2020 has been a tough year for many Australian tourism businesses. But few parts of Australia have been affected as badly as Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The island was still recovering from a disastrous summer bushfire season, which destroyed almost half the island, when the coronavirus crisis hit. With borders now closed, the island’s economy which relies on tourism is struggling. In this episode, Matt takes a close look at how these dual crises impacted Kangaroo Island and its people.

In this episode, Matt also discusses what it’s like flying around Australia at the moment, the future of Virgin Australia and the hierarchy of Qantas award availability.

 

Episode contents:

  • 1:00 – Fortnightly news round-up
  • 9:50 – The future of Virgin Australia & the risk of getting squeezed by Qantas
  • 15:50 – What’s it like flying with Qantas & Virgin at the moment – both on the ground and in the air?
  • 20:22 – How Kangaroo Island has dealt with two crises this year, and how its tourism industry is affected
  • 28:00 – Ask Matt: Qantas award availability when using AAdvantage or Alaskan miles

 

Links:

 

Frequent Flyer Gazette articles referenced in the fortnightly news round-up:

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
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