Author: Matt Graham
Matt Graham
Matt was the editor of Australian Frequent Flyer from 2015 until 2025. His passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries - with a lot of help along the way from frequent flyer points! Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. His interests include aviation, economics & 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 @Mattg.
How to Redeem Air NZ Airpoints for Qantas Flights
It’s now possible to redeem Air New Zealand Airpoints Dollars for Qantas flights on selected domestic routes. Airpoints redemptions are available on the 85 Qantas routes within Australia where Air New Zealand codeshares with Qantas. Award seats are available online in Economy class only, and are not offered on Qantas international flights. Additionally, only point-to-point … Continued
SkyTeam Fifth-Freedom Routes
If you want to fly with the SkyTeam alliance, but aren’t flying to or from a member airline’s hub airport, it can be worth looking for SkyTeam fifth-freedom routes. These are tag flights that neither start nor end in the operating carrier’s home country. 11 of the 19 SkyTeam member airlines operate 34 fifth-freedom flights all around … Continued
Qantas Denies Lounge Access Despite Oneworld Rules
Qantas has been caught out denying lounge access to frequent flyers, despite them clearly being eligible under Oneworld alliance rules. In one recent case, Qantas incorrectly refused lounge entry in Perth. To make matters worse, Qantas later defended their ground staff’s actions and refused to admit the mistake or offer compensation. Spieck‘s daughter had just … Continued
Qantas Finally Completes Airbus A330 Refurbishments
The days of flying on an old, angle-flat SkyBed Qantas Business class seat are officially over. Almost seven years after announcing its Airbus A330 refurbishment program, Qantas has now finally upgraded its final Airbus A330 with the newest generation of Business class suites and upgraded Panasonic in-flight entertainment systems. The Airbus A330-200 with registration VH-EBG, named … Continued
Podcast #17: Choosing a Rewards Program
If you’re new to the world of frequent flyer points – or moving to a new country – it can be difficult to know where to start! The world of frequent flyer programs is a bit of a maze, and not all loyalty programs were created equal. In Episode 17 of the AFF on AIR … Continued
Choosing a Rewards Program – AIR017
If you’re new to the world of frequent flyer points – or moving to a new country – it can be difficult to know where to start. In this episode, Matt discusses the considerations involved in selecting a new frequent flyer program. Also, you now have just over a month left to redeem your … Continued
Qantas Dreamliner for Sydney-Santiago Route
Qantas will retire its Boeing 747s from the Sydney-Santiago route, replacing them with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from 24 June 2020 – just in time for the winter school holidays. At the same time, Qantas will ramp up its frequency on the Santiago route from four times per week to daily. The Qantas Dreamliner has 236 … Continued
The Ultimate Virgin Australia Seat Guide
There are three main aircraft types in the Virgin Australia fleet; the Boeing 737-800, Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777-300ER. The Economy and Business class seats on each of these plane types are quite different. For example, Virgin Australia’s Business class seats range from recliners to lie-flat beds. On the Boeing 777-300ER, which is used for … Continued
Window Shades Down on Day Flights?
Staring out the window and watching the world go by is one of the joys of air travel. But some airlines insist that all passengers lower their window shades to create a dark cabin – even in the middle of the day. There are several reasons that airlines may ask passengers to close their window … Continued