Latest news

Digital Passenger Declaration Replaces Australia Travel Declaration

The Australian government’s new Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD) will replace the current Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) form from Friday, 18 February 2022. The DPD will also eventually replace the paper incoming passenger cards that currently need to be filled out on the plane when flying into Australia. Everyone arriving in Australia on or after 18 … Continued

15 Feb 2022 Coronavirus and Travel

5 Ridiculous Airline Marketing Images

It’s not uncommon for photos used in advertisements to be a bit over-the-top or unrealistic, and airline marketing is no exception! A few years ago, I recall flying with a low-cost airline from Dusseldorf Airport in Germany. There were huge check-in queues, and most passengers were waiting so many hours to check in that they … Continued

14 Feb 2022 Travel Lifestyle

International Airlines Not Returning to Brisbane

From next month, Qatar Airways will increase its Brisbane-Doha flights from 3x weekly to daily. The Qatari airline will also switch the stopover for its Auckland-Doha flights from Brisbane to Adelaide, meaning there are more seats available overall for passengers travelling between Brisbane and Doha. But Qatar Airways is an exception to the current trend. … Continued

13 Feb 2022 Airlines, Miles and Points

What It’s Like Flying to Singapore in 2022

Since November 2021, Australians have been allowed to travel to Singapore under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) arrangement. But there’s a lot more paperwork involved than in pre-COVID times, as I recently experienced when I travelled from Melbourne to Singapore in the first week of February 2022. This article explains the procedures I had to … Continued

12 Feb 2022 Coronavirus and Travel

How to Find Domestic Widebody Flights

Apart from some rare exceptions like Japan, the majority of domestic flights in most countries are operated by narrowbody aircraft like the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320. These are perfectly fine for short hops, but flying on a widebody jet is always just a little bit nicer. In Economy, you’ll often have a bit more … Continued

11 Feb 2022 Planning & Booking

Velocity Reinstating Singapore KrisFlyer Transfers “Shortly”

Velocity Frequent Flyer members will soon be able to convert their points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles again, with Velocity CEO Nick Rohrlach promising to bring the option back within months. The ability to transfer points between the Velocity and KrisFlyer loyalty programs was a hugely popular program feature until it was suspended in April … Continued

9 Feb 2022 Virgin Australia

Qantas Bound for Broken Hill

Qantas will launch flights from Sydney to Broken Hill in far west NSW from April, challenging Rex on a route where the regional airline has held a monopoly for the past 18 years. Starting on 8 April 2022, Qantas will operate two weekly flights from Sydney to Broken Hill on Mondays and Fridays. The services … Continued

9 Feb 2022 Qantas

Australia’s International Border Reopening on 21 February 2022

Australia will finally reopen its international border to vaccinated tourists and anyone with an eligible visa to enter the country on 21 February 2022, almost two years since the border was closed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement was made today by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews … Continued

7 Feb 2022 Coronavirus and Travel

Why Keep Booking with Airlines that Screw You Over?

Over the past few years, the same complaints about airlines have appeared time and time again. Some of the most common ones have been airlines making it difficult to get a refund, as well as lengthy call centre wait times and non-existent customer service. Lots of airline customers have put up with bad experiences or terrible … Continued

7 Feb 2022 Airlines, Miles and Points

Emirates Skywards’ Confusing Classic Reward Rules

When redeeming Emirates Skywards miles to book Emirates Classic Reward flights, there are two categories available – Saver and Flex Plus reward tickets. Saver rewards cost fewer miles than Flex Plus rewards, but Flex Plus rewards are available on more flights. Seems simple, right? Well, not so fast… For some reason, Emirates also attaches additional … Continued

7 Feb 2022 Emirates

Virgin Australia Delays Sydney-Canberra Restart Again

Virgin Australia has pushed back the resumption of direct flights between Sydney and Canberra – a route that it hasn’t served for almost two years. In early December 2021, Virgin announced that it would return to the Sydney-Canberra route in partnership with Link Airways from 30 January 2022. The flights would be marketed by Virgin … Continued

6 Feb 2022 Virgin Australia

Podcast #77: Getting COVID in Fiji

One of the biggest concerns that Australians have about going overseas at the moment, understandably, is catching COVID-19 while away and getting stuck somewhere. Unfortunately, this happened recently to Australian Frequent Flyer forum moderator Bill MacCubbin, who you may know on the forum as straitman. Bill recently caught COVID in Fiji but has since recovered … Continued

5 Feb 2022 AFF on Air Podcast