Wild About Travel
80 Years Later: Why we must remember the Holocaust
Today, 27 January, marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945. This day is now recognised as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. I have now visited three Nazi-era concentration camps: Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg (1936–1945), Auschwitz (1940–1945),...
Wild About Travel
From Tiny Slips to Big Stories: Boarding Passes Remind Me of 2024 Adventures
While sorting through my 2024 travel souvenirs today, I gathered these boarding passes from most of my flights from last year. These are tiny and powerful reminders of my incredible adventures built around the 99 flights with 29 airlines I took last year to 28 countries. Some people collect postcards,...
2PAXfly
REX: Australian Government to become biggest shareholder in failing regional airline
It’s a weird one, but there is reason in this apparent madness. The Australian government will spend AU$50 million to become the biggest stakeholder in Regional Express Airlines (REX). It will purchase the stake from PAG Asia Capital. This will make the Australian Government the airline’s biggest creditor, thus giving...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Loyalty changes: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!
Ugggh! More changes to the Qantas loyalty scheme. These are rarely good. More like bad or ugly. What is presented as advantage, ends up having a very big downside. Lets have a look at the changes to the Qantas Frequent Flyer loyalty scheme announced today. Changes cover Qantas, Jetstar and...
2PAXfly
KOALA AIRLINES: Beaten before it even starts?
Koala Airlines promised to be a disruptor and to take on Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia on Australian domestic routes. Today (2:15 pm AEST, 22 January 2025) it faces winding up proceedings. Wealth Creation Pty Ltd brings the action in the Victorian Supreme Court. It looks like Koala Airlines might...
Wild About Travel
Flying Batik Air for the First Time: What You Need to Know
I have been avoiding Batik Air for a long time, but I finally decided to try them. This review reflects my first experience with Batik Air, an airline that enjoys many negative Trip Advisor reviews. Summary Rating: 61%Route: Krabi to Kuala Lumpur, 667 km, 1 hour 16 minuteAirline: Batik Air...
Wild About Travel
Stingray attack -a reminder of the need for Travel Insurance
I was just by the beach in southern Thailand, gearing up for a beautiful sunset beachside wedding. After a nice Thai lunch and a good cup of Es Yen (local Thai iced coffee), I figured I’d have a swim in the hotel’s net-enclosed beachside swimming area, designed to keep out...
2PAXfly
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA: Doha Velocity reward seats released
Virgin Australia has just released a bunch of Velocity Reward seats for its Brisbane Perth and Sydney to Doha flights using wet-leased Qatar Boeing 777 aircraft with QSuites. Start dates are: Virgin is calling it a tripling of reward seats. Speculation is that Virgin Australia has raised the number of...
2PAXfly
TURKISH AIRLINES: Launches Auckland Flights via Singapore
It looks like the Istanbul-based airline has firm ambitions on ultra-long-haul routes. It even has Auckland, New Zealand, in its sights. At the Turkish Airlines Management Summit 2025 in Antalya, Turkish Airlines Chairman Ahmet Bolat announced the commencement of flights to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in April/May 2025. The development of an...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Seasonal ski route Sydney to Sapporo, Japan for December 2025 on sale today
Qantas has announced today its seasonal non-stop route between Sydney and Sapporo, Japan, for the ski season commencing on 15 December. The route will continue until 28 March 2026, three times per week, using an Airbus A330-200. This route has been resurrected and was last flown in the pre-pandemic years...
Wild About Travel
Dreaming Differently- Czech Airlines in a Parallel World
In the 2000s, I loved seeing the OK tails of CSA Czech Airlines at airports around the world. I never actually flew them, but I wish I had. On Friday, I wrote about the airlines we lost in 2024. One of the most prominent was Czech Airlines’. As the fifth-oldest...
2PAXfly
UNITED KINGDOM: ETA for transit passengers suspended. Fee to increase 60%
The United Kingdom (UK) recently introduced an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) with an accompanying fee. However, due to customer feedback, primarily from airlines like British Airways, the ETA has been dropped for transit passengers heading through UK airports. Income and border control Part of introducing the ETA is to gain...
Wild About Travel
Skyward No More: The Airlines We Lost in 2024
Each year, I reflect on the airlines we lost over the past 12 months. While I much prefer writing about thriving airlines, examining closures offers insight into the industry’s harsh realities. Most airlines that ceased operations in the past year were small-scale ventures. Some, like ČSA Czech Airlines, LIAT, and...
2PAXfly
AIRLINE SAFETY: Top safest airlines for 2025 revealed. Qantas misses top position because old planes
Whatever you think of the Skytrax empire, AirlineRatings.com has released its airline safety evaluation of the Top 25 Safest Full-Service and Low-Cost Airlines for 2025. To formulate the lists, they have been monitoring 385 carriers worldwide. Full-Service Airlines: Air New Zealand tops the list World’s safest airline goes to Air...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Flights delayed by Space X rocket debris
According to a story in The Guardian, Qantas flights between Sydney and Johannesburg have faced last-minute delays following warnings from the US government about falling debris from SpaceX rocket re-entries in the Southern Indian Ocean. Disruptions caused by Space X rocket re-entry Ben Holland, head of Qantas’s operations centre, explained...
2PAXfly
MELBOURNE AIRPORT: To expand International Terminal to accommodate passenger growth
Melbourne Airport plans to expand its international terminal. The expansion will give the airport greater capacity and improve passengers’ experience. The airport has already spent a year consulting with its client airlines. Record International Passenger Traffic December 2024 saw a history-making 1,147,533 international passengers use the airport, the highest monthly...