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Moving to the UK – stick to Qantas or make the switch?

One of our members is planning a move to the UK and has a dilemma: pack the Qantas Frequent Flyer card or leave it behind and look at new options in the UK? I’m an Australian moving to the UK, and a member of the Qantas FF scheme for a while now, although I do … Continued

27 Jan 2015 Oneworld

Virgin removes fuel surcharges, pressure on Qantas to follow

In a move that is likely to put further pressure on rival Qantas, Virgin Australia has completely removed fuel surcharges from all of its flights. The fuel surcharge component will now be included in the base fare. The move is largely symbolic as Virgin previously only charged a surcharge on two of its routes; Sydney … Continued

26 Jan 2015 Virgin Australia

Frustration with forced seat changes

This week one member’s selected seating was arbitrarily changed at the gate leaving them frustrated and resentful at Virgin ground staff. Our member was flying Darwin to Brisbane on a Virgin flight and requested, and was then duly allocated seat 5C upon check-in. When our member proceeded to the gate, the gate scanner flashed red … Continued

22 Jan 2015 Virgin Australia

Business Class to Spain on Qantas & Finnair

Flying to Europe in the nose of the plane usually costs a small fortune, but there are a few tricks to save a bit of money without compromising on comfort. A popular strategy is to fly to an Asian port and pick up a discounted Business class flight with Finnair for the onward trip to … Continued

21 Jan 2015 Flight Reviews

Big changes to Cathay Pacific Frequent Flyer program?

It has been reported that Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific is set to announce sweeping changes to its frequent flyer offering. Unfortunately, it’s mostly bad news for customers as the changes are likely to devalue the program significantly. In future it may be much harder or even impossible to gain elite status, especially flying on … Continued

19 Jan 2015 Cathay Pacific

Don’t let your Qantas points expire

The issue of expiring Qantas points is not one anyone with an active Qantas Frequent Flyer account should need to worry about. Qantas has a clear policy that points will not expire as long as the account has been active in some way in the past 18 months. But for less frequent travellers, this is … Continued

17 Jan 2015 Qantas

Air New Zealand Nuisance: No compensation

Our member Gungadin6’s recent Air New Zealand nuisance has been received with mixed reactions by our forum members. Gungadin6 was on an Auckland to Sydney flight when it was diverted to Melbourne without explanation. Upon arrival in Melbourne our member was still not given an explanation and waited for forty five minutes to get to … Continued

15 Jan 2015 Air New Zealand

Relaxing in a part of Thailand less travelled

This week we follow a trip to a small Thai island called Ko Tau. It’s so small in fact, that our traveller had never even heard of it before visiting. So where is Ko Tau? It is a tiny island off the coast of Samui. Which requires a flight from Bangkok then a ferry ride … Continued

14 Jan 2015 Destinations

Dad lives it up in First; Mum & the kids slum it in Economy

One member this week is planning a family trip to Europe and wants to experience the luxury of First class, but won’t be able to bring the whole family into the pointy end. Instead of our member risking getting into trouble with his wife, the plan is to split the travel so that both Mum … Continued

13 Jan 2015 Qantas

Flights between Australia and Japan to increase

Direct flights between Australia and Japan are set to get a boost after Qantas announced new services to Japan late last year. In addition to this, there is speculation that All Nippon Airways will re-enter the Sydney-Tokyo market after a 16 year hiatus. Following various airline cutbacks and the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake in … Continued

12 Jan 2015 Airlines, Miles and Points

TripAdvisor: valuable resource or waste of time?

If you travel regularly, the chances are that you’ve used TripAdvisor, one of the world’s largest travel websites. This week our members discuss how they use TripAdvisor, be it for researching hotels, restaurants or otherwise. Many people find the website a particularly valuable resource for finding or checking out hotels as the reviews are from … Continued

10 Jan 2015 Travel Tools & Technology

New Year Travel Aspirations

Our members reminisce about the year that was and ramp up their 2015 travel goals. Some members commit the ultimate frequent flyer faux pas and admit that high on their list of priorities for 2015 is to fly less! Air travel Safety also features high on our member’s wish-lists with some members revealing their noble … Continued

8 Jan 2015 Planning & Booking