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Air New Zealand A320 at Auckland Airport

Air New Zealand A321neo Economy Review (Melbourne-Auckland)

The Airbus A321neo is the latest addition to Air New Zealand’s short-haul fleet. Featuring 214 Economy class seats, these aircraft are used on trans-Tasman and Pacific Island flights. In this review, we test Air New Zealand’s trans-Tasman Economy product from Melbourne to Auckland. Flight Details Flight number NZ726 Route Melbourne (MEL) to Auckland (AKL) Aircraft … Continued

10 Nov 2019 Flight Reviews
Coles Click & Collect boxes at MEL

Pick Up Your Coles Shopping at Melbourne Airport

Time-poor frequent flyers can now pre-order and collect their grocery shopping right outside the airport after landing in Melbourne. Coles Supermarkets has installed Click&Collect smart lockers outside Terminal 4 at Melbourne Airport. These lockers are refrigerated to keep your shopping fresh until your flight lands. The Click&Collect service at Melbourne Airport is free for Coles … Continued

10 Nov 2019 Airports & Lounges
Skyline of Hong Kong at sunset

Virgin Australia Suspends Melbourne-Hong Kong Route

Virgin Australia will withdraw from the Melbourne-Hong Kong route, with the last flights taking off on 10 February 2020. The widely-anticipated announcement comes as Virgin Australia completes a review of its fleet and route network, following seven consecutive loss-making years. Virgin Australia’s load factors to Hong Kong have been poor for some time, despite Virgin’s … Continued

6 Nov 2019 Virgin Australia
Shanghai, China

Asiana, China Eastern Trial New Routes to Australia

Asiana Airlines and China Eastern will trial two new, seasonal routes to Australia over the summer. Star Alliance’s Asiana Airlines will trial a weekly Melbourne-Seoul service from December 2019 until February 2020. Meanwhile, China Eastern is testing the waters on a Perth-Shanghai route, with a five-week trial beginning in January. Asiana to fly from Melbourne … Continued

5 Nov 2019 Other Airlines
Happy traveller

Find Cheap Flights Like a Pro with ITA Matrix

One of the most common questions I get asked is: “How do you find cheap flights?” There are lots of useful websites and tools that can help you to find cheap flights. For example, Google Flights is user-friendly and has some excellent features. Skyscanner is also easy-to-use and is good at finding low airfares. But … Continued

4 Nov 2019 Travel Tools & Technology
Matt Graham with Bob de la Hunty at HARS

HARS Museum to Add John Travolta’s Boeing 707

The Historic Aircraft Restoration Society, or HARS, is most famous for its Boeing 747-400 donated by Qantas in 2015. VH-OJA, named “City of Canberra”, was Qantas’ first Boeing 747-400 and the aircraft to complete a record-breaking non-stop flight from London to Sydney in 1989. HARS, located at Illawara Regional Airport near Wollongong, is also home … Continued

3 Nov 2019 Travel Lifestyle
Qantas A380

Qantas Reduces A380 Flights to Hong Kong

Qantas will move its Airbus A380 onto the Sydney-Hong Kong route two weeks later than scheduled this summer. Qantas had planned to upgrade one of its daily Sydney-Hong Kong flights, QF127 and the return QF128, to an Airbus A380 from 4 December 2019. This was due to replace the Boeing 787-9. However, Qantas will now … Continued

3 Nov 2019 Qantas
Matt Graham with Bob de la Hunty at HARS

Podcast #23: HARS (Historic Aircraft Restoration Society)

The Historic Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) boasts a collection of over 60 aircraft, including a retired Qantas 747, Super Constellation and DC-3s. John Travolta’s Boeing 707 will also soon be added to the museum at Illawara Regional Airport, which is open daily to the public. In Episode 23 of the AFF on AIR podcast, Matt … Continued

2 Nov 2019 AFF on Air Podcast

HARS (Historic Aircraft Restoration Society) – AIR023

  The Historic Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) boasts a collection of over 60 aircraft, including a retired Qantas 747, Super Constellation and DC-3s. John Travolta’s Boeing 707 will also soon be added to the museum at Illawara Regional Airport, which is open daily to the public. In this episode, Matt chats to HARS President Bob … Continued

2 Nov 2019 AFF on Air (blubrry)
Yellow Melbourne taxi

Melbourne Airport Taxi Touts Scamming, Harassing Tourists

Something needs to be done about the taxi touts harassing and scamming tourists arriving at Melbourne Airport. If you’ve flown to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport recently, you may have noticed the scourge of taxi touts that hang around the arrivals area. These touts offer unsolicited transportation services and are often unwilling to take “no” for an … Continued

1 Nov 2019 Ground Transport
Qantas 737 at BNE airport

Qantas Grounds 3 Boeing 737-800s over Pickle Fork Cracks

Qantas has taken three Boeing 737-800 jets out of service after cracks were found in an aircraft component known as the “pickle fork”. This is a small part that assists in connecting the wing to the aircraft’s fuselage. However, Qantas assures passengers that there is no risk to the flying public and its aircraft are … Continued

1 Nov 2019 Qantas

Velocity 15% EOY Transfer Bonus – November 2019

It’s that time of year again! Every six months – in May and November – Velocity Frequent Flyer offers bonus points as an incentive to transfer points to Velocity from various credit card reward programs, as well as hotel loyalty programs and Flybuys. This month, Virgin Australia is calling its promotion the “15% EOY bonus”. … Continued

1 Nov 2019 Virgin Australia