Latest news

Getting COVID in Fiji – AIR077

  Many Australians are understandably a bit wary of travelling overseas at the moment in case they catch COVID-19 while they’re away. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to Australian Frequent Flyer forum moderator Bill MacCubbin (whose AFF username is “straitman”) on a recent trip to Fiji. But it wasn’t really a horror story at … Continued

5 Feb 2022 AFF on Air (blubrry)

No Qantas International Lounge Access for Oneworld Business Class

Business Class passengers departing from Australia on Oneworld airlines other than Qantas are being refused access to the Qantas First Lounges, despite the Qantas Business Lounges being closed indefinitely. In fact, passengers departing from most Australian airports in Business Class on airlines such as Qatar Airways, American Airlines or Cathay Pacific do not currently have … Continued

3 Feb 2022 Oneworld

New Qantas Reward Code Enables BP Redemptions

Observant Qantas Frequent Flyer members may have noticed that a 4-digit “Reward Code” was added to their digital membership cards on Monday. This new Reward Code facilitates in-store purchases using your Qantas Frequent Flyer points, starting with BP petrol stations. Redeeming Qantas points at BP Since March 2020, you can already earn Qantas points at … Continued

2 Feb 2022 Qantas

Why Airline Caterers Love “Ambient” Snacks

When Lufthansa announced it would introduce buy-on-board snacks on its long-haul flights last year, it promised “high quality” products that would better cater to the “diverse needs of guests”. In reality, the German airline just replaced the complimentary mid-flight refreshment on long-haul routes such as Frankfurt-Los Angeles with the option to purchase from an overpriced … Continued

31 Jan 2022 In Flight

Qantas Schedules Daytime Los Angeles-Brisbane Flights

Qantas is scheduling daily flights from Los Angeles to Brisbane departing at 10.20am in the morning from next May, offering customers a unique daylight option when travelling westbound from the United States to Australia. The flights will be operated by Airbus A330-200s, which will have to be weight-restricted due to the length of these flights. … Continued

30 Jan 2022 Qantas

Qantas Delays Santiago Relaunch

Qantas has delayed the restart of its flights to Chile, with all Sydney-Santiago flights now removed from sale until 31 October 2022. Earlier this month, Qantas had been selling seats on its QF27/28 services between Sydney and Santiago from late March 2022. But all Qantas flights on this route have now been “zeroed out” until … Continued

30 Jan 2022 Qantas

How to Fly to South America on Points in 2022

Redeeming frequent flyer points to get from Australia to South America has always been a bit of a challenge. But with all direct flights from Australia suspended since April 2020 due to COVID-19, getting to South America is now especially difficult. Direct flights from Australia to all other continents have now resumed, including Qantas flights … Continued

27 Jan 2022 Planning & Booking Points Inspiration

7 Partner Airline Rewards You Can’t Book with Qantas Points

Qantas Frequent Flyer members can redeem their points to fly with a total of 26 airlines including Qantas, Jetstar, all Oneworld airlines and a host of other unaffiliated partners such as Emirates, WestJet and El Al. This gives frequent flyers lots of ways to spend Qantas points in the air. But not every seat is available … Continued

27 Jan 2022 Qantas

Qantas Refunds Incorrect Carrier Charges

Qantas will refund customers who were mistakenly overcharged when booking Classic Flight Rewards prior to October 2021 – possibly without even realising. This error, caused by carrier charges being filed in the wrong currency, affected some Classic Flight Reward bookings from Australia to the United States and Hong Kong. Qantas last updated its carrier charges … Continued

26 Jan 2022 Qantas

Qantas Redemptions on Bangkok Airways Still Coming

In June 2019, as part of its major frequent flyer program overhaul, Qantas Frequent Flyer announced it would soon be possible to redeem points to fly with four new partner airlines – Air France, KLM, Air New Zealand and Bangkok Airways. In the months that followed, Qantas did indeed make Classic Flight Reward seats available … Continued

23 Jan 2022 Qantas

Podcast #76: Is Overseas Travel in 2022 Really That Scary?

Australia’s international border officially reopened in November 2021. But with COVID-19 still sweeping across the world, overseas travel is still risky. It’s also a lot more expensive than normal with fewer flights available, more cancellations and multiple COVID tests required to cross borders. And that was before Omicron. Even though many Australians are keen to … Continued

22 Jan 2022 AFF on Air Podcast

Is Overseas Travel in 2022 Really That Scary? – AIR076

  Although many Australians would like to travel overseas over the coming year, many are holding off for now. That’s totally understandable – there are still so many unknowns and risks involved with overseas travel in 2022. But is it really that scary out there? For those who’ve been stuck inside Australia for the past two … Continued

22 Jan 2022 AFF on Air (blubrry)