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Yep, went to the Ferrari museum and of course bought a Ferrari - in a cardboard box.

In May I spent a week in the Italian lakes - longest stay was at Riva del Garda, at the northern end of Lago Garda. I thought it had a lot to offer over the more tourist concentrated Lake centres, although with plenty of facilities for tourists. Travelling along the Lake in ferries is fun...

Good to know the shuttle works, but I've never bothered as the train station is right at Rydge's end of the terminal. Rydges is great for a (horrible) early morning departure.

You're right about this, especially since you've usually spent a fair bit of time in the lounge with nothing to do but eat and drink. On the other hand, if all you're getting for say a business class fare is airline breakfast you're going to feel ripped off - a discretionary snack bar sounds a...

I don't know that it's a bombshell but you're right about the foot-shooting. Qantas International has abandoned Adelaide and in any case I don't want to travel via the middle east. So far I've retained gold thanks to Cathay and Finnair. This will disappear now and as I'm already lifetime silver...

Last year for the first time in 40+ years of travel in various parts of the world I lost my travel wallet and cards and cash in a business lounge at HKG. I was impressed at Visa's quick response (fortunately my passport was in a shirt pocket along with about 80 euros which was just enough to...

Hate to sound like the old fogie I am, but when I travelled very frequently on business in the 1990s, I was addicted to the QC cheese offering, especially at Melbourne - often, returning from elsewhere to Adelaide, I'd choose flights which went via Melbourne just for the cheese - contrast that...

Absolutely. I always use Cathay or Finnair and will continue to do so even at lower SCs. Since I'm lifetime QC there seems little advantage in staying with QFF if I could get a gold status match with, say, Cathay. QI seems increasingly on a kamikaze business strategy, although it's enriching...

I'd definitely vote CX. I don't want to travel through the middle east and in any case Qantas charges more for an inferior product. As well, they've abandoned Adelaide while CX have improved their service. Last year I went CX/AY and liked the Helsinki stopovers even though reindeer tartare made...

Thanks to you and to kevrosmith. Nowadays I fly Finnair or Cathay to avoid Dubai, but I think AA is available for their passengers also.

I've never made use of this because I don't know what's supposed to happen to your luggage while you're in an airside lounge - advice from those who have used it, including where it is in relation to immigration and baggage reclaim?

It's hard to believe Qantas couldn't at least break even with a few ADL-SNG a week, which would provide a good basis for connections. HKG would be even better, but thank God for Cathay. Wonder what happens to Qantas when the next mid-east war starts or the Arab Spring and/or Jihadists reach Dubai.

Cathay and Finnair are pretty good; my July booking with them is about $7500.

Re: qf vs cx I've taken to using CX most years to Europe via HKG - it's much superior to Qantas in all respects. I've been able to go Business mostly and am currently a Gold, so there's no problem with lounge access. When I can no longer be one of those, since I really value lounge access I may...

Not a reply but a question for the board: I gather Malaysian, now admitted to oneworld, is pretty mean with transfer of points and status credits to QFF. Has anyone grasped the arithmetic?

You're right Pushka - I went to Brisbane just after Christmas for the lovely cool weather - it was a shock leaving 30 in Brisbane for over 40 in Adelaide.

I hope GoldMember is recognised in the Oz Day honours for his unique public service. Does anyone have any ideas on ASA awards though? When I've done dummy bookings they've seemed absurdly expensive on both dollars and points, even when free classic awards are available for the same flights.

Assurances that local laws won't be enforced aren't all that encouraging. Anyway, many people, like me, would just prefer to avoid the middle east. And just as the new alliance starts, there's an excellent chance of the next of the now fairly regular middle eastern wars, this time with Iran...

SCs are an important issue for me but, with increasing age and poverty, so is the fact that EK doesn't offer premium economy: I need SCs to keep lounge access when I use CX premium economy. When you can't go J, the QF/EK tie up is not particularly attractive.

We need new terminology now the planes are plastic!