Airlines, miles, and points is the most popular topic at Australian Frequent Flyer. In this category, we provide expert tips, insider tricks, and facilitate discussions about Qantas, Virgin Australia, non-Australian airlines, and global airline alliances. From earning and redeeming frequent flyer points to maximising elite status benefits, we aim to help you get the most out of your travel.
We also cover every step of the journey – from planning and booking flights to experiencing the flight itself, and finally, arriving at your destination. Whether you're a seasoned traveller or just starting to explore the world of frequent flyer programs, you'll find valuable advice to elevate your travel experience.
See below for articles on airlines, miles and points.
Today marks the beginning of the 2022-23 IATA northern winter scheduling period. For passengers, this doesn’t really mean much – but it’s a significant date for airline schedulers. Many new airline route launches, cancellations or restarts are planned around the IATA scheduling seasons. With today heralding in the new IATA northern winter season, for example, … Continued
Qatar Airways’ new route to Canberra could be dead in the water before it even started. In July of this year, Qatar Airways announced that it would launch daily flights from Doha to Canberra via Melbourne from 1 October 2022. But shortly before this route was due to launch, the Qatari airline announced that the … Continued
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Virgin Australia won a daily slot to operate flights to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Virgin prepared for months to launch daily Airbus A330-200 flights from Brisbane to Tokyo, which were to be operated in partnership with All Nippon Airways. The airline even began selling tickets and had planned a big … Continued
Over the past decade or so, there has been a clear trend in the airline industry to “unbundle” airfares. For the increasingly prominent low-cost carriers, selling cheap tickets with optional add-ons is a core part of the business model. But even some full-service legacy carriers have launched “light” or “basic” fares in recent years which … Continued
When flying from Sydney to Melbourne with Qantas, you’ll often have the choice to fly on a narrow-body Boeing 737 or a wide-body Airbus A330. The Airbus A330 is a more popular aircraft with most passengers because it has a better Business Class product and is more spacious. On the Qantas A330, all Business Class … Continued
A family of four was left stranded in Bali for 18 days after Jetstar cancelled their flight home and didn’t offer an alternative flight until more than two weeks later. After a holiday in Indonesia, AFF member Hutch0007 and their family was booked to return to Melbourne on a Jetstar flight departing on 16 September 2022. … Continued
Being a flight attendant may seem like a glamorous job, but it can also be a thankless one. Airline cabin crew are highly trained, work long hours, put up with a lot of difficult passengers and at the end of the day, are responsible for the safety of their passengers – a tough job that … Continued
Update (25 October): Due to issues with Border Force and customs processing inbound passengers at Terminal 3 of Perth Airport, Qantas has cancelled its planned launch of Perth-Jakarta flights and the Perth-Johannesburg route will only run until March 2023 at this stage. Qantas has temporarily removed all Perth-Johannesburg flights from sale, as it finalises customs … Continued
It’s just over a month since Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways launched a new strategic partnership. As well as earning and redeeming points on each others’ flights, this agreement promises Velocity Gold, Platinum and Beyond members access to priority check-in, priority boarding and lounges when flying with Qatar Airways. It’s a great value-add to the … Continued
If you’ve looked at international airfares lately, you may have noticed how much more expensive they are compared to pre-COVID times. In fact, Qantas Business Class fares on some routes are now selling for close to $30,000 return during busy travel periods. As Australian Frequent Flyer covered recently, there are numerous reasons for the high … Continued
Many of the elite status extensions offered by frequent flyer programs due to COVID-19 are about to come to an end. For some airlines, this will mean a sudden and significant reduction in the number of members holding status. There has been a live debate for some time already about whether to continue extending the … Continued
The Virgin Australia Lounge at Perth Airport is now once again staying open until the evening red-eye flights depart, rather than closing at 6pm every day. Two months ago, Australian Frequent Flyer reported that the Virgin Australia Lounge in Perth’s terminal 1 was not staying open for the late-night overnight departures to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. In … Continued
