Latest news

NSW Scraps Quarantine for Vaccinated Australians

New South Wales will reopen its border to vaccinated Australians returning from overseas from 1 November 2021, who will no longer have to quarantine on arrival – neither at a hotel, nor at home. Fully vaccinated Australians will also be allowed to travel overseas from anywhere in Australia from 1 November, without having to apply … Continued

15 Oct 2021 Coronavirus and Travel

Too Many Airline Award Charts Ignore Premium Economy

Many airlines have introduced Premium Economy Class over the past decade. Even the major US carriers and Emirates, which initially resisted the trend, are now retrofitting Premium Economy seats onto their long-haul planes. But so many frequent flyer programs haven’t caught up yet. Of the frequent flyer programs that still have award charts, most display … Continued

14 Oct 2021 Airlines, Miles and Points

Singapore Expands Vaccinated Travel Lanes, But Not to Australia

Singapore will open “Vaccinated Travel Lanes” (VTL) with nine more countries from next week, following the successful launch of a travel bubble with Germany last month. It’s great news for travellers in eligible countries. Unfortunately, Australia didn’t make the list. In fact, the new VTL arrangements could make it harder for Australians to return home … Continued

14 Oct 2021 Coronavirus and Travel

Bonza: Australia’s Next Low-Cost Airline

A new start-up airline is planning to launch low-cost flights to leisure and regional destinations across Australia from next year. Bonza, as the airline has been named, doesn’t plan to compete directly with Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin and Rex on routes with lots of business travellers. Flying a small fleet of new, single-class Boeing 737-8 aircraft … Continued

13 Oct 2021 Rex & Regional Airlines

Virgin Launches 6 New Routes, Brings Forward Fiji

Virgin Australia has been on a new route blitz, announcing six new domestic routes over recent days and bringing forward its planned restart of flights to Fiji. New Virgin flights to Coffs Harbour Last week, Virgin announced it would resume up to double-daily flights from Sydney to Coffs Harbour from 11 November 2021, as NSW … Continued

13 Oct 2021 Virgin Australia

Qantas International Schedule Doesn’t Add Up

Qantas is busily preparing to restart international flights from next month. The airline will begin with flights from Sydney to London and Los Angeles, currently on sale from 14 November 2021, and gradually ramp up services over the following months. It sounds great, in theory. But Qantas doesn’t actually have enough planes to operate all … Continued

11 Oct 2021 Qantas

It’s Back: 50 Qantas Status Credits + 6,000 Points from $64

Qantas Frequent Flyer members could earn 50 status credits and more than 6,000 Qantas points starting from as little as $63.63, thanks to a lucrative Qantas Health Insurance promotion. Originally running between 9-13 July 2021, this promotion is now back and available to new Qantas Health Insurance customers who sign up between 8-12 October 2021. With … Continued

9 Oct 2021 Qantas

Qantas Flies Non-Stop from Buenos Aires to Darwin

Qantas operated its longest ever “commercial” flight yesterday, flying 107 passengers non-stop from Buenos Aires in Argentina to Darwin. Flight QF14 took off from Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Buenos Aires at 12.44pm on Tuesday, local time, before heading south for the 15,037km trip to Darwin. (The actual flight path was 354km longer than the … Continued

7 Oct 2021 Qantas

Qantas & Emirates Seek Approval to Extend Partnership

Qantas and Emirates have announced that they intend to seek regulatory approval to extend their partnership until at least 2028, with a possible further extension until 2033. It’s a vote of confidence in the extensive alliance between Qantas and Emirates which will likely continue to benefit both airlines, even after Qantas resumes non-stop flights from … Continued

5 Oct 2021 Emirates

Desperate Australians Using Private Jet Loophole to Get Home

A small number of desperate (and wealthy) Australians are using a secret loophole to return to the country without being subject to Australia’s strict inbound arrival caps. While this loophole is not being openly advertised, an increasing number of travel agents are now discretely offering guaranteed seats back to Australia using private jets. Tickets are … Continued

4 Oct 2021 Coronavirus and Travel

Podcast #70: Australia Reopening International Borders

The Australian government has announced that international border restrictions will begin to be relaxed on a state-by-state basis from next month. That’s great news for so many Australians, but how exactly will the new border arrangements work? In episode 70 of the AFF on Air podcast, Matt explains what we do and don’t know so … Continued

2 Oct 2021 AFF on Air Podcast

Australia Reopening International Borders – AIR070

  The Australian government has announced that international border restrictions will start to be relaxed from next month. In this podcast, Matt explains what we do and don’t know so far about the new border arrangements and how Qantas plans to restart international flights from November – a month ahead of schedule. Also in this … Continued

2 Oct 2021 AFF on Air (blubrry)