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With the demise of the 767 as the Qantas mainstay for Transcontinental flights, much focus has been on its replacement, the Airbus A330. With Qantas operating aircraft that feature a 10 year old cabin, they were always going to struggle. After all, Virgin’s new deliveries featured a seat in Business Class that converted to a … Continued
Stuff happens! Especially when it comes to expensive overseas travel arrangements. Some call it Murphy’s Law, the principle that if something can go wrong it will. On that basis, most people will purchase travel insurance to make sure they are covered. As our government says on its smart traveller website, if you cannot afford Travel … Continued
For some time now, Australia and New Zealand authorities have not stamped the passports of residents when they travel overseas. If you are a frequent traveller, a passport can soon start to fill with all those stamps. Often that means an expensive replacement well before the expiry of the original passport. While the move does … Continued
One member has experienced some intense surveying from Woolworths about the utility of earning frequent flyer points via their Everyday Rewards program. This has led to speculation that Woolies may be looking for a more attractive incentive for shoppers than Qantas points. This speculation has caused quite a stir for our members who enjoy the … Continued
For quite a few years, the Finnish airline Finnair has been offering very competitive fares to Europe through their Asian services. Six or seven years ago those services often made great status runs, with cheap Business class flights between Bangkok and either Singapore or Hong Kong. These days they have just the point to point … Continued
Airports are mistakenly thought by many to be there to service the airlines and its travellers. While that may have been the case up until late last century, the privatisation of the major airports has seen a quantum change in the focus of many airports. Thanks to their slightly different planning laws that generally are … Continued
Most of our members hold Australian passports, one of the more widely accepted visa free passports in the world. But not all countries are happy to grant an instant visa on arrival. Some prefer you to give advance notice, or apply for one outside the country. Vietnam, like many of its neighbours, is one such … Continued
When Qantas made changes to its frequent flyer program recently, it was obvious for many that status could be harder to achieve in the future. First the “marginal” Any Seat awards were disposed of, a source of cheap status credits to many members and the topic of much discussion on the forum. Then the reduction … Continued
Faced with the prospect of being relocated to Iraq for work, one member seeks advice as to whether this is a wise idea. Our member “Yo Yo Ma” seeks our other member’s views, ideas, and opinions. A resounding “No” can be heard throughout the forum when answering the query about relocation. Most members feel that … Continued
Many of our members have a preference for one airline or another, and find themselves more often than not flying that airline for the majority of flights. With some of the amazing savings to be had by buying miles through US Air’s Dividend Miles Program or Avianca (see our Knowledge Centre for more details), the … Continued
One of the features in the battle between Qantas and Virgin of recent years has been the increase in capacity both airlines have made in a bid to make money. Not long ago, trans- continental traffic was mostly single aisle jets. With Virgin upping the ante to wide-bodies with lie flat beds in business, Qantas … Continued
While many of our members like to accumulate points rather than spend them, some have been burned by hard lessons from the past. As the events of 2001 showed with the demise of Ansett, sometimes it can be a case of easy come easy go. Spending those points rather than saving them can be a … Continued