Author: Matt Graham
Review: Virgin Australia’s Reopened Brisbane Lounge (2021)
Following an eight-month closure, Virgin Australia has now reopened five of its domestic airport lounges. Virgin’s lounges in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne reopened late last year, while the Gold Coast and Perth lounges opened their doors again from today. The Adelaide and Canberra lounges are yet to reopen, while Virgin’s other former lounges will remain … Continued
Qantas Hangs Up on Platinum Member Requesting Refund
A Qantas call centre agent hung up on a Platinum frequent flyer calling to enquire why it was taking so long to receive a refund for their cancelled flight. The incident not only highlights the poor customer service many receive from the Qantas call centre, but also the lengthy delays many Qantas customers experience with … Continued
Sydney COVID-19 Outbreak Ruins Christmas Travel Plans
After a nightmare year, it seemed just one week ago that Australia was finally on track for all internal state borders to be reopened by Christmas. Until just a few days ago, there was only one remaining state border restriction in place, preventing South Australians from travelling to Western Australia. This was (and still is) … Continued
Qantas to Launch 7 New Regional Routes in Early 2021
Qantas will launch flights on seven new regional routes in early 2021, including to two new destinations, drawing the ire of rival Rex. Just as Qantas’ inaugural Sydney-Merimbula flight departed this week, Qantas announced a raft of new regional routes from Melbourne. Qantas will also start flights from Sydney to Griffith, and Adelaide to Mt … Continued
Rex’s “Strong-Armed” Tactics Against Local Councils Exposed
Regional Express Airlines (Rex), Australia’s largest independent regional airline, has been profitable almost every year since 2004. Given the volatility of the aviation industry and tight margins on regional aviation, that’s a remarkable achievement for the airline which will shortly launch jet services between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. But has Rex’s success been at the … Continued
Virgin Lounge Pass Holders Incorrectly Denied Entry
A Virgin Australia flyer has been incorrectly denied entry to the airline’s newly-reopened lounge at Sydney Airport. Despite holding a valid lounge pass issued by ANZ Bank, the Virgin lounge attendant erroneously informed the customer that single-use lounge passes issued via the customer’s ANZ credit card were no longer being honoured. AFF member Duck posted on Wednesday: … Continued
Photos: Melbourne Airport’s International Terminal in December 2020
Last week, Melbourne Airport began accepting international arrivals (who go directly into hotel quarantine) for the first time since June. But with the controversial international arrival caps still in place, and Australians still banned from leaving the country without a travel exemption, the international terminal at Melbourne Airport remains eeriely quiet. An Australian Frequent Flyer reader was … Continued
Domestic Reward Flights Can Still Be Great Value
Many of us save up frequent flyer points to redeem for international travel. But with Australia’s international borders remaining closed for a while longer, and domestic travel resuming, now could be a good time to burn some points for domestic reward flights within Australia instead. Sure, redeeming points for a flight to Melbourne or Perth … Continued
No Staff, No Service: The Future of Flying Qantas?
Last month Qantas announced a plan to close its airport service desks and sales counters, including the service counters in Qantas airport lounges. The airline says that the removal of face-to-face contact points is designed to “enhance customer confidence in flying” during the pandemic. But if the recent experience of a Qantas Platinum member flying … Continued