Latest news

Singapore Ends Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL)

Singapore will scrap its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme, with quarantine-free travel to Singapore available to anyone who is vaccinated from 1 April 2022. There will still be some basic entry requirements to travel to Singapore under the new “Vaccinated Travel Framework” (VTF), which will replace the VTL scheme from next month. But arriving passengers … Continued

25 Mar 2022 Coronavirus and Travel

More Qatar Airways Rewards for Qantas Frequent Flyers

Qatar Airways is no longer giving reduced access to Business Class reward seats on its Australian flights to Qantas Frequent Flyer members. It comes as Qatar Airways also switches its points currency to Avios, and British Airways Executive Club drastically reduces the cost of reward seats on Qatar Airways flights. Qantas Frequent Flyers now have … Continued

25 Mar 2022 Qatar Airways

Virgin Business Class Better Value than Qantas in 2022?

In early 2021, I wrote that Qantas in-flight catering was miles ahead of Virgin Australia. But Virgin Australia has massively improved its Business Class offering since then… while also slashing its Business airfares. At a basic level, Qantas and Virgin Australia now provide very similar domestic Business Class products. Both airlines have lounges, the Boeing 737 … Continued

24 Mar 2022 Virgin Australia

Singapore Airlines Call Centre Woes

Prior to COVID-19, the Singapore Airlines call centre was generally excellent. It didn’t take long to get through to an operator, and the Singapore-based staff were able to competently assist with most requests. Unfortunately, it’s now quite a different story. It appears that Singapore Airlines has closed its Singapore-based call centre during the pandemic and … Continued

24 Mar 2022 Singapore Airlines

Air New Zealand Reopens International Lounges

Air New Zealand will reopen all of its international airport lounges over the coming weeks as New Zealand prepares to reopen its border to the world. Currently, all Air New Zealand international lounges are closed except in Rarotonga, Christchurch and Auckland. The Auckland lounge is currently only open until 3.30pm, meaning it is open for … Continued

22 Mar 2022 Air New Zealand

Podcast #80: Southeast Asia Welcomes Back Tourists

As far as international borders go, Asia has been one of the last parts of the world to relax COVID-19 restrictions and reopen their countries to tourists. But the tide is now starting to turn, with many Southeast Asian nations now welcoming back visitors from overseas. Singapore and Thailand already reopened late last year, albeit … Continued

19 Mar 2022 AFF on Air Podcast

Southeast Asia Welcomes Back Tourists – AIR080

  So far this year on the AFF on Air podcast, Matt has spoken to Australians who recently travelled to Canada, Fiji and the UK during this post-COVID era of international travel. In this episode, Matt talks to Ben Bartlett, an Australian who recently visited Thailand and the Philippines for a business trip. Thailand began … Continued

19 Mar 2022 AFF on Air (blubrry)

Virgin Australia Won’t Return to NZ Until November 2022

New Zealand will reopen its border to Australian tourists next month, with quarantine-free travel from Australia resuming from 13 April 2022. Following this announcement, Qantas quickly announced an increase to services from Sydney to Auckland from the date of the border reopening. It will also resume daily Brisbane-Auckland, Melbourne-Auckland and Sydney-Christchurch flights from 13 April, … Continued

18 Mar 2022 Virgin Australia

Qantas Int’l Business Lounges Reopen 27 March 2022

Qantas will reopen its international Business Lounges in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on 27 March 2022, as more international flights resume. This will relieve some of the pressure on the Qantas First Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, which had been getting quite full lately during peak times as more people return to the skies. Meanwhile, … Continued

17 Mar 2022 Qantas

New Zealand Reopens to Australians on 13 April 2022

Australians will finally be allowed to travel quarantine-free to New Zealand once again on 13 April 2022, with the New Zealand government yesterday announcing the much-anticipated reopening of the country’s border. From 11.59pm on 12 April, Australians will be allowed to enter New Zealand without needing to quarantine. Travellers will just need to be fully … Continued

17 Mar 2022 Coronavirus and Travel

30% off Selected Qantas Economy Classic Rewards

Qantas Frequent Flyer is discounting the points required for selected Classic Flight Reward bookings in Economy Class by 30%, for bookings made between 16-20 March 2022. The discount is available on selected routes, for travel dates from 1 May 2022. Eligible routes include the “golden triangle” domestic routes between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well … Continued

16 Mar 2022 Qantas

Cheap Singapore Airlines Business Fares from Europe to Australia

If you want to fly from Australia to Europe in Singapore Airlines Business Class, you could expect to pay at least $5,255 round-trip (e.g. for a flight from Adelaide to Frankfurt). But tickets in the other direction, from Europe to Australia, can be significantly cheaper. Singapore Airlines currently has some great deals on round-trip Business Class fares … Continued

16 Mar 2022 Singapore Airlines