The requirement to wear a face mask inside most Australian airports will come to an end this weekend, after the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) recommended “that it is no longer proportionate to mandate mask use in airport terminals”. It’s now up to individual states & territories to decide whether to follow this recommendation … Continued
Qantas and Virgin Australia will both stop offering additional flexibility to customers with domestic flight bookings at the end of this week, winding back the “Fly Flexible” and “Flexible Flying” policies that the respective airlines introduced at the beginning of the pandemic. Currently, both Qantas and Virgin Australia are allowing fee-free flight changes for any … Continued
Prior to COVID-19, the last major downturn to hit the aviation industry was the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Following this event, fewer people were choosing to spend money on travel. Crucially, for airlines, many business travellers were also no longer buying profitable Business or First Class tickets. There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has … Continued
Rex has quietly amended its COVID Refund Guarantee to make it almost impossible to actually get a refund in the future if you can’t travel due to COVID-19. Until recently, Rex offered a refund (minus its booking & card payment surcharges) if you needed to cancel your flight for any COVID-related reason. But on 28 … Continued
People arriving in Australia will no longer be required to get a pre-departure COVID-19 test, effective from 17 April 2022. This is the date that the federal government’s current Biosecurity Emergency Determination period will lapse. Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed yesterday that, “following medical advice”, the government will not renew this when it expires next month. … Continued
As the AFF on Air podcast continues its series on international travel in 2022, we turn our attention in this episode to the UK. In Episode 78, Matt chats to two Australian frequent flyers who recently travelled to London about their experiences. One of this episode’s guests is Andrew Holland, who flew Qantas Business Class … Continued
One of the biggest concerns that Australians have about going overseas at the moment, understandably, is catching COVID-19 while away and getting stuck somewhere. Unfortunately, this happened recently to Australian Frequent Flyer forum moderator Bill MacCubbin, who you may know on the forum as straitman. Bill recently caught COVID in Fiji but has since recovered … Continued
When Lufthansa announced it would introduce buy-on-board snacks on its long-haul flights last year, it promised “high quality” products that would better cater to the “diverse needs of guests”. In reality, the German airline just replaced the complimentary mid-flight refreshment on long-haul routes such as Frankfurt-Los Angeles with the option to purchase from an overpriced … Continued
Qantas will remove the requirement for passengers with a previous COVID-19 infection who are still testing positive on their pre-departure PCR test to submit a medical clearance form 7 days before flying. This policy is expected to change as soon as next week, which will come as a huge relief to the many Australians who’ve … Continued
In October 2021, the Australian government started issuing International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificates. The government’s Smartraveller website describes these as a “free and secure way to prove your COVID-19 vaccination history when you travel across borders overseas”. There’s just one problem – many other countries don’t recognise it. Generally, most other countries will accept an Australian … Continued
Travelling overseas in early 2022 is nothing like it was just a few years ago. Australia’s international border has partially reopened, but there are unfortunately still some huge risks involved with jetting off abroad. Constantly changing testing requirements, border rules and flight cancellations are all parts of the problem. But perhaps the biggest risk is … Continued
If you’re an Australian aged 18 or over and you’ve received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, make sure you claim your Qantas vaccination reward and enter the Qantas & Velocity Frequent Flyer competitions by the end of this month! Both Qantas and Virgin Australia are giving away prizes to Australians who’ve been vaccinated against … Continued
