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Qantas extends London flights via Darwin

Kris
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Qantas extends London flights via Darwin

If you’ve been wondering about Qantas’ Kangaroo Route, there’s some news you might be interested in.

In response to the ongoing uncertainties surrounding the reopening of the West Australian border and the complexities of passenger testing requirements via Singapore, Qantas has decided to extend its route to London via Darwin.

Initially, this was a temporary move by Qantas when international travel resumed in November last year, and Western Australia was still in lockdown mode.

The airline rerouted its Perth to London service through Darwin, which turned out to be quite the success.

Working closely with the Northern Territory Government, Qantas was able to set up Darwin as an alternative hub.

This strategic move allowed passengers to transit through the Territory capital, either returning home to Australia or jetting off overseas to reunite with loved ones.

The plan was to revert to the Perth-London service via Perth this April. However, with the West Australian Government still playing coy about their reopening date, Qantas has decided to keep the route via Darwin operational at least until June 2022.

That means more opportunities for passengers to experience the unique charm of the Northern Territory.

To make the transit process even more seamless for passengers, Qantas will also continue operating the Sydney to London flight via Darwin, not Singapore, until June 2022.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce was full of praise for the NT Government, whose support made it possible for Qantas to keep the vital Australian-UK route alive.

Currently, Qantas operates daily flights from both Melbourne and Sydney to London via Darwin on its 787 Dreamliner.

If you’re looking to make a journey between these cities, why not take the opportunity to check out the wonders of the Top End on your way? It’s a little detour that promises a lot of adventure!

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Qantas slashes cost of hotels and holidays booked with points

Kris
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0
Qantas slashes cost of hotels and holidays booked with points

In a bid to provide more value to its loyal members, Qantas has announced a significant improvement to its frequent flyer program.

Effective immediately, members will need 30 to 45 per cent fewer points for all bookings made through Qantas Hotels and Qantas Holidays. This is a permanent change that aims to deliver more per point, making the 13 million members of the program stretch their points further.

This adjustment to the frequent flyer program works to complement the benefits that members already enjoy when they fly with Qantas.

It’s great news for anyone with a healthy balance of Qantas Points, and here’s why:

  • For those who love bundling their flights and accommodations, you’re in luck. When combining accommodation and Qantas or Jetstar flights in one booking across all Qantas Holidays packages, you’ll now require 45 per cent fewer points.
  • Booking Qantas Hotels just got a whole lot more rewarding. You’ll now need 30 per cent fewer points across over 440,000 hotels (excludes classic hotel rewards).

Additionally, there’s a sweet deal for those making use of Points Plus Pay on flight bookings.

Frequent flyers will need 20 per cent fewer points for bookings made before the end of April 2022, for travel up until April 2023.

When booking hotels, you now get around 0.86 cents of value per point, up from around 0.6 cents previously (for example, I just looked up a room that costs $261 per night, which can be paid with 30,307 points. Due to a special offer, that’s actually cheaper than booking it as a classic reward, which costs 33,000 points!).

When booking a holiday package,  you can get over 1 cent of value per point – which is actually a decent deal.

Of course, you can get more value from using points for flights, especially in premium cabins.

For example, an economy flight from Sydney to Perth costs 18,000 points + $44 as a classic reward. Depending on the cash price of a seat, you’re likely getting 1-2 cents of value per point.

Meanwhile, a business class flight from Sydney to Melbourne costs 18,400 points + $40, which means you’re easily getting several cents of value per point, as this fare usually costs at least $600.

If you don’t want to (or can’t) spend points on flights, then hotels and holiday packages are the next best option. You’ll certainly get more value this way than spending points on gift vouchers or at bp.

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You can now spend Qantas Points at bp – but the value isn’t great

Kris
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You can now spend Qantas Points at bp – but the value isn’t great

Qantas has introduced a new way for frequent flyers to spend their hard-earned Qantas Points.

Yes, another one!

You can now use points to pay for fuel and in-store purchases at bp.

This is a new dimension to the existing Qantas-bp partnership, which already lets customers earn Qantas Points on purchases.

Spending points at bp sounds relatively easy:

  1. Fill up on fuel or shop in-store at a participating bp
  2. Scan your digital Qantas Frequent Flyer card from the Qantas app, Apple Wallet or Google Pay at the counter
  3. Select ‘accept’ when prompted on the pinpad to use points
  4. Enter your unique, 4-digit Reward Code displayed on your digital Qantas Frequent Flyer card in the pinpad to finalise your transaction

The Reward Code is a new feature which is now visible on your digital card. It’s different to your Qantas log-in pin and changes each time you use it, for security purposes.

When using Qantas Points at bp, you can pay for $10 of purchases with 1,900 points. That means you’re getting 0.53 cents of value per point – which is on the low side of redemptions.

For example, 19,000 points would pay for $100 at bp – but the same amount of points could get you an economy flight from Sydney to Perth (18,000 points + $44) or a business class flight from Sydney to Melbourne (18,400 points + $40), which is a much better deal.

Even redeeming points for hotels or wine via Qantas could bag you more value than at bp.

We always recommend evaluating all your options for using points so you can get the most benefit.

Qantas plans to roll out the ability to spend points at other retailers in the future. I expect the value proposition to be similar.

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Join Virgin Australia’s Velocity program and earn double points on your first flight

Kris
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Join Virgin Australia’s Velocity program and earn double points on your first flight

If you’re not yet a member of Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer loyalty program, you can now join and earn double points on your first flight.

Velocity is free to join and earning points is easy. As well as on flights, you can earn Velocity Points with a range of partners in the retail, travel and finance sectors.

With the current promotion, simply join Velocity as a new member by 30 September 2022, then book and take an eligible flight within 90 days to earn double points. Make sure to enter your Velocity membership number at the time of booking.

An eligible flight is a flight marketed and operated by Virgin Australia (i.e. not a codeshare service) and booked and ticketed in a fare class that normally accrues points (i.e. not a reward booking).

You should allow up to 4 weeks after completion of travel for the bonus Velocity Points to be allocated.

For more info on this promo and to sign up, visit Velocity here.

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Get free international seat selection by booking directly with Qantas

Kris
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Get free international seat selection by booking directly with Qantas

Good news, overseas travellers!

Qantas has added two new benefits for customers who book international flights directly with the airline via its website or app.

First up, all Qantas Frequent Flyer members can now choose seats for free, so long as they’ve added their QFF number to the booking (if you’re not a member, join for free here).

Previously, some Qantas customers had to pay for seat selection, such as Bronze frequent flyers on the cheapest fares.

Now, so long as you’ve added your QFF number to the booking, this will be free (though you’ll still have to pay for prized seats like in exit rows.)

Be aware that this benefit is only available for flights departing Australia.

It’s already free to choose seats on domestic flights.

The second perk Qantas has introduced is free cancellations of bookings within 24 hours, with full refunds.

This is handy if you have a quick change of mind.

Bear in mind that Qantas also has a ‘Same Day No Mistake’ policy that lets you rectify a mistake on your booking by calling the airline by midnight the same day (with no need to cancel it).

And remember, to access these benefits, book directly with Qantas via its website or app.

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Singapore Airlines extends miles, elite benefits for a third year

Kris
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Singapore Airlines extends miles, elite benefits for a third year

Great news for Singapore Airlines frequent flyers and those sitting on piles of KrisFlyer miles expiring in 2022: the airline is once again extending a range of benefits and the validity of miles due to the impact of the pandemic.

Extension of KrisFlyer Miles, PPS Rewards and KrisFlyer Milestone Rewards

If you have KrisFlyer miles expiring between January 2022 to December 2022, they are eligible for a 6-month extension. This extension will be processed automatically, and no action is required on your part. This means that no miles will expire in 2022, and extended miles will only begin expiring from January 2023.

This also applies to miles that have been previously extended. For example, miles that originally expire in January 2022 will be extended by 6 months to July 2022. In July 2022, if you still haven’t used these miles, they will be extended by another 6 months to January 2023.

Rewards earned from the PPS Rewards and KrisFlyer Milestone Rewards that are due to expire in 2022 will be extended to 31 December 2022.

Extension of PPS Club and KrisFlyer Elite Memberships, Rollover of Elite Miles

All PPS Club and KrisFlyer Elite statuses that are due to expire between March 2022 and February 2023 will be automatically extended for another year.

Elite miles earned in the 12 months prior to the extension will be credited back into members’ accounts after the extension to help you requalify for status in the following membership year.

More information about these changes is available here.

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Virgin Australia cancels flights and suspends routes as COVID hits staffing and demand

Kris
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Virgin Australia cancels flights and suspends routes as COVID hits staffing and demand

Virgin Australia has cancelled a quarter of its flights scheduled for January and February due to the effects of COVID on staffing and travel demand.

The airline said it would reduce frequencies on busy routes and temporarily suspend 10 routes from late January. Affected customers will be moved to alternative flights or may be eligible for a credit or refund.

“Virgin Australia is dedicated to the communities that we serve and will resume these flights as soon as possible,” Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said in a statement.

“Although we don’t know when this wave will pass, we do know that as we make the shift to living with COVID-19 there will continue to be changes in all our lives.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to any guest impacted by the changes to our flight schedule during this time.”

The temporarily suspended routes include:

  • Adelaide to Darwin – from January 25 with an anticipated return on June 22
  • Adelaide to Cairns – from January 25 with an anticipated return on June 23
  • Adelaide to Sunshine Coast – from January 24 with an anticipated return on March 29
  • Coffs Harbour to Melbourne – from January 24 with an anticipated return on March 31
  • Hamilton Island to Melbourne – anticipated return on March 24
  • Sydney to Townsville – from January 25 with an anticipated return on June 23
  • Melbourne to Townsville – from January 25 with an anticipated return on June 21
  • Gold Coast to Launceston – from January 25 with an anticipated return on March 29
  • Gold Coast to Hobart – from January 24 with an anticipated return on March 30
  • Sydney to Fiji – from January 31 with an anticipated return on March 10.

For more information about Virgin’s change and cancellation policy, visit its website here.

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Qantas chooses Airbus over Boeing for domestic fleet renewal

Kris
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0
Qantas chooses Airbus over Boeing for domestic fleet renewal

In a major announcement, Qantas has named the Airbus A320neo and Airbus A220 families as the preferred aircraft for its long-term domestic narrow-body fleet overhaul.

The airline is expected to make a firm commitment to order 40 aircraft — 20 A321XLR (extra long-range) and 20 A220 aircraft — from Airbus by the end of FY22. This decision comes after extensive discussions with employees about the operations of these new aircraft types and a final green light from the Qantas Board.

Qantas has also secured an additional 94 purchase right options on aircraft over a period extending beyond 10 years. As its current fleet of Boeing 737-800s and 717s are gradually retired, these options will provide the airline with flexibility to manage its fleet.

This deal is an extension of an existing agreement between Jetstar and Airbus for over 100 aircraft from the A320neo family. The twist in this new agreement is the combination of these two orders, giving the Group a whopping total of 299 deliveries from both the A320 and A220 families. These aircraft can be drawn down as required over the next decade and beyond for Qantas, QantasLink, and Jetstar.

Pending finalisation, this deal is set to go down in history as the largest aircraft order ever placed in Australian aviation.

The A321XLR is capable of carrying around 15 per cent more passengers per flight than the airline’s current B737-800s, making it an ideal choice for high-traffic routes between cities like Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. Furthermore, its longer range opens the door for new city pairs.

The A220s, on the other hand, offer flexibility for the Group to deploy these aircraft throughout most of its domestic and regional operations. These aircraft could be utilized during off-peak times between major cities and on key regional routes to increase frequency.

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