The New Zealand airline abandoned its slots at London Heathrow in 2020, early in the pandemic, by selling them and taking the cash to fix its bottom line. Now that travel is going gangbusters, Air New Zealand wants to return flying to the Old Dart, but the Heathrow slot cupboard...

Qantas has signed up the equivalent of nearly every Australian voter (15 million). Now, it has set its sights on the 5.3 million residents of the land across the Tasman Sea. To entice Kiwis to the Qantas Frequent Flyer scheme, it has designed a package of earning shopping points, status...

Virgin Australia and its loyalty scheme are at it again, proving that even in the world of frequent flyer programs, there’s no such thing as a free upgrade. In a move that’ll have your Velocity Points crying for mercy, the airline is doubling the points required to upgrade from economy...

The travel industry is riddled with terms that often confuse passengers, particularly when discussing flight itineraries. Don’t start me on terms like ‘open jaw’ and ‘layover’! One of the blog readers picked up on my misuse of some terms. I used the terms  ‘non-stop flights‘ and ‘direct flights‘ interchangeably. They...

The Australian Government has agreed to hand AU$80 million to the company Administrator, EY, to assist REX’s regional operations through until June 2025. That also means REX will continue to operate its regional routes beyond the Federal Election that must be held by May 2025. It is a way of...

We were expecting Oman Air to join the OneWorld alliance in 2024, and then that was made ‘late 2024. Now, membership will not occur until 2025. OneWorld is offering no indication of whether that will be early or late in the year. Having just booked a trip to Europe with...

At a parliamentary inquiry today (Tuesday, 12 November 2024), Qantas domestic CE Markus Svenson denied that the airline is a landing slot hoarder. The airline has been accused of being a slot hoarder in peak times at Sydney Airport to hold off competition. He denied that Qantas misused its allocation...

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...