AFF on Air is the Australian Frequent Flyer travel podcast featuring tips, tricks and chat for Australian travellers. This fortnightly podcast is hosted by the AFF editorial team.
2020 has been a tough year for many Australian tourism businesses. But few parts of Australia have been affected as badly as Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The island was still recovering from a disastrous summer bushfire season, which destroyed almost half the island, when the coronavirus crisis hit. With borders now closed, the … Continued
Qantas may have retired its last active Boeing 747, but there are still two of the “queens of the skies” on display in Australian aviation museums. One of those, a Boeing 747-200, can be found at the Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach, Queensland. Qantas has a long and proud association with Longreach, the town … Continued
This week, Australia said farewell to a national icon: the Qantas Boeing 747. Over the past 49 years, Qantas – once an all-747 airline – has operated almost every Boeing 747 variant that has existed. The “queen of the skies” has transported millions of passengers to destinations all over the world, including Olympic athletes … Continued
Imagine discovering that your available credit card balance is suddenly over $28 million! That’s exactly what happened to AFF moderator JessicaTam recently after Qatar Airways accidentally refunded her in Australian Dollars instead Indonesia Rupiah. JessicaTam joins Matt on this episode to talk about the story that has gone viral over the past week. Also … Continued
For frequent flyers, noise-cancelling headphones are the ultimate travelling companion. But have you ever wondered how they actually work to cancel out noise? In this episode, aerospace engineer Hossein Seif Zadeh (a.k.a. hossein_au on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum) explains how noise-cancelling headphone technology works and the difference between a $100 and a $600 pair … Continued
With Queensland and South Australia having now announced dates when their borders will reopen, James Green from Award Flight Assist joins Matt in this episode to discuss travel around Australia. James also explains how to maximise opportunities for Qantas Points Club members to earn status credits from Qantas Classic Flight Rewards. And in a … Continued
As the coronavirus crisis continues, many airline passengers are still waiting for refunds from cancelled bookings. Meanwhile, some passengers have discovered that they would have to pay extra – thousands of dollars, in some cases – to rebook their cancelled flights for a different date. Recently, a Lufthansa customer in Germany was asked to … Continued
Chris Bournelis (a.k.a. AviatorInsight) is a Boeing 737 First Officer for Virgin Australia. As the voluntary administration process continues and many flights remain grounded, Chris joins Matt in this episode of AFF on AIR to talk about life behind the cockpit door. Episode contents: 0:56 – Fortnightly news round-up 12:42 – Maximising frequent … Continued
When Peru suddenly went into lockdown in March, hundreds of Australians were stranded all over the country, unaware of what was going on or how many others were in the same situation. Within days, Gus Higgins created the “Aussies in Peru” Facebook group which has been credited with connecting most of those Australians and … Continued
As Virgin Australia suspends share trading on the ASX and considers the possibility of voluntary administration, many Velocity Frequent Flyers are watching the news nervously. What will happen to Virgin Australia, and are Velocity Frequent Flyer points safe? In this episode, Phil Gunter from New World Loyalty shares his insights with Matt. Phil is … Continued
Last week, Matt was able to return home to Australia. But some Australians that are still stranded overseas have not been so lucky. In this episode, Matt chats to Australians in Peru and India who have been in lockdown and unable to depart – or even get to an international airport – for several … Continued
It has been a tumultuous few weeks for the airline, tourism and hospitality industries. As the coronavirus outbreak spreads exponentially, many airlines have stopped flying and international borders are being closed at unprecedented rates. In this extended episode, Matt looks at the implications of the past few weeks on travellers and the airline industry. … Continued