Sydney’s Qantas First Lounge Will Reopen on 1 November 2021

Qantas will reopen its flagship international First Lounge at Sydney Airport on 1 November 2021 – the same day that regular flights from Sydney to London and Los Angeles resume. While the Qantas First Lounge in Sydney will reopen next month, Qantas won’t reopen its neighbouring Business Lounge until more people are travelling – likely … Continued

Alitalia is Shutting Down: Impact on Velocity Members?

The Italian government will shut down its terminally unprofitable flag carrier Alitalia next month, replacing it with a brand new airline. ITA, which stands for Italia Trasporto Aereo, will take over many of Alitalia’s old aircraft and routes from 15 October 2021. But, determined not to repeat the same mistakes as its predecessor, ITA will … Continued

Delta Cuts Domestic Lounge Access for Velocity Members

Gold and Platinum members of Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program will no longer have access to Delta Sky Club lounges when travelling with Delta on a domestic flight from 1 September 2021. Velocity is also making changes to points earning rates with Delta Air Lines from the same date. From 1 September 2021, Velocity … Continued

Plaza Premium Airport Lounge Shuffle

Plaza Premium has exited the Priority Pass program, while introducing its own lounge visit passes. These are just some of a raft of changes to airport lounge access arrangements that came into effect earlier this month. Here’s a summary of what’s changed in the recent airport lounge shuffle… Plaza Premium exits Priority Pass program Since … Continued

Review: Air New Zealand’s Longest Domestic Flight

A few weeks ago, I reviewed Jetstar’s domestic service within New Zealand. The other main option for domestic travel in New Zealand is the national carrier and Star Alliance member Air New Zealand, which operates an extensive domestic network using Airbus A320 jets, as well as ATR72s and Dash 8 Q300s on regional routes. I recently … Continued