You don’t fly Qantas First Class for the flash; you fly it for the feeling. There’s no gold-plated bling like Emirates, no closing doors or onboard showers. But what you do get is something rarer: space, silence, and the kind of service that makes you feel like the only person onboard. That, and a fillet steak that could go head-to-head with most five-star hotel kitchens… at least for half the journey.

Heathrow Terminal 3 isn’t exactly the most inspiring place to begin a first-class journey, but Qantas’ premium service team quickly lifts the experience. Courtney, an absolute pro, welcomed me at check-in, handled a torn shopping bag situation (saving my M&S tea and chocolates from public embarrassment), and arranged a personal escort through Singapore to skip the usual chaos.

The Qantas First Lounge at Heathrow is hands down the best Oneworld option in the terminal. It’s spacious, much bigger than you’d expect, and while the à la carte menu is tighter than Sydney’s, all the favourites are there, including Neil Perry’s iconic salt and pepper squid. Camden Pale Ale and Camden Hells Lager are on tap, and there’s Bollinger Champagne paired with warm nuts and olives. It’s not quite the ultra-polish of Singapore Airlines' lounges, but it’s close and miles ahead of the Business lounges.

Despite its size, the lounge can fill up when Platinum frequent flyers start filing in for the economy schlep, but seating for First passengers is reserved, so you’ll always find a quiet spot.

Boarding was swift and discreet. The A380 is the only aircraft in Qantas’ fleet to offer First Class, and you immediately feel the difference stepping on board. With only 15 seats in the cabin, it’s quiet, intimate, and immaculately serviced.

Each suite is spacious, easily double the footprint of a Business Suite, with a large LCD screen, endless storage compartments, and a generous dining table that makes mid-air meetings a reality. There’s even a loveseat for anyone planning to chat or dine with a companion at 40,000 feet.

While the layout isn’t the traditional odds-and-evens herringbone, it works. It’s not the most private First product in the sky (don’t expect QSuite levels of seclusion), but it’s comparable to Singapore Airlines First. Privacy screens help if you’re in the centre seats, which I copped on the second leg.

The black PJs and matching slippers are elite. The sleeper kit is a noticeable step up from Business. Everything just feels a little bit more considered. And then there’s the crew...

The crew on this leg were incredible. Young, switched on, super attentive, and genuinely cool. You get the sense the future of Qantas is alive and well in First Class. Nick, who looked after me, was a f**king legend. He anticipated everything, from topping up drinks to setting up meals, and never missed a beat. At one point, it felt like there were more crew than passengers. Not a complaint.

Dinner on the London to Singapore leg was superb. A fillet steak cooked just right, paired with a 2019 South Australian Shiraz. There's even an onboard chef preparing meals for First Class passengers. The soup? So elite I forgot to take a photo. Breakfast? Pancakes and bircher muesli. I didn’t need it, but I couldn't say no.

But here’s the thing. Qantas sold off its catering arm a few years back, so the food quality varies by hub. There’s no consistent global supplier for First Class, so it can be a bit hit or miss. Case in point, the final leg into Sydney was rough. Grouper that was tougher than an old boot. And let’s be honest, if you’re paying $20,000 for a return ticket (not that I was), that’s just not cricket.

This is where Qantas First really pulls away from Business. The bedding is excellent. Thick mattress topper, proper pillows, a heavy double blanket.

Old mate, Nick took five minutes to make the bed while I slipped into my PJs, and when I came back, it looked like something out of a boutique hotel. I was snoring not long after, a few glasses of wine and Bollinger in, headphones still on. Good night, Irene.

Everything in the suite is controlled via a touchscreen remote. It’s responsive enough but maybe less intuitive than Emirates’ ICE system.

The screen’s big, bright and perfect for zoning out, but the lack of Wi-Fi is a real issue. For a flagship product, Qantas is still behind the eight ball. No internet in First Class in 2025? C’mon, mate.

Landing in Singapore, you’re met by a personal concierge, Ryan in my case, who guides you straight to the Qantas First Lounge, books you in for a shower, and seats you in a private dining area. The menu is Singapore-inspired with some Neil Perry staples thrown in (yes, the squid again). Ryan gave me the full rundown on how to skip queues, what routes offer the best shot at a First upgrade, and reassured me boarding hadn’t started yet, so I could properly chill. Class.

Qantas First on the A380 delivers on the things that matter most: space, service, sleep, and that unmistakable Aussie charm. It’s not the flashiest product in the sky, but it’s real, comfortable, and at its best, luxurious. The lack of Wi-Fi and inconsistent catering let it down slightly, but when you’ve got legends like Courtney, Nick, and Ryan looking after you, those rough edges get smoothed out pretty quickly.

Qantas First might just be the airline’s best-kept secret. You just have to catch it on a good day.

Read the full article Qantas First Class Review: 80,000 Points for First Class from London to Sydney… But Is It Worth It? on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Qantas' new group boarding policy made waves when first announced earlier this year. Designed to make the boarding process faster, smoother, and ultimately fairer, our first hands-on experience with the new system during our Christmas travels proved that Australia's biggest airline isn't mucking around.

Reading about these changes in the news media is one thing, but feeling their full force is quite another. It's also more common than many airlines would care to admit that they announce a grand new plan for calming the ever-frantic boarding process but fail to follow through, the will of their passengers overwhelming the long-tested determination of their staff.

However, DMARGE's founder and resident queue-jumper Luc Wiesman discovered the hard way that Qantas is seeing this policy through, and not letting festive cheer put them off their task. Waiting to board the QF419 from Sydney to Melbourne this morning, he saw a number of passengers attempt to hop on board early and get swiftly, sternly, told to cool their jets:

"Qantas is not messing around with their new boarding system. If you're not called they won't let you board. If it's not green on the screen, then sit your ass down..."

Luc Wiesman

While the keen beans among you may be upset to hear this, we suspect that the majority of passengers will be thrilled. Gate lice have been a persistent and self-perpetuating phenomenon for years now, with the few original passengers shameless enough to jump the lien subsequently emboldening ever-larger groups of people to do the same. We're the first to call out Qantas when they take a wrong turn, but this might just be one of the best things they've done in years...

Qantas makes a decent fist of looking after its high-value passengers, who are the big winners here. Passengers will be divided into six groups, with Group 1 able to board first and Group Six boarding last.

Group boarding is already in place at the Qantas domestic terminals in Brisbane and Perth and will start at Melbourne’s T1 on June 17 and Sydney’s T3 on June 25. Airlines overseas widely use the practice, and if managed properly, can result in quick and efficient boarding, which is a win for everybody, and also improves Qantas’s on-time performance metric.

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson told this writer at a media roundtable last week that she had spent considerable time lately listening to customers about pain points and addressing those. The standard domestic boarding melee is one of those pain points, especially for frequent flyers.

“I have spent hours in focus groups with detractors,” Hudson said. “I’m surrounding myself with customers who’ve had bad experiences, not the customers that are [Qantas] promoters…

"We’ve known in the past that on-time performance and customer satisfaction is highly correlated. The new boarding process is focused on that (on-time) performance.”

Vanessa Hudson

As with many other airlines, customers are not created equal at Qantas: Business class passengers, Qantas Platinums, Platinum Ones, Oneworld Emeralds, and Chairman’s Lounge members are all collected into Group 1 and can board first and anytime after that until boarding closes. It’s a reworking of the previous priority boarding call, which Qantas domestic gate agents were particularly bad at enforcing. Now, the computer will say no unless your boarding pass is coded Group 1. That will kill off the freeloading Bronze frequent flyers trying their luck in the priority queue.

Qantas Gold frequent flyers and Oneworld Sapphires are among the losers. They’ve gone from the priority boarding call to Group 2. It’s not a huge downgrade, and by the time you wander down from the Qantas Club to the gate, they’ll likely be midway through the boarding process anyway. However, it does give you some indication of the value Qantas puts on the road warrior crew who do the Sydney – Melbourne grind every week in on the best available fares.

Also getting the boarding cold shoulder from Qantas are silver frequent flyers and Qantas Club members, who’ve always got less than they might like in terms of benefits from Qantas and under the new boarding regime, unless flying business class, continue to do so.

Once Qantas has its valued and semi-valued passengers seated, it boards the economy cabin from the rear (Group 3), progressively moving up to the front of the economy cabin (Group 6). Low-status or no-status pax who like to wrangle a seat in the forward economy cabin (presumably for a hasty exit) are among the biggest losers in the new boarding arrangement.

Not only are you called to board last, but all the earlier boarding passengers will have jagged the overhead bin space near your seat, leaving you to jam your oversized wheelie carry-on into a bin six rows behind you.

Of course, boarding early has no real value unless you like sitting in Qantas economy or need to stash a carry-on. If you do, timely boarding is key to snagging a bin above your seat.

In which case, unless you are in Group 1 or 2, selecting a seat at the back of the plane becomes a solid strategy. Granted, it is desperately unfashionable, but Qantas economy is desperately unfashionable full stop. However, the rear seats tend to fill up last, meaning you are more likely to get an empty seat beside you, and you’ll be in Group 3, which means you are among the first in economy class to board. So, you can get that bin space.

Here, the Qantas app becomes your friend. Say what you like about the national carrier, but the ability to monitor the seat map and empty seats in real-time and chop and change right up to boarding means you can look for the least crowded parts of the plane and change seats at the very last minute. It’s one way to work the new boarding regime if Qantas considers you an item to be conveyed rather than a valued customer.

Hudson is busy cleaning up the reputational mess left by her predecessor. She talks about customers (not passengers) having positive experiences at Qantas and forming memories that will entice them back, not straight over to Virgin Australia. Sorting the traditionally less-than-brilliant Qantas domestic boarding process is one cog in that process. 

“When customers have had a positive experience, they’re going to start to believe (in Qantas) and reputation and trust will return,” she said. “And that’s what we are absolutely and relentlessly focused on.”

Read the full article Qantas Ruthlessly Enforcing New Boarding Protocol In Christmas Crackdown on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Qantas and Virgin Australia have decent frequent flyer programmes, and many are members of both. If you buy the marketing spin, your life will get so much better after signing up. It probably won’t, but joining one is an avenue to free flights. Behind the hype, which of Australia’s two top frequent flyer programmes offers the best bang for your buck?

A short domestic economy class flight will earn you 800 points on Qantas while Virgin Australia pays five points per dollar spent on airfares (dropping to four points next April). Flying greater distances on more expensive fares further up the front of the plane will generate substantially more points. Elites on both airlines also get bonus points.

Both Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity offer ample opportunities to earn points away from flying. For a fast fix, credit card sign-up bonuses and credit card spending on certain cards are two ways to earn a sizeable number of points fairly quickly. 

Both schemes also have a large number of retail partners. Qantas teams up with the Woolworth’s Everyday Rewards programme and Velocity partners with Flybuys and Coles. You can earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points by filling up your car at BP and Velocity points at 7-Eleven, among others.

The capacity to earn points depends on the frequent flyer member channelling their spending towards their particular airline partners and, of course, the spend amount. 

A single-person household is likely to spend less than a large household where there is family points pooling and Mum runs her own business and also taps into additional earning programmes such as Qantas Business Rewards.

While both Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity have their strong points, in terms of earning opportunities, Qantas has the edge. They have more partners and more opportunities to earn points. Qantas’s inflight earning opportunities are also more straightforward, being distance and fare type-based, rather than spend-based. Reward flights have the edge on Velocity too.

If accruing points is relatively easy, getting value-for-money redemptions is the harder part. Most people look to redeem their points on flights. Both Qantas and Virgin Australia have value-for-money redemptions in all travel classes on all routes. The trick is finding one.

Being a OneWorld member, Qantas has a wider range of partner airlines you should be able to redeem your Qantas Frequent Flyer points on, but any regular traveller knows this isn’t how it pans out.

Tried to book a reward seat on Qatar Airways using Qantas points lately? Any luck on Cathay? Seen any entry-level (Classic Reward) availability in premium cabins on any Qantas flights to Europe? Probably not.

Virgin Australia has fewer airline partners, but a decent selection nonetheless – ANA, Qatar, Singapore, United, and Air Canada, among others. Your mileage may vary, but I’d argue it is easier to find a decent value redemption using Velocity points than Qantas points for international travel. Easier. Not easy.

Both Qantas and Virgin Australia have reasonably decent entry-level redemption availability for domestic travel in their economy cabins. Redemptions on Virgin Australia start at 5,900 points for short sectors such as Canberra – Brisbane and 8,000 points on Qantas.

Entry-level redemptions in domestic business class are harder to find but around... and international business seats are rare (or expensive) as hens teeth. For redemptions, Virgin Australia has the edge because of lower cost and slightly better availability.

Qantas and Virgin Australia allow their frequent flyers to transfer points into accounts. American Express Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Woolworth Everyday Rewards, and HSBC Rewards for Miles are among the programmes that will allow you to transfer points to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account.

Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, ANZ Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, NAB Rewards, and Suncorp Credit Card Rewards are among the programmes that allow you to transfer points to Velocity. These can be a great way of funnelling points into your frequent flyer account, especially if your card spend is high.

Separately, both airlines allow you to transfer points between family members under family pooling arrangements. What constitutes a family member? Someone with a frequent flyer account linked to the same home address.

Family pooling was a Velocity strong point because the program also allowed pooling of status points. If Dad paid for a family of four to fly to Italy, Dad would get the points and status credits. However, Velocity is watering down its family pooling benefits next year, although the change impacts status rather than earning or transferring points.

Qantas family transfers are fairly straightforward. The airline allows you to make an unlimited number of transfers (a minimum of 1,500 points per transfer) to family members.

Velocity has generally had the edge when it comes to transferring points because of its family pooling perks. Now that’s changing, there’s little to distinguish the two airlines other than that they partner with some different financial institutions.

Comparing earning, redeeming, and transferring opportunities, Qantas Frequent Flyer offers better scope for earning points while Virgin Australia’s Velocity provides slightly more opportunities to redeem points for flights, particularly at entry-level rates. In terms of transferability, the two programmes are reasonably similar, with your preference likely to depend on who you bank with and who you hold credit cards with.

Read the full article Virgin Velocity vs Qantas Frequent Flyer: Which Delivers Best Value For Travellers? An In-Depth Analysis on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Breaking out of Qantas economy class and settling in a premium economy seat for the first time is a major milestone. Suddenly, there is significantly upgraded comfort, room to move, no more plastic cups, tasty food and personable service. What’s not to like? But is it worth paying even more to fly further up the plane in the promised land that is business class?

Not all Qantas aircraft offer premium economy seats. The airline only offers premium economy on its A380 and B787 aircraft, whereas business class is offered on all Qantas international flights. The business class cabins are also bigger – 70 business seats versus 60 premium economy seats on the A380 and 42 business seats versus 28 premium economy seats on the Dreamliners. These planes operate Qantas long-haul routes to North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and some services to and from Singapore.

The premium travel experience starts at check-in. Both premium economy and business class passengers have dedicated check-in desks. However, only business passengers automatically get lounge access.

This isn’t necessarily a problem if you are flying premium economy but hold Qantas Gold or Oneworld Sapphire status or above or if you’re a Qantas Club member and the departure airport has a Qantas-operated lounge. You’ll enjoy lounge access regardless of travel class. 

Both business class and premium economy passengers can board before economy class passengers. This is a nice perk if you want to board early and get settled.

The key difference between Qantas business class and premium economy class is the seat. Qantas gets credit for having a fairly uniform product across its widebody fleet (many airlines don’t). As a result, a seat on the A380 is very similar to a seat on the B787, regardless of travel class.

Qantas premium economy passengers can expect a 58-centimetre wide seat with a 96.5-centimetre pitch (seat pitch is the distance between one point on your seat and the same point on the seat in front of you). There are four rows of premium economy seats on the Dreamliner and each row is configured in a 2-3-2 arrangement.

The premium economy cabin on the A380 is at the rear of the upper deck. It has the same 2-3-2 layout, but there are ten rows rather than the four on the B787. The seats are the same but there are a couple of quirks on the A380. Row 38 has a 3-2 layout, row 39 has a 2-2 layout, and row 40 is just a pair of seats. These sound great but be aware at seat selection time – they are close to the toilets and galley. 

Let's not talk about the time Luc Wiesman big for business class with his partner; he got the upgrade, but she didn't.

On both aircraft types, premium economy passengers will get a headrest and nice pillow, leg and foot rests, individual night lights, a reasonably decent blanket, USB charging and AC power outlets, a 33-centimetre HD screen, storage areas, cocktail tray, and pull-down tray table.

Move forward in the plane and life gets more comfortable in business class. The business class layout on both the A380 and B787 is 1-2-1, so everyone gets aisle access. Seat width in the so-called Qantas Business Suite is 61 centimetres, and when fully flat, the pitch is 203 centimetres. 

When it’s time for sleep, business class passengers get a nice pillow, a 100% cotton duvet, and a (thin) mattress. While there are no sliding doors on any Qantas aircraft yet, these seats offer a decent degree of privacy in either lie flat or sitting mode. Qantas business class isn’t the best in the world, but it’s a very solid product and a big step up from premium economy.

Here's a tip: 2A, 4A and 6A are the more enclosed years in the cabin, so aim for those.

In short, they were caught napping on design and were more focused on their Project Sunrise. David Caon's new cabins for these ultra-long-haul A350 flights are sublime and now feature fully enclosed business-class seats. Qantas, however, will be the global leader in ultra-long-haul travel, which makes sense considering how far Australia is from the rest of the world.

Of course, you pay for the upgrade, whether in point, cash, or Qantas' fabled rewards system. A straightforward one-way fare between Sydney and LA on the first Monday in June 2025 currently costs AUD3,357 in premium economy (or 203,000 points plus AUD314).

Alternatively, it costs AUD8,170 (or a whopping 502,000 points plus AUD639) in business class. You pay a lot for that lie-flat seat. It will vary depending on airline, route, and travel date, but typically, premium economy is less than half the cost of business class.

Inflight service is another differentiator between premium economy and economy, although you can reasonably expect friendly and attentive service in both classes on Qantas aircraft. In both cabin classes, drinks are served in proper glasses, and meals are served on china tableware. While options will vary depending on route and time of day, Qantas premium economy passengers can typically expect a salad starter, three choices of mains, including a plant-based choice and options like a chicken and grain salad or a wagyu beef braise.

There is also a choice of desserts, normally something like cheese and crackers, cake, or chocolates. Unlike in business class, everything comes on a single tray, although that blow is softened somewhat by linen napery and decent crockery.

In contrast, Qantas business class offers four starters, including their always morish delicious soup and other treats such as confit duck and mushroom vol u vents. Expect four main courses, with Barrington beef, snapper, Bannockburn chicken, and a plant-based option currently making regular appearances in one guise or another. There are choices for dessert, including the cheese plate, options like panna cotta or mouse, and the ice cream sandwich. Courses are served individually.

Both cabins offer mid-flight snacks ranging from fruits to chips and biscuits to hot snacks like BLTs in business class and grilled cheese toasties in premium economy.

antas offers several avenues for passengers to upgrade their travel experience to a higher cabin class, each with its own set of criteria and processes:

Classic Upgrade Rewards: This option allows Qantas Frequent Flyer members to use their accumulated Qantas Points to request an upgrade. Key features include:

If you have lots of points this is the best way to burn them.

Bid Now Upgrades: This system allows passengers to bid for an upgrade using cash money or a combination of cash and Qantas Points. Key aspects include:

Two years ago, Qantas was really on the nose. It was, as one blogger said, only worth flying on when you had points to redeem. But a lot can change in two years, and Qantas is back in the game.

"It's like comparing a bus and a banana. Is business class worth it? Yes, always but use points for upgrades but be prepared to not get your upgrade."

Luc Wiesman, DMARGE Founder

Recent premium cabin flights have been largely on time, the food good, and the service excellent. Granted, things get scaled up in both premium economy and business class, but right now, flying in either cabin on Qantas is a pleasant way to travel and makes returning to the back of the plane an unappealing prospect.

Read the full article Qantas Business Class vs Premium Economy: Are The Benefits Worth Double The Cost? on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Qantas recently introduced another type of seat redemption opportunity called Classic Plus Rewards in response to strong passenger demand for more redemption availability. Qantas pitches Classic Plus as affordable but not as inexpensive as its Classic Flight Rewards prices. However, it also adds another layer of complexity to the Qantas frequent flyer scheme. This article unpacks the differences between Classic Flight Rewards and Classic Plus Rewards.

If you're into these kinds of nitty-gritty Qantas comparisons, check our our guides comparing their economy and premium economy class, as well as their premium economy and business class.

The main differences between Qantas Classic Flight Rewards and Classic Plus rewards are cost, availability, flexibility, and what airline you can fly on.

Qantas Classic Flights Rewards require a fixed amount of points, whereas Qantas Classic Plus Flight Rewards require varying amounts of points in line with the asking cash prices for airfares. Classic Flight Reward redemptions are generally cheaper than Classic Plus redemptions, but not always.

But, while you may pay more for a Classic Plus Flight Reward, redemption opportunities are relatively easy to find, whereas Classic Flight Reward redemption opportunities are far more limited.

Changing a Classic Flight Reward booking may require you to pay additional points to cover a fare difference while tinkering with a Classic Plus Flight Reward booking will require you to pay the difference in cash.

Classic Flight Rewards can be redeemed on Qantas, Jetstar, and partner carriers, but Classic Plus Flight Rewards can only be redeemed on Qantas flights.

Both types of redemptions are upgradeable and offer passengers the flexibility to combine between cabins and fare types in the same booking. Both redemption types have the same reward change and cancellation fees, and neither allows passengers to earn Qantas frequent flyer points or status points on the booking (unless you are a Points Club member).

Let's say you want to fly from Melbourne to Singapore. The classic flight reward is 25,400 points in economy class or 64,400 points in business class. There is also a cash component of several hundred dollars for fees and taxes. When cash fares are high, jagging one of these fares is a good deal. But when cash fares are high, finding a classic reward redemption can be a tall order.

The redemption price can soar when attempting to rely on a Classic Plus Flight redemption, particularly when looking to travel at short notice. It is not unknown for Qantas to ask for over 170,000 points for an economy class seat or circa 300,000 points for a business class seat up to Singapore during busy periods. That amount of points can take you far further if used for Classic Flight Reward redemptions.

Do people make these sort of poor value-for-money redemptions? According to Qantas, they do, although hopefully, most pay less than these headline figures. Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson says introducing Classic Plus redemptions has resulted in more frequent flyers than ever redeeming seats and improved engagement with the frequent flyer programme.

Because Classic Plus redemption prices follow the principles of dynamic pricing and align with the asking cash price, Qantas says there are also times when a Classic Plus redemption will be cheaper than a classic flight reward.

If you have the available points, booking any redemption is straightforward on the Qantas app or website. One advantage of booking either type of redemption is the usually generous cancellation policies, usually a full refund minus 6,000 points.

Airlines worldwide are increasingly moving away from the fixed redemption rate the Qantas Classic Flight Rewards model relies on towards dynamic pricing. The rollout of Classic Plus Rewards reflects this. Airlines like dynamic pricing because it helps them maximize revenue and profit by adjusting prices to better reflect demand.

Virgin Australia is making many changes to its Velocity frequent flyer programme. During quiet periods, the airline is reducing the asking price for an economy class redemption but raising it in both its economy and business cabins during busier times.

Virgin likes to style itself as a value-for-money proposition. Its entry-level redemption for an economy class redemption on the Melbourne – Sydney route is 5,900 points plus fees and taxes and 15,500 points in business class. But like Qantas, redemption rates vary. Fly at short notice at a busy time and the airline may ask for over 36,000 points in economy class and 95,000 points in business class between the two cities. You could go a lot further with better-value redemptions elsewhere.

But perceptions of value will vary, and like Qantas reward bookings, cancelling a Velocity rewards booking is relatively straightforward if done 24 hours before departure. Passengers can elect to receive a refund to their original form of payment. 

The terms and conditions of airline loyalty programmes can be complex and no two programmes are the same. Despite the PR guff, they aren't designed to benefit passengers. They are designed to drive business and revenue to the airline. 

However, if you accrue a decent amount of points, it's worth getting to know your frequent flyer programme. That's because there are golden nuggets like the 108,400 Qantas Classic Reward business class redemption to Los Angeles and the 5,900 redemptions on short-sector VA flights.

Qantas Classic Plus Reward redemptions might not be for everyone, but they have a place in the redemption ecosystem. The airline industry trends suggest we'll see more of these types of dynamically priced redemptions in the future. The trick is understanding how they work and determining whether they represent value for money.

Read the full article Qantas Classic vs. Classic Plus: How To Maximise Your Reward Flights on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Flying Qantas long-haul can be a painful experience, especially down the back of the plane. But what about those nice seats you passed by on the way to the back the last time you boarded a Qantas flight to London? No, not the business class lie-flat razzamatazz, but those comfy-looking recliners. 

Say hello to Qantas premium economy, the reasonably affordable compromise between the back and front of the aircraft. What does the cabin offer, and how does it compare to your economy class seat? Read on, our read our full-length, blow-by-blow review.

Economy class seats can be found on all Qantas aircraft and premium economy class seats on Qantas A380 and B787-9 aircraft. These planes operate long-haul routes to North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and some services into Asia. If you're more of a pointy-end princess, we've got a similar guide on Qantas' premium economy compared to its business class.

It all comes down to the seat. Premium economy offers a wider, more comfortable seat with better recline and legroom. Onboard the A380, the premium economy seat is 19.5" wide and has a pitch between 38 and 42". In contrast, the economy class seat is 17.5" wide and has a pitch of 31".

Seat width is self-explanatory. Seat pitch is an airline industry term for the distance between any point on one seat to the same point on the seat in front or behind it and is often used to measure legroom.

The premium economy seat on the Qantas B787-9 is 20.5" wide and has a pitch of 32". Compare that to a seat width of 17.2" and a seat pitch of 32" in an economy class seat on the same plane. This difference may not sound like a lot, but when flying long-haul every inch matters. Premium economy provides a greater sense of space.

Qantas passengers can expect better food and beverage service in premium economy than economy class, although there is some overlap. Menus vary depending on the route, length, and departure time. But alongside the seat, the meals are one of the biggest differentiators between premium economy and economy class on Qantas.

For lunch or dinner, Qantas is currently serving its long-haul economy class passengers options like lemon herb pearl couscous, kung pao chicken, and beef burgundy. They come with the standard slice of focaccia and ice cream chaser. None of this is terrible and the crew are generally good with snack and drink runs. Drinks are complimentary in both classes.

While the plastic meal containers and cups in economy class are swapped for china, glasses, and written menus in premium economy, the premium economy mains are often the same as economy class mains. However, they are better presented and come with extras such as a salad and a choice of desserts. In fact, the food service in Qantas premium economy often more closely resembles business class than economy class, which suggests it's not what you serve but how you serve it.

Qantas premium economy passengers will first notice the differences at the airport. They have a dedicated check-in area and get priority boarding ahead of economy class passengers.

A premium economy ticket on Qantas doesn't secure lounge access. However, if that matters, lounge access is easily gained through frequent flyer status, paid lounge membership, holding the right type of credit card, or simply paying at the door.

Onboard, Qantas premium economy cabins are small and have a higher crew-to-passenger ratio than economy class. With that comes more attentive service, more time for drink refills, coffee in a china cup, and a bit of casual chit-chat. Qantas brings overtones of its business class product into premium economy via more personalised service.

If you have the points, do the upgrade. It's always worth it. Points are pointless if you're not spending them on upgrades every time you fly.

Luc Wiesman, DMARGE

Does having more personalised service matter? That depends on the individual but it elevates the flight experience, which you'd expect from paying a premium to fly in premium economy.

Enjoying the comforts of premium economy will cost between two and three times the cost of flying in economy class if paying cash. As an example, the Qantas website shows Sydney — LA return fares in June 2025 for around AUD2,000 in economy class and just over AUD5,000 in premium economy. You could also use your Qantas frequent flyer points to redeem a seat in either cabin.

Whether the fare difference is worth it comes back to the individual, but the premium economy experience is indisputably better than economy class. It's a question of what value you put on that experience... and how good you are at exploiting Qantas' flight rewards systems. If you're clever with points, you can find some great deals.

Qantas is improving its reliability and inflight service, including in economy and premium economy. More by accident than design, the airline also has one of the better premium economy products on the market. For example, it runs rings around the Singapore Airlines premium economy cabin.

Undoubtedly, premium economy is a nice way to fly, and if the upgrade from economy to business class is a leap too far for your wallet, the upgrade to premium economy might be the happy compromise - at least to try once... especially if you're a savvy frequent flyer.

Read the full article Qantas Premium Economy vs Economy: Is The Upgrade Worth It? An In-Depth Analysis on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

October has proved a cracker of a month for Australian flyers, with Qantas now wrapping up a double points/status promotion, announcing network changes, and tweaking their frequent flyer scheme again.

Earlier this month, Qantas announced changes to its international network in 2025, including putting the A380 back on Sydney - Dallas flights and the B787 on some Brisbane - LAX flights. The airline has scheduled both to happen next August.

The airline is trimming Sydney – JFK flights from six to five per week from February and handing the Seoul run over to Jetstar in June.  The Seoul flights only started in late 2022 but failed to attract the premium traffic that Qantas needs to make the route worthwhile.

Qantas has also picked up a government-supported route to Palau. The once-weekly roundtrips out of Brisbane using B737-800s might prove a sleeper holiday hit if the flight timings and prices are right. Flights are expected to start “in the coming months.”

Sticking with Qantas, the airline is opening up its controversial Classic Plus reward seat redemptions across the domestic and regional network from December 12, 2024. Not everyone is a fan of these redemptions, which are dynamically priced and align with cash fares.

However, Qantas says over 25 billion points have been redeemed on international flight redemptions since Classic Plus debuted in July, and it gives passengers more options to fly where they want when they want. Occasionally, but not very often, Classic Plus redemptions are cheaper than the often elusive Classic Reward redemptions.

Qantas frequent flyers will soon be able to redeem reward seats on Oman Airlines, an interesting airline with a tidy fleet, including B787-9 Dreamliners, that is run by Melbourne boy-made-good Con Korfiatis. It has a strong European network and links with Qantas services in Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Bangalore, and Delhi. Qantas hasn’t said when reward seats will open up, but they are beating the publicity drums, so it should be soon-ish.

Qantas also says it has started rolling out WiFi onboard its international A330 fleet, and that it should be available on A330 flights to Asia by the end of the year. The airline says passengers flying on “activated” A330s can already access fast and free while over Australia.

The final bit of Qantas news concerns flights to Lord Howe Island. Qantas will soon stop flying the only aircraft type they have that can land there, raising the prospect of services ending. Instead, they’ve done a deal with Cairns-based SkyTrans who have the right-sized aircraft and will start flying Sydney - Lord Howe Island on a codeshare basis with Qantas. Redemptions, point accruals, and lounge access will continue uninterrupted for Qantas passengers. Qantas aircraft will transition out, and SkyTrans aircraft transition in through March 2026.

Delta Air Lines, which goes daily into Sydney and is about to start thrice weekly flights to Brisbane, will introduce new interiors across all cabins on its A350-900 fleet from early 2025. By happy circumstance, this is the aircraft type Delta sends to Australia. Granted, it’s more a refresh than a major overhaul, but passengers across all cabin classes can expect better lighting, memory foam cushions, tarted-up toilets with an “accent wall,” and a “softer, warmer and more modern colour palette.” I strongly suspect most passengers would prefer to ditch the accent wall for more legroom, but that’s just me.

Batik Air started flights between Denpasar and Canberra in June. Did you know? No? Well, it doesn’t matter because they axed them this month with Canberra Airport CEO Michael Thomson citing “operational and commercial factors” and working out that most Canberrans why fly international scoot up to Sydney to do so.

The most memorable thing about Batik’s short-lived Canberra flights was the inaugural service, which came with 924 feet of mountainous terrain south of city and sparked an ATSB incident review. That might be one reason why the good people of Canberra didn’t rush online to book cheap seats to Bali.

Virgin Australia set the cat among the pigeons in October when it announced a big overhaul to its Velocity frequent flyer programme starting next year. Virgin’s PR people are spinning it hard, but the upshot is you’ll have to spend more to gain or retain status. It’s a commercial decision by the airline that will at least thin out the overcrowded lounges. 

Far more interesting is VA’s proposed play with Qatar Airways. They already cooperate closely, but the AUD750 million plus bid by Qatar to buy a 25% stake in Virgin Australia has some super interesting medium and long-term ramifications. Aside from more Qatar metal masquerading as VA metal on the ground at Australian airports and Qantas having to work harder for their money, expect to see downgrades of the close relationship between Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines and the end of Velocity redemptions on SQ services west of India.

Additionally, the agreement with Etihad and South African Airways will get torn up. Virgin Australia will also get to work funnelling traffic to their new part owner. This show has a way to go, and it's worth watching how it plays out.

Read the full article Qantas Wraps Up Double Points Promo And Unveils Big Changes For Frequent Flyers on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Qatar Airways will buy a 25% stake in Virgin Australia in a massive shakeup of Australia’s aviation market that will offer huge benefits to Australian travellers.

After saying reports of the deal were “rumour and innuendo” earlier this month, Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka confirmed the impending buy on Tuesday, October 1. She said it would provide passengers with increased earn and redemption opportunities, expand codeshare arrangements, and improve schedule and connectivity options.

WATCH: Cathay Pacific Announces 'Aria' Business Class Upgrade

Virgin Australia also intends to start wet-leasing Qatar Airways aircraft from mid-2025, starting flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane to Doha. Wet leasing refers to arrangements whereby an airline rents a crewed and maintained aircraft but operates it as its own – like what Qantas does with the Alliance Embraers and the Finnair A330s.

The outcome for passengers is that there will be more Qatar Airways metal at Australian airports and more flights – likely in time for the next European summer.

“These extra flights will open up more than 100 new connecting itineraries across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for Australian travellers,” a statement from Virgin Australia reads...

“The expanded codeshare and collaboration arrangement will provide greater access to a greater range of international destinations with improved schedules and frequencies, increased earn and redemption opportunities for members of Velocity and Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club, and broader access to great value fares for leisure travellers, small and medium sized enterprises, and corporate customers.”

Virgin Australia’s Velocity members will be big winners here. They already enjoy perks when flying Qatar Airways, including lounge access at all Qatar ports for gold and platinum members. More flights mean more seats available for redemptions and the deepened relationship will likely push Velocity members further up the priority tree when it comes to redemption releases.

Of course, Qatar Airways Privilege Club members will also get a bounce, with Virgin Australia making their flying in this part of the world as comfortable as it can possibly be on a Boeing 737 with no lie-flat seats.

Beyond passenger benefits, the deal puts some more ballast in Virgin Australia’s already solid balance sheet and helps secure the airline’s long-term future. With two high-profile Australian airlines going bust this year, this kind of stability offers passengers reassurance that when they book tickets, the carrier will be around to operate the flight.

The biggest losers will likely be Qantas frequent flyers, who already get a raw deal from Qatar Airways. This is despite Qantas and Qatar both being Oneworld members. In theory, Qantas frequent flyers should have an easier time of it when redeeming seats and flying on Qatar than Velocity members, but they don’t. One outlet cheerfully called Qatar’s move a “nightmare” for Qantas.

That’s probably overegging the situation but there will be more competition on long-haul routes into Europe and a more financially robust competitor in Virgin Australia. It's good for the wider travelling public but not so crash-hot for Qantas.

Virgin Australia needs permission from the ACCC to ramp up its codesharing and fare coordination with Qatar Airways. But the hot tip is the ACCC won’t stand in the way. Qatar Airways also needs approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board. However, DMARGE understands talks between the parties have been underway for some time. As part of the existing bilateral air services agreement, Australian carriers can fly to Doha. As yet, none do, and VA is unlikely to encounter any regulatory turbulence on that front.

Most readers will be aware there’s some history at play here. Qatar Airways tried to boost its Australian flights last year beyond the combined 28 weekly flights it is allowed to operate into the busiest airports – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. The Australian government, after some lobbying by Qantas and other interest groups, said no.

That caused a backlash because the extra capacity was badly needed. Air fares were high, and availability was low. Passengers were getting squeezed. A conga line of influential travel insiders lined up to burn the Australian government, who seemed to think their decision would slide through unnoticed.

The same government and its agencies are unlikely to make the same mistake, especially when the outcome is more competition and clear benefits for pretty much everyone except Qantas status pax. Today’s announcement see’s Qatar get what it wants – more flights, even if they are sold as Virgin Australia flights. It’s a tidy solution.

Hrdlicka says she will take a “measured approach” to VA’s return to long-haul flying. "Toe in the water," she calls it. However, the CEO also gives the mid-2025 target date. Hrdlicka says if the wet leases go well, Virgin Australia will look at the “longer-term merits and viability” of widebody aircraft flying.

Aside from the immediate sugar hit for Virgin Australia loyalists, the interesting longer-term question revolves around Virgin Australia’s future widebody ambitions. A decade ago, VA’s business class product on their A330s and B777s was industry-leading and is still missed by many people. More recently, the airline has scotched talk of a return to widebodies. Now, they’ve changed course again. Without widebodies, Virgin’s scope for international flying beyond the immediate neighbourhood is limited.

In five or ten years’ time, having a half decent long-haul local competitor to Qantas would be a very good thing. Today’s announcement could be the first step on that path.

Read the full article What Qatar’s 25% Stake in Virgin Means For Travellers on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

It’s only a few weeks in but already September has seen announcements about new and resuming flights to Australia, as well as one high-profile exit. Overall, it’s a net gain, and the extra capacity gives passengers more choice and puts downward pressure on ticket prices, which is a win for consumers.

Emirates has confirmed that it will end its daily flights on the Melbourne – Singapore city pair, although it is yet to say when.

The pre-dawn departure out of Melbourne and the last-generation business class cabin on the B777-300ER that operated the sector was uncompetitive with other full-service operators on the route, including Turkish Airlines, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines. But the Singapore to Melbourne sector was a daytime flight with decent Qantas reward seat availability and was popular with many travellers.

Emirates needs to iron out a few details with competition authorities before quitting the route, given it was a component of an approved alliance between it and Qantas. Emirates will continue to fly double-dailies between Melbourne and Dubai.

If that’s the bad news, there is plenty of good news going around if you travel in and out of Australia. Next July, Etihad will increase its daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Sydney to ten per week, although it is yet to say on which days it will go double daily.

Etihad’s rebooted strategy revolves around building frequencies to existing destinations rather than trying to fly to as many airports as possible.

At Sydney Airport, Turkish Airlines will start flying four days per week from early December, complementing the existing three-day-per-week flights to Melbourne. Unlike the Melbourne flights, which operate from Istanbul via Singapore, the Sydney flights will operate via Kuala Lumpur, with the last leg through to Sydney being a daylight flight into Australia from Asia.

Malaysian Airlines does fly to Sydney twice a day, including during daylight hours, but the Turkish flight provides a Star Alliance option and a bit of competition - for a time at least. The Kuala Lumpur stopover will be relatively short-lived. Once Turkish Airlines gets an aircraft with the range to do so, it says it will fly Istanbul – Sydney nonstop.

Receiving a little less fanfare, Cebu Pacific will go daily on the Sydney – Manila city pair from December 1, competing with Qantas and Philippine Airlines on the route. The Cebu flights are not flash – they fit 459 people on the Airbus A330-900neo operating the flight, but it will be inexpensive and it will get you into Manila quickly and safely.

China Southern is making its return to Adelaide after axing flights in 2020. The airline will fly three times per week on the Guangzhou – Adelaide city pair from December 12 using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and will be the only Chinese carrier regularly flying into South Australia.

China Southern will operate overnight to Adelaide every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, and head back to Guangzhou every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, flying through the day.

Qantas has started flying to Port Vila from Brisbane, with thrice weekly B737-800 flights now operating every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. Traveller numbers to Vanuatu have taken a hit this year with Air Vanuatu in liquidation and not flying.

However, that’s encouraged Australian carriers to pay the market some more attention. Virgin Australia has increased its flights to Port Vila, and Jetstar will start flights from Sydney in mid-December. Despite it being just three hours flying time away, Qantas has never before regularly flown to Vanuatu.

Also out of Brisbane, Qantas will resume four times weekly flights to Manila in late October using an Airbus A330-200. Qantas returns to route after a ten-year absence, and the flights will compete with the Philippine Airlines Airbus A321 neo services.

Everybody’s favourite (or not) low-cost carrier, Jetstar, is ramping up its flights out of the Gold Coast, starting flights to Hamilton and Dunedin in New Zealand from June 2025. Both sectors will operate three times per week and will result in another Airbus A320 calling the Goldie home.

Like a lot of new international flights out of Queensland, the state government is weighing in with support and the operator of Gold Coast Airport has also lent a hand.

The new and resuming flights are a broad mix running to a variety of destinations. This is a good thing, bringing the benefits of choice to a widespread audience and not being Sydney or Melbourne-centric.

There are reports that Australians aren’t pulling back on travel despite the rising costs of running a life. While that trend continues and people keep prioritising travel over other spending options, airlines will keep adding new routes, adding more aircraft, and providing more choice.

Read the full article Travel Updates: Airlines Add More Flights And Routes on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

The big ticket Qantas long-haul seat redemptions might get all the attention — the jump from economy to premium economy is big, the leap from premium economy to business is bigger — but there’s value to be found in less glamorous seats – the 8,000-point sub-600 mile sectors, which are the entry point for redemptions. And let’s face it, more people have 8,000 points to burn than 800,000 points, and securing these entry-point seats is a lot easier than jagging a business class seat to London on QF9... or even a premium economy seat, for that matter.

WATCH: Cathay Pacific Announces 'Aria' Business Class Upgrade

There are ten Qantas classic flight reward zones. Zone one, where an economy class seat costs 8,000 points, plus fees and taxes, covers a sector up to 600 miles. Zone ten covers flights between 9,601 and 15,000 miles, and an economy class classic flight reward costs 55,200 points plus fees and taxes. The eight other zones cover distances in between.

Like all zones, the trick to extracting value from an 8,000-point redemption is to fly as close as possible to the 600-mile limit, preferably on a route where the cash fares are on the high side. 

An example is flying in and out of Canberra. On a per kilometre basis, fares in and out of the national capital are expensive because so many passengers travel on the taxpayer’s dime and don’t care what it costs. However, flights to Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sydney, and Melbourne all come in under 600 miles. The Brisbane – Canberra route comes close to 600 miles but just falls under, and cash fares are typically expensive, especially on weekdays. Classic rewards redemptions for 8,000 points plus AUD73 are available and can represent decent value.

One of the most sought-after 8,000-point redemptions is the Sydney – Lord Howe Island run. Lord Howe is around 500 miles out of Sydney, and cash fares can approach AUD1,000 one way. You’ve got to plan ahead to grab an entry-level redemption on this route because it’s serviced by a Dash 8, so seats are limited, and demand is high. 

In any case, opportunities to fly to Lord Howe on a Qantas points redemption will likely end soon. Qantas is phasing out its only aircraft type capable of landing on the island’s short runway, meaning Qantas will quit the route. The hot money is on SkyTrans taking over the run, but unless Qantas does a deal with them, all the Qantas frequent flyer points in the world won’t get you to Lord Howe Island.

Out of Sydney, Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne, Canberra, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Maroochydore all fall within the 600-mile radius. Out of Melbourne, Tasmania, Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, and Newcastle are sub 600-mile sectors. From Brisbane, the zone extends to Canberra in the south and Proserpine in the north.

From Adelaide, the options are more limited – Melbourne. Many of these routes have competitors operating and lots of frequencies and capacity, which puts downward pressure on fares. While squandering 8,000 points to wizz over to Adelaide for the weekend might not represent the best value, a morning trawling Central Markets and a long Saturday lunch at 2KW has ample intangible value.

The QantasLink Dash 8 flights are an alternative to the standard Qantas jet flights, and the turboprops fly plenty of sub-600 mile routes. Flights out to Queensland’s western country typically run into several hundred dollars one way, much to the ire of locals. However, routes such as Brisbane – Barcaldine, Brisbane – Emerald, Cairns – Weipa, and Townsville – Mt Isa make the 600-mile cut. Out of Sydney, you can push the mileage limits on the runs to Mildura and Broken Hill.

From Perth, QantasLink flies to Kalgoorlie and Geraldton and both routes are less than 600 miles. Now, none of these places might be on your bucket list, but sometimes it is good to go further west than Potts Point, get some bull dust on your shoes, and meet some real people. 

There is one international route under 600 miles. Frankly, it’s what you might call niche - Darwin to Dili. For the 99.9% of people who don’t live in Darwin, you’ve got to get there, which may or may not be problem. So, let’s call this a Darwin local’s special...

One-way economy class cash fares on this 453-mile route are high, running between the AUD350 – 850 mark. But there’s plenty of award availability at 8,000 points plus AUD135. Having never been to Dili, this writer can’t vouch for its charms or otherwise. But the people are nice and a full-service Hilton is opening any day, which makes it an interesting weekend getaway option for Darwin locals who don’t have a lot of weekend getaway options.

The 8,000-point redemptions aren’t sexy and won’t get you to Paris, but there’s plenty of value and utility in them. There’s also decent availability. All up, they can be a good way to spend your Qantas frequent flyer points.

Read the full article Using Qantas Frequent Flyer Points: Best Redemption That Only Requires 8,000 Points on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Fiji Airways will become a full Oneworld member in 2025, opening up new opportunities for Qantas frequent flyers and members of other Oneworld frequent flyer programs, including the likelihood of more premium cabin award redemptions to North America becoming available, albeit with a twist.

Fiji Airways is already a Oneworld Connect member, and it provides select benefits to Oneworld frequent flyers. The key word here is select. Currently, Oneworld Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald members (equating to Qantas Silver, Gold, and Platinum) have access to priority check-in and boarding when flying Fiji Airways, irrespective of travel class.

In addition, members of Qantas, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and American Airlines’ frequent flyer programs can check their luggage through to their final destination when transferring between one of those airlines and Fiji Airways; earn and burn frequent flyer points on Fiji Airways; and get lounge access.

But other Oneworld member airlines are left out in the cold unless Fiji Airways has negotiated specific bilateral agreements. Frankly, it’s a bit of a hodgepodge, with most people not knowing the difference between being a fully-fledged Oneworld member and a Oneworld Connect member. That can create confusion and aggravation, especially when the lounge lady says no. Becoming a full Oneworld member will iron out the inconsistencies.

Qantas already has close ties with Fiji Airways. It owns around 16% of Fiji Airways and co-sponsored the carrier into the alliance. Consequently, Qantas frequent flyers already receive many perks when flying on Fiji Airways. But it’s not the full suite of Oneworld benefits.

There is a lot to like about Fiji Airways, starting with the option of a stopover in the airline’s home country. The aircraft, particularly those that fly in and out of Australia, are young and well-maintained. The hard product, notably the A350 business class cabin, is good, and the soft product, including the always-smiling flight attendants, is superb.

For Oneworld frequent flyers, there are a few more cards in the pack. Fiji Airways is expanding its services in North America, including thrice weekly flights to Dallas Fort Worth starting in December. It already flies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver. The connections on and off the Australian flights are mostly timed to pass passenger traffic to and from the North American flights. The timings make Fiji Airways a viable choice for trans-Pacific flying.

If you’re angling to spend some Qantas frequent flyer points on Fiji Airways, there are two points to keep in mind. Firstly, booking a Qantas economy class classic flight reward on the Sydney–Nadi–Los Angeles route starts at 41,900 points flying Fiji Airways, the same as flying Sydney–Los Angeles on Qantas. Secondly, taxes and fees are cheaper on Fiji Airways (AUD188 versus AUD232 on Qantas). Business class redemptions also have the same starting price, albeit with different charges for fees and taxes.

Qantas doesn’t currently sell cash fares on Fiji Airways through to North America — although it will sell you a ticket with Qantas metal operating the Sydney–Nadi leg and a Fiji Airways aircraft carrying you on the next sector. Qantas does allow point redemptions for the whole trip between Australia and North America on Fiji Airways, but it doesn’t currently allow redemptions between Fiji and North America. Messy? Becoming a full Oneworld member will overcome these quirks.

In the meantime, a trawl through the Qantas booking engine shows business class classic reward redemptions to and from North America on any carrier are few and far between. There are exceptions, including Qantas releasing unsold business class seats on their aircraft for classic reward redemptions close to the travel date. But last-minute travel bookings are not for everyone.  

However, Fiji Airways becoming a full Oneworld member may result in an interesting travel hack to help overcome the lack of premium cabin classic reward availability on trans-Pacific flights. Fiji Airways often offers decent business class reward seat availability on its sectors between Nadi and North America, and Qantas typically offers a lot of business class reward availability on flights between Australia and Fiji. There’s no guarantee this will stay the same once Fiji Airways becomes a full Oneworld member, but equally, there is no indication this will change.

Based on distance, a Sydney–Nadi redemption in business class is 41,500 points, plus fees and taxes, while a Nadi–Los Angeles business class seat redemption would cost 82,000 points, plus fees and taxes. It’s marginally more than the entry-level 108,400 points, plus fees and taxes, to fly Sydney to LA direct in business class, but not much more, and far less than some of the business class redemption prices on offer. 

With around three hours to connect in Nadi and access to the Premier lounge, snapping up two individual redemptions is potentially a viable strategy to cross the Pacific. The logistics of these redemptions will become far easier when the airline joins Oneworld. Beyond stopovers in Fiji, the availability of relatively inexpensive redemption seats across the entire Fiji Airways network, including to North America, is shaping up as the biggest win for Qantas frequent flyers and other Oneworld elites from Fiji Airways becoming a full Oneworld member.

Read the full article Fiji Airways Joining Oneworld Is Good News For Qantas Frequent Flyers on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Hollywood icon and movie megastar John Travolta is known for his passion for aircraft, having owned quite a collection over the years, but the tale of how the legendary actor acquired a Boeing 707 from Qantas is truly one for the books.

Even with the skies full of aviation oddities, like the oldest planes that are somehow still in service and the new 360ft 'Mega Plane,' Travolta's 1964 Qantas 707 has a unique legacy and striking look that still sets it apart.

Travolta is a keen pilot with a long list of certifications to fly an even longer list of planes. He also owns seven private jets and has a mansion with a landing strip in Ocala, Florida, showcasing his passion for aviation pretty darn clearly. He purchased the Boeing 707-138B from Qantas in May 1998 and renamed it N707JT, a custom registration sneakily featuring the actor's initials.

The actor then went on to transform the aircraft and removed 150 commercial seats to install 15 luxury armchairs. It was nothing short of a mansion with wings. Its opulence is evident from its two bedrooms, one of which had a full-sized bathroom, a sitting area, an entertainment room, and a galley containing silverware and tableware for 34 people.

While on tour promoting his then-new film of the time, Swordfish, Travolta reached out to the CEO of Qantas with a wholly unusual proposal. He suggested that the carrier replace the generic paint on his plane with the Qantas logo, and offered to pay them anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 USD for the privilege.

In an interview with Grant Cardone, Travolta said that he told the Qantas CEO:

"I would love for it to have a Qantas livery on it and go on it would make me happy personally."

The CEO was shocked to know that the actor was willing to pay the company to put their logo on the plane, assuming that these kinds of things usually happen the other way around. A month after the initial meeting, the CEO ended up calling Travolta and informed him that the company had decided to give Travolta his own 747... free of charge.

The actor was taken by surprise but ended up proposing an alternative idea. Considering that he already had a 707 and was not eager to switch to the 747, the actor asked Qantas to fund his 707 as he was spending $4 to $5 million USD a year for its upkeep. In return, he would endorse the company and become its brand ambassador.

The company agreed to the offer and replaced the plane's generic paint job white and blue colour with Qantas' iconic colour scheme and logo. Hundreds of thousands of miles later, we can safely say that Qantas was actually the one scoring a killer deal: they had bagged a Hollywood superstar as a lifelong frontman for only a few million dollars a year... well played.

Read the full article How John Travolta Scored A Free Qantas Boeing 707 And Transformed It Into The Ultimate Celebrity Private Jet on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

A decision by Qantas to temporarily divert their Perth to London flights away from trouble in the Middle East highlights the fact that parts of the world are no-go zones for airlines.

You might think that urine-stained seats or the unexpected appearance of time travellers might be the biggest of your air travel worries, but geopolitics is a far more pressing and ever-present concern for carriers. Late last week, Qantas decided the threat of armed conflict between Iran and Israel and missiles flying through the sky made the usual QF9 flightpath a little too hot to handle. 

QF9, temporarily rebadged as QF209, now flies via Singapore, and instead of barrelling straight up the Persian Gulf and over the badlands between Iran and Israel, charts a more northerly path out of Singapore over India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea before settling onto a westerly tracking towards Heathrow. It adds an extra four hours of travel time, but that sure beats dealing with missile threats.

Qantas calls the diversion, currently in place until August 22, “a precaution.” It’s a wise precaution, too. Recent history includes the shooting down of a fully loaded Korean Air Boeing 747 in 1983 by a Russian jet fighter, killing 269 people. In 2014, Russian-backed forces shot down a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 overflying Ukraine, killing 298 people, including many Australian men, women, and children.

No airline wants their aircraft to join that club. That’s why many are currently avoiding the normally well-flown airspace just south of the Iran/Iraq border between the Persian Gulf and Türkiye. It’s familiar territory to Australians, with Qantas and many Europe-bound flights out of Asia and the Gulf usually traversing it. But look on flight tracking websites now, and most flights (but not all) out of places like Dubai and Doha are diverting south through Saudi Arabia, over the top of the Red Sea, and shooting up north towards Greece and Italy, avoiding any potential dangers.

While currently the main region making headlines, the Iran/Iraq border isn’t the only no-fly zone. Ukraine remains strictly off-limits. Russia’s invasion of that country resulted in airspace closing to commercial aircraft. But even if the Russians withdrew tomorrow, no airline will venture into Ukrainian skies until that country’s security situation is fully resolved.

Western sanctions against Russia as a result of its move into Ukraine have rendered Russian airspace inaccessible to many airlines, causing havoc at airlines that typically fly between Europe and North Asian ports over Russia. The Japanese carriers now make a marathon trip over the Arctic to fly between Tokyo and Europe, affording some dazzling views of Greenland but making for a very long flight.

Finnair based much of its business model on flying between Helsinki and North Asia. They’ve had to pivot to new ways of making money, including running a shuttle-like service between Helsinki and Doha and wet-leasing aircraft to customers like Qantas. Airlines also avoid North Korean airspace for reasons that need little explanation.

The security situation in Sudan saw the airspace over that country closed to civilian aircraft in April 2023. The real risk here isn’t getting shot down (although that does remain somewhat of a risk). The big problem is suddenly having to divert to Khartoum and what happens when you’re on the ground. Of course, unexpected diversions remain a problem for many people. It’s a risky world out there, something that’s easy to forget when you’re squeezing down another gin and tonic at the Emirates inflight bar.

The ongoing civil war in Libya has rendered airspace over that country unsafe. The threat is two-edged. Government air defence systems cannot be trusted to behave civilly. Nor can the opposing militia, who have threatened to shoot down planes. As a result, the US and most European countries have banned their carriers from flying over the country.

Big deal, you might think. Just fly around the problem, like Qantas does with QF9/209. The problem is closed airspace can take up a substantial slice of the planet, often strategically positioned slices, and skirting around them is easier said than done. The aircraft operating the Perth to London flight, a Boeing 787-9 — whose business class cabins we recently reviewed and loved — is pushing towards its limits as it is. It needs to take the shortest route – and that’s up the Persian Gulf. 

Diversions cost money. It costs around AUD25,000 per hour to keep that B787-9 in the sky, give or take a few bucks for fuel fluctuations and passenger loads. You can do the math for the four hours extra travel time. Diversions cost time. They involve schedule changes, which then impacts the next flight that aircraft was due to operate. Diversions have a domino-like effect on airlines and operators. But diversions are all about safety, and safety is paramount in aviation.

Some passengers might complain about the inconvenience, but airlines would rather that than those passengers getting a window view of missiles scudding around below the plane...

Read the full article Why Airlines Avoid Russia and Ukraine: The Real Cost Of Flying Over Conflict Zones on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

We were lucky enough to fly business class from Sydney to New York City on one of Qantas' beautiful 787-9 Dreamliners. We've had pleasant enough travels in Qantas' economy seats and pleasantly-surprising travels in their premium economy seats, but this is a game changer. As the carrier gears up for its much-hyped non-stop flights to lift off in 2026, here's a flavour of the wonderful experience that's likely to be on offer.

While you'll likely be able to find fuller reviews of Qantas' shared business class lounge at Sydney Kingsford-Smith elsewhere, it's worth touching on since this is the point at which your tailor-made business class experience with the airline really begins.

On arrival, you're greeted and checked into the lounge by Qantas staff who — as this review will go on to explain — are lovely across the board. Once inside, a sprawling and very well-appointed space opens up. In the centre sits a long bar/kitchen island. You can choose to sit here, crank open the laptop, and get to work... or you can pluck a flute of sparkling wine from its sparkling surfaces and really get your day started.

To the left-hand side is a range of seating options — work booths for the hardcore business travellers, sofas for the more relaxed friends and family affairs — and to the right-hand side is a well-stocked breakfast buffet with heaps of cooked and continental options, breakfast juices... and a great line-up of harder liquor, should you be that way inclined.

As you can see from the above photo, I went light on the food and beverages, opting for a fairly wholesome start to the day overlooking the sunrise on tarmac and anticipating a good feed once in the air. The vibe, as they say, was immaculate.

Your ticket also grants you access to the Business Lounge in Auckland. While I must confess this wasn't the shiniest lounge I've ever been in, it was perfectly well-stocked for my brief 90-minute stay and — rumour has it — Qantas has plans for a massive overhaul as part of a $100 million lounge overhaul program, so we won't linger on this too much longer.

Not only does this new line-up of Qantas 787 Dreamliners offer 42 Business suites in a 1-2-1 configuration with fully-flat beds and direct aisle access, but the carrier claims that "the cabins onboard these aircraft have been designed with long-haul travel in mind.” Did that turn out to be true in my experience? Absolutely.

If you've ever considered making the step up from Qantas' premium economy to business class, the little add-ons that come with your seat will be a big consideration.

There's a long list of things that this seat does exceptionally well: a great little amenity kit awaits you on arrival, as does sparkling wine, a bottle of water and fancy over-ear headphones. However, cynics would point out that you can get many of these things when you make the leap from economy to premium economy, but the seat itself is a game changer.

The seat itself feels very spacious — as a 198cm man, you really can trust me when I say that — and every inch of that space feels put to good use; there are plenty of sneaky stow spots for your personal items, there are a slew of charging options, and there's even a mirror tucked away so you can see just how rough you look before touchdown.

However, it's the mechanics of the seat itself that really make Qantas' offer stand out from the pack, especially when it comes to bedtime. The Auckland—New York stretch of this flight is an overnight leg, and so your seat comes equipped with tailor-made beddings: a quilted fitted sheet gives the effect of a thin but effective mattress, while the blankets feel exceptionally premium and the PJs are, thankfully, not one-size-fits-all, instead coming in a range of sizes you can pick from before takeoff.

This means that when it is time to hit the hay, the Qantas team will happily make up your bed and lie it flat for you. When they "fully flat", they mean it; not only was I able to totally recline but, as a tall man, I was able to stretch out and even roll over when required fully. When I brought the supplied eye mask and ear plugs into rotation, I was able to get an almost uninterrupted 8-hours of sleep. For this insomniac, that's unheard of, at 30,000 feet or anywhere else.

If you don't manage to get any sleep, fear not: the seat also has a built-in massage mode that works into your back and shoulders, helping to keep the blood flowing and avoid that oh-so-irritating muscle soreness from sitting so long. All in all, the Qantas business class seat is a home run.

I like my food, and the level of detail I'm about to go into regarding Qantas' food and beverage in business class will likely reflect that. If you want the top-level takeaway: I've never enjoyed such a tasty, varied, almost-restaurant-quality feed on a flight, ever.

Here's the blow-by-blow of what I ate and drank...

On entering the plane, you're almost immediately offered sparkling wine, water, or juice. I opted for water... in the first instance. Around 20 minutes later, before takeoff, the cabin crew came around to introduce themselves and take your lunch order.

Once you're up in the air, approximately an hour after having your order taken, your lunch service begins. A drink of your choice alongside an aperitivo of salted nuts kicks things off. Shortly thereafter, I enjoyed a smoked salmon salad — light, fresh, delicious — followed by pasta with fresh lamb ragu which, much to the shock of this long-time economy flyer, came served with fresh herbs and delivered a rich, homely flavour. Sourdough was served on the side.

The airline allows for what my mother would call a "Pauline Pause" between main and dessert, which was comprised of a tasty pot of Maggie Beer ice cream and a surprisingly good cup of coffee.

If you thought that all sounded like a good time, just you wait for the Auckland—NYC leg... Taking place overnight, you get a whole dinner service, a breakfast service, and a heap of snacks in between. Things kick off, once again, with a welcome chat accompanied by sparkling wine. Your dinner order is taken before takeoff and your build-a-breakfast form is collected for future reference.

Within an hour or so of getting in the air, your drink and aperitivo arrive. On this leg, my starter was chicken skewers with spiced cauliflower followed by a roasted chicken breast with Roman gnocchi. While my chicken breast looked rather a lot like a chicken leg, these courses were in every other regard as advertised and absolutely delicious. Bread and salad are offered on the side, as per leg one.

As with all courses, you get a range of dessert options and, in an effort to shake things up from the first leg, I went for the cheese plate. This was great, but what followed — a surprise treat of dessert wine accompanied by two bite-sized slabs of Whittaker's chocolate — was even better.

During the middle of the night, customers who remained awake (I was not among them...) were offered more Whittaker's chocolate, and then a larger "midnight" snack should sleep continue to elude them. I thought this level of attention to sleepless customers, especially when this would be natural R&R time for cabin crew, was fantastic.

On waking, I was greeted by a Piccolo — which is the best coffee I've ever had at 30,000 feet, by quite some distance — and a shot of uber-healthy if somewhat anonymous juice, which was the perfect start to my day. With 90 minutes remaining, breakfast was served, and it's a good'un: pork sausages, scrambled eggs (surprisingly good), homestyle beans, kale, fruit with yoghurt, a croissant with butter and jam, plus more coffee... divine.

Qantas' in-flight entertainment options have always been good, but right now they're very good. While I slightly resented having to stare at Timothy Cahamlet's face whenever my lovely 16" screen was idling — a particularly intense close-up of his face was the Qantas 'screensaver' at the time of my flight' — once you click through, it's all upside.

I watched The Iron Claw, which was brilliant if heartbreaking. Having set my mood suitably low, I thought why not double down by binging the entire first season of True Detective? While these may not have been the most light-hearted choices, they highlight two of the best things about Qantas' entertainment offer: their lineup of new films is always really well curated, and their access to HBO sets means that no matter how long your flight, there's a bottomless selection of some of the best TV shows ever made for you to get lost in.

Another in-flight entertainment offer that many carriers have taken up in recent years is a wellness-oriented section. Ranging from guided mediations to blissed-out ambient tunes, this was a category I'd never really explored... until now. After my heavy film & TV choices, I found myself craving something to help me wind down for bed, and one of these guided meditations was exactly the thing I needed. Bravo, Qantas, for knowing what I needed long before I did.

Don't let the brevity of this section fool you into thinking that I don't have much to say. Rather, let my conciseness convey weight: the Qantas cabin crew were fantastic. They perfectly walk the line between being attentive — see the midnight Whittakers — making sure your every need is met instantly upon, if not way ahead, of your asking without being overbearing. At no point did I feel overwhelmed by check-ins or questions.

What really blew my mind was the level of personal interest the staff took: they ask your name and they remember it. In fact, they remember it so well that when I strolled up to the boarding gate for my return journey almost a week later, the head of cabin crew walked over and greeted me by name.

More than this, they ask what your plans for your time away are, engage in a lengthy and enthusiastic conversation about them, call back to this conversation before you depart and — should you happen to get the same crew on your return journey — even manage to remember those plans and conversations, asking you about how they bore out.

As someone who can barely remember my own girlfriend's name, I cannot tell you how impressed I was by this; it adds a whole level of personal comfort and intimacy to the business class experience that, speaking frankly, you just don't get in economy (with any carrier) or many other business class cabins, for that matter.

This was the best long-haul flight experience I have ever had, by a country mile. Cutting-edge seat technology combines with Qantas' characteristic eye for wellness, quality, and personalisation, all delivered by a world-beating cabin crew. This experience has, in many ways, ruined me, for it's created a bar so high I fear no other journey may ever touch it...

If I get the chance to fly Qantas business class again, I will leap at the opportunity. Whether I pay with hard-earned cash, flight rewards, or leverage Qantas' frequent flyer program, I'll be there, one way or another...

Read the full article Qantas 787 Business Class In-Depth Review: 24 Hours From Sydney to New York on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Every traveller knows the pain of cattle class: the cramped seating, the pitiful entertainment choices, the nutritional value of warm plastic... and the crying babies. How could we forget the crying babies?

Now that you're feeling sufficiently nauseous, let's talk about the alternatives. If you're in for a long flight and you can afford to bump yourself up to business, do it without hesitation. If you can't, relax — you won't be forced to sit with the herd, thanks to a little thing called premium economy.

More and more airlines are jumping on the premium economy bandwagon, offering perks like wider seats, more legroom and enhanced onboard catering in special seating. On the ground, premium economy passengers are often treated to priority boarding and Business lounge access. Sound good? We thought so. Book your next adventure in one of these top-tier premium economy seats.

As confirmed at the 2023 Airline Excellence Awards, Emirates' premium economy is the best on the planet. In short, it's an absolute game changer. On both the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777, Emirates' Premium Economy has a seat pitch of up to 40 inches (101.5cm). That’s better than most, with many having closer to a 38-inch pitch. Emirates' premium economy seats are also quite wide, measuring 19.5 inches (49.5cm) across. They also have a recline of eight inches (20cm). On top of that, naturally, there's ain-seat power, a generously sized dining table and a drinks table on the side.

The coolest feature though is the ‘cradle’. This isn't quite a bed, but the footrest cradle helps keep your legs up, almost as though you were lying flat. In terms of price, Emirates’ premium economy looks to sit roughly halfway between economy and business class — you'll be looking at c. $5400 for a return on the Sydney-Dubai route.

Emirates' A380 Premium Economy also offers a signature experience, with dedicated airport experience and check-in areas exclusive to the Premium Economy passengers, luxurious cream seats in a 2-4-2 configuration with more legroom and footrests, dining experience inspired by Business Class; and Emirates’ award-winning entertainment ice — 2400 movies, 650 TV shows, and live BBC and CNN feeds on a 13.3-inch HD screen, on board WiFi for Skywards members and commendable carbon emissions of 1.53 tonnes per flight.

Air New Zealand enjoys putting itself at the forefront of in-flight innovation, and its ink-coloured, luxury leather premium economy seat seats are no exception. Expect a large reclining chair in a 2-3-2 configuration which, with 41” of seat pitch (double the standard economy pitch), is amongst the biggest in its class. There's also a leg rest, adjustable headrest, a 5” armrest separating you from your snoring neighbour, and 9” of reclining space, so you can comfortably take a snooze when you're bored of watching movies on your 11″ touch-screen. You even get an amenity kit too...

You can check two pieces of luggage up to 23 kilograms and two carry-ons totalling up to 14kg. They've recently introduced live sports and (not great but still there) WiFi for messaging. Nosie cancelling headphones are provided, the food is good, and there's a measly 4.2 tonnes of carbon emissions per flight. You'll be looking at c. $2500 one-way to the US.

Forget the horsepower of their engines: Cathay Pacific has blown reviewers away with their premium economy offerings. With Airbus A350s boasting 32 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration, they have an impressive 40-inch itch and an even more impressive 20-inch width. Coming with a full-lnength calf rest, padded footrest, they lose points for fixed armrests.

However, they're especially good for the work hard/play hard types, the seats are equipped with in-seat power sockets, USB sockets and a wealth of entertainment options. The list of perks is long, but a few of the highlights include a mini cocktail table, champagne offered before take-off, noise-cancelling headphones, Jurlique beauty products, an expansive entertainment selection, and food you might actually order in a restaurant.

The baggage allowance is generous at 2 pieces of 23kg checked, and an upgrade from economy only costs c. $800 for a round trip, Sydney to Hong Kong.

Lufthansa introduced a premium economy product to their long-haul fleet in 2014 and haven't looked back since. The seats offer 50% more room than what you get in economy, plus a centre console between seats that offers an armrest for each passenger. Just imagine a flight with 0 time spent elbow wrestling. Odd, no? But definitely a positive... Seats have a slightly less impressive 38-inch piutch, 18-19 inch width, and 8 inches of recline.

The entertainment screens are around 12 inches across, so nbig but not industry leading. Meals are served on fine china and flights over 6.5 hours come with a main course, dessert, and cold breakfast. Anything over 9 hours gets you a hot brekky too. Passengers in premium economy are also able to check a second item of luggage at no extra cost and get to eat off porcelain tableware like real adults.

It is one of the pricier premium economy options in this list, with a Sydney-Munich stretch coming in at over $4400.

You have Marc Newson and David Caon to thank for the exceptional experience in Qantas premium economy class. The award-winner and Australian industrial designer's work has resulted in comfy as anything ergonomic seats, real china on which the meals (overseen by the chef responsible for acclaimed Aussie restaurants like Rockpool) are served, footrests (at every seat), moveable TV screens and a generous 40” seat pitch. Essentially: everything you want on the long haul flight (bar an upgrade to Business or First).

While the big seats and 2-3-2 configuration are a win, there's no denying that Qantas' premium economy is one of the more expensive upgrades out there. Melbourne to LA, for example, comes in at around $4500, compared to around $1400 in economy. However, you get a lovely pillow, lovelier blanket, and great little amneity kit. WiFi still hasn't arrived, but Qantas promise it's on its way soon...

Qantas Premium Economy Review — An Experience That Ruined Business Class Forever

According to Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti, the exclusive premium economy cabin on Virgin Australia flights isn't meant to be 'economy plus' but ‘business lite.’ Available exclusively on the carriers 777-300ER aircraft. it lives up to that aim pretty well. In a 2-4-2 configuration, the seats are big, with a 41-inch pitch, 19-inch width, and 9-inch recline.

The service more than lives up to that moniker, with noise-cancelling headphones, reading lights, the infamous RED entertainment system, better meals and an amenity kit that includes an eye mask, ear plugs, socks, lotions, a toothbrush and toothpaste. You'll be needing this on any nighttime flights out of the US... The main drawbacks are slow food service and a slightly lacking in-flight entertainment system.

There's good news and there's bad news. The bad news is for Air Canada's economy class: the airline switched from 9-seats-across to 10-across, meaning less space and more passengers. The good news is for those looking for an upgrade: that move made room for a new premium economy class.

As well as enjoying their own check-in lane, premium economy passengers enjoy a reasonably sized seat — 38-inch pitch and 20-inch width, a 12-inch entertainment screen, in-seat power via a USB port, an amenity kit )eye mask, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste), and two checked bag sup to 23kg apiece. WiFi hasn't arrived yet, but it's coming later this year... Food is great, but not life-changing.

A Sydney-Calgary trip will cost you around $5,500 which isn't bad for the distance but, given their offer isn't industry-leading, it's not cheap either...

Singapore Airlines' premium economy seat, made by experts and clad in leather, is 19.5 inches wide on the Airbus A380 and 18.5 inches on the Boeing 777-300ER. On both jets, the seat pitch is 38 inches—significantly above the average 32 inches of economy. Oh and don't forget the 8-inch recline option, calf-rest and foot-bar for long-haul flights.

The centrepiece of Singapore Airlines' new premium economy seats, however, is the stunning 13.3-inch full HD touchscreen, paired with active noise-cancelling headphones to provide the ultimate in-flight entertainment. Honestly though, by far and away the biggest perk for Aussies is the sheer availability of these flights. With over 100 flights a week departing from Australia, you can get one of the best premium ecobon seats going at one of the fairest prices on market.

British Airways' reputaiuton has taken something of a hit over the past 5 years or so, and you might beleft wondering whether the fancy name of its premium economy seating – World Traveller Plus – meets the hype. Thankfully, it broadly does. Seats boast a decent 38-inch pitch, a better-than-standard recline, a fold out leg rest, fold down foot rest, and bags of legroom. Cabin configuration is either 2-3-2 (great) or 2-4-2 (almost great).

All the upgrades you expect are there: noise-reducing headphones, an amenity kit, an enlarged personal entertainment screen, three-course meals, complimentary bar service and, perhaps most importantly in our modern digital age, a personal in-seat power supply so your favourite iDevices will never go hungry.

A roundtrip flight to NYC from London costs around $1750 compared to around $800 in economy, so it's good value if not an outright steal.

ITA isn't an airline you hear about often, but their Premium Economy could change that. With chic seat design and a lovely 2-3-2 layout, the seats are big, boasting a 40-inch pitch. Even bigger than the seats, however, are the screens, coming in at a whopping 15-inches; that's far bigger than almost every other carrier on this list.

Food and drink is of a typically sky-high Itlaian standard, as are the in-seat provisions: pillows, blankets, top-end (though not noise-cancelling...) headphones, and cabin lights that gently cycle through a number of claiming colours. You an also score some big dsocutns if you're savvy with your points; these are undoubtedly one to watch.

Read the full article Best Premium Economy Seats Compared for Your Next Flight on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

A Sydney businessman's viral LinkedIn post has sparked a heated debate about which of Australia's major carriers cares for its customers.

Last month, a Sydney-based businessman named Pete Murray scribbled an impromptu article on LinkedIn about why he switched from Qantas to Virgin Australia. The article has since received over 750,000 impressions and triggered a vigorous online debate about loyalty, marketing, and whether Qantas cared about its top-tier customers drifting away.

Speaking to DMARGE, Murray said he had gradually dropped from Qantas platinum to silver after a job change saw his work travel patterns shift. He is now the ANZ Managing Director of a US software company and has accrued his top-tier status organically.

"Historically, I used to travel all over the world for work," he said. "I would fly to the US, South Africa, Japan, and Asia. I would do extensive travel within Australia. It eventually resulted in me being platinum. Unless there was a prohibitive reason why I couldn't, I preferred Qantas for a couple of decades. But the job I'm in now has resulted in different travel patterns — I go to Asia around once a quarter, and most of my travel is within Australia and New Zealand."

Murray has no issue dropping back to silver. He no longer meets the criteria for higher status, and he knows the rules of the frequent flyer game. But he was baffled by Qantas's indifference.

"If someone has gone up the (status) because of their loyalty, my issue is when I started going down the ladder, Qantas didn't reach out and ask why. Maybe they don't care?"

His first LinkedIn post about his experience struck a chord with readers, attracting over 900 comments. Not all agreed with Murray's view, but a lot did. "Many businesses operate using an outdated model, focusing most of their efforts on acquiring new clients and only a tiny portion on retaining existing ones," reads one comment. "I'm a lifetime gold with Qantas, and I stopped flying with them many years ago for the same reasons as Pete. I have never heard from them again," reads another.

That apparent disinterest from Qantas as people slipped down the status ladder was a common theme in the comments. "Qantas doesn't care about my loyalty," said Murray. "It made me wonder if they ever cared at all. Therefore, I won't fly Qantas again."

Qantas says if frequent flyers are close to retaining status but won't quite meet the bar, they can always phone the service centre and make their case. But Qantas won't call you to ask why you won't requalify and what they can do to help. With over 15 million people in its frequent flyer scheme, Qantas cannot reasonably be expected to phone everyone. But only a minority of those 15 million people hold elite status, and only some of that minority are sliding down the status ladder.

"I rang the (Qantas) "service centre" and threatened to leave because of the poor service, and the response was 'we always hear that, but people always come back.' Do they?" asked another comment.

Murray now flies Virgin Australia locally after taking advantage of an earlier status match offer. Because Virgin extended him complimentary status, he thought he should return the favour and give them some business. "I started flying Virgin," he said. "It was just better. I found they were generally less impacted by delay issues, and the people looking after you were friendlier and nicer. It was generally a more pleasant flying experience and before I wrote my LinkedIn article, was preferencing Virgin."

Not everyone will share Murray's view on the merits of flying Virgin Australia versus Qantas. But Murray's point is that Virgin Australia wanted his business and went after it, whereas Qantas did not.

In the wake of the LinkedIn article, Virgin Australia loyalty executives personally contacted Murray and bumped him up to platinum. That said, it's no hard task to reach out to a customer who paints your company positively. Qantas also contacted Murray after the LinkedIn article went viral. They bumped him back to gold.

Murray says that while he appreciates the gesture, it's too late, and it makes the airline look worse. "Now what Qantas is saying is that unless people complain, they'll let them be demoted. It's worse than a lack of proactivity; it sends a message that we care so little, that unless you complain, we will continue to care little."

Murray says his work travels will soon resume their former tempo, and he'll be flying internationally a lot more again. But those flights won't be on Qantas anymore. "I'll fly Star Alliance," he said. "I imagine being Velocity platinum will give me some benefits on the Star Airlines flying to those countries I’ll be travelling most often to. So, I can take advantage of this gift Virgin has given me."

Read the full article Qantas vs. Virgin: LinkedIn Post Sparks Loyalty Crisis on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

We flew from Johannesburg to Sydney with Qantas in their Premium economy class. Here's what you need to know.

In 1991, Taiwanese international airline, EVA Air was the first to introduce ‘Evergreen Class’. Evergreen Class was later renamed to Premium Economy and has since become the first airline to offer this class of service in the world. With first-class set for the chopping block, it's only going to become a bigger player as the years go by.

Fast forward to 2019, nearly 30 years later and most airlines now offer some form of Premium Economy. It’s designed to give everyday travellers some exclusive feels without the epic price tag that long-haul lie-flat Business Class now commands.

It’s taken nearly 10 years of business travel to finally experience Premium Economy for myself. I was keen to see just how much schlepping was actually happening in the Premium Economy cabin and whether it could spell the end of Business Class travel for the rest of my life.

Here are the details of the last Qantas Premium Economy flight we enjoyed...

After spending ten days in Cape Town I treated myself and my partner to a cheeky upgrade from our booked economy seats. My Platinum status could not get us to Business, instead, I scored the Premium Economy (45,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points) and my partner, well, stayed back in Economy. If you've ever wondered if Qantas Frequent Flyer is worth the investment over its major competitor, Velocity, read our in-depth analysis.

Thankfully the two larger women she was wedged between provided ample buffer from her anger toward me. Note: Always book on the same ticket to receive priority upgrades together. Duh! Don't be a fool when it comes to Qantas Flight Rewards.

Qantas operates their few remaining 747s between South Africa and Australia with the airline’s previous generation Premium Economy (before David Caon gave it a revamp in 2017). To be brutally honest, this older generation looks to be every bit as good as other airlines' current offerings.

The intimate Qantas Premium Economy cabin (2-4-2 layout) has 36 reclining seats with a pitch of 38 inches and a width of 19 inches. In comparison to a standard Qantas business class seat, you don’t get lie-flat benefits and only gain 2.5 inches (6.35 cm) in seat width, which is bugger all, really. I opted for 36E bulkhead seat which Seat Guru says is not a great choice, but I didn’t want to climb between people and seats to go to the bathroom.

You can recline far enough to get a good night’s rest and avoid neighbours falling all over you. If you’ve ever flown Jetstar’s Business Class offering I would say it’s similar to that, however a touch more expensive.

You’re offered a drink before takeoff, which in my humble opinion, is one of the simple pleasures of premium cabins. Being Qantas Platinum I was offered first dibs on the meal services. Options remained the same, however, you’re a 'Mr O'Toole' rather than a 'Sir' and you get your preferred meal choice.

The meal service itself is shortened into one round, rather than the usual entrees, main and dessert services you’ll receive in Business Class. You’re upgraded from Economy foil-top meals to well-presented food with silverware and glassware, albeit on a small tray.

In-flight entertainment is the usual Qantas armrest system. The software does need an upgrade because it’s painfully slow, but the movies and TV shows are top-notch. Ballers and Billions. You’re also supplied with a pillow, blanket, eye mask, earplugs, socks and toothbrush.

Lastly, there’s no lounge access with Premium Economy so make sure your status credits are topped up to Gold or Platinum to enjoy the pre-flight perks.

That's a tough one, but we have a full-length story on this exact question. If you don't care about flying cattle class, then you'll never care about Premium Economy. If you do make the splash you have the added benefit of putting in for an upgrade and hopefully getting bumped up to Business Class. Plus the smaller cabin, reclining seat and private bathroom make a long-haul flight more bearable but at a price.

Considering the average return ticket to Europe or the USA is about A$5,000 (compared to A$9,000 for Business), then yes, I would say pay for the Premium Economy seat and put in for an upgrade. If you're still not sure, read our full-length Qantas Business vs Premium Economy piece.

Definitely go for the window and aisle. Avoid the back seats as they don’t recline as far.

All in all, I would say, yes it totally is. For most of us, A$9,000 is totally out of the question for a European holiday, so this is a fair compromise when you’re dropping A$20,000 on a Summer holiday.

Let’s just say I’ll think twice before booking a full-price long-haul Business Class trip again.

Read the full article Qantas Premium Economy Review: An Experience That Ruined Business Class Forever on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

With the world-beating 'Project Sunrise' in the pipeline and some exciting changes to their first-class cabin, you're going to be hearing a lot more about the spirit of Australia. On a recent trip home from Europe, I flew home on a Qantas Dreamliner in economy class. Here is a breakdown of my flight, and a review of my seat.

Checking in isn't so bad. There's a bit of a line in security, but this is to be expected. I get through to the gate with plenty of time. I go to the kiosk near the boarding gate and get a cold Peroni. Life is good. There's a (muted) TV. I watch an interview between some news outlet and one of Russia's leaders trying to justify their invasion of Ukraine. It's surprisingly gripping. I almost want to wait in line longer so I can keep watching. Eventually, we are ushered onto the flight.

If you want a slightly more luxe check-in experience, then get savvy with Qantas Flight Rewards and the Frequent Flyer Program writ large. If you know what you're doing, there are some big deals to be won.

The usual – one big one for the hold, one small one for the cabin. Check Qantas' website if you want exact weights.

I sit down, glad to be in an aisle seat (on my journey to Europe I was in a middle seat, trapped next to a guy with little regard for personal space, and who snored). On this flight I'm next to a mum and her son. He seems well behaved and she seems like the sort of person who has good armrest etiquette. Awesome. I start listening to a podcast, studiously ignoring the safety demonstration and downloading a good supply of music before putting my phone on airplane mode.

Half an hour later, almost halfway through my podcast, I look up, puzzled as to why we are yet to move. I shrug, switch over to '2PAC - THE 5 BEST SONGS EVER', and continue pretending I don't exist (how good are noise-cancelling headphones). I get through about three of the songs, and then curiously lift one of the headphones off my ears. Apparently, something went wrong with the engine check so now we have to return to the terminal to check it again. Great. Another reasonably long wait later and we are told the engine is fine, but we have now missed our time slot to fly out.

Great.

We wait another half an hour or so, before being shuttled back to the terminal, going through security (with a passport check and everything) and then recollecting our luggage. By this time it's gone midnight. We return to the check-in desk to await further instructions. We are told to get a taxi to a hotel in Brentford, which Qantas is putting us up in, and come back the next day at 11am (for a 2pm flight).

I do as I'm bid, wait another half an hour or so in line to get a cab, sleep in the hotel, and come back the next morning. I enjoy a free meal voucher courtesy of Qantas and eat some weird vegetarian chicken/tomato pastry things from Caffe Nero. I buy a couple of books and kill time.

Finally, it's boarding time once again. Take two. This time everything goes smoothly and we take off (more or less) as scheduled. Having said that, due to the airport's busy schedule, there is still a half an hour or so delay.

I enjoy the headrest feature which negates the need for a neck pillow, although unfortunately (probably due to my stupid refusal to ever listen to flight attendant's takeoff spiels) I don't realise it's there until well into the flight. I listen to a bunch of podcasts and a bunch of movies before checking out the in flight entertainment system.

I watch Notting Hill, and then start to watch Euphoria (I don't have Binge at home so I figure this is my chance). I end up turning Euphoria off after the first episode because I feel bad the kid a couple of seats down might see it and become corrupted by all the drug and sex scenes. I switch to Succession. I manage to lose my in-flight headphones at some point and can't be bothered to ask the flight attendants for a new pair. I continue to watch Succession with subtitles.

Despite my best efforts to dirty them (joking), they get kept reasonably clean during the flight. I'm not a fan of stuffing my fingers into the bins to make sure all the paper goes down, so I'm one of those selfish bastards who pokes most of it in, but leaves a bit sticking out for the next person. Despite this, the toilets are always pretty clean when I visit.

I go to the bathroom, only to realise I have forgotten my bottle of water (and I don't fancy rinsing my teeth in the sink). I then traipse back to my seat and then back to the bathroom, fielding off (as I imagine them) suspicious stares of other passengers who must be imagining I have explosive diarrhea or a restless leg.

The Qantas Dreamliner cabin feels less crowded than my Qatar Airways flight a few weeks prior (it is a 3-3-3 configuration in economy as opposed to Qatar's 3-4-3 which I flew out on). In terms of seat comfort: it feels more or less the same (though I am very impressed with the built-in head rest neck pillow as I am someone who always forgets my neck pillow).

I try really hard to sleep for a time, to no avail. This is pretty standard for me. I eventually get an hour or two's kip in, but it's not exactly REM sleep (more like a knockoff H&M).

You know how marathon runners hit a point in the race where they feel they can't continue? I have a theory that most people hit this point in a flight. For me it tends to come after I wake up from what I think is a decent sleep, only to realise that there is half the flight (or more) still to go. This happens to me on this flight. But again: pretty standard, and I get the same thing on 14 hour flights to Dubai. So it's not the end of the world. Back to the podcasts and music I go...

I always eat the food I'm given on a plane because I've paid for it (and because it helps break up the boredom). I have a suspicion microwave meals don't agree with my stomach though because it almost always gives me cramps (on basically all airlines). Other than that, the food was very nice; very Qantas.

I can't remember exactly what I ate, but I think the London to Darwin flight was either chicken or beef with rice, and some lovely snacks. There was also some kind of meal with sausages (and another with polenta) in there too. There is also a handy button on the touch screen so you can remind yourself what the menu options are.

Everyone has to wear a mask.

The flight attendants are all very nice, and very friendly. They also coped very well with the cancelled flight, and put passenger's minds at ease to the best they could.

I'm still very jetlagged, but I don't consider that an airline's responsibility, really. If I wanted to be jetlag free, I'd stump up for 8 hours of kip in business.

Deciding whether to upgrade from Qantas economy to premium economy — or, if you're really balling, to upgrade from premium economy to business — is a tough question and largely depends on your means. Ultimately, we were pretty impressed with this economy service... but we can't deny that we're big believers in premium-economy as the perfect middle ground.

Pretty good. Shame about the cancellation though. I guess that can happen on any flight, on any carrier. And at least with Qantas they look after you when things go wrong (it's not quite so easy when this situation unfolds on you with a budget carrier).

Read the full article Qantas 787 Economy Review: A Very Smooth Ride For A Low Price on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

DMARGE's June travel update looks at Qantas and Virgin Australia inflight upgrades, new Singapore hotels, Brisbane lounge changes, and Rex's Melbourne-Perth route entry.

Our end-of-the-month June travel update looks at improvements to the inflight food and beverage offerings on Qantas and Virgin Australia, hotel openings in Singapore, the latest shifts in the Brisbane pay-to-use lounge scene, a refurbished private jet lounge in Sydney, Rex's arrival on the Melbourne – Perth run, and what it means for fares.

Thirsty flyers in Qantas premium cabins will see an improved beverage service this winter. Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin will be the new standard gin pour in first, business, and premium economy international cabins, and Campari will also be available for the first time. Lark Classic Cask whiskey will be available in first-class cabins while domestic business also gets a boost with Starward Nova appearing on the cart.

There will also be a rotating selection of gins in the first-class cabin and lounges, including Applewood, Brookies, Beachtree Quokka Gin, and the Australian Distilling Co Bondi Gin. Pandemic-era Double Bay hamburger slinger and Qantas Creative Director of Food, Beverage and Service Neil Perry said his team tasted almost 400 drinks before settling on the final selection. Tough gig.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia has also overhauled its inflight menu, again primarily focusing on its small business class cabin. Virgin has made something of an art form of tarting up relatively inexpensive food, which is fine, but the menu badly needed a refresh. Business class passengers can expect now offerings like frittata with crumbled feta, pumpkin and tomato relish; sweet pork belly with rice and vegetables; and mango coconut cake.

Down the back of the plane, where the vibe is often Jetstaresque, some badly needed substantive food options are added to the pay-to-consume menu, including ham and cheese sourdough toasties, chicken and sun-dried tomato pesto wraps, and chicken salad sourdough sandwiches.

Exploring the new drinks selection might be just the thing on your next Qantas flight to Singapore with several new hotels already open or soon to open this year. Citadines Science Park has opened in Queenstown near the NUS. Granted, it’s not the most glamorous part of Singapore, but plenty of business goes on nearby. A lot more bougie, the Standard is opening across the road from the Shangri La later this year, and the Raffles Sentosa, Singapore’s first villa-only resort, is set for a soft opening later in 2024. 

The QT Singapore (formerly the So Singapore) is set to open in September, while the Grand Hyatt aims to open its doors towards the end of this year or early 2025 in what it says will be a “phased opening.” Singapore isn’t short of good hotels, and these openings add to the mix.

The lounge reshuffle in Brisbane continues, with news emerging over June that Escape Lounges will open their first Australian lounge later this year in the recently vacated Plaza Premium space in Brisbane’s international terminal. Meanwhile, Plaza Premium, who abruptly decamped in late May, has since said they will return shortly, taking over the also recently vacated Aspire lounge space at some point this year. The upshot is that Brisbane should have two pay-to-play lounges back in action by the end of the year.

If mass market lounges aren’t your thing, private jet operators ExecuJet have recently had Coco Republic Interior Design in to refurbish the lounge at their Sydney base. “The space now boasts contemporary elements such as muted grey occasional chairs, tan leather sofas, and suede accent stools, all thoughtfully arranged around a central stone bar,” ExecuJet says.

“With an expanded seating capacity and an enhanced refreshment selection, ExecuJet Sydney ensures that every guest enjoys the utmost comfort and luxury from the moment they arrive.” DMARGE recently gave readers a heads-up on heavily discounted empty-leg private jets flights. Lounges like this, particularly among the larger business jet operators, are part of the package.

Finally, Rex's entry onto the Melbourne – Perth route has sparked something of a price war – good for consumers, bad for the operators. Both majors on the route, Qantas and Virgin Australia, have long made hay by charging big fares on one of the world's most profitable routes. Rex has shaken that up. The airline is presently offering one-way introductory fares of AUD149.

Typically, Virgin Australia is matching or slightly undercutting Rex’s fares on their evening flight which leaves around the same time. Qantas usually charges a premium of around AUD70 for their evening flights west. Rex also has a business class cabin (and a small lounge in Melbourne), which it prices at around AUD1,000 each way. Virgin matches this, more or less, while Qantas charges around AUD750 more – that's a big premium for a few complimentary boutique gins in their lounges.

Read the full article Biggest Travel News & Hacks, July 2024 on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Commercial supersonic flights may no longer be a thing of the past after American-based company Boom Supersonic has confirmed it's designing a supersonic airliner that's set to soar the skies before 2030.

Cast your mind back, if you can, to 26 November 2003, when the final Concorde plane flew over Bristol, UK on its final return home. Beneath the beloved tailless aircraft that could reach cruising speeds of up to 2,179 km per hour, crowds of fans gathered in their masses to wave goodbye to a cultural icon of aviation.

Now, some 20 years later, an American company dubbed the "Son of Concorde" is committed to returning this retired hero to the skies and is set to completely revolutionise the way we travel in the future.

Boom Supersonic may not yet be a household name much like British Airways or Qantas, but the American company is fast becoming one of the more exciting designers in the aviation space and could be the first company to bring back the Golden Age of travel.

With a state-of-the-art superfactory in North Carolina, the company is set to produce 33 aircraft each year capable of travelling from London to New York in just 3.5 hours - less than half the time it takes a regular aircraft to make the same journey.

Dubbed (rather appropriately) the Overture, the company's supersonic plane has already completed a successful test flight in controlled conditions and recently received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to exceed Mach 1 during test flights - the first ever of its kind.

Once it's fully developed, the Overture will cruise at a top speed of Mach 1.7 - twice as fast as today's commercial aircraft, but a touch shy of Concorde's supercruise of Mach 2.04 - and will be able to carry up to 80 passengers at a time.

With 130 aircraft already ordered from leading airlines such as American Airlines and United, the company hopes their latest invention will set the new standard of travel.

Whilst the earlier Concorde planes were retired for a number of reasons - noise pollution, fuel consumption, safety concerns and operating costs - the arrival of Boom Supersonic’s Overture will likely address these issues with modern technological advancements and sustainable practices.

The plane will run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel, a critical innovation in the pursuit of reducing air travel's high levels of pollution, and represents a clear departure from the traditional fossil fuel dependencies.

The Concorde's presence in the skies captivated its cult-like followers like nothing else; with elite clientele and limited availability, the Concorde planes represented the cutting edge of travel, capturing people's imaginations throughout the late 20th century.

If successful, Boom Supersonic's Overture will herald a new era in aviation, where speed and sustainability go hand in hand, transforming the way we think about air travel and connecting the world faster than ever before.

Read the full article Boom Supersonic Aims to Revive Supersonic Travel with New Airliner by 2030 on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Winter might be starting, but that's no reason to curl up and stay home. There's a whole wide world to explore out there.

DMARGE's regular end-of-the-month travel update details changes to United's Brisbane flights, a switcheroo on Philippine Airlines flights to Sydney and Melbourne, new status match and status booster opportunities, lounge closures in Brisbane, and hotel openings in Tasmania, giving you plenty of good reasons to pack a bag and head out.

United Airlines won't be resuming its short-lived seasonal Brisbane – Los Angeles flights this upcoming Australian summer, and the seasonal Auckland – Los Angeles flights also look like they won't be returning.

There's a capacity glut on the Australia – US country pair and the US carriers are experiencing generally mediocre loads on their Australia runs. The Queensland Government enticed three US airlines to Brisbane last year with fixed-term subsidies. However, once they start to expire, the Queensland capital no longer looks so appealing to the carriers.

United Airlines Business Class Review: Ice-Cream Sundaes And Eight Hours Of Sleep

On the plus side, United's Brisbane – San Francisco service is sticking around and the airline is reportedly upsizing from a B787-9 to B777-300ER on the route later this year.

Philippine Airlines flies between Manila and Sydney and Manila and Melbourne every night using A330s. It offers a decent business class and often very well-priced ex-Asia return fares to Australia. However, starting June 1, passengers will fly on a Wamos Air A330-200 as Philippine Airlines needs its A330s elsewhere on the network.

Wamos will operate the flights to Melbourne until September 30 and Sydney until October 31. Wamos A330-200s offer a staggered 1-2-1 configuration in business class and include all the expected business class bells and whistles, such as lie-flat beds and IFE. 

On matters Manila, Qantas is resuming flights between Brisbane and Manila on October 28, 2024. The four times per week roundtrips will use an A330-200.

Garuda has extended its status match offer to Velocity platinum members, giving them access to the offer already available to Qantas platinum frequent flyers. Open until June 30, 2024, Garuda will grant GarudaMiles Platinum VIP status for three months and extend that until March 2025 if you complete one Australia – Indonesia flight on Garuda in those three months.

Garuda is a SkyTeam member, and Platinum VIP is their Elite Plus tier. Garuda Elite Plus grants lounge access and a swag of other benefits across all SkyTeam carriers, including Delta, Korean, Air France, and China Airlines.

Garuda will only status match applicants who earned status, not picked it up via previous status matches and other non-flying methods.

Accor is offering Qantas frequent flyers a fast track to Accor ALL Gold. You'll need to link your Qantas and Accor memberships, register for the promotion, and stay three nights at hotels participating in the Accor Live Limitless Loyalty program by the end of 2024. Gold status is then secured until the end of 2025. If you already hold Gold status and register, you'll score ten status nights instead.

Accor Gold isn't that great, but it does offer a few perks like room upgrades, early check, late check out, and a free drink, and sure beats being an Accor Classic or silver member. Members of the paid Accor Plus program could piggy-back off this promotion and the regular red hot room rate deals to power up to platinum for a relatively inexpensive sum, opening up complimentary access to lounges, breakfasts, and suite upgrades.

Both pay-to-use lounges at Brisbane's international terminal are closing at the end of May, with the Plaza Premium and Aspire lounges shutting up shop.

Exactly why the lounges are closing is not known. However, neither really got their mojo back after pandemic and its likely a simple case of not making money. Executive Traveller reports that the UK-based Escape Lounges will take over the 532 square metre Plaza Premium space but there is no official announcement on when or if this will happen.

Hilton is opening a 206-room Doubletree hotel in Macquarie Street, Hobart, later this year. The property was originally tagged to be a Novotel. It will be the first Hilton property in Tasmania.

Meanwhile, up the Midland Highway, Accor will open a 139-room Pullman on Wellington Street, Launceston, but alas not until 2027. It will be the city's first five star hotel and provide travellers with somewhere decent to sleep before hitting the Saturday morning food markets.

The Thai government is doubling the visa waiver period for Australian travellers from 30 days to 60 days, effective June 1. The visa exemption applies to tourists, business visitors, and short-term workers from 93 countries. There are also some adjustments to the visa rules for people wishing to stay longer, including digital nomads. The government is making the changes to entice tourists with money to burn.

While this is good news, the bad news is the government intends to introduce an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system for visa-exempt foreign travellers by mid-2025, which like ETA systems everywhere, will likely come with a fee. 

Read the full article Thailand Doubles Visa-Free Stay Duration For Travellers: Tricks & Tips For June 2024 on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

This Qantas story in brief:

We're usually Qantas' biggest fans, signing their praises wherever possible. Whether it's their classic TV ads making Aussies well up or their world-beating business class, the iconic Australian airline has always been very dear to our hearts. Are they infallible, though? Sadly not.

Qantas’ recent decision to raise the cost of extra legroom seats has ruffled the feathers of its most loyal customers. Effective since April 18th, the modest price hikes of $5 to $15 AUD for these coveted seats might seem insignificant, but the real hurt comes from changes made to the booking of Row 4 domestic Boeing 737 flights.

The T-80 rule, a well-known travel hack among frequent flyers, allowed passengers to snag these roomy seats for free if they were still available 80 hours before departure. Here's our video on that hack which, we're sad to say, hasn't aged well...

This perk will soon be a thing of the past. Row 4, once accessible to anyone at T-80, will now carry an additional cost of $35 AUD, transforming them into run-of-the-mill extra legroom seats. While Platinum One and Chairman’s Lounge members continue to access these seats without extra charge, it effectively locks out lower-tier frequent flyers from this freebie.

Qantas argues that this change benefits their top-tier members by reducing the competition for these seats. However, this justification falls flat for many frequent flyers who have relied on the T-80 rule for some years. Savvy travellers have counted on this window of opportunity to secure a more comfortable flight experience without additional cost and the reclassification of Row 4 seats into a paid category has been labelled a betrayal by some:

"Ah, yes, more things to get the frequent flyers back onside after years of neglect and … hey wait! This is ANOTHER negative..."

@thrillho

Frequent flyers have expressed their frustration online, accusing Qantas of putting profit over passenger loyalty. This sentiment has only been compounded by Qantas’ substantial profit announcements, making the extra charges feel like an unnecessary cash grab, according to the most bitter customers, anyway...

As a Platinum Frequent flyer for over 10 years, to now be charged for the privilege is just poor form. Chanrge for the exit rows, but row 4 should be for high-status flyers as a perk. Why? Becuase there's no perks onboard.

The new pricing structure impacts a wide range of routes. Short-range domestic flights will see a jump from $30 to $35 AUD, medium-range from $40 to $45 AUD, and the longest domestic routes from $70 to $75 AUD.

How does this land with you? (Pun intended...). Can you forgive Qantas for doing what they gotta do to keep the cash flowing, or does this feel like a slap in the face for their most dedicated frequent flyers?

This is what happens when a CFO becomes CEO.

Read the full article Qantas Charges $35 For Extra Legroom On Domestic Flights on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Guest writer and gun Andrew Curran returns to DMARGE with his monthly round-up of unmissable tips and tricks for Australian travellers.

New flights to South America, ANA confirming its summer return to Perth, lounge news out of Cairns, increased fees for Qantas passengers, airlines soon to exit the Star Alliance program, and a neat status match challenge from Hilton are among recent changes and offers on the market which can make life easier for frequent flyers.

LATAM will resume nonstop Sydney–Santiago flights on October 28, 2024. The B787-9 operated flights will depart Sydney at lunchtime on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The services are in addition to the existing six times per week via Auckland flights and supplement the LATAM-operated thrice weekly roundtrips between Melbourne and Santiago.

LATAM’s fares between Australia and Chile are competitively priced compared to codeshare partner Qantas, who fly between Sydney and Santiago three times per week using a B787-9. However, LATAM’s 2-2-2 business class seat configuration is far inferior to the Qantas 1-2-1 offering.

Meanwhile, ANA All Nippon Airlines has finally confirmed it will resume its seasonal three-times-per-week Tokyo Narita—Perth flights on October 29, 2024, after recently suspending services for the Australian winter. ANA, a Star Alliance member, will operate the flights with a B787-9. 

The airline offers the all-important and highly underrated 1-2-1 seat configuration in business class. It is the only airline operating on the city pair, and its tie-up with Virgin Australia means its frequent flyers can use Velocity points for redemptions.

Sources at Cairns Airport have scotched rumours that Virgin Australia will reopen its lounge there. The airline generally has over a dozen departures a day from Cairns but permanently closed its lounge at the start of the pandemic. While there was some recent buzz that VA had decided to reopen the still unutilised space, this is not the case.

However, the Reef Lounge is reopening at the Cairns International Terminal, primarily to serve Singapore Airlines departures. The airport is also considering extending the opening hours to cater to other international departures. The lounge used to accommodate paid walk-ins. While that arrangement isn’t yet restored, it is believed to be on the cards.

In mid-April, the one-year fee for new Qantas Club members increased from AUD699 to AUD828 (including the AUD129 joining fee). The cost of an annual renewal also rose from AUD540 to AUD629. There are ways to mitigate this.

Holding Qantas Gold or Oneworld Sapphire status opens up lounge access, rendering Qantas Club membership obsolete. Qantas Points Club Plus members also receive complimentary lounge access. For lesser status passengers, corporate schemes and relying on single-use passes are alternative strategies.

Qantas has also increased the cost of its extra legroom seats. The airline has raised the price from AUD15 to AUD20 on sub-600-mile sectors such as Sydney-Melbourne. On long flights such as Sydney-Johannesburg, the cost of extra legroom seats has increased from AUD180 to AUD195.

Qantas has also rejigged its popular T80 'free legroom' rule, which allowed a passenger to relocate into any seat in the cabin class at no cost 80 hours before departure. The airline has reduced this to 24 hours before travel (when check-in opens).

Until then,  except for Chairman's Lounge and Qantas platinum members, extra legroom fees will apply for the best seats. However, 24 hours before departure, the fees will vanish, so the T80 rule becomes the T24 rule.

Star Alliance will lose two member airlines in the next 12-24 months. SAS Scandinavian is exiting Star following the airline's acquisition by an Air France-KLM-led consortium.

Meanwhile, Asiana Airlines will quit Star once Korean Air gets the okay from regulators to buy that airline. SAS Scandinavian will join SkyTeam, Air France-KLM's alliance, and the Asiana brand will cease to exist. Korean will likely transfer Asiana's frequent flyers into its SkyTeam-affiliated frequent flyer program.

The SAS switch to SkyTeam should happen later this year, and the Asiana switch sometime in 2025. These changes pose a quandary for Star Gold members in both programs, especially those with future bookings. Will existing bookings made by existing Star Gold members expecting Gold grade perks be honoured under the new arrangements?

Hilton is running a status match challenge targeting members of rival programs. Under the challenge, Hilton automatically grants Honors Gold status to applicants for 90 days. Honors Gold is a decent status level because it provides complimentary breakfast (or a credit in North American markets) and room upgrades. 

You’ll need to stay eight nights within those 90 days to retain gold status through March 31, 2025. If you stay 14 nights within those 90 days, you’ll score an upgrade to Honors Diamond, which, aside from breakfast and upgrades, grants lounge access.

Hilton has hotels in all the mainland Australian capitals. Although none of them are the premier hotels in town, you can expect solid, well-located, and comfortable properties. The Honors program offers a bankable suite of benefits that can add real value to a stay.

Read the full article World’s Most Underrated Business Class Returns on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Qantas has rolled out a major change to its frequent flyer program. The launch of Classic Plus Flight Rewards meets frequent flyers halfway — it opens up more redemption seats but at a higher price than the standard but often elusive Classic Rewards price.

Ticking off a checklist of customer pain points earlier this week, Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said frequent flyers had told her that the (un)availability of reward seats was “an ongoing pain point.”

“Classic Plus is in addition to Classic Rewards, which will not change — we remain committed to a minimum of five million Classic Rewards seats per year with fixed pricing that has not changed since 2019. Classic Plus will unlock 20 million more reward seats.”

Classic Plus reward seats are now available on Qantas international flights departing Australia for travel from July 1, 2024, with expectations that it will be fully launched across the entire international and domestic network by the end of the year.

Qantas Ad Makes Australia Emotional

Once fully rolled out, Hudson said Classic Plus seats will be available to every Qantas destination, in every cabin class, all year round. “Classic Plus will provide four times as much access to seat redemptions as Classic Rewards,” she said.

So, what’s the catch? Classic Plus uses dynamic pricing, like normal airfares. They’ll be lower during off-peak or when booking early. Qantas suggests they may drop below the cost of Classic Rewards seats on certain occasions. But mostly, Classic Plus seats will be more expensive, and often way more expensive.

Using the last fortnight of October 2024 as a sample period, Qantas has ample Classic Reward seats available in economy class on its popular Sydney—London QF1 service but zero Classic Reward premium economy, business, or first class seats.

However, the airline does have Classic Plus redemptions available at 151,400 points (plus $341 in fees and taxes) in premium economy, 501,300 – 516,000 points (plus $636) in business class, and 816,300 points (plus $636) in first class.

Business class Classic Reward seats between Sydney and London cost 144,600 points (plus fees and taxes), while first-class Classic Reward seats cost 216,800 (plus fees and taxes). But on this route, they are remarkably hard to find.

Qantas First Class Snubbed By Airline Critics, But Iconic Australian Carrier Has An Ace Up Its Sleeve

In the same period, things are looking brighter on the Melbourne—Hong Kong QF29 service, with ample economy class Classic Rewards availability at 25,200 points (plus $140) and good business class availability at 68,400 points (plus $150 ). However, on some dates, the business redemptions revert to Classic Plus mode and go as high as 310,900 points (plus $233 in fees).

On the QF15 service between Brisbane and Los Angeles over the same two weeks, there is excellent Classic Rewards economy and business class availability from 41,900 (plus $215) and 108,400 points (plus $340), respectively. The A330-200 operating this flight doesn’t offer first class.

If you are after that experience, you’ll need to go through Sydney to connect to the A380-800 operated QF11, which still has some first class seats available for 162,800 (plus $396) on a couple of days over the fortnight, but the Classic Plus rate of 1,096,300 points (plus $676) applies on most dates.

The Classic Plus rate will see the going cash price converted to points at about 1.5 cents per point. When the cash airfare drops, so will the Classic Plus redemption rate. Given that the median value of a single QFF point is around two cents, redeeming points at 1.5 cents is not good value. But everyone’s circumstances are different, and perceptions of value will vary.

As Hudson said, the trade-off of making more seats available for redemptions is that passengers will pay more for them. Making the 20 million seats available for redemptions will cost Qantas around $120 million annually in foregone ticket revenue.

Another winning, albeit unpublicised, aspect of the Classic Plus seats is that Chairman’s Lounge and Platinum QFF members won’t get first dibs on them, as is the case with Classic Rewards seats. Instead, Qantas will make Classic Plus seats available to everyone on the same day, regardless of status.

Top-tier Qantas elites hoovering up all the Classic Rewards seats, particularly on flights to European destinations, is one of the less attractive attributes of the QFF program, even if the 99.9% of passengers who aren’t Qantas elites can’t figure out why they are being royally rogered and why they can never find the entry-level price for a business class points redemption to London.

Classic Plus also represents a better deal than the Points Plus Pay redemptions, which have always been terrible value. On the flipside, Classic Plus redemptions won’t be available for use on partner airlines. Nor can you use it to ferry your sprogs to Bali this summer on Jetstar. Classic Plus redemptions are a strictly Qantas-only deal.

Read the full article What Qantas’ Frequent Flyer Changes Mean For Ticket Prices on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Australia's most beloved airline, Qantas, may have been snubbed from a list of the Best First Class Airlines, but plans for the coming year could see them reinstated in the premium travel top spot.

Following hot on the heels of news that Qantas is slashing business class fares for domestic journeys, the carrier has been snubbed from a list of the World's Best First Class Airlines, curated by one of the internet's most respected aviation critics: Ben Schlappig, founder of One Mile At A Time.

Schlappig has garnered quite a reputation over his sixteen years in the business, reviewing pretty much every airline, cabin class, lounge, credit card, and frequent flyer program under the sun. What makes him so trustworthy amongst aviation journos? He pays for all his flights himself, free from any financial relationship with the airlines he reviews.

However, this hard-earned integrity only serves to make this blow sting a little more intensely for Aussies with a fondness for their national airline. Sharing details of his first-hand experiences on what he considers to be the ten best first-class cabins — along with swathes of original images and insight — Schlappig's final ranking can be summarised as follows...

At the top of the list is Emirates' first class on the Boeing 777-300ER, featuring fully enclosed suites with floor-to-ceiling privacy, spacious seating, a huge TV screen, and a bed with customisable lighting and temperature. The airline also offers free-flowing Dom Perignon and a dine-on-demand menu with unlimited caviar.

‘First Class Only’ Airline Raises Record Funding… But Totally Misses The Point Of Premium Travel

Japan Airlines' first class on the Airbus A350-1000 ranks second, with a massive suite that includes a couch, an ottoman, and a 43" 4K television. The service is apparently impeccable while the food and drinks are exquisite. Air France's first class on the Boeing 777-300ER is third, known for its elegant cabin, exceptional food, flawless service, and comfortable bedding.

Singapore Airlines' Suites on the Airbus A380 offer both a seat and a separate bed, with the option to create a double suite for those travelling with a companion. Schlappig calls the soft product "outstanding", with excellent catering and champagne selection.

Etihad Airways' first class on the Airbus A380, All Nippon Airways' first class on the Boeing 777-300ER, Cathay Pacific's first class on the Boeing 777-300ER, Garuda Indonesia's first class on the Boeing 777-300ER, SWISS' first class on the Boeing 777-300ER, Korean Air's first class on the Boeing 747-8, Lufthansa's first class on the Boeing 747-8, and Oman Air's first class on the Boeing 787-9 complete the list.

While Schlappig mentions at the very end of his piece that were he to extend the list to include three more carriers Qantas would definitely be among them, any Aussie worth their salty won't be content with 12th place. Lucky for us, Qantas has big plans in store that we think could see them launched back up the list. It all hinges on the long-awaited Project Sunrise.

In 2017, Qantas announced the project which aimed for direct flights from Australia's east coast to Europe and New York. The Airbus A350-1000 was selected for the challenge and after 12 were ordered in May 2022, we're now only 18 months away from non-stop Sydney to New York flights that could reduce travel time by up to 4 hours and, we hope, offer an unparalleled flying experience.

The latter promise could hinge on the standard of its pointy-end cabins but, judging by the materials Qantas have shared so far and the industry response, we seem to be in sade hands in that regard. The new A350s boast six enclosed First Suites, offering 50% more space than the A380. Each suite comes equipped with a lie-flat bed, a separate reclining armchair, and a large, flexible work and dining area for one or two passengers.

The suites also boast a full-length wardrobe, multiple personal storage spaces, and high-tech amenities like USB-A and C, AC and wireless charging outlets, a touchscreen suite controller, and a 32” entertainment touchscreen with Bluetooth audio connectivity. The suite's 57” high walls and sliding door ensure total privacy, while customizable LED lighting and an adjustable bed backrest enhance comfort.

Suffice to say, if these first suites are even half as good as they look, they'll be able to give Emirates and Japan Airlines a good run for their money. If you then factor in the genuinely pioneering nature of the non-stop, ultra-long-haul flights on top of that, this really could be both a world first and a world beater...

Read the full article Qantas First Class Snubbed By Airline Critics, But Iconic Carrier Has An Ace Up Its Sleeve on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

New and ongoing status match offers, more countries opening their airport e-gates to Australian travellers, Qantas business class price drops, new and resuming routes, and discounted lounge access are among the travel hacks currently available and making life easier for frequent flyers.

Status match opportunities for Australia-based travellers continue, with Star Alliance operator United Airlines now offering a status match challenge to silver grade and above Qantas frequent flyers. Meanwhile, SkyTeam affiliated Garuda Indonesia has extended its status match challenge to gold-grade and above Virgin Australia Velocity members.

Turkish Airlines and Etihad’s long-standing status match challenges remain open to Qantas frequent flyers. Finally, the Delta Air Lines express ticket to SkyTeam status remains open to higher-tier Qantas and Virgin Australia frequent flyers.

WATCH: Qantas Ad Makes Australia Emotional

Indonesia now allows Australians who have obtained a prepaid e-visa on arrival to use e-channels at Soekarno Hatta and Denpasar Airports, skipping the latter airport’s notorious immigration queues.

Indonesia quietly opened its e-gates in February to all foreigners who arrived with an e-gate-ready passport and the e-visa sorted.

The e-channels can be used for arrival and departure purposes. Pre-registration is not required.

An increasing number of ASEAN countries allow Australians to use e-channels, making airport arrivals and departures a smoother experience. Aside from filling in the pre-arrival entry card, Australians are not required to register to use the e-channels at Singapore Changi Airport. 

However, registration is required to use the e-channels in Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur’s KLIA Terminals 1 and 2. To register for the Hong Kong e-gates, you can visit the e-channel enrolment office after clearing immigration at HKIA. But as DMARGE recently discovered, the opening hours are erratic...

A more reliable bet is to swing by the e-channel enrolment office during business hours on level 7 of Immigration House in Wan Chai, where the registration process is fast, friendly, and fee-free.

To register to use the KLIA 1 and 2 e-channels, you need to line up at specific immigration counters upon arrival at the airport. Presently, the counters you need are next to the APEC business cards/diplomatic channels, but this can change. The best bet is to ask staff managing the often-long immigration queues at the airport for the right counter.

Enrolment takes a couple of minutes, costs nothing, and is worth its weight in gold the next time you arrive at KLIA and can skip those queues. Note that registered Australians can only use the e-channels at KLIA, not at the JB land crossings or any other arrival/exit points.

Qantas has reduced many of their usually ridiculously expensive domestic business fares. DMARGE recently picked up a Hobart—Sydney business class fare for AUD490, and we’re seeing fares from AUD449 across sub-600-mile sectors if booked at least a month in advance. Slightly longer sectors, such as Melbourne—Brisbane are starting at AUD499, and Adelaide—Darwin from AUD699. All are substantial decreases from the previous asking prices.

While the fares aren’t available on all flights on all days, there is reasonable availability. It opens up Qantas domestic business class to more passengers and brings the pricing structure closer to what Virgin Australia and Rex charge.

Thai Airways has resumed flying to Perth and now offers four roundtrips per week using 256-passenger B787-8s. However, DMARGE notes that the business class cabin on this aircraft type, with its 2-2-2 layout, is not great. But when you have a monopoly on a route, you can get away with offering an uncompetitive cabin product.

Singapore Airlines is adding four more weekly roundtrips to Brisbane starting in August using its regionally configured A350-900 aircraft, housing a 40-passenger business class cabin in a far nicer 1-2-1 layout.

If you are happy to sacrifice comfort for cost, VietJet continues its Australian expansion, starting twice weekly Melbourne—Hanoi roundtrips from June 4 using 377-passenger A330-300 equipment. The low-cost carrier will also begin twice-weekly Sydney-Hanoi flights from June 8 using the same aircraft type. The Sydney flights offer an alternative to the existing once-per-week Vietnam Airlines Hanoi service.

Flying airlines like VietJet means you are likely to forego creature comforts such as lounges, although there are several pay-to-use lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, the Amex lounges, and Priority Pass as backup options.

An alternative to Priority Pass is DragonPass, which for some time has offered discounted lounge access after signing up for a free Regus account. One-off visits cost GBP24 (AUD46) — a significant discount to the asking price of AUD63 at the Dragon Pass participating Plaza Premium Sydney and Melbourne lounges.

The deal also works at member lounges at overseas airports, with DMARGE recently enjoying value for money and many champagnes over several hours at the tasty Air France lounge in Bangkok. You’ll also need to sign up for a free DragonPass account and download their app to store the purchased lounge pass. 

Read the full article Qantas Slashes Business Class Fares: Australian Travel Hacks Roundup For April 2024 on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Airlines are experts at slapping fresh paint on an aircraft and refreshing the cabins to make old airframes look new again.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this because well-maintained aircraft (and Australia's aircraft maintenance regime is second to none) can keep flying for years. But you might be surprised to know how old some of the aircraft you fly on really are.

Qantas has seventy-five B737-800s, which you see on domestic and some short-haul international routes. The average age of this fleet is 15.9 years. The youngest, James Strong, at 9.36 years, is easy to spot with its orange retro livery. The oldest, Yananyi, was delivered in 2002 and is now 22.2 years old.

In fact, seven of the B737s are more than 22 years old, and 22 are more than 20 years old. This is one reason why Qantas is embarking on a narrowbody fleet renewal program...

WATCH: Qantas Ad Makes Australia Emotional

The QF A330s you catch on flights to Asia and also on the Brisbane–LAX run vary in age between about 11.5 years and 21.5 years. Even the A380s, which seem like they first flew in only a few years ago, now have an average fleet age of 14.5 years, with the oldest being Nancy Bird Walton at 16.14 years and the youngest, Phyllis Arnott, at 12.9 years.

Virgin Australia's sixty B737-800s have an average age of 12.4 years. VA took the opportunity to offload many of its older aircraft while in administration a few years ago. VA's oldest B737-800 is Johanna Beach, at 20.65 years with another three B737-800s aged over 20 years. The youngest VA B737-800 is Dreamtime Beach, at 6.14 years.

You can drill into the other, far smaller fleet types at both airlines and their subsidiaries and find some 20th-century examples. Perth-based Virgin Australia Regional Airlines operates Fokker 100s. The oldest is almost 33 years old, and the youngest is more than 29 years old.

Those B717s QantasLink uses are operated by a Qantas outfit called National Jet Systems. The oldest of the ten-strong fleet is almost 25 years and only one of them, Tassie Devil, is under 20 years old (and only just). 

Those nifty Embraers you see scooting around for Qantas are supplied and operated by Alliance Airlines. These planes, which formerly flew for airlines such as American, JetBlue, and Copa, vary between almost 13 years old and 18.5 years old. Alliance's Fokkers, which don't fly for Qantas but do some wet lease work for Virgin Australia, have an average fleet age of 32.4 years. 

But the granddaddy of Australia's commercial aviation fleet are Rex’s Saab 340 turboprops. Rex has 57 of them, and the average fleet age is 30.3 years, with the oldest being 34.2 years and the youngest 25.5 years. Rex has no immediate plans to replace these planes. Rex's ten B737-800s are youngsters in comparison, with an average age of 14.3 years.

Beyond the slightly substandard cabin experience, there's no problem operating well-maintained older planes. Older aircraft tend to be noisier, use more fuel, emit more emissions, and if you scrutinize the cabins carefully, have a slightly shopworn look about them. 

Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Jetstar are all busy bringing in new aircraft to replace older types and also expand the overall fleet size. Qantas (or, more correctly, National Jet Systems) is currently inducting the A220-300s. Qantas proper will soon introduce A321neos and has ordered more Dreamliners, including the B787-10s. And let's not forget the A350-1000s, which the airline will use on nonstop flights to London and New York. These flights are due to start in mid-2026.

The Qantas Group's discount airline, Jetstar, is presently inducting a steady stream of A321neos, which they will use to build up overall fleet size, replace the older A320 and A321 types (average age 12.7 years), and open new routes. Virgin Australia has a similar rollout underway with their B737MAX 8s. VA presently has three of the type and another 15 on order. The first of 22 larger MAX 10s are due to start landing in 2025. 

Most passengers aren't going to go full aircraft-nerd and research the age of their plane. Most passengers simply don't care. They just expect their carrier to get them to their destination safely. Being on time and enjoying a relatively hassle-free experience is a bonus. 

But if it matters to you, an internet search will reveal any airline's aircraft types as well as the route they fly on. 

Flying long haul? Plenty of airlines will still send older B777s and A330s in and out of Australia. Generally, you'll score quieter and more ambient cabins on more modern A350 and B787 Dreamliners. But there's no hard and fast rule.

Ultimately, average service and delays on an airline using a plane delivered last week will result in a lower quality flight than on-time flights and smiles from an airline using a 20-year-old plane. While an aircraft's age is interesting, it is only one factor in the overall flight experience...

Read the full article Qantas & Virgin’s Oldest Planes That Are Somehow Still In Service on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Things can get really messy when you have a long flight ahead of you. For instance, a plane ride from Australia to Africa can last for 14 hours or even more if there’s a delay. After sleeping, eating, or keeping busy on the flight for that long, you’re bound to want to shower. Such a service is often provided for those who book a first-class ticket. 

This brings us to the question: are there showers in all first-class cabins? Well, that depends. Like with every flight, it’s difficult to predict what you will get or won’t get until you get in contact with the airline. Their rules frequently change, which means you might not get a shower on board. That said, you can calculate your odds of getting a shower if you know what to look for...

There are different types of aircraft offering first-class flights with premium features. Some have showers, whereas others don’t, depending on the circumstances. One thing to remember is that even if you have a first-class pass, there is no guarantee of getting access to a shower. In some cases, this service might be restricted. 

This is why you should check with the airline and see if the shower option is available for you, even if the aircraft technically has the amenities. The ones below are known to have showers on board, and they might offer the service, depending on the package you opt for and the cabin you get.

Known as the world’s biggest plane, this aircraft has premium cabins where first-class ticket holders can occasionally take a shower. Most airlines operating in Australia have some of these planes in their fleet. It is not to be confused with the Airbus A380s that may offer first-class seating but does not have a shower.

The Boeing 777-300ER is also commonly present in airlines offering first-class tickets. Remember that even if you are on this type of aircraft in first class, it doesn’t guarantee you will get a cabin with a shower. This can depend on the airline, route, and more, so you’re not guaranteed a place to shower (even if the plane technically has the amenity).

While a rare beauty amongst aircraft, this line has limited planes available. Many big airlines have at least one on their fleet, but not on all routes. Moreover, the airlines that have this type of aircraft may or may not decide to make the showers available for the passengers.

When it comes to airlines offering showers for their first-class passengers, there are several options to choose from. While the leading Australian carrier, Qantas Airways, does provide first-class tickets, showers are not included in their list of services. However, here are some non-Australian carriers that operate in Australia and feature this type of luxury service:  

Emirates is an airline company that is well-known for its top-quality services. While only two such cabins are available for the 14 Class Suites, they are fairly large and are equipped with anything you might need. Shower spa attendants are also available to ensure every expectation is met.

Like Emirates, Etihad Airways also offers shower amenities if passengers opt for the bathroom suite. Air passengers have five minutes’ worth of hot water running in the shower, so they’ll only be able to get a quick clean. Etihad has multiple types of aircraft in its fleet that offer showers, but the premium option is more common for those flying on an Airbus A380 plane.

Qatar Airways has planes that are equipped with shower cabins, such as the Boeing 77-300ER and the Airbus A380. The bathrooms are quite opulent, with waterfall showers and beautiful mood lighting. That said, the shower service is offered only on Airbus A380 and on specific flights. If you are looking for the shower experience, it’s best to talk with the airline first and check the dates or routes where it might be available.

Singapore Airlines uses Airbus A380 aircraft, which have been equipped with showers. The perk only applies to the passengers who get a suite – one of the three available. However, these suites are not always available since the service depends on the route and configuration of the flight. 

Very often, it’s difficult to predict which airline has showers, as it might depend on the route and other factors. So, it’s always a good idea to contact the airline and check firsthand if the cabin or suite has a bathroom with a shower. These are the factors that could suggest whether or not you get a shower on board:

Most airlines only offer showers for long-haul flights, usually passing 8 hours or more. During the short- or middle-haul flights, airlines deem it not worth running the showers, which is why these cabins are not offered.

The policy of the airline may also decide whether or not the passengers get showers while on board. For instance, showers are standard amenities on airlines such as Emirates, no matter the aircraft, but other companies might choose planes with no shower amenities (regardless of distance).

Air passengers may decide whether or not they want the shower option. In instances where there is a high demand for shower services, their use and availability might be limited.

As a passenger flying first class, there may be instances when you can get access to a shower. However, this depends on various factors, such as the choice of airline, the route, the aircraft, the airline’s policy and demand. So, it’s always best to talk to the airline first if having a shower is a priority for you.

Read the full article Showers In First Class Cabins: Which Airlines Have Them And Which Do Not on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Qantas have had a tumultuous few years, at least in regards to their public image. A massive post-pandemic boom combined with the controversies surrounding — and eventual replacement of — former CEO Alan Joyce, bred mixed feelings about the brand. However, a statement from new CEO Vanessa Hudson could be set to turn that right around...

Her announcements came on the same day that Australia's largest airline reported a 13% drop in first-half profits. The decline announced in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on Thursday, saw post-tax profits fall to A$869 million for the six months to December 31st, down from an even A$1 billion the period.

WATCH: Qantas Ad Makes Australia Emotional

Despite the decline, Qantas did not declare a dividend for the half but announced a share buyback of up to A$400 million, adding to the A$452 million already bought back since August last year. The airline also predicts an increase in capital expenditure of up to A$3.9 billion in the 2024-25 financial year. This all follows a record A$2.47 billion profit in the 2022-23 financial year.

Hudson, who took over from Alan Joyce in September 2023, was keen to emphasise the company's commitment to improving service levels and addressing customer feedback, pointing out that airfares have dropped by more than 10% since their 2022 peak and acknowledged the need for more affordable air travel.

In a separate written statement shared directly with customers, Hudson dropped some long-anticipated updates about what customers can expect from Qantas' flights. The most exciting of which, we think, is the introduction of WiFi on international flights. Here's her statement in full:

"Over the past few months, everyone at the Qantas Group has been working hard to improve your journeys with us. We know our people are our biggest asset and we're giving them more tools to serve you better.

If you've flown lately, hopefully you've noticed that our on-time performance is up and cancellations are down. We're listening to your feedback and we have new investments rolling out. Here are some examples:

New fleet – introducing the Airbus A220 aircraft from March 2024. The A220s have more comfortable cabins, are much quieter and have twice the range of the 717s they replace. Wi-Fi onboard – switching on international Wi-Fi from the end of 2024, coinciding with new satellites that will deliver similar connection speeds to our domestic flights. The rollout starts with our A330s followed by the 787s and A380s. Easier to deal with – a new Qantas App gives you more control over your trip, including baggage tracking. Better training for our call centre agents is helping solve issues faster. Better value – average fares have dropped more than 10 percent since peaking in December 2022 and we'll shortly announce a major investment to improve our Frequent Flyer program. Until 27 February 2024 we have a Double Points/Status Credits offer when you book a flight. Better recovery – we've increased what we provide when there are significant delays. This includes giving our people better tools to fix problems on the spot to support the amazing job they do every day.

On behalf of everyone at the Qantas Group, my sincere thanks for your support as we work to restore trust and pride in the national carrier. Please stay tuned for more improvements."

Vanessa Hudson, Qantas CEO

Are these updates enough to win you back around to Australia's most iconic brand? Or do you still have your doubts from the Joycean era? Let us know.

Read the full article Huge Changes Coming For Qantas Customers According To New CEO on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Frequent flyer points are a form of currency and, like all currencies, have a value. However, whereas it is reasonably easy to know the value of the Aussie dollar, Alan Kohler doesn't give a nightly update of frequent flyer point values on the 7.00 pm news...

Qantas Frequent Flyer is the big daddy of Australian airline loyalty schemes, with around 15 million members. The valuation of a QFF point depends on several factors, including the ability to earn, the ability to redeem, and the propensity for devaluations. However, DMARGE reckons one QFF point is worth about 1.9 cents (Australian).

What do we base that on? Firstly, QFF points have a high level of utility in Australia. They are easy to earn... and easy to burn. Qantas point redemptions start at 8,000 points plus around $50 for a 600-mile-or-less nonstop flight. That will get you from Canberra to Brisbane, Sydney to Maroochydore, and Adelaide to Melbourne. 

WATCH: Qantas Ad Makes Australia Emotional

Using that 1.9 cent figure as a jumping-off point, a point earned for less than that — and redeemed for a good or service worth more than that — is a good deal. Conversely, if you spend 3 cents to earn a point and regularly redeem that point for a good or service worth 2 cents per point, you should reconsider your relationship with QFF.

The best way to think about the 1.9 cent figure is as a benchmark. Ideally, you'd be earning most of your points for zero cost by linking your QFF with your day-to-day purchasing habits, whether you're a Dad buying dog food at Woolworths and using Everyday Rewards or a businessperson paying work bills through a payment platform linked to QFF.

The trick with any loyalty program is not to let it induce you to spend more than you usually would but to let it influence where you spend your cash. You also need to know when to say no. If a purchase is cheaper at a non-QFF point-aligned outlet, you are better off going there.

Few people in the points game would have a large stash of points accrued for free. Some of the balance would have been through easy earns while other amounts come through less-easy earns. The idea is to keep the average per-point value of your QFF points pool below that 1.9-cent figure.

While having a redemption target like a 2026 trip to London is fine, saving points simply for the point of saving them is unwise. There's nothing an airline likes more, Qantas included, than devaluing (or "enhancing", in airline-speak) a QFF point. They do this by raising the redemption cost; this is kind of like inflation, only with an added "let's screw our members over" attitude.

In raw monetary terms, the best value redemptions are long-haul flights in premium cabins. Later this week, you can still jag a last-minute business class seat on QF17 to LAX for 108,400 points plus A$342 in taxes. The cash fare is A$10,787; that's almost 10 cents of value per point redeemed — a stonking deal, especially if you accrued those points for free or at minimal cost.

Sidebar: if you can stomach the risk and have some flexibility with dates, waiting until the last minute to grab a redemption is an interesting travel hack. More capacity is coming onto the market, and the post-pandemic premium leisure travel surge is coming off the boil, which is good news for passengers looking for last-minute deals.

In contrast, doing an inter-capital hop in monkey class at the cost of 8,000 points typically generates around 1.6 cents per point redeemed — way below the 1.9 cent benchmark, and therefore, according to the points purists, you're better off paying cash...

But not everyone measures their redemptions in purely monetary terms. Plenty of people do their weekly Woolworths shop to gather points and fly a couple of times a year, maybe to see Grandma in Mildura. If you've carefully accrued your points to cover these trips, and, like a civilised human being, you go to visit Grandma because she's not going to live forever, that redemption is delivering an intrinsic value far beyond the 1.9 cents per point spent.

That's the thing about loyalty programs like QFF: the value you place on earning and redeeming points will largely depend on your personal circumstances. If you started evaluating every interaction with the program based on 1.9 cents, it would get old fairly fast.

Nevertheless, the benchmark valuation is worth keeping in the back of your mind; it's a simple tactic to make loyalty programs work for you rather than you becoming a revenue stooge for the airlines.

Read the full article How Much Are Frequent Flyer Points Actually Worth? on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Aussies love a loyalty program, and airline frequent flyer programs are no exception. Over 15 million people are members of the Qantas Frequent Flyer (QFF) program, while Virgin Australia's Velocity program has signed up almost 12 million customers...

But let's not beat around the bush here: these programs are not created to benefit customers. They are designed to drive business and revenue to the airline. To claim otherwise is just marketing spin, pure and simple.

There is a lot of consumer anger about the difficulties of redeeming flights and some of the prices charged, especially for premium cabin redemptions into markets like Europe and North America. Some of this aggro is valid, while some of it is misplaced...

The three-hour jaunt in first class between Sydney and Christchurch (or vice versa) on the Emirates A380 for the widely touted price of 64,500 points (plus about A$200 in charges) is an example of a really well-advertised deal in the QFF program. 

The problem is that QFF members have Buckley's chance of actually picking up a ticket at this price, with Qantas consistently pricing its first-class redemptions on this sector at over 280,000 points for the remainder of 2024. Unsurprisingly, this doesn't go down well with customers.

Steve Hui from iFLYFlat, a points redemption concierge service, told DMARGE that redeeming points is like going fishing: you cast the net out and see what gets caught. He says you need to be flexible and start searching for flights as early as possible.

Working about six months out, this author has recently obtained business class flights on Qantas between Sydney and Jakarta for the advertised lead-in price of 68,000 points plus around A$200 in fees. There is also an upcoming business class redemption on a Singapore Airlines A380 from Hong Kong to Sydney via Singapore purchased for 78,000 Velocity points plus around A$400 in charges.

Velocity boss Nick Rohrlach told DMARGE that its partner airlines, including Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, and ANA, deliver very good reward seat availability. "That's something we are really proud of," he said.

One of the quirks of frequent flyer redemptions everywhere is that a simple point-to-point redemption on a busy truck route, say Melbourne—Singapore, may be difficult to source or only available at a ridiculous price. But if you start the trip in a regional port such as Launceston or Newcastle, availability can open up. Equally, if you tap in Kuala Lumpur or Penang as the destination port rather than Singapore if chasing a Velocity redemption, reasonably priced fares may also mysteriously materialise.

If you find the Qantas search engine laughing in your face when you try to redeem a Sydney—London flight, starting the trip in a QantasLink port such as Orange or Bendigo can sometimes produce more satisfactory results. Or tell it you want to go to Birmingham instead of Heathrow.

The general rule is the shorter the sector, the poorer the redemption value. It's why most potential passengers want to redeem their points for expensive long-haul flights. But there are exceptions. The cash price for the short flight between Sydney and Lord Howe Island is notoriously expensive.

However, the sector is less than 600 miles, meaning you can redeem flights from 8,000 QFF points (plus around A$150 in charges). Are there any available, or is this just another Christchurch jig? The Qantas search engine shows selected dates in June when you can jag the lead in fare, with availability becoming more common after that. As Hui says, get in early.

New Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson says QFF members should start to see some changes later this year. DMARGE also asked the boss of Qantas Loyalty to contribute to this article. However, she did not respond.

Hui says even if frequent flyer members get frustrated with a lack of fairly priced redemptions, they should resist the urge to waste points on poor-value redemptions like hotel stays or points plus pay redemptions, which he describes as lousy value for money.

He says Velocity members looking for long-haul premium cabin redemptions should look at Singapore Airlines and Qatar, while Qantas frequent flyers may need to think outside the box and look at partner airlines such as the surprisingly good China Eastern and Cathay Pacific for availability. If you are sitting on a pile of points and eyeing a trip somewhere nice, iFLYFlat can help you find the best value redemption opportunities in all cabin classes.

Rohrlach says if you are new to the points game, work out how to earn points on everyday spending:

"We have had many members fund around-the-world trips exclusively by transferring their Flybuys points to Velocity."

Nick Rohrlach, Velocity CEO. Image Virgin

He also advises people to set redemption goals. If you want to fly business to Japan in 2025, work out how much it will cost and how you can earn those points. Break the target down into smaller goals, like earning 10,000 points per month.

Of course, if neither program floats your boat, there are alternatives. Two of the better ones for Australians include Singapore's Krisflyer program, which allows you to tap into redemptions across the Star Alliance network. Qatar's Avios-based Privilege Club offers the same benefits across the Oneworld alliance.

The downside of both programs is neither has the number of local partners and, therefore, point-earning opportunities that Velocity and QFF have...

Read the full article How To Make Frequent Flyer Programs Work For You on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Flying long haul to and from Australia is expensive, especially in premium cabins on the best airlines. But... if you're prepared to fly to a neighbouring country to pick up a long-haul business class flight, you can save serious money.

'Positioning' into another airport to pick up a cheaper flight is a tried and true tactic of many hard-core travellers that works for business class and other cabins alike. However, there is a trade-off here: this tactic involves another airport transit and the shorter positioning flight is often in economy class or with a low-cost airline.

On the upside, you can save big bucks, and the longer flight(s) are in premium cabins with all the associated bells and whistles... here's how it works and the airlines to keep an eye on next time you're making travel plans.

WATCH: Alan Joyce Roasts Karl Stefanovic

Several Southeast Asian cities are known for offering good value business class airfares into Europe. Let's say you want to fly to Oslo for a few weeks at the end of May, flying out of Sydney on the last weekend of the month and returning three weeks later.

Our friends at Qantas will do you a business class return on Emirates for around AUD11,500, while Qatar Airways is around AUD9,500. However, if you can get yourself to and from Manila, Emirates will sell you the return Manila–Oslo flights in business for just under AUD3,700.

Philippine Airlines, Qantas, and Cebu Pacific all fly the Sydney–Manila city pair. At time of writing, Qantas will get you up and back for just over AUD1,000 in economy (point redemptions start at 25,200 points each way), while Cebu Pacific will do a Sydney–Manila return for around AUD600. Granted, this adds a layer of complexity and time to a trip, but we are talking about savings of up to AUD6,000 here, which pays for quite a bit of fun in Oslo.

Another good Southeast Asian city to position out of is Jakarta. Qantas and Garuda Indonesia fly there from both Sydney and Melbourne. Let's say you want to fly from Melbourne to Europe, also on the last weekend in May, heading home three weekends later: The excellent Turkish Airlines offers one-stop (via Istanbul) business class flights to key European airports from around AUD3,500 return.

There are some one-stop return business fares between Melbourne and Europe starting at around AUD6,500, but these are on tier-two airlines such as China Eastern, Air India, and Sri Lankan Airlines. The top tier carriers start at around the AUD8,500 mark for return business class flights, depending on what European city you're flying into.

Again, you've got to get between Australia and Jakarta, which you can do for around AUD1,000 (in economy) on either Qantas or Garuda. You can also redeem points for those flights. But we are talking about a 50% saving.

There are no hard and fast rules here: airfares change, so what's available this week may no longer be on sale next week. But typically, premium cabin airfares out of cities like Jakarta, Denpasar, Manila, and Bangkok are substantially less than you would pay to fly from an Australian airport.

Distance is a factor. An aircraft covers fewer kilometres between Denpasar and Paris than Brisbane and Paris... but the fare difference is rarely proportional to the distance difference. The main reason is the nature of the market. These Southeast Asian cities are big markets but they're not affluent markets; the airlines have to pitch their fares to what the market will pay.

Usually, Singapore isn't included in the positioning mix because Singapore is a cashed-up city and a key airline hub. Plenty of people will pay big bucks to fly in and out. But, again, there are no hard and fast rules because you can find some surprisingly good-value fares out of Singapore.

You can often pick up Cathay Pacific return premium economy fares between Singapore and North America from around AUD2,000. The smaller Gulf carriers such as SAUDIA and Gulf Air also offer some very good premium cabin fares out of the Lion City.

Google Flights is a terrific resource and a good place to start investigating positioning flights. You can also talk to a real-life travel agent; they may be old school, but the good ones are worth their weight in gold. However, it's worth noting the potential pitfalls with positioning flights...

If you're travelling from City A to City B on one ticket and then travelling from City B to City C on another ticket, be aware that the second airline is not obliged to come to your rescue if you miss your flight because of delays with the first flight.

The simple solution is to allow ample transfer time. However, an overnight hotel stay imposes a time and financial cost. Still, if you save thousands of dollars on the airfare, the few hundred spent on an overnight stay in an airport hotel is chump change.

Positioning flights aren't for everyone, but if you're prepared to put in the legwork, they can open up premium cabin experiences at big discounts and vastly improve your overall travel experience.

Read the full article Positioning Flights: How To Get Cheap Business Class Tickets on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Does Australia need more airlines flying in? Hell yeah it does, if you go by the reactions of everybody except the Qantas C-suite crew to last year's Qatar Airways fiasco...

The Australian government's decision not to let Qatar put on more flights to Australia's busiest airports caused a storm of fury that took many by surprise, including the nothing-to-see-here federal transport minister. Six months later, the same government waved through an application by Turkish Airlines to start flights to Australia, avoiding another prolonged bullocking.

Turkish Airlines, with its massive hub in Istanbul, modern aircraft, and top-tier inflight product — if you can ignore the high-rotation brand adverts on its inflight entertainment system — is a soon-to-be addition to Australian airport departure screens, as is the return of South African Airways to Perth in April, and the start of El Al flights to Melbourne in June.

But is this enough? DMARGE asked around to see which other airlines Australians would benefit from seeing fly down under...

WATCH: Alan Joyce Roasts Karl Stefanovic

The agents at Adelaide-based Phil Hoffman Travel would like to see more European airlines fly in. They say the Lufthansa Group — which includes Swiss Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, and Brussels Airlines — would be welcome because of their extensive worldwide network beyond their hubs. The Air France & KLM Group falls into the same category.

Regular travellers on European carriers will know there are some tasty long-haul products in that mix, including a top-tier business cabin on Swiss and a fabulous first-class cabin on Air France.

British Airways is the only European carrier still flying to Australia. Flying BA used to be about as pleasant as eating a three-day-old Tesco hotdog, but the airline has raised its game on the Australian run lately, putting on aircraft with its latest Club Suites, complete with sliding doors.

Finnair also flies into Sydney daily, albeit on behalf of Qantas. However, the Singapore–Sydney sector has a particular set of Qantas-flavoured quirks, including Neil's boring-as-batsh*t salads and a Qantas-supplied mattress topper that doesn't fit the Finnair seat properly.

Ryan Soh of YouTube's Ryan So Fly channel says that except for BA, the old-school European legacy carriers no longer have a place on the Australia–Europe run. Instead, he says we need to see more Middle Eastern carriers in Australia. Ryan likes Oman Air, Saudi Arabia Airlines, and Riyadh Air.

"Oman Air is a niche boutique airline from the Middle East which has slipped under the radar of many," he told DMARGE...

"They certainly have the right aircraft to fly Muscat to Australia, and their in-flight product is some of the best in the business. Oman isn't interested in mass tourism, which explains their approach to layovers — relaxed and discerning. It's a great way to fly to and from Europe."

Ryan Soh of Ryan So Fly

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is investing billions in its airlines and tourism industry to become less dependent on oil revenues. Ryan acknowledges the prospect of travelling to or transiting through the country makes some people squeamish, but he says competitive fares and short transit times could convince many people to give them a go.

Saudi is an established legacy airline and Riyadh Air is a startup but alas, both are dry airlines. On the plus side, they have squadrons of new planes and a very good hard product. "These two airlines would be a great alternative to the present domination of Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar," Ryan said.

Neither mentioned Ethiopian Airlines, which has the equipment to fly nonstop to Australia. The airline has built a decent hub in Addis and a solid reputation for its inflight product. Ethiopian has an extensive African network as well as decent connections into Europe. It would be an interesting addition to Australian airport departure boards.

Indian low-cost powerhouse airline IndiGo is that country's biggest airline, even bigger than the soon-to-be merged Air India/Vistara combo. It has a massive backlog of undelivered aircraft, including long-range narrowbody Airbus jets capable of making it to Australia.

Aside from an extensive domestic network, it flies to masses of cities in countries surrounding India. Not everyone will want to do 12 hours on a low-cost airline flying to Delhi, but many would take it for the lowered price point. After all, not everybody has the funds, points, or motivation to park their backside in a Q suite.

New carriers bring diversity and competition to the market, which is great for passengers. But Australia's geographical position as an end-of-the-line market has always worked against it. It costs a lot of money to fly here, and there isn't a massive amount of feeder traffic for operators to tap. On the flipside, Australians like to travel and despite carrying on about high fares, seem prepared to pay them...

As long as the Aussies keep slapping down their Amex cards for flights, there's no doubt that quality operators will keep looking for opportunities in the Australian market.

Read the full article Travel Insiders Reveal The Airlines They Want To See Fly Down Under on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Two photos of Sydney Airport, taken 38 years apart, show how one part of Sydney has changed surprisingly little since the 1970s.

Sydney ain't what it used to be (see: Vice's recent piece: An Oral History of the Rise and Fall of Sydney's Once-Magical Club Scene, if you don't believe us). According to popular belief (and Melburnians), we are a city of personal trainers, bankers, wankers and real estate agents who are all simultaneously arrogant and self-loathing.

But even as Bondi's 20-cent bread rolls have become $9 spelt loaves and Kings Cross has become a ghost town, there's one thing that appears to have remained constant: the part of General Holmes Drive where you can see planes coming into land.

Bringing that thought into our brains is Instagram account @retrosydney_. @retrosydney_ posted an image two days ago which shows a Qantas Boeing 747 passing across General Holmes Drive in 1978.

Claiming to have got their information from aussieairliners.org, @retrosydney_ captioned the image: "1978: General Holmes Drive, Mascot. Looking West as a @qantas Boeing 747 passes across General Holmes Drive in 1978 in its ‘ochre’ livery."

They added: "Interestingly, this aircraft pictured here (VH-EBF) was ordered by Qantas in September 1972 and entered service in August 1973 - it was the 6th 747 to be delivered to Qantas."

"It also had been the plane to have the first baby delivered on a Qantas Flight on a trip from Singapore to Sydney in late July 1974 🤰🏻 , and also featured in the movie ‘Crocodile Dundee’ 🐊 in 1985."

@retrosydney_

Inspired, DMARGE did a little sleuthing on Pinterest and found an image of another Qantas jet crossing General Holmes Drive in 2016 (38 years later).

The two photos of General Holmes Drive show one aspect of Sydney, despite all the other New Things, has barely changed at all since 1978 – General Holmes Drive. That said: the cars were cooler in the 1970s, we, and a few Instagram commenters ("there's a few big engines there and I'm not talking about the jumbo") reckon. Oh, and @retrosydney_ claims the type of jet (The Queen Of The Skies) featured in the above image was scrapped in 2008.

Other observations from social media commenters included wishing the roads were as smooth now ("If only Sydney roads were still that smooth. Need a 4WD to go anywhere after the last few summers") and yet more pining after the cars ("that Statesman front end…..").

Find that interesting? You'll want to check out this 85 year old photo of Bondi Icebergs...

Read the full article Then & Now: Sydney Airport Photos Taken 38 Years Apart on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Qantas has caused uproar this week by kicking a Vietnam Veteran out of a business class seat he had booked and paid for so that one of their own pilots could travel in luxury to his next flight.

Qantas is renowned for having one of the nicest business-class offers in Australia, so it's no surprise that a 78-year-old Vietnam war veteran and his wife would choose to book a pair of seats for their flight to the South Australian capital of Adelaide.

Unsurprisingly, the news came as a shock to Stephen Jones and his wife, who were peacefully sipping coffee in the Qantas lounge just thirty minutes before the final leg of their journey from Melbourne to Adelaide.

But why exactly did this happen? The reason cited was a pilot's right and requirement to travel in business class, as stipulated by an enterprise agreement drawn up by Qantas. This took precedence over the Jones' pre-booked seats, despite the pilot being decades their junior.

WATCH: Soon-to-depart Qantas CEO Alan Joyce gets chippy on Australian TV:

Mr. Jones, a combat veteran who served in Vietnam in the 1960s, shared his dissatisfaction with the situation during an interview with Melbourne's 3AW radio. He revealed that, after submitting a letter of complaint, he was offered 5000 Frequent Flyer points as compensation and received an apology.

However, Mr Jones was also quick to note that the pilot who took his seat beside his wife did so without any form of acknowledgement in person, let alone an apology. Understandably, Mr. Jones declined the offer of Frequent Flyer points, saying:

"I don't think anything is going to change until there are ramifications for Qantas or costs for Qantas when they upset their customers."

Stephen Jones

According to Qantas, the airline was obliged to provide the pilot with a business class seat due to a pre-established enterprise agreement and failure to do so could have resulted in the cancellation of the pilot's scheduled flight from Adelaide, as reported by News.

Legal expert Justin Lawrence — Partner at Henderson Ball Lawyers — shed light on the predicament, explaining the legal loophole that means there is little that customers can do in such cases. This practice is considered standard operating procedure within the airline industry, as Lawrence outlines:

"Unfortunately, their terms of carriage allow them to do this sort of thing – this happens so often they've actually got a term for it, buckle up, they call this 'involuntary downgrading.'"

Justin Lawrence

He went on to describe how airlines tend to overbook business class or first class, resulting in the regular removal of passengers to accommodate internal crew members. Sadly, this takes place across the industry and isn't unique to Qantas. Bafflingly, passengers cannot and should not assume they will always be seated in the class they paid for, as last-minute changes can legally occur at the airline's discretion.

In Europe, where mandated compensation exists for such downgrades, Australia does not have similar regulations in place.

Whether the newly incoming Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson — who temporarily takes over from the retiring Alan Joyce while a permanent replacement is found — looks to lead the Australian aviation industry out of this predicament by making changes at the airline remains to be seen.

While Mr Jones expressed sympathy for pilots' need to rest comfortably between flights, he described the experience as "unsettling." While the fact this happened to an elderly person — let alone a veteran — the real offence here is the underlying legal and regulatory framework that allows airlines to do this.

I'm no legal mastermind and I won't pretend to be, but I firmly believe that people should get what they pay for and what has been advertised to them. This is only more true in an economic climate that bites down on flyers across the globe as ticket prices continue to soar.

Qantas has made a string of silly mistakes in recent months and years, but this one really isn't a good look. Do better.

Read the full article Vietnam Veteran Stephen Jones Booted From Qantas Business Class So Young Pilot Could Enjoy Luxury Seat on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!

Luxury travel is evolving rapidly, but nothing has ever reached the lofty heights the iconic Concorde once attained. Now, however, experts have identified the airline set to be its successor.

You might think that this all-business-class airline or even the first-class-only challenger carrier is set to become to next big thing in luxury air travel, but according to an article from The Telegraph's resident travel expert John Alridge, travel's newest 'ultimate status symbol' may be little more mundane than you'd thinnk.

In a fascinating article that covers all aspects of what flying could look like fifteen years from now — from passports being ditched in favour of iris scans and Beijing's rise to prominence as the world's busiest airport — the piece calls out one particular product that is set to become the next Concorde in the way it embodies the cutting edge of luxury travel.

WATCH: Throwback to when luxury travel suddenly felt a little less luxurious...

However, before any die-hard planespotters get carried away and start diving for their binoculars, the thing replacing Concorde as travel's hottest commodity may not actually be a plane. As Alridge calls out pretty explicitly in this article, supersonic travel is...

"Stuck on the tarmac. A commercial successor to Concorde is unlikely to race through the earth’s atmosphere because its vast fuel burn per passenger will make the guilt too hard to offset."

John Alridge

However, just because it won't come in the form of a shiny, pencil-shaped jet doesn't mean that a suitably luxurious travel product won't capture the hearts and minds of travel addicts everywhere. Alridge predicts that 'the ultimate air travel status symbol' is actually going to be...

"Qantas first class, non-stop London and New York to Sydney and Melbourne. $20,000 [USD] return."

John Alridge

Given its predicted price-tag of $20,000 USD each way — which equates to around $31,000 AUD at present time — it won't just be one of the most expensive and indulgent air travel products out there, but the Sydney to London Heathrow variant is also set to become the world's longest flight.

The reason that air travel's fanciest product is set to be a seat rather than a vessel is a predictable one that has dominated the discourse around flying for a number of years: climate change.

Given the massive carbon footprint whipped up by planes that are designed to go faster rather than further — especially those like Concorde that do so whilst carrying fewer passengers — such projects have become PR nightmares for carriers and, as a result, not especially financially viable.

In line with this, the article also notes how domestic flights of less than one hour are likely to be banned by the EU, forcing travellers to take far less carbon-intensive trains to get around. While this may seem like a drag for some, the vast number of improvements to the airport process — including streamlined, near non-existent security measures — should more than make up for it. In short, you'll be flying less but flying better.

For anyone who was hoping for a new supersonic travel option, we're sorry to let you down... but judging by the quality of Qantas' first class, you may be travelling slower but at least you know you'll be travelling in style.

Read the full article Qantas’ Non-Stop First-Class Flights Poised to Redefine Luxury Air Travel on DMARGE. Don’t miss it!