Author: Matt Graham
Qantas Keeps Hanging Up on Customers
Unless you’re lucky enough to have Platinum or Platinum One status, dealing with the Qantas contact centre has become a maddening experience lately. The wait times are often astronomical, and if your call is directed to one of the outsourced overseas call centres operated by Mindpearl, the staff are often poorly trained and unable to … Continued
Jetstar Resumes Flights to Bali
The first Jetstar flight from Melbourne to Bali in almost two years will take off this morning, taking almost 300 Australians to the Indonesian holiday destination. Flight JQ43 will take off from Melbourne at 9.55am this morning, with the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner arriving at 12.45pm local time. Many of the passengers on board would have … Continued
What Airlines Does Bain Capital Own?
In 2020, Bain Capital purchased Virgin Australia out of voluntary administration after months of negotiations. The Boston-based US private equity firm now owns almost 95% of Virgin Australia, along with Richard Branson’s Virgin Group which owns around a 5% share. A small stake in the airline was also purchased by the Queensland government. Following the sale to … Continued
How to Fly to Mauritius with Points from Australia
Mauritius is a beautiful island nation in the Indian Ocean between Australia and Africa. This French-speaking destination is a great place for a holiday, and vaccinated travellers can currently enter the country without needing to quarantine. At the moment, getting to Mauritius from Australia is a bit of a challenge. With the direct Air Mauritius … Continued
SWISS A340 Business Class Review
Part of the Lufthansa Group and a Star Alliance member, Zurich-based Swiss International Air Lines (or SWISS, as it brands itself) operates long-haul flights to destinations across Asia, North America, South America, the Middle East and Africa. Although SWISS doesn’t fly to Australia, it does offer some great value round-the-world fares starting and ending in … Continued
Airlines Playing a Cruel Cancellation Game
Throughout the pandemic, airlines have had to cancel a lot of flights. This is already inconvenient enough for customers who had booked tickets on flights that are no longer going ahead. But airlines including Qantas have found a way to make the experience even worse for passengers. Over the last couple of years, Qantas has … Continued
Emirates Massively Raises Carrier Charges
Emirates has massively increased the carrier charges that Qantas Frequent Flyer members need to pay when redeeming a reward seat, without warning. This is the airline-imposed surcharge that needs to be paid in addition to airport and government-levied fees and taxes when booking a Classic Reward flight. For a round-trip Emirates Business Class reward flight … Continued
1,000 Free Etihad Miles + Win a Trip to Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways is giving away 100 all-expenses-paid trips to Abu Dhabi for Australian members of its Etihad Guest frequent flyer program. A special “members flight” from Sydney to Abu Dhabi will depart on 2 April 2022, taking 100 lucky competition winners and their “plus ones” on a four-night trip to the United Arab Emirates capital. … Continued
Podcast #79: Loyalty Learnings from a 25+ Year Career
Phil Hawkins has worked with loyalty programs since 1993, finishing his career recently as the Chief Operating Officer for Flybuys in Australia. With this amount of experience, Phil knows what makes a good (or bad!) loyalty program and what mistakes to avoid when designing loyalty programs and promotional offers. Ever wondered why retail loyalty programs … Continued