Wild About Travel
BA’s Safety video -dramatic and funny, but does it work?
British Airways new safety film starts with a man on horseback, reminiscent of a Bridgerton character, exclaiming, “I see smoke on the horizon,” only for a member of the BA cabin crew to hastily interrupt because of the airline’s no-smoking policy. Another scene features a Mr Darcy-esque figure emerging from...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: 20% more for Project Sunrise direct flights to London and New York
The Qantas ‘Project Sunrise’ 20+ hour flights are still at least two years away. Scheduled for 2026, but beset with delays, it may be 2027 before you will pay a 20% premium to fly direct. Those debut direct flights will be from Sydney to London and New York. As Airbus...
2PAXfly
QATAR AIRWAYS: Is something happening with QSuites?
Alright, I know. Qatar Airways launched its new iteration of the QSuites Business Class at the Farnborough Air Show this week, which some lucky bloggers got sent to. Obviously, not this blogger. I’m not bitter. I’m in Europe for other reasons. So there. Qatar decided to own the first day...
2PAXfly
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA: Cancels Cairns to Tokyo route 2025
Australia’s Virgin was criticised from the start for using a single-aisle Boeing 737-800 aircraft on this route when it commenced in June 2023. I’m not sure I would be happy on a 7-hour route on a single-aisle aircraft. Mind you I did briefly contemplate a 7-hour route on one with...
2PAXfly
IT: Airline computer systems go down. Flights delayed/cancelled
Aircraft worldwide have been affected by an IT outage caused by a fault in the CrowdStrike Falcon security platform. The outage has affected computer systems worldwide in a range of industries. In Australia, Qantas Group systems have been affected, resulting in Jetstar flights in Australia and New Zealand being cancelled...
2PAXfly
THAILAND: Visa exemption now allows for 60 day stay
Australians and New Zealanders, in fact, citizens of 93 countries who are eligible for the visa exemption program, can now stay for 60 days. Here is the Thai government’s public relations release. Previously, the maximum stay without visa renewal was 30 days, so you now have double the time to...
2PAXfly
LOUNGE REVIEW: Manaia Lounge, Christchurch, New Zealand
I’m not going to spend too many words on this lounge. It’s an OK lounge with a mixture of clients. Emirates, Qantas, Fiji Airways, China Southern Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Jetstar use the lounge. It also has paid access when capacity allows. It’s also a Priority Pass lounge. It’s a...
2PAXfly
MALAYSIAN AIRLINES: Remembering the downing of flight MH17
On July 17, 2014, a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777-200ER was shot down by Russian separatist forces in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine. The scheduled MH17 flight was on its way between Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. 38 of those were Australian citizens....
2PAXfly
LOUNGE REVIEW: First Look – Air New Zealand Sydney Lounge
This is where my latest adventure began. I was travelling on a Thai Airways A350 from Sydney to Bangkok, so my journey started in this lounge. Thai Airways in Sydney uses this Star Alliance Lounge run by Air New Zealand since it doesn’t have one of its own. The lounge...
Wild About Travel
Navigating Travel Risks in a Complex World
Introduction: The Importance of Safety in Travel Travel brings unexpected challenges, from lost baggage to plane delays to car accidents to heart attacks. I have travelled or lived in 80 countries now, including four war zones, and I do all I can to protect myself, my property, and my data.”...
Wild About Travel
Ten Busiest International Air Routes out of Europe in 2024
In 2024, around 23 million people will fly on the top ten busiest international air routes out of Europe. These passenger numbers reflect the rebound in strong demand for travel to major destinations around the world from key European cities. As an avid traveller, I was very curious to see...
2PAXfly
REX: Regional Express airline board trouble
The Ex-Executive Chair, having stepped down, now wants to eject the entire board. Singapore-based Lim Kim Hai stood down as chairman of REX (Regional Express) last month (June 2024) days after the ASX queried related party transactions. His replacement Chair was to be former Howard government minister John Sharp, with...
2PAXfly
FIJI AIRWAYS: Bound for Dallas Fort Worth?
The winner of Skytrax Best Airline in Australia and Pacific 2024 has applied to fly three times a week between Nadi and Dallas Fort Worth (DFW). DFW is a major hub for fellow OneWorld member American Airlines. This makes sense since Fiji Airways has recently adopted American Airlines’ AAdvantage scheme...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Worst performance -100 days to resolve complaints
Qantas had the worst performance in responding to complaints, taking an average of 97 days during 2023. Jetstar took 18 days, REX 19 and Virgin 16 days on average. The participating airlines publish a commitment to a 20 day timeframe for handling complaints. The Airline Customer Advocate, an industry-based complaints-handling...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Flexible Qantas Club Membership – limited benefits
As has been rumoured recently, Qantas today (10 July) introduces a new monthly Qantas Club membership plan for infrequent flyers who want some of the benefits of lounge access. Qantas seems to be on a mission to squeeze every dollar it can out of its customers. This includes charging for...
2PAXfly
BOEING: Pleading guilty to criminal conspiracy
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of criminal conspiracy to defraud the US. The agreement has been reached after the Justice Department found that Boeing had not kept faith with an earlier settlement following the two fate crashes of its 737 MAX aircraft. If...