Latest news

Stewart Island Flights Review (Oban to Invercargill)

Stewart Island Flights is a small airline based in Invercargill on New Zealand’s South Island. Specialising in commercial and charter flights to Stewart Island, the airline has a fleet of just four light aircraft. I recently flew with Stewart Island Flights from Oban, the main town centre on Stewart Island, to Invercargill. Normally in a … Continued

12 Aug 2021 Flight Reviews

Qantas Offers Easy Status Extensions until June 2022

Qantas Frequent Flyer has announced another round of status extension offers, in light of the current travel downturn in Australia and the extended international border closure. Qantas is now offering further 12-month status tier extensions to Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One frequent flyers whose status would have been due to expire between now and … Continued

11 Aug 2021 Qantas

Qantas Plans Second Points Auction

Qantas says last week’s Points Auction was so successful that it will hold a second one later this year. In Qantas’ inaugural Points Auction, a total of 12,314,485 Qantas Frequent Flyer points were spent on five “money can’t buy” products and experiences, including a used pair of Qantas A380 Skybed seats which sold for 2 … Continued

10 Aug 2021 Qantas

Delta Cuts Domestic Lounge Access for Velocity Members

Gold and Platinum members of Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program will no longer have access to Delta Sky Club lounges when travelling with Delta on a domestic flight from 1 September 2021. Velocity is also making changes to points earning rates with Delta Air Lines from the same date. From 1 September 2021, Velocity … Continued

9 Aug 2021 Virgin Australia

Finn-UNFair: Thousands Lost in Compensation Nightmare

Multiple Finnair passengers have been left up to AU$13,000 each out of pocket, through no fault of their own, after they tried to claim EU261 compensation for flights delayed due to mechanical faults. In the European Union, airlines are legally required to compensate passengers for flights delayed by more than 3 hours, except in extraordinary … Continued

9 Aug 2021 Other Airlines

Podcast #66: EU261 Claims Cost Finnair Passengers Thousands

There are countless “claim agencies” that specialise in claiming EC261/2004 (EU261) compensation from airlines for flight delays, cancellations and overbooking in the European Union. Their promise is simple: They’ll chase up airlines for money legally owed under European laws, on behalf of airline passengers who lack the time or expertise to do it themselves. Most … Continued

7 Aug 2021 AFF on Air Podcast

EU261 Claims Cost Finnair Passengers Thousands – AIR066

  There are countless claim agencies in the European Union that specialise in pursuing airlines for compensation owed under the EC261/2004 regulation. Their promise is simple: They’ll chase up airlines for money owed under EU laws for flight delays, cancellations and instances of overbooking on behalf of airline passengers who lack the time or expertise … Continued

7 Aug 2021 AFF on Air (blubrry)

Overseas Residents No Longer Exempt from Outbound Travel Ban

Australian citizens and permanent residents who normally live overseas will no longer be exempt from the Australian government’s outbound travel ban from 11 August 2021. As Travel Daily has reported, federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt has made an amendment to the legislative instrument that was implemented in March 2020 to Australians … Continued

5 Aug 2021 Coronavirus and Travel

Airlines Losing Millions Flying to Australia

For Australians stranded overseas, it has never been harder or more expensive to get home. It’s also never been harder for the international airlines trying to repatriate Australians. The Australian government’s extremely low international arrival caps haven’t just locked out many tens of thousands of Australian citizens who are desperate to come home. The caps have … Continued

5 Aug 2021 Coronavirus and Travel

Rex Extends Domestic Flight Cancellations

Rex has extended the grounding of its Boeing 737 fleet and cancelled many of its domestic flights for at least several more weeks, as a result of the extended lockdown in Sydney and COVID-19 restrictions in other Australian cities. Rex has not operated any Boeing 737-800 flights since 18 July 2021. ZL689 from Gold Coast … Continued

4 Aug 2021 Rex & Regional Airlines

Double Status Credits with Virgin Australia (August 2021)

Velocity Frequent Flyer members can earn double status credits on new Virgin Australia domestic flight bookings made by 10 August 2021, for travel until 28 June 2022. However, this latest Velocity double status credits offer excludes Economy Getaway fares. That’s the cheapest category of Economy class fares. With this offer, it would be possible to … Continued

3 Aug 2021 Virgin Australia

Review: QantasLink’s Queensland “Milk Run”

If you’ve ever needed to travel up or down the coast of Queensland, you’ve probably come across the famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) QantasLink “milk run” route. Every day, QantasLink Dash 8 turboprops fly from Brisbane to Cairns with stops in Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville, picking up and dropping off passengers at … Continued

2 Aug 2021 Flight Reviews