Winter is coming, and what better way to embrace the chill than to plan a delightful getaway?

This year, folks from Albury-Wodonga will have a new, direct link to South Australia, thanks to Qantas’ latest seasonal route connecting Albury and Adelaide.

Kicking off from the 8th of July and running until the 25th of September 2022, the national carrier has announced it will operate two weekly return flights between the two cities. The flights will be run on their 50-seat Q300 aircraft.

This new service will be the only direct connection between South Australia and Albury. It’s set to save travellers more than three hours on a return flight compared to alternative flight options via Sydney or Melbourne.

This new route is a boon for South Australians, offering a gateway to their nearest snowfields – Falls Creek and Hotham in Victoria – just in time for the ski season. So, if you’ve been itching to hit the slopes, this new route might just be your ticket.

This addition means Albury will now have direct connections to four capital cities with Qantas – Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and now Adelaide. It’s the first time in the airline’s history, making Albury one of the most connected regional centres.

And the good news doesn’t stop there. Qantas is also planning to up their game on the Albury-Brisbane route, increasing return services from 7 to 10 each week. This response comes due to strong demand on the route since Queensland’s border reopened late last year.

To sweeten the deal, Qantas is offering special fares on the new route starting from $179 one-way.

These fares are up for grabs until 22 April 2022, unless sold out before then.

Passengers can also look forward to Qantas’ premium service, with complimentary food and drinks, baggage, and lounge access in Adelaide before they fly out.

And don’t worry about lugging your ski gear around – ski and snowboard equipment can be included within the checked baggage allowance.

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Qantas and Jetstar will be launching new direct routes to India and Korea later this year, fueling New South Wales’ post-COVID tourism recovery.

Sydney to Bengaluru

Starting from the 14th of September, Qantas will be operating four weekly return flights from Sydney to Bengaluru, previously known as Bangalore.

With these flights, Qantas will become the first airline to offer non-stop flights between Australia and southern India.

The introduction of these flights will shave nearly three hours off the current quickest travel time from Sydney to Bengaluru.

The city of Bengaluru, a burgeoning technology and financial hub, hosts a population of 13 million people with strong ties to Australia, which are likely to strengthen further given the recent Australia-India free trade agreement.

Qantas will operate four weekly return flights from Sydney to Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore) from 14 September, using its widebody Airbus A330 aircraft.

These will be the first non-stop flights between Australia and southern India by any airline and will cut almost three hours off the current fastest travel time from Sydney to Bengaluru, a growing technology and financial services hub.

Meanwhile, Qantas is set to continue offering up to five flights a week between Melbourne and Delhi, positioning itself as the only airline providing direct flights between Australia and both northern and southern India.

New codeshare agreement

In a positive development, Qantas is planning a codeshare agreement with IndiGo, India’s largest domestic carrier.

This agreement will open up one-stop access to more than 50 Indian cities for Qantas customers.

Qantas Frequent Flyers will also reap the benefits, with the opportunity to earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights.

Additional perks for tiered members will include priority check-in, extra baggage allowance, and priority baggage.

Jetstar customers will also get in on the action, with the ability to book connecting flights on IndiGo services via the Jetstar Connect platform from late April.

South Korea

As for South Korea, both Qantas and Jetstar are set to launch direct flights to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport later this year.

Jetstar is slated to become the only low-cost carrier to fly direct to South Korea from Sydney, with services commencing from the 2nd of November.

Qantas will also return to Seoul with direct flights from Sydney beginning on the 10th of December, marking the first Qantas scheduled service to Seoul since January 2008.

These new direct services reflect the growing popularity of South Korea as a destination among Australians and the consistent ranking of Australia as a top desired destination for South Korean travellers.

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Virgin Australia continues to reposition itself as a ‘mid-market’ airline with today’s announcement that it has slashed its regular ‘non-sale’ business class fares by up to 60 per cent.

Virgin Australia one-way business class fares are now available from as low as $299. These fares continue to include all the ‘bells and whistles’ travellers expect, including:

• lounge access (in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Canberra and Perth)
• priority check-in and boarding
• higher checked baggage allowances
• plated meals and beverages including beer, wine and spirits
• priority baggage delivery
• higher Velocity Points and Status Credits earn, and more.

Virgin operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet with two rows of business class seats at the front in a 2-2 layout.

Here are the new one-way base rates across the country:

• Melbourne <> Sydney $299
• Sydney <> Brisbane $299
• Melbourne <>Brisbane $299
• Hobart <> Sydney $309
• Brisbane <> Cairns $309
• Brisbane <> Canberra $309
• Melbourne <> Gold Coast $299
• Gold Coast <> Canberra $309
• Sydney <> Gold Coast $299
• Adelaide <> Hobart $309
• Adelaide <> Brisbane $359
• Adelaide <> Gold Coast $359
• Melbourne <> Sunshine Coast $359
• Sydney <> Hamilton Island $409
• Cairns <> Perth $409
• Perth <> Broome $409
• Hobart <> Brisbane $459
• Adelaide <> Perth $459
• Sydney <> Cairns $459
• Brisbane <> Darwin $559
• Melbourne <> Cairns $609
• Brisbane <> Perth $1059
• Melbourne <> Perth $1159
• Sydney <> Perth $1209

It’s great to see Virgin Australia introduce such a competitive offering into the market, heaping pressure on Qantas and Rex to up their game.

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Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program can once again be used to book business class reward seats with Singapore Airlines.

Since international flying resumed, only Singapore Airlines economy seats have been bookable with Velocity Points (and we’re still waiting on premium economy and first class seat availability).

Flying business class with Singapore Airlines is one of the best uses of Velocity Points.

The airline is top-rated with an excellent international network and convenient flight options for Australians travelling to Europe, Asia and elsewhere.

Singapore Airlines’ business class products are among the best in the world.

In business, passengers not only enjoy comfortable and spacious seats, but the airline is also renowned for its excellent service.

Taxes and fees on reward bookings are also modest.

You can search for and book seats via the Velocity website. For more complex itineraries (such as multi-city bookings) you may need to call the Velocity contact centre.

Virgin Australia says that the ability to transfer points between KrisFlyer and Velocity (which was turned off when the pandemic started) is expected to resume “shortly”.

This is a welcome step forward for Virgin Australia as it continues to recover from its pandemic troubles.

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Great news for American Express Card Members travelling overseas from Sydney and Melbourne: Amex has reopened its lounges at the two airports now that international travel has bounced back.

The American Express Lounge offers guests a stylish place to relax before their flights, with complimentary food and drinks, wi-fi and other amenities available.

The American Express lounge in Sydney T1 opened in October 2019 and is three times larger than the former space.

Amex Lounge Sydney

Melbourne T2 welcomed a brand new Amex lounge in March 2018.

Amex Lounge Melbourne

Amex Card Members with unused lounge entries from 2021 can now use them until 30 June 2022. They have been automatically carried over, which you’ll be able to enjoy in addition to the usual two entries you will have received for 2022.

A reminder that children get in for free.

For more information about access rules, visit Amex here.

Looking for an Amex card that gets you into the lounge? Check out the reviews of our favourite cards here.

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Exciting news, Qantas frequent flyers!

Qantas has announced it will launch direct flights from Melbourne to Dallas later this year.

From 2 December 2022, the airline will operate four weekly return flights between Melbourne and the major US hub Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

Qantas will deploy its Boeing 787 Dreamliners on this route featuring economy, premium economy and business class.

These are the first direct flights by any airline between the two cities and follows the success of Qantas’ longstanding Sydney-Dallas Fort Worth route.

Dallas Fort Worth is home to Qantas’ partner American Airlines, providing connections between Australia and over 200 cities across the US, Canada, Mexico and South America.

Fares are now on sale and reward seats are available in all classes, so snap them up!

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