In-Flight Entertainment

In-Flight Entertainment is a popular topic at the Australian Frequent Flyer. Your travel experience can be greatly enhanced by an enjoyable flight and good inflight entertainment can certainly help!

Air China Boeing 777

Air China Boeing 777 Business Class Review (Sydney-Beijing)

With Qantas withdrawing from Sydney-Beijing flights in March 2020, Air China will soon be the only airline flying directly between the two cities. The Star Alliance member often has good Business class specials, and award availability is typically good, but what is their service like in Business class? I recently flew with Air China from Sydney … Continued

19 Jan 2020 Flight Reviews
Qantas A330-200 economy class

Qantas A330 Economy Class Review (Auckland-Brisbane)

Qantas is one of the key players in the competitive trans-Tasman market, with multiple daily flights from Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney to Auckland using a mix of Boeing 737s and Airbus A330s. In this review, we test the Economy class service on an Airbus A330 flight from Auckland to Brisbane. Flight Details Flight number QF126 … Continued

11 Jan 2020 Flight Reviews
Air Namibia A319

Air Namibia Business Class Review

Despite recent concerns about the financial stability and future of the airline, Air Namibia continues to fly as scheduled. Last week I flew with Air Namibia in Business Class from Cape Town to Windhoek on their Airbus A319. Flight Details Flight number SW708 Route Cape Town (CPT) to Windhoek (WDH) Aircraft type Airbus A319 Class … Continued

16 Nov 2019 Flight Reviews
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

Virgin Axes Samsung In-Flight Entertainment Tablets

Virgin Australia is axing its Samsung in-flight entertainment tablets in Business Class on domestic and short-haul international flights. From 30 September 2019, Virgin says that it will no longer load Samsung Galaxy tablets for Business Class guests on its Boeing 737 aircraft. Instead, passengers can stream entertainment to their own devices via the Virgin Australia … Continued

21 Sep 2019 Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia 737 economy class

Virgin Australia 737 Economy Review (Darwin-Melbourne)

The Boeing 737-800 is the backbone of Virgin Australia’s domestic fleet. In this review, we put Economy class to the test on one of the longest domestic routes in Australia. How does Virgin’s service stack up against rival Qantas? Flight Details Flight number VA1464 Route Darwin (DRW) to Melbourne (MEL) Aircraft type Boeing 737-800 Class … Continued

19 Sep 2019 Flight Reviews

Which Airlines Have External Cameras?

Many aviation enthusiasts enjoy looking out the window during their flight – as evidenced by a recent AFF debate on window shades. But there are certain things that you can’t see just by looking out the aircraft window – such as the outside of the plane, and the view in front of you. This is where external … Continued

28 Aug 2019 In Flight
The Best Use of Qantas Points is in the Air

Qantas Finally Completes Airbus A330 Refurbishments

The days of flying on an old, angle-flat SkyBed Qantas Business class seat are officially over. Almost seven years after announcing its Airbus A330 refurbishment program, Qantas has now finally upgraded its final Airbus A330 with the newest generation of Business class suites and upgraded Panasonic in-flight entertainment systems. The Airbus A330-200 with registration VH-EBG, named … Continued

11 Aug 2019 Qantas
There will be minimal changes to the interior of the ex-Virgin 737s

The Ultimate Virgin Australia Seat Guide

There are three main aircraft types in the Virgin Australia fleet; the Boeing 737-800, Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777-300ER. The Economy and Business class seats on each of these plane types are quite different. For example, Virgin Australia’s Business class seats range from recliners to lie-flat beds. On the Boeing 777-300ER, which is used for … Continued

Podcast #39: How Noise Cancelling Headphones Work

Travel Tools & Gadgets to Fly Better

Frequent flyers often make long-haul travel look easy. This isn’t by accident; most frequent flyers employ the assistance of technology to make their experience more comfortable and stress-free. So, which travel tools and gadgets do frequent flyers use? Noise-cancelling headphones For starters, noise-cancelling headphones are very popular among AFF members. A good pair of these … Continued

Virgin Australia 737 Business Class legroom. Photo: Matt Graham.

Virgin Australia Launches Lighter In-Flight Magazine

Virgin Australia passengers will notice something new in their seat pockets from this month. The airline has relaunched its in-flight magazine, with the old Voyeur magazine becoming the “Virgin Australia Magazine”. The airline’s new in-flight magazine has fewer pages and is lighter than its predecessor, allowing the airline to reduce its fuel consumption. This allows … Continued

Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic tails

Review: Virgin Economy from London to Sydney

Virgin Australia has been offering flights to London in conjunction with its partner Virgin Atlantic since May 2018. Velocity members can fly with Virgin Australia from Sydney or Melbourne to Hong Kong, connecting on a Virgin Atlantic codeshare flight from Hong Kong to London. Velocity members, of course, can earn full Velocity points and status … Continued

7 May 2019 Flight Reviews