Singapore Airlines first class is one of the most stylish ways to fly, with passengers enjoying top-notch service, food and drinks – and, on the A380, the renowned first class “suites”.

Singapore Airline partners with Virgin Australia, however Singapore Airlines has been restricting partner access to first class award seats, and the only way Velocity members could book these seats was by transferring their Velocity Points into a Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer account.

Fortunately, it looks like this barrier has finally been removed, with AusBT reporting yesterday that Virgin Australia now has direct access to Singapore Airlines first class awards. That means Velocity members can now choose whether to book seats directly through Virgin Australia or by transferring their points to KrisFlyer.

I’ve updated my guide for using Velocity Points to secure Singapore Airlines business and first class seats to reflect this change.

You still need to compare the two booking options, as there could be a big difference in the points required. For example:

• to fly first class from Melbourne/Sydney to Singapore you need 95,000 Velocity Points or 75,000 KrisFlyer miles (which is 101,250 Velocity Points pre-transfer to KrisFlyer at the rate of 1.35:1) – so you save 6,250 points by booking directly with Virgin Australia
• to fly from from Melbourne/Sydney to Europe in first class you need 203,000 Velocity Points or 132,500 KrisFlyer miles (which is 178,875 Velocity Points pre-transfer to KrisFlyer) – so you save 24,125 points by going down the transfer path.

Make sure you read my step-by-step guide for choosing the right option and booking your seat.

As I’ve written before, flying Singapore Airlines first class is one of the best uses of Velocity Points.

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One of the most annoying aspects of flying out of Australia is filling out those green Outgoing Passenger Cards prior to departure.

Without fail, you can never find a pen or remember your passport and flight numbers, which just ends up frustrating you and taking up time you could be spending shopping for duty free or drinking champagne in the lounge.

Well, the good news is that those irritating green cards are getting the boot tomorrow. Yes, as of 1 July 2017, you’ll no longer have to fill out the cards prior to clearing immigration.

All the details the authorities need to know will now be collected from each airline’s Advance Passenger Information System (APIS).

Unfortunately, the orange incoming passenger card still needs to be filled out manually by passengers, however the government is apparently considering doing away with these as well so as to “achieve a seamless and automated traveller experience.”

It looks like the 21st century has finally arrived at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

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Qatar Airways took the spotlight at the Paris air show this week, showcasing its first aircraft fitted with the innovative business class seat, Qsuite, which takes off to London this weekend.

Qsuite is a top contender for the best business class seat in the sky. It features the travel industry’s first-ever double bed in business class, with privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own ‘bedroom’.

The staggered 1-2-1 layout will allow the middle seats in every second row to form a ‘double bed’, while in the other rows passengers will be more separated.

Groups of four passengers travelling together can also adjust the panels and TV monitors in some of the centre seats to create a private four-person ‘suite’, allowing them to work, dine and socialise together.

Solo travellers will also enjoy the 1-2-1 layout, with window seats that provide direct aisle access, and privacy screens for those in the centre.

Other seat features include a large 21.5 inch entertainment screen, a range of seat controls, a universal power outlet, two USB ports, a headphone jack, HDMI port and a handheld touchscreen controller.

The actual dimensions of the seat aren’t that revolutionary – 21.5 inches of width and 79 inches of length when fully flat – but it’s the privacy provided by the 135-cm high sliding door and the customisation that make it stand out. This is the most customisable experience you can get at the pointy end of the plane.

QSuite continues the trend of blurring the lines between business and first class, which I’ve written about previously.

The new seat will debut on the Doha – London route this Saturday, 24 June. The airline’s fleet will be retrofitted at the rate of one plane per month, with the Qsuite set to fly next on routes to Paris and New York.

Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld alliance and a Qantas partner, meaning you can earn or use Qantas Points with the carrier.

The airline has recently been hit by the blockade on Qatar by four neighbouring countries, although in a statement last week the carrier said that its global operations were “running smoothly”.

Yesterday, Qatar Airways won the “Airline of the Year” award from Skytrax, the most widely recognised airline rating service.

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The three big Middle Eastern airlines – Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways – have driven so many improvements in air travel in recent years. Thanks to them (and a handful of other carriers), we now enjoy better experiences in the air, more route options and lower prices than ever before.

One reason the gulf airlines have done so well is their massive investment in new planes, fitouts and other infrastructure. For passengers at the pointy end, this splurge has brought luxurious lounges, spacious seats, on-board bars and showers, and many other stylish innovations.

This trend is set to continue. Qatar Airways is about to roll out its business class ‘QSuite’ which, for the first time ever, gives business class passengers the option of booking a double bed in the sky. Emirates has also announced it will launch first and business class seats by the end of the year.

In these ‘physical’ aspects – the lounges, seats and other infrastructure – the gulf carriers are among the best in the world, and that’s helped them capture a big slice of the market. But there’s one important part of the passenger experience that often lets these airlines down, and that’s inconsistent customer service on board – particularly in business class.

On one flight you may be served by a warm and attentive crew, and on the next a crew that just doesn’t seem to care. If you’re flying in economy, you may not expect that much, but in premium cabins that attract a hefty price tag, customer service is a big deal.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. My partner and I have flown with Emirates in business class three times over the past year. The first two times, the crew were quite friendly and efficient. Earlier this week, however, they were disinterested and even rude (one curtly told my partner to turn his IPad off for take-off, even though it was in flight mode, as permitted), and the service was careless and inefficient (for example, three of our food orders came out late and wrong, with no explanation or apology).

You don’t encounter this kind of inconsistency on other premium airlines in the region. When I board a Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines flight, I almost always get the polite and polished service I’ve come to expect. When I fly with Qantas, the crew tend to be more relaxed, but still generally very friendly and attentive.

But with the Middle Eastern airlines? I can’t be so sure.

Before writing this post, I spoke to quite a few travellers who regularly fly through the Middle East, and their experiences are similar to mine. This issue seems to come up with all three Middle Eastern carriers, though perhaps less frequently with Qatar Airways than the others (based on the conversations I’ve had, at least).

I understand that the gulf carriers have a huge staff who come from a variety of cultures and with potentially different views about what constitutes good customer service. Very few other airlines face the challenge of integrating so many diverse people. But even accounting for that, I feel the airlines could do more to train and encourage their crew to meet the high service standards set by other premium carriers.

Since customer service in the air is so important to me, I’ll now think twice about flying with a Middle Eastern airline if there is another, more dependable option. In today’s competitive market, there are plenty of carriers that offer great seats and lounges, and can be counted on to provide top-notch service on board.

This week’s stories look at scientists developing electric airplanes, the world’s most beautiful airports, if there ever was a ‘golden age’ of air travel, travel experiences you can only enjoy on a budget, and aviation in Australia from 100 years ago to now. Enjoy!

• The age of electric airplanes is just 30 years away. As everyone obsesses about electric cars right now, how long will it be until we’re jetting around in planes that don’t need jet fuel? Flying requires extraordinary amounts of energy, and doing so under electric power will take a huge leap forward in technology. This fascinating article from Wires surveys some of the issues scientists are grappling with right now.
• Marvel at 12 of the most beautiful airports in the world. A new class of airports is leaving the dark terminals of the past behind, opting instead for light-filled spaces that provide both function and inspiration. Take a look at 12 of the most beautiful, and pray that one day Australia gets airport architecture it can be proud of.
• There was no ‘golden age’ of air travel. After raft of highly publicised incidents in America, people are longing for the ‘good old days’ of air travel from decades past. But were things really that good, and are things now so bad? I think we’re living in the golden age of air travel RIGHT NOW, and this New York Times opinion piece by a pilot seems to agree.
• Travelling on a budget can buy you amazing memories that luxury travel can’t. To quote the author: “Luxury travel is a holiday. It’s a break. A buffet of international cuisine is not an experience, and it is not a story. If you want a story … you have to go budget.” And he has a point: how much of a culture can you really experience when you isolate yourself in high-end hotels, resorts and restaurants? Not much, usually.
• A conversation about Australia’s aviation market right now by Runway Girl Network deputy editor John Walton and Jamie Freed, a Reuters senior correspondent covering aviation and business in Sydney. They discuss how Qantas and Virgin Australia are faring, what’s in store for both in the future, and the peculiarities of air travel in Australia.
• How aviation has shaped Australian society. As we near 100 years of aviation in Australia, a new project by the University of Canberra will examine how air travel has transformed Australian places, communities and cultures. This 12-minute interview on ABC’s Drive program with one of the research leaders describes the project and some of the little known stories it wants to explore.

Happy reading!

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