Author: Matt Graham
Podcast #60: Can You Fly to Australia on Points During COVID-19?
Earlier this year, Devon Indig’s partner Shalini needed to fly to the Netherlands for three months to care for her ageing mother. With Australia’s border closed and a high risk of getting bumped off a return flight back to Australia, it was a difficult and risky endeavour. It could have also been very expensive. There … Continued
Can You Fly to Australia on Points During COVID-19? – AIR060
Over the past year, flying back to Australia has been very difficult for tens of thousands of Australians – some who are still stuck overseas. Many have been bumped off their flights due to the Australian government’s restrictive arrival caps. Even some passengers on expensive paid airfares have been kicked off their flights. So, clearly … Continued
Qantas Continues Aggressive Regional Expansion
QantasLink will launch new flights from Melbourne to Burnie in north-west Tasmania from next month, as it also adds more frequencies on other regional routes. The Melbourne-Burnie route will be served daily by 50-seat QantasLink Q300s, commencing 21 June 2021. The schedule is as follows: QF2087 Melbourne (MEL) 08:05 – Burnie (BWT) 09:20 QF2088 Burnie … Continued
Why Do Some Airlines Make it So Hard to Redeem Miles?
Many Australian frequent flyers would know the struggle that can be redeeming Qantas or Velocity points. But, as difficult as this can seem at times, it’s nothing compared to the challenge of redeeming points or miles in many overseas frequent flyer programs. At least with Qantas, most partner airline awards are available online and if … Continued
International Border to Remain Closed Until Mid-2022?
Australia’s international borders will not reopen to most countries until at least mid-2022, the federal government has predicted in this week’s budget. “Inbound and outbound international travel is expected to remain low through to mid 2022, after which a gradual recovery in international tourism is assumed to occur,” according to budget documents. The truth is … Continued
Double Qantas Status Credits to New Zealand (May 2021)
Qantas is giving double status credits, plus 5,000 bonus Qantas points, when booking a flight between Australia and New Zealand by 15 May 2021! This promotion is valid for travel between 17 May 2021 and 28 February 2022. It’s open to Australian and New Zealand residents who register for the offer on the Qantas website. … Continued
Qantas Expands Embraer E190 Fleet, Destinations
Qantas will add new direct flights from Adelaide to Gold Coast, and Darwin to Canberra, as it adds an extra five Embraer E190 jets to its fleet. This brings the total number of E190s leased by Qantas to eight. Qantas announced earlier this year it would wet lease Embraer E190 regional aircraft from Alliance Airlines … Continued
Flybuys Promo Yields Embarrassingly Small Returns
In the past, there used to be regular offers of 15% bonus points when transferring Flybuys points to Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program. But since Flybuys introduced Velocity Auto Transfer in December 2020, and the regular Flybuys-Velocity conversion rate was increased by 15% earlier this year, these limited-time offers simply haven’t been as good. … Continued
Domestic Price War Heats Up with $39 Full-Service Fares
Rex has dropped thousands of $39 one-way fares on the Sydney-Melbourne route, for travel until 28 August 2021. Virgin Australia has followed with its own $39 Sydney-Melbourne fares, meaning you can now travel between Australia’s two largest cities for under $40 – with checked baggage included – on your choice of two different airlines. The … Continued