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.

Virgin Australia "the business"

Podcast #12: Cheap Virgin Australia Business Class

Find out how to get cut-price Virgin Australia Business Class tickets by buying and redeeming Etihad Guest miles! This works particularly well on Australian domestic and some international routes, such as to Queenstown in New Zealand or Port Vila, Vanuatu. Episode 12 of the AFF on AIR podcast also includes some listener Q&A and an … Continued

Cheap Virgin Australia Business Class – AIR012

  Find out how to get cut-price Virgin Australia Business Class tickets by buying and redeeming Etihad Guest miles! This episode also includes some listener Q&A and an interview with Lance Chow, an award travel consultant at Frequent Flyer Solutions.   Episode contents: 0:59 – Fortnightly news round-up 8:15 – Buying Etihad Guest miles for … Continued

Cancelled flights

Avianca Brazil Grounded, All Flights Cancelled

All flights on bankrupt airline Avianca Brazil have been suspended indefinitely after Brazilian regulators grounded the airline. The Brazilian carrier, which is a member of Star Alliance, already cancelled thousands of flights last month after most of its aircraft were repossessed. For clarity, Avianca Brazil is a different company to Avianca (which is based in … Continued

Flight delayed board

AFF Member on Diverted Cathay Pacific Flight

Passengers on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne last Friday were given $30 worth of meal vouchers after their flight was diverted to Darwin, resulting in a 14-hour delay. AFF member pn1 was on the diverted Cathay Pacific flight CX105, which departed Hong Kong just after midnight on 25 May. The Airbus A350 … Continued

Cathay Pacific A330 HKG

Expanded Qantas, Cathay Pacific Codeshares Blocked

Australian regulators have tentatively rejected Qantas’ application for an expanded codeshare agreement with Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific. Back in January, Qantas applied for permission from Australia’s International Air Services Commission (IASC) to place its “QF” code on five Cathay Pacific services between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hong Kong. Similarly, Cathay Pacific would codeshare on five … Continued

Air New Zealand 787 Business Premier seat

Rare Air New Zealand Business Award Availability

Air New Zealand is not exactly famous for its generous award availability. Air New Zealand almost never releases long-haul Business class award availability for bookings using miles with Star Alliance partner airlines. But there are rare exceptions. A few days ago, Air New Zealand released a bunch of Business class award availability on long-haul routes … Continued

How to get a Qantas Club Discount

Free Qantas Lounge Pass for 18-35 Year-olds

Qantas is giving away free Business Lounge passes to 18-35 year-olds who book an international Qantas flight in Economy class. This promotion is running until 31 August 2019 and is valid for international Qantas flights departing any time until 29 February 2020. If you’re aged between 18 and 35 years old and you’d like to … Continued

Qantas A380 Economy Class seats

How to Get a Qantas “Comfort Row” to Yourself

If you’re stuck in Economy on a long overnight flight, there’s not much better than getting a whole row of seats to yourself. Did you know that, on one Qantas flight, the airline will actually sell you the remaining seats in your row for a small fee? It’s much more cost-effective than upgrading to Premium … Continued

Lost and found airport sign

The Dumbest Travel Mistake I’ve Ever Made

Earlier this week, I made what is quite possibly the stupidest travel mistake I’ve ever made. After 472 commercial flights, it finally happened… I left my passport on the plane. Normally after losing your passport you’d realise fairly quickly. But by the time I realised, three hours had passed and the plane had already operated … Continued