Joe Aston’s (authority on Alan Joyce’s leadership at Qantas) website and newsletter Rampart is reporting that Lauchlan’s new toy plane, a Gulfstream 800, has recently arrived in Sydney. It’s the first of this new version of the businessman’s plaything to land in Sydney. The aircraft departed Gulfstream’s Savannah base on...

The latest government data released by BITRE (Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics) has delivered a familiar but still uncomfortable truth for Australia’s airlines. Qantas is cancelling twice as many domestic flights as its main rival, Virgin Australia. It achieves that while outperforming other airlines on punctuality once the...

If you’ve been quietly eyeing off an Emirates First Class splurge using Qantas Frequent Flyer points, you may be too late. Or, at least it will cost you more and come with more conditions you need to fulfil. Emirates has been tightening the rules around its Emirates Skywards scheme. Transfer...

Etihad Airways has just brought another A380 out of long-term storage, making its superjumbo revival firmly part of the airline’s long-term strategy. Another giant wakes up Etihad’s Airbus A380 A6-APC departed Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport in southwestern France on January 14, flying back to Abu Dhabi after years in storage. According to...

Hello travellers, Greetings from a very wet Sydney. We’ve been hosting a number of overseas friends. But even more enjoyable is making some reciprocal plans to visit them later this year using our hard-earned Amex Rewards points.  My next trip is a month or so away. It will be to a much...

Dozens of flights have been cancelled, and many more were delayed on Thursday, 15 January 2026, according to the AFR. A shortage of air traffic control staff has triggered the worst disruption at Australia’s busiest airport since the pandemic began. As always, when Sydney sneezes, the entire national air network...

These ‘aisle lice’ are new to me, but I love the term. According to an article in The Guardian, the term refers to passengers behaving badly on an aircraft, specifically those passengers show leap up, grab their bags, and try and streak to the front of the aircraft to be...

Air traffic controllers at Sydney Airport were forced to work through overpowering sewage odours during the peak 2024–25 holiday travel period. Some staff were reportedly dry heaving at their desks while managing aircraft movements according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald. Incident logs from Airservices Australia show the...

Turkish Airlines could be seriously exploring the return of premium economy to its aircraft cabins. That would fit with the carrier plans to operate some of the longest flights in its history, including nonstop services between Istanbul and Sydney. That’s a development worth the attention of Australian travellers. Premium Economy...

Each year since at least 2018, Qantas has offered a Double Status and Points promotion in February or March. Sure, it has offered similar promotions on other dates, but February/March are the most consistent and reliable. To that end, with the second week of the new year coming to a...

Cathay Pacific has launched its 80th-anniversary celebrations for 2026, marking eight decades since the airline’s founding in 1946. The anniversary program is being rolled out under the theme ’80 Years Together’. The biggest indicator is an aircraft painted in retro livery. The birthday celebrations were formally launched at a Hong...

Starlux Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000, becoming the first Taiwanese airline to operate Airbus’ largest long-range twin-engine aircraft, a fleet milestone that has implications for Australian travellers flying long haul via Asia. The aircraft, registered B-58551, was handed over at Airbus’ Toulouse headquarters before operating a...

There are some interesting changes in aviation for 2026. It’s mainly about longer flights, that get you there moe quickly. It’s also about flying quieter and more comfortably for those uninterrupted very long hours. Most of these innovations have already been announced, but I thought at the beginning of 2026,...