Qantas and Jetstar are now planning to restart regular international passenger flights to most destinations from 31 October 2021 – a four month delay from the previous (and overly optimistic) estimate of July, which had been in place since mid-2020.

The date change aligns with the expected timeframe for Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout to be effectively complete.

Capacity will be lower than pre-COVID levels, with frequencies and aircraft type deployed on each route in line with the projected recovery of international flying. International capacity is not expected to fully recover until 2024.

Qantas says it remains in close consultation with the Federal Government around the reopening of international borders and will keep customers updated if further adjustments are required. Federal officials have recently suggested borders may be closed until the end of 2021.

Qantas is assessing the use of digital health pass apps to help support the resumption of COVID-safe international travel. The CommonPass and IATA Travel Pass smartphone apps are being trialled on the airline’s international repatriation flights.

Qantas network

Qantas is planning to resume flights to 22 of its 25 pre-COVID international destinations including Los Angeles, London, Singapore and Johannesburg from 31 October 2021.

Qantas won’t initially resume direct flights to New York, Santiago and Osaka, but remains committed to flying to these three destinations eventually. In the meantime, customers will be able to fly to these destinations under codeshare or oneworld arrangements with partner airlines.

Jetstar network

Jetstar plans to resume flights to all of its 13 international destinations. Frequencies will be adjusted in line with the projected recovery of international flying.

Trans-Tasman

Qantas and Jetstar are planning for a significant increase in flights to and from New Zealand from 1 July 2021 as travel bubbles open.

Additional flexibility and extension of credit vouchers    

Qantas has today announced additional flexibility for international bookings to enable customers to book flights with confidence.

Qantas’ updated Fly Flexible policy (previously only available for domestic and trans-Tasman flights) now applies to international flights booked from today until at least the end of April 2021. Customers will be able to change the dates of their flight for free to any available date (up to 355 days in advance).

Qantas has also extended credit vouchers to enable travel until 31 December 2023 on domestic or international flights, with Jetstar doing the same for vouchers issued due to COVID-19 disruptions.

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Virgin Australia reopened its Adelaide lounge today after a much-anticipated multi-million dollar makeover.

Designed by Brisbane’s WMK Architecture, the stylish 283-seat Adelaide space sports a fresh look that will eventually be rolled out across the lounge network.

Virgin says it sought to remain true to its brand by creating a warm, authentic and inviting environment for frequent flyers.

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka commented: “We know our capital city lounges are highly-valued by our frequent flyers and we’re reimagining the experience in a very Virgin way. Not only is the new Adelaide Lounge the best airline lounge at Adelaide Airport, but it’s fun, relaxed, and a place that everyone will feel welcome and comfortable.

“We plan to make significant investment in our lounges over the next few years. The new lounge we’ve unveiled today will be the foundation for the Virgin aesthetic and experience we will roll out across the network.”

Guests are greeted by a bright, airy entrance and foyer before moving into the versatile space.

The lounge features a central café seating area which transforms into a wine bar at night.

Separate dining areas with diverse functionality have been built adjacent to servery areas to cater to guests’ eating preferences, including large social tables, and banquette seating for more private dining.

A dedicated work area dubbed The Library features workstations with PCs, printing facilities, power sockets, and desk lamps, offering a functional environment to work on the fly – or at least it will when Covid restrictions permit.

A chill-out zone adjacent to The Library called the Gallery Lounge offers up lounge chairs and a large flat-screen television. Meanwhile, another space called the Sunroom features a mixture of other seating arrangements.

And another area dubbed The Long Stay is tucked away from the main entrance and provides more seating options.

The bathrooms look quite stylish as well.

To coincide with the opening, Virgin Australia has today launched a new and fresh menu for guests, featuring a selection of sandwiches, salads, wraps and healthy snacks, prepared on site. An enhanced menu will be implemented at all Virgin Australia lounges in the coming weeks.

The lounge is now open for eligible travellers. For all the info on how to get in, visit Virgin’s website here.

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Qantas and Virgin Australia are both launching new routes and increasing flight frequencies in time for the Easter holidays.

From 1 April 2021, Qantas will commence three new routes to both Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay (Ballina):

• Melbourne to Coffs Harbour – flights will operate daily with Qantas’ Boeing 717 aircraft, adding more than 1,750 seats on the route each week
• Brisbane to Coffs Harbour – flights will operate four days per week with the turboprop Q400 aircraft, adding around 600 seats on the route each week
• Canberra to Byron Bay – Qantas’ first ever direct service connecting the two destinations, offering two flights per week with the turboprop Q400 aircraft. Flights will initially operate in April and Qantas will look to continue the service from July in line with demand.

Qantas is offering special fares for flights on the new routes from $129 one-way.

Virgin Australia is launching new direct services between Adelaide-Sunshine Coast (four per week) and Melbourne-Ballina Byron (up to six per week), which will initially operate across the Easter holiday period from 29 March 2021 until 25 April 2021, with lead-in economy class fares available from $129 one way.

These flights will be operated by Boeing 737 aircraft.

Like Qantas, Virgin is also increasing frequencies on popular holiday routes such as Cairns, Hamilton Island, Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine), Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Ballina Byron (Byron Bay), Launceston, Hobart, Broome and Kununurra.

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Virgin Australia has deepened its partnership with Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, with the rollout of a new frequent flyer arrangement.

As of 19 January 2021, members of each airline’s loyalty program can earn and burn points and earn status credits with the other carrier.

Velocity Frequent Flyers can earn Velocity Points when flying with Air Canada between Australia and Canada, and other eligible destinations in the Air Canada network.

The number of Velocity Points you earn with Air Canada is based on the fare class and the number of miles you are travelling, as per below.

According to Velocity’s website, points redemptions are unavailable for the time being.

In terms of earning status credits, here are the rates.

The earn rates for Air Canada customers flying with Virgin Australia are available on Air Canada’s website.

There’s no word yet on whether the airlines will provide other perks to each other’s top-tier customers, like lounge access.

Expect more news on this front when international travel resumes.

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Velocity Frequent Flyer and flybuys have made some welcome changes to their partnership.

First up, the points transfer rate from flybuys to Velocity is increasing permanently. Previously, you could transfer 2000 Flybuys points for 870 Velocity Points. Now, 2000 flybuys points will get you 1000 Velocity Points: a handy 15% boost.

The minimum transfer amount has also been reduced to 1000 flybuys points (= 500 Velocity Points). Customers can set up an auto-transfer feature so that points are automatically transferred from flybuys to Velocity when you earn this amount.

In addition, the annual limit on points transfers has been removed, meaning you can now transfer as many points as you like.

To read more about these changes, visit Velocity’s website here.

With Covid-19 vaccines beginning to be rolled out around the world, Qantas has decided to reopen bookings across its international network from 1 July 2021, anticipating that overseas travel will resume around that time.

This seems rather optimistic given the scale of the outbreak globally, the pace of vaccinations in some countries, and the fact Australians won’t be getting a jab until March.

The federal government expects all Australians who want to get vaccinated to do so by October.

Nevertheless, Qantas’ decision to reopen bookings is an opportunity for Qantas Points holders to put their points to use, secure some seats and hope for the best.

One advantage of booking with points is that tickets are refundable if your plans change, subject to a cancellation fee of 6,000 points per person (currently waived until 31 March, which may be extended).

That means you can speculatively book some seats and then wait to see what happens with the pandemic.

The airline has made reward seats available on popular routes, including in sought-after premium cabins which typically get snapped up fast.

One thing to note is that Qantas isn’t going to restart its full overseas network from July. Executive Traveller reports today that there are a handful of omissions from the forward roster, including flights to New York and Santiago. I’d look out for these to be added to the network in the coming months.

While browsing the Qantas website earlier, I noticed that many of its partner airlines have also made reward seats available, including in premium cabins.

The same principle applies here: if you wish to book, you can do so knowing you’ll be able to cancel later.

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