Good news, Aussie travellers!

The days of printing, filling out, signing, and physically witnessing passport renewal forms are numbered as the federal government looks to shift the passport renewal process online.

The move is part of broader work to enable statutory declarations and deeds to be digitally executed in a consistent manner around the country.

By transitioning from traditional paper-based methods to a digital approach, the government intends to eliminate the need for wet ink signatures and in-person witnesses.

This modernisation will not only streamline passport renewals but also set the stage for additional government services to move online.

The myGov portal, which currently provides just 15 services, will become the central online hub for accessing various Australian government services, including passport renewals.

Since document execution is overseen by the states and territories, the federal attorney-general’s department is working on legislation to establish a consistent nationwide approach.

The completion of legal and development work is expected within the next 12 months. Following this, services that rely on solemn declarations, including passport renewals, will be integrated into the myGov platform.

Users will be required to verify their digital identity using the myGov ID service, managed by the Australian Taxation Office.

Legislation to include state governments and businesses in this identity service is also being prepared.

Modelling suggest that this digital shift will result in significant time and cost savings for small businesses and individuals.

It’s definitely a big win for travellers, who can look forward to fewer of those annoying trips to the post office.

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United Airlines has just announced its biggest South Pacific network expansion in history, connecting the continental U.S. to the region like never before.

The move will see the airline operate a whopping 66 flights between the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand every week next northern winter – an increase of 40%.

The Star Alliance member attributes its successful expansion to strong partnerships with Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia, which provide easy connectivity across the region and reciprocal benefits for frequent flyers.

The expansion will also ramp up competition with Qantas on several routes – which is great news for consumers.

Starting December 1 2023, United will be the first and only carrier to offer nonstop flights between San Francisco and Christchurch, connecting the U.S. directly to the South Island of New Zealand.

The new route will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner three times a week.

The airline is set to become the largest U.S. carrier to serve Auckland with four new weekly flights from Los Angeles. The Los Angeles-Auckland route, operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, will commence on October 28 and will complement the airline’s existing San Francisco-Auckland route.

United will also become the largest carrier between the U.S. and Brisbane, with three weekly Los Angeles-Brisbane flights starting on November 29, also on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, and in direct competition with Qantas.

The airline’s existing San Francisco-Brisbane Boeing 787-9 route will become a daily service from October 28, while San Francisco-Sydney on the Boeing 777-300ER will go twice daily, again increasing competition with Qantas.

Lastly, United is boosting capacity between San Francisco and Melbourne from October 28 by switching the aircraft to its largest airplane, the 777-300ER, adding nearly 100 daily seats to each departure.

Virgin Australia Velocity Points can be used to book seats with United.

Reward seats on the new routes are being added to the system and, as usual, economy is easier to find than business class.

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Starting in July, Fiji Airways will be offering direct flights between Canberra and Nadi, providing ACT residents with an easy way to reach the tropical paradise.

With twice-weekly flights on Tuesdays and Fridays from July, the airline plans to increase the frequency to three times a week in October.

This new connection also offers passengers the option to continue on to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Honolulu or destinations in the South Pacific.

Fiji Airways will operate the Canberra flights on a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, featuring recliner seats in business class.

These aircraft are becoming available due to the delivery of new A350s, which will fly to North America.

Flight FJ950 will depart Canberra at 1:35 pm and arrive in Nadi at 7:40 pm, while flight FJ951 will depart Nadi at 9:15 am and reach Canberra at 12:20 pm.

Fares are now on sale from as low as $499 return.

All economy fares include meals, beverages, inflight entertainment and carry-on baggage up to 7kg. 

Checked baggage is extra on the cheapest economy fare.

You can earn Qantas Points on paid fares, as well as use points to book seats with the airline.

Flying Canberra-Nadi return will set you back 36,000 Qantas Points in economy or 83,000 in business class, plus $235 in taxes and fees.

To fly to North America, you’ll need 83,800 points in economy or 216,800 in business class for a return fare, plus modest taxes and fees.

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Qantas Frequent Flyer members can no longer earn points when booking restaurants online after the airline ended its partnership with the booking platform Quandoo on 1 April.

The partnership launched 2019 after the previous iteration of Qantas Restaurants was similarly shut down.

The collaboration with Quandoo let Qantas Frequent Flyers earn 100 points per person, per booking across 18,000 restaurant partners in over 12 countries.

This was a popular and very simple way to earn extra points ‘on the ground’.

Now that it’s gone, there’s no other simple way to earn Qantas Points on restaurant bookings.

The only exception is Qantas’ separate partnership with the Seagrass Hospitality Group, which includes restaurants such as The Meat & Wine Co, 6Head, Hunter & Barrel, Ribs & Burgers and Italian Street Kitchen.

There, members can continue to earn up to 3 points per dollar spent.

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Perth Airport is notorious for leaving both tourists and locals scratching their heads, trying to figure out which terminal they need.

The airport’s website helpfully states that the airport has two international terminals (T1 and T3) and four domestic terminals (T1, T2, T3 and T4). No joke.

While every other international airline operates out of T1, Qantas is doing its own thing, running both domestic and international services from the separate T3/T4, which are a 10-minute drive away and have limited flight capacity.

That’s holding Qantas back from launching new routes, like those it flagged to South Africa and Indonesia in 2022 but then scrapped due to capacity problems.

The Western Australian government and Perth Airport really want Qantas to pack up and move to T1, opening the door to more non-stop overseas flights and boosting tourism.

Qantas signed an in-principle agreement to move to T1 by 2025, but that was interrupted by the pandemic. Now, there’s no new date, which is throwing a wrench in the airport’s redevelopment plans and hurting WA’s tourism scene.

Back in 2019, Perth Airport announced a whopping $2.5 billion upgrade to T1, making room for Qantas and almost doubling yearly passenger numbers. In addition, a new train line recently opened which takes passengers from the city to the airport near T1 (but far from Qantas’ T3/T4).

So why won’t Qantas play ball? Well, it wants the airport to invest more in its current T3 setup, including adding new biosecurity measures, while T1 is being finished. This would let Qantas start flying to Indonesia and South Africa sooner.

Perth Airport doesn’t want to do that. And because of the standoff, the redevelopment of T1 has been delayed.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has big dreams for Perth, wanting to turn it into an important hub, but that can’t happen without reaching an agreement with the airport.

Meanwhile, the WA government is growing increasingly frustrated. Tourism Minister Roger Cook has been urging both parties to sort things out ASAP. He thinks this whole drama is holding back Western Australia in terms of tourism and business – which, of course, is true.

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