Author: Matt Graham
Jetstar Abandons Regional New Zealand, China
Low-cost carrier Jetstar will axe all regional routes within New Zealand, with the last flights to operate on 30 November 2019. Although Jetstar has announced that this is currently only a “proposal”, the airline is already offering refunds to customers that booked a regional New Zealand domestic flight for travel from December 2019. Tickets beyond … Continued
600,000 Stranded as Thomas Cook Collapses
600,000 Thomas Cook customers are now stranded overseas after the UK-based travel company filed for insolvency yesterday. Around a quarter of these passengers are British holidaymakers. The 178-year-old company operates airlines, resorts, hotels and cruises, and specialises in selling Europeans package holidays to sunny destinations. The Thomas Cook Group owns Thomas Cook Airlines, as well … Continued
The Trans-Tasman Airline Battle
Almost a year ago, Air New Zealand spectacularly ended its long-term partnership with Virgin Australia. Following the end of October 2018, the two airlines once again became competitors on trans-Tasman flights while Air New Zealand got into bed with Virgin’s rival, Qantas. Looking back, it seems the divorce has worked out much better for Air … Continued
Lufthansa Celebrates Oktoberfest in Most German Way Possible
Oktoberfest is on again in Munich, and German airline Lufthansa is really getting into the spirit again this year! This year, Lufthansa will operate flights where the entire cabin crew will dress up in traditional Bavarian Lederhosen and Dirndls, including two A380 flights from Munich to Beijing and Los Angeles. These flights will be LH722 (MUC-PEK) … Continued
Podcast #20: Are Loyalty Programs a Scam?
The ACCC recently released a damning draft report into Australian loyalty schemes, calling out practices that it says may shock consumers and putting loyalty program operators on notice. In Episode 20 of the AFF on AIR podcast, Matt chats to airline loyalty and data expert Mark Ross-Smith about the ACCC’s findings and recommendations. This interview … Continued
Are Loyalty Programs a Scam? – AIR020
The ACCC recently released a damning draft report into Australian loyalty schemes, calling out practices that it says may shock consumers and putting loyalty program operators on notice. In this episode, Matt chats to airline loyalty and data expert Mark Ross-Smith about the ACCC’s findings and recommendations. This interview covers topics including data privacy, … Continued
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
Qantas Changes: Where are the Extra Reward Seats?
Back in June 2019, Qantas Frequent Flyer announced that it would increase the number of points required for reward flight bookings in any premium cabin. In return, there would be a modest reduction in award booking carrier charges and Qantas would release “more than 1 million extra reward seats available annually on Qantas and new … Continued
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