Thailand announced in December that it would pilot a new Electronic Travel Authorisation in December 2025 and introduce it fully in June 2025. The introduction of the free ETA would also have heralded the return of the Thai Travel Tax of ฿300 (AU$13) to be paid online prior to arrival...

As regular readers might know, I was due to travel to North America for two weeks in October 2024. Five days before I was due to leave, I had a COVID diagnosis. My first time. Initial reaction Ever the optimist, I hoped for a quick recovery. With antivirals onboard within...

This new international service from Qantas between Brisbane and the Pacific island nation of Palau, to be known as the ‘Palau Paradise Express,’ is a contract with the Australian Federal Government. Palau is a nation in the pacific consisting over over 300 islands, and includes such tourist attractions as the...

Turkish Airlines is new to servicing Australia, with its initial three-times-a-week flights from Istanbul via Singapore to Melbourne commencing in March 2024. The date of flights commencing into their second destination in Australia, Sydney has been confirmed as Thursday, 28 November. The flight travels between Istanbul Airport and Sydney via...

At ICAN 2024, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2024, Anita Anand, the Canadian President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Transport, announced an expanded agreement for air travel between Australia and Canada. The new air services agreement provides for unlimited direct passenger and cargo flights between Australia...

USA Secretary of Transport Pete Buttigieg has changed entitlements provided by national consumer protection rules for refunds on flights that are significantly delayed, changed, or cancelled. Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them – without headaches or haggling, Our new rule sets a new standard...

The Classic Plus Rewards scheme was rolled out in July 2024 to partially revamp the Qantas Frequent Flyer scheme. Qantas touted it as making thousands of seats available at a level lower than the ‘Points Plus Pay’ scheme, but it seems to have effectively replaced Classic Rewards. This is particularly...

In a flurry of announcements the day before its Annual General Meeting on Friday, 25 October, Qantas shared its partnership with Oman Air. The airline is set to join the OneWorld alliance in 2025. It is unclear if this partnership will allow access to Oman Air reward seats before or...

Usually predicted for February or March each year, Qantas is offering a double status credits of points promotion for bookings made between now and Thursday 31 October for travel between 1 November 2024 to 19 October 2025. Qantas has been shovelling out a number of announcements before its AGM on...

Qantas is trialling a digital version of the Australia Travel Declaration card on select routes to from New Zealand. In this joint initiative with the Australian Government, Qantas passengers arriving in Australia from New Zealand will experience this new fast-track arrival process. Qantas is piloting the new Australia Digital Travel...

The Federal Court of Australia has provided a judgement on three ground-handling employees illegally sacked by Qantas in 2019. The court has already determined that the sacking was illegal. This decision is a ‘test case’ to determine how much the 1,700 workers will be compensated for the illegal action. Punitive...

Virgin Australia today released details of changes to its Velocity Frequent Flyer program. Some come into effect immediately, and some in October 2025. Unsurprisingly, most changes are adverse for Frequent Flyers. Status earned will now be based on what you spend instead of a combination of where you travel and...

Qantas is shaking things up internationally from February 2025. It is shuffling around the timings of some routes to make aircraft use more efficient and increase capacity on some routes because of the return to air of two A380s. It’s also launching a new route to the Pacific, with flights...

Over the last few days, some of Virgin Australia’s (VA) finances have been reported publicly. VA does not need to conform to the strict accounting and reporting strictures of companies listed on the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX), so it can be more selective about what it reports. Virgin revealed on...