Author: Matt Graham
Matt Graham
The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course! 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 @AFF Editor.
Forced downgrade leaves Expedia customer fuming
One member is furious that online travel agent Expedia downgraded their business class ticket to economy without explanation. Having booked a business class trip to Europe, Expedia now says the member will need to pay $1,200 to “upgrade” the ticket back to business class. When our member then threatened to cancel the ticket, Expedia demanded … Continued
Heading north for some winter warmth
We are currently approaching one year since Qantas stopped selling JASAs, or business class Any Seat Awards. These awards were very popular as our members were able to book reward seats at classic award prices, and also earn points and status credits for the journey. Some of our clever members, such as amaroo, bought one … Continued
First Class, First Timer
One member is in a rather envious position. They want to use their frequent flyer points to cross that first class flight off their bucket list. Faced with a multitude of airlines and first class products to choose from, our member asks for advice in choosing the best route and airline to make the most … Continued
Qantas flying to San Francisco, American flying to Sydney
Flights across the Pacific are set to get a shake-up. From December, American Airlines will begin flying between Sydney and Los Angeles daily. To coincide with the launch, Qantas will itself launch a new route from Sydney to San Francisco. The airlines, who are already close partners, will collaborate and codeshare on each others’ flights … Continued
Avoiding unfair airline fees – a creative solution
An airline passenger in the UK has come up with a clever way to avoid paying a “name change fee” on an airline ticket. The passenger was accidentally booked under the wrong name, but European low-cost airline Ryanair wanted to charge £220 (about $440!) for the name on the ticket to be changed. Instead of … Continued
Lost Luggage Havoc
One member was shocked recently to discover their carry-on luggage had been stolen between boarding the plane and take-off. This member had placed their carry-on items including a computer and credit cards in the seat pocket after boarding. They then got up to use the bathroom before take-off, returning only to discover that the items … Continued
The long way home from New York
After a conference in New York, our member drron certainly isn’t taking any shortcuts on the trip back to Australia. Instead, our member has put together an envious itinerary involving many different modes of transport, and many different countries. With stops planned in Philadelphia, Paris, Copenhagen and Bangkok, just to name a few, our member … Continued
Uncertain future for Malaysia Airlines
The news was hardly surprising considering the airline’s recent financial woes, but Malaysia Airlines recently announced that they had gone into receivership. Fortunately, it seems that the airline will continue operating normally in spite of this, at least in the short to medium term. We do know that the airline will remain a part of … Continued
Velocity points earned with Agoda not posting
As Agoda is a partner of Virgin Australia, Velocity frequent flyers should be able to earn points by booking hotel accommodation online through the Agoda booking portal. However, some of our members have reported that the entitled points have not been posting properly. Are our members doing something wrong or is there a problem on … Continued