Virgin Australia has begun to reopen its airport lounges after they were shuttered for eight months. But around half of Virgin’s existing lounges will remain closed permanently. Like Qantas, Virgin Australia was forced to close its airport lounges in March 2020 due to government restrictions that were introduced to suppress the spread of COVID-19. But … Continued
Over the past few years, many frequent flyer programs have moved away from the customer-unfriendly policy of points expiring after fixed amounts of time. In late 2019, for example, both Etihad Guest and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles removed the expiration of miles after a fixed 2-3 year term in favour of activity-based expiration policies. Miles … Continued
The equity value of Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer loyalty program has been slashed by two-thirds in just a year, according to an independent report commissioned by Virgin’s administrators and presented to the federal court. In the report, FTI Consulting valued Virgin’s loyalty business at between $640 million and $704 million. That’s compared to a … Continued
Qantas has foreshadowed the possibility of launching flights to South Korea, Taiwan and the Pacific Islands by early next year at yesterday’s Annual General Meeting. It comes as Qantas flags further cost cutting and lashes out at some states for keeping borders closed against health advice. Qantas eyes new markets as borders remain closed At … Continued
Flybuys Chief Operating Officer Phil Hawkins knows a thing or two about loyalty programs. He was with Flybuys right back when the Australian loyalty program launched in 1994! In Episode 47 of the AFF on AIR podcast, Phil Hawkins joins Matt Graham to discuss all aspects of the Flybuys program including its partnership with Velocity … Continued