Good news, South Australian travellers!

Adelaide airport finally has an international departure lounge with the opening of the stylish Plaza Premium space today.

The independent facility is expected to be used by several airlines that fly out of Adelaide for their business class passengers and frequent flyers. 

It also welcomes pay-per-use visitors, who can currently purchase entry online for $39 for 1 hour or $71 for 2 hours.

Complimentary access is available to holders of the American Express Platinum Card.

The lounge features an array of seating choices for relaxing, dining and working. 

Guests can enjoy barista coffee, snacks and freshly prepared dishes showcasing local and international cuisine, including vegan options.

There’s also a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks available.

Amenities include shower facilities, charging stations and fast Wi-Fi.

The lounge is open every day for the morning peak from 7am to 10am.

That currently suits passengers travelling on the morning services of Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Malaysia Airlines, but not those on the overnight Qatar Airways flights, who continue to miss out. Hopefully this will change as more airlines schedule evening services.

For more info and to book, visit Plaza Premium here.

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Victoria is getting another international route thanks to Qantas, which is starting a direct service from Melbourne to Jakarta.

From April 16, 2023, Qantas will fly between Melbourne and Jakarta three times a week using its spacious Airbus A330 planes.

These aircraft have excellent lie-flat seats in business class, arranged in a 1-2-1 layout, while economy class is 2-4-2.

This new route adds to the existing Sydney-Jakarta service, boosting the number of seats to and from Jakarta by over 6,600 per month.

This will help boost business and tourism connections between Australia and Indonesia.

It’s also going to be a hit with people travelling to and from other big Indonesian cities like Surabaya and Medan.

This Melbourne-Jakarta route is the third new international route Qantas has added out of Melbourne since borders opened back up. They’ve also started flying to Delhi and Dallas Fort Worth to keep up with the demand for travel.

Qantas Domestic and International CEO Andrew David said the airline was excited to be expanding its international network from Melbourne.

“Victoria is an incredibly important part of our network and we’re seeing strong demand for travel to and from Melbourne,” Mr David said.

“We expect these flights to be popular with Victoria’s large Indonesian expat community wanting to visit family and friends back home as well as offering a new gateway for travellers looking to explore the region.

To celebrate the new route, Qantas is offering a special fare starting from $899 return, available until 7 February 2023, unless sold out prior.

There is also good availability of reward seats in economy and business class, so snap them up!

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It’s a great day for aviation in Australia.

The new low-cost carrier Bonza took its maiden flight today, flying between the Sunshine Coast and the Whitsundays.

It’s a major milestone for the airline, which is trying to break into a competitive domestic aviation market.

The key to its possible success: the vast majority of its proposed routes are not currently served by any airline.

As part of Bonza’s phased rollout of flight releases, travellers are now able to book flights to 12 destinations on 15 regional routes. 

From the Sunshine Coast, these include:

• Albury: Fares starting from $69 per person one way, 2 flights per week
• Avalon: Fares starting from $79 per person one way, 3 flights per week
• Cairns: Fares starting from $79 per person one way, 5 flights per week
• Coffs Harbour: Fares starting from $49 per person one way, 2 flights per week
• Mackay: Fares starting from $59 per person one way, 3 flights per week
• Mildura: Fares starting from $79 per person one way, 2 flights per week
• Newcastle: Fares starting from $59 per person one way, 4 flights per week
• Port Macquarie: Fares starting from $49 per person one way, 2 flights per week
• Rockhampton: Fares starting from $49 per person one way, 3 flights per week
• Townsville: Fares starting from $69 per person one way, 4 flights per week
• Whitsunday Coast: Fares starting from $59 per person one way, 3 flights per week

In addition, travellers can fly between:

• Cairns <> Rockhampton: Fares starting from $59 per person one way, 2 flights per week
• Cairns <> Mackay: Fares starting from $49 per person one way, 2 flights per week
• Newcastle <> Whitsunday Coast: Fares starting from $79 per person one way, 2 flights per week
• Rockhampton <> Townsville: Fares starting from $49 per person one way, 3 flights per week

Bonza launch routes

Bonza’s fleet comprises Boeing 737 MAX aircraft with an all-economy layout.

The only place to book airfares direct is on the FlyBonza app. This is where customers will also check in and access their boarding passes – eliminating the need for printing and reducing the need to check-in at the airport.

Once onboard, the retail offering, travel information and more will be available exclusively through the app. This includes purchasing food and beverages, which will be delivered directly to customers’ seats.

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Qantas is giving travelers even more ways to explore India by growing their codeshare partnership with IndiGo.

They started this tie-up last August, teaming up with India’s biggest domestic airline to help passengers easily get from Qantas flights from Sydney and Melbourne to cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, and Goa via Bengaluru and Delhi.

Now, they’re taking it to the next level. Qantas customers can now connect to eight more cities in India, making it 21 in total from Delhi and Bengaluru. Plus, there are over 250 new IndiGo flights to choose from.

The new domestic codeshare destinations in India are:

• Guwahati
• Indore
• Chandigarh
• Mangalore
• Jaipur
• Nagpur
• Thiruvananthapuram
• Visakhapatnam

The existing codeshare destinations are:

• Ahmedabad
• Amritsar
• Bengaluru
• Chennai
• Delhi
• Goa
• Mumbai
• Kochi
• Kolkata
• Hyderabad
• Lucknow
• Patna
• Pune

Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn and redeem points on codeshare flights, and IndiGo recognises Qantas elite status with benefits like priority check-in and priority baggage.

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Virgin Australia is ending the year with a bang by announcing a new international route: a daily return Cairns-Tokyo (Haneda) service commencing 28 June 2023.

This is a major milestone for the airline as it continues its post-pandemic recovery.

The Cairns-Tokyo route will be operated by a brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, with seating expected to be similar to Virgin’s existing narrowbody fleet (recliner business class seats in a 2-2 layout, and economy seats in a 3-3 layout).

Flight VA77 is scheduled to depart Cairns at 1.15pm and arrive at Haneda 7 hours and 45 minutes later at 8.00pm. The return flight VA78 is scheduled to depart Haneda at 9.45pm and arrive in Cairns at 6.15am.

Economy guests will be able to purchase food onboard as well as pillows, blankets and amenity kits – all of which will be complimentary for business class travellers.

Virgin Australia will also boost its partnership with Japan’s largest airline All Nippon Airways (ANA). The airlines will offer more codeshare flights and give each other’s elite customers reciprocal loyalty benefits.

To celebrate the news, Virgin Australia has fares from as low as $699. Reward seats are available in both economy and business class, so if you’re interested, snap them up!

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