After the “year from hell” which saw a pandemic shut down the travel industry and cause unspeakable suffering around the world, there’s finally some light at the end of the tunnel. There are currently many COVID-19 vaccine trials ongoing, and numerous of these are in their final stages. There’s still no 100% guarantee of a … Continued
Qatar Airways’ reputation has taken an enormous hit, with many Australians vowing never to fly through Qatar again, following shocking reports that women were subjected to human rights violations while transiting at Doha’s Hamad International Airport. Women on around 10 flights, including 13 Australians on QR908 to Sydney on 2 October 2020, were forcibly subjected … Continued
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed business travel. With borders closed, flights & events cancelled, and businesspeople told to work from home, people just aren’t flying for work like they used to any more. Airlines, hotels and other businesses that cater to corporate travellers will undoubtedly suffer if business travel does not recover. As a result, … Continued
Update (21 October): Air New Zealand will resume a second-weekly Sydney-Norfolk Island flight from November. With international borders shut, there are few opportunities for Australians to travel overseas this year. But Norfolk Island, an Australian territory located between New Zealand and New Caledonia, is open for business. Norfolk Island has introduced a similar hotspot-based system … Continued
If you’re returning to Australia from overseas – or travelling interstate from a designated COVID-19 hotspot – there’s a good chance you’ll end up in hotel quarantine. Since 29 March 2020, anyone arriving in Australia is required to undergo 14 days of managed isolation in a hotel room. This needs to be completed in government-designated … Continued
Qantas yesterday launched a fresh petition designed to place pressure on Australia’s state governments to reopen borders where it’s safe to do so. The petition, hosted on the Qantas website, calls on governments to “safely open our borders”. Qantas is encouraging its employees and customers to sign it. Here’s what the Qantas state border petition … Continued
People arriving in Australia from parts of New Zealand with no COVID-19 cases may soon be exempt from undergoing 14 days of hotel quarantine. Speaking to his counterpart in New Zealand last Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison advised Jacinda Ardern that Australia would seek to apply the same hotspot approach proposed locally to New Zealand. … Continued
On 25 March 2020, the Australian government banned citizens and temporary residents from leaving the country without a special exemption. This extraordinary temporary measure was introduced amid growing uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, the Australian outbound travel ban was widely viewed as reasonable. It’s now the end of August. Not only is … Continued
It has been a tough year for most Australian businesses, especially those involved in the tourism industry. But for the people of Kangaroo Island in South Australia, the coronavirus pandemic came right on the back of a nightmare summer of bushfires. After visiting Kangaroo Island this fortnight, Matt takes a close look at how these … Continued
Qantas today revealed that it does not expect international flights to resume until at least July 2021. The grim outlook came as Qantas announced a $2.7 billion statutory loss before tax for the 2019-20 financial year. In today’s announcement, the national carrier said that its international network was “unlikely to restart before July 2021; possibly … Continued
Do you know somebody who is missing travel or doing it tough under the current Victorian lockdown? You can now brighten up their day by sending them a Qantas care pack! Qantas has begun selling care packages which include business class pyjamas, amenity kits, tim tams, tea and bags of the smoked almonds served in … Continued
I’ve previously written a fairly positive review of Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737 Business Class. But during COVID-19 it’s a very different experience. As I discovered on a recent flight from Canberra to Brisbane, Virgin Australia Business class passengers are no longer receiving even close to the full Business class experience during COVID-19. Flight Details Flight number … Continued