? (Deal Ends Tuesday)
Alaska is back with another offer on buying bonus miles, offering a big bonus on miles when you buy at least...
Your Mileage May Vary
Free and Discounted TSA PreCheck: What Seniors, Disabled Travelers, and First Responders Should Know
Anyone who has PreCheck (and by this point, over 20 million of us do) knows that being a member of the program can be a great convenience and time saver…
Frequent Miler
(Pending points credited at 0.6c per point) All Mesa Homeowners credit cards closed, effective immediately
Update 12/22/25: Cardholders are reporting that Mesa has credited them for pending points at 0.6c per point. That’s obviously not as good as being able to transfer to partners, but it is a much better outcome than getting nothing at all for those pending rewards. The previous post follows. Update...
2PAXfly
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA: Antisemitic outburst by 19yo on Bali–Sydney flight
With Sydney siders still reeling from the massacre of those celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach on Sunday, a 19-year-old passenger has been arrested on a Virgin Australia flight. The 19-year-old is accused of an alleged antisemitic outburst on board a Virgin Australia flight from Bali to Sydney. This incident comes...
Wild About Travel
A Personal Message in light of the Bondi massacre
Today’s post is a very personal one and I have wondered whether to post at all, but this is my blog, so here goes. I have written previously here about my experience four months ago when I was caught in a mass shooting at a local market in Bangkok. The...
2PAXfly
THAI AIRWAYS: Baggage changes. What you need to know
Baggage rules are changing at Thai Airways. In a major move, the airline is changing from weight-based allowances to a piece-based system, with weight and dimension limits for all passengers from 2 March 2026. Whatever class you are flying in first, business or the cheapest economy fare, your checked bags...
Wild About Travel
What the new US entry rules really mean.
This week, media and travellers are reacting to a new US proposal that would greatly expand the data the US collects from applicants under the ESTA Visa waiver program. In this post, I delve into what it means for those of us who use visa‑waiver travel to go to the...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Power banks banned from todaym 15 December. What you need to know
From today, Monday 15 December 2025, Qantas, Jetstar and QantasLink has banned the use of portable power banks on all flights. Qantas group airlines are joining a growing list of airlines responding to a sharp rise in lithium battery fires in cabins and lounges worldwide. You’ll still be allowed to...
2PAXfly
BORDERS: Visa Waiver Program to require social media, phone numbers and IP history from Australians
Australian travellers who want to head to New York at Christmas, or Coachella in spring, or to trek through the Grand Canyon may soon face a very different pre-departure checklist. It could soon include handing over five years of social media accounts, five years of phone numbers, and 10 years...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: A380 wing panel peels on first flight out of mothballs
Qantas’ big, shiny, triumphantly returned Airbus A380 has been unceremoniously benched in Los Angeles after part of its left wing peeled apart on its first commercial flight back in service. This happened after news releases only a few days ago with Qantas chest-beating about the superjumbo’s grand return after a...
2PAXfly
QATAR AIRWAYS: Surprise CEO dumping without explanation. Why?
In a surprise move a few days ago, Qatar Airways has replaced its chief executive with immediate effect. This is the second leadership change in just a couple of years after Akbar Al Baker relinquished his 27-year reign. The Gulf carrier appointed Hamad Ali Al-Khater as its new Group CEO...