A few months ago, Virgin Australia and Japan’s largest airline ANA expanded their partnership to allow Velocity Points holders to book reward seats with ANA.
For a while, this was only available via the Virgin call centre – but now, Velocity Frequent Flyers can book seats much more conveniently via the Virgin Australia website.
ANA flies from Sydney and Perth to Tokyo and onwards to destinations in Europe, Asia and North America.
While you can search for reward seat availability via the Virgin Australia website, it may be easier to use United’s website instead (both airlines are part of the Star Alliance) as it has better functionality. If you can find a seat there, it should be available to book via Virgin as well.
Here’s the points required for reward seats:
Velocity Frequent Flyer members can also earn Velocity points and status credits on paid ANA fares. This includes both NH-coded flights and those offered as a VA codeshare, though you’ll earn more on the latter.
Travellers can book ANA flights between Australia and Japan as Virgin Australia codeshare flights via the Virgin website.
Virgin’s partnership with ANA unlocks benefits across 12 domestic connections for travellers within Japan, including Sapporo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka-Itami, Kochi, Osaka-Kansai, Kumamoto, Nagoya, Nagasaki, Oita, Okinawa and Miyazaki.
Virgin Australia also operates its own Cairns-Tokyo (Haneda) service, which launched last month.
More information about the partnership, earn rates and benefits is available on Virgin’s website.
Notably, Velocity Silver, Gold and Platinum members travelling on an ANA operated flight with a Virgin Australia flight number will earn bonus points of 50%, 75% and 100% respectively.
Gold and Platinum members travelling on ANA operated flights from Australia to Japan with a VA or NH flight number, and ANA operated flights within Japan with a VA flight number, will receive benefits including priority check-in, priority baggage and additional checked baggage allowance – but sadly no lounge access (yet).
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Jetstar has today announced a boost to WA flying, with the first ever direct service connecting Sydney to one of the west’s top tourist regions – Busselton Margaret River, ahead of the next Easter holidays.
The three-per-week service will carry more than 50,000 customers between Sydney and the world-renowned wine and surf region each year, making a west coast visit easier than ever for domestic and international tourists.
Operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft, the first flight will take off on 26 March 2024, just days before Easter and the second anniversary of Jetstar’s inaugural flight from Melbourne to Busselton Margaret River in April 2022.
Jetstar Group CEO, Stephanie Tully, said Jetstar will be the only commercial airline offering direct flights between the east coast and Busselton Margaret River.
“Holidaymakers from Sydney will be able to fly direct to Margaret River in about five hours for as low as $109 one way, making the region far more accessible for domestic and international tourists from the harbour city.
“Our flights from Melbourne have already been incredibly popular, and once our Sydney flights launch, we’ll be carrying well over 100 thousand customers to and from this captivating region annually.
“We thank the Western Australian Government, the South West Development Commission, Western Australia Tourism and the City of Busselton for their ongoing support of our efforts to grow travel demand to the region.”
Sydney to Busselton Margaret River from 26 March 2024
Flight #
Frequency
From
To
Depart
Arrive
JQ898
Tuesday*, Thursday, Saturday
Sydney
Busselton
11:10
13:10
JQ899
Busselton
Sydney
13:55
21:00
To celebrate the new service, Jetstar is having a 12-hour sale from 11am AEDT, with one-way fares from Sydney to Busselton Margaret River from only $109.
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Jetstar has announced today that it is launching direct flights between Sydney and Osaka (Kansai), offering more than 100,000 low fares seats every year between the two popular destinations.
From 1 April 2024, the low-cost carrier will take-off three times a week using its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners – the first time in 15 years that Jetstar has flown the direct route.
The announcement follows earlier news Jetstar will also start four weekly return flights between Brisbane and Osaka from 2 February 2024.
Jetstar Group CEO, Stephanie Tully, said the arrival of more Airbus A321neo LRs has meant the low-cost carrier has been able to redeploy its Boeing 787s and further grow its international network.
“This is the eighth international service we’ve launched or announced in the past year and our third new service between Australia and Japan.”
“Japan has always been a top holiday spot for our customers, so we know they’ll be excited to have easy access to this incredible Japanese city.
“Known as the food capital of Japan, Osaka’s also famous for its nightlife, architecture and history, and is fast becoming a must-see destination for Aussie travelers.
“And in return, the launch of this new service means Jetstar will be the only airline to fly from Osaka to Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns – the three most popular cities for Japanese tourists.”
FLIGHT SCHEDULE
1 – 7 April 2024 (daylight saving)
Flight #
Frequency
From
To
Depart
Arrive
JQ13
Tue, Thu, Sat
SYD
KIX
11:20
19:00
JQ14
Mon, Wed, Fri
KIX
SYD
21:00
08:35 + 1 day
8 April – 5 October 2024
Flight #
Frequency
From
To
Depart
Arrive
JQ13
Tue, Thu, Sat
SYD
KIX
10:20
19:00
JQ14
Mon, Wed, Fri
KIX
SYD
21:00
07:35 + 1 day
Jetstar’s Dreamliners feature a small business class cabin with recliner seats, as well as an economy cabin. The aircraft cabins will be progressively revamped in the coming years.
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Jetstar will invest in a substantial upgrade of its existing Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with an overhaul of the economy and business class cabins, as well as new inflight connectivity and lie-flat crew rest areas to fly greater distances.
All economy and business seats will be replaced with new designs.
The seating in economy will feature seat back smartphone and tablet holders, a power outlet to keep devices charged and six-way headrests for head and neck support. There will be no change to the current seat pitch (i.e. leg room).
In response to growing customer demand for more choice and extra comfort when flying long-haul, Jetstar will increase business seats to 44 from 21. The seats will have device holders, a power outlet, headrests and a generous recline.
In terms of connectivity, Jetstar customers can look forward to onboard wi-fi for surfing the internet or streaming content from Jetstar’s entertainment collection. Customers will be able to access in-flight connectivity using their own devices.
Jetstar Group CEO, Stephanie Tully said the fleet upgrade will significantly enhance the medium to long-haul flying experience for customers.
“This multi-million-dollar fleet revamp will allow us to offer our customers more choice, comfort and amenities when flying longer distances internationally.
“The new crew rest areas mean our crew will be able to get the rest they need to operate longer flights, unlocking the possibility of exciting new destinations like Sri Lanka and India.”
Jetstar’s 787s have so far operated more than 54,000 flights to international destinations such as Bali, Honolulu, Tokyo, Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.
No decisions have been made yet about new future routes.
As part of the changes, the Dreamliners will also receive updated Jetstar livery to match the latest aircraft in the airline’s fleet.
The investment in each aircraft will progressively be completed during scheduled aircraft maintenance from late 2025. Detailed design work is currently underway, with more details to be provided in the coming months.
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Great news! Qantas has released reward seats to London and Rome for the 2024 peak travel season – in economy and business class.
We’ve also noticed reward seats released on other international routes to Asia and USA.
This is a great opportunity to use your points for a vacation next year.
The Europe seats are available from June to August only. Qantas flies Sydney to London via Singapore with A380s, and from Perth to London with a 787 Dreamliner. The seasonal Perth-Rome flights, also on a Dreamliner, operate from 15 June to 3 October 2024 on select days of the week.
A one-way trip from Australia’s east coast to Europe costs 55,200 points in economy and 144,600 in business class, plus taxes and fees. From Perth, this drops to 51,200 and 126,500 points respectively.
These seats will surely be snapped up quickly.
Be aware that when we tried to add connecting flights from other cities in Australia, we received an error message – so you may only be able to book departures from Perth or Sydney (hopefully Qantas fixes this glitch soon).
In addition, Qantas has reduced the cost of “Points Plus Pay” bookings by 50 per cent. This applies to Qantas, Jetstar and partner airline international flights in premium economy, business and first class.
Points Plus Pay is different to reward seats: it lets you purchase any available cash fare using points. For example, with the 50% discount, you can cover $1000 of the cost of an airfare with around 82,000 points. That’s more expensive than a reward seat, but availability isn’t an issue.
These offers end on 27 October.
And don’t forget, until 31 October, you can pick up a huge 75,000 bonus Qantas Points plus a $450 travel credit, lounge passes and complimentary travel insurance with our favourite Qantas credit card, the Qantas Amex Ultimate Card. Don’t miss out!
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Input your departure and arrival cities. You can even choose multiple airports if you’re flexible about which one you fly out of or into.
Choose if you want to fly one-way, return or multi-city.
Select your dates: Choose your departure and return dates on the calendar.
Choose the number of passengers and flight class: You can select the number of passengers and the flight class (Economy, Premium Economy, Business, or First Class) you want to travel in.
Click on “Search”: Google Flights will then provide a list of available flights based on your criteria.
Google Flights search result
The “best” flights (based on Google’s own analysis of price and convenience) will show up first.
Other options will be listed further down the page.
While the vast majority of airlines will be searched by Google Flights, it’s not guaranteed that all will. In particular, some budget carriers may not appear in search results. You’ll have to visit their websites directly to check prices.
Advanced Search and Filters
Google Flights provides several handy filters to refine your search further:
Stops Filter: Choose direct flights, one stop, or two stops as per your preference.
Airlines Filter: If you have a preferred airline or alliance, you can select it here. Google Flights will then show you options only from that airline or alliance.
Baggage Filter: This filter lets you only view flights that include overhead bin space, if that’s important to you.
Price Filter: You can use the price slider to set a maximum price for your flights.
Flight Times Filter: This lets you specify what times you’d like to depart or arrive.
Emissions Filter: This lets you choose a lower carbon emission option.
Connecting Airports Filter: If you’re open to layovers but want to avoid specific airports or have a maximum layover time, use this filter.
Duration Filter: This allows you to filter out flights that take longer than a certain number of hours.
Track Prices
One of the most useful features of Google Flights is its ability to track prices.
If you have a specific route and dates in mind but aren’t quite ready to book, setting up a price alert could potentially save you a lot of money.
Simply toggle on the “Track Prices” button on the search results page.
Google will then send you an email whenever there are significant price changes for your tracked route.
Compare dates with the Date Grid and Price Graph
The Price Graph and Date Grid features are excellent tools for flexible travelers looking to get the best deals.
The Price Graph shows you how fares rise or fall based on your departure and return dates, and trip length, which can help you identify the cheapest days to fly.
Google Flights Price Graph
The Date Grid, on the other hand, shows you all the different combinations of departure and return dates around your preferred dates and the corresponding prices.
The lowest prices will be shown in green and the highest in red.
Google Flights Date Grid
Explore Destinations
If you’re not sure where you want to go or are feeling adventurous, Google Flights has an “Explore” option.
Simply click the Explore button at the top of the page and you can view a map with various destinations and their respective flight prices, based on your chosen departure city and dates.
Finalising Your Booking
Once you’ve found the perfect flight, click on it.
Google Flights will provide you with a summary of your flight details and a link to book the flight.
Typically, there will be a link to book direct with the airline, and potentially also with third-party travel agencies.
You must click through to the airline/travel agency to actually book.
Summing up
Google Flights is by far the best tool on the web for comparing airfares and finding the best deals.
Advanced features such as filters, price tracking and date comparison can really help you improve your travel booking game.
Simply follow the tips above to book your next trip, and as always, happy travels!
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Japan Airlines (JAL) has unveiled the details of its new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft and cabin interiors.
Scheduled to replace its longstanding flagship Boeing 777s after nearly two decades, this highly anticipated international service will debut on the Tokyo-New York route before the year’s end.
After that, the A350s will progressively replace existing 777s aircraft that operate the airline’s top international routes – which sadly means we’re unlikely to see them in the skies over Australia.
An Overview of Seating across Classes:
1. First Class: The Epitome of Luxury
Seating Configuration: JAL offers an exclusive environment with just six suites, amplifying the sense of privacy and exclusivity. Each suite features individual doors – a first for JAL – which not only assures privacy but also crafts an open individual atmosphere, thanks to the removal of overhead storage compartments.
Specifications:
Type: Enclosed Private Suite with Door
Seat Pitch: Approximately 211cm (83 in.)
Bed Length: Maximum of approximately 203cm (80 in.)
Individual Monitor Size: 43 in.
Noteworthy Features:
Three seating modes available: Sofa, Seat & Single Bed, or Double Bed.
The world’s first headphone-free stereo system with built-in headrest speakers.
Ample storage space for personal items within the suite.
2. Business Class: A Fusion of Comfort and Functionality
Seating Configuration: With an increased capacity to 54 seats, spacing remains a priority, ensuring passengers a comfortable individual inflight experience. Each seat features doors for added privacy. Additionally, overhead compartments are thoughtfully placed only on the window side, maintaining an open and airy atmosphere.
Specifications:
Type: Enclosed Private Suite with Door
Seat Pitch: Approximately 130cm (51 in.)
Bed Length: Maximum of approximately 198cm (78 in.)
Individual Monitor Size: 24 in.
Noteworthy Features:
Cushioned bed mode with ample foot area.
Electric privacy partition for communication with co-travelers.
Integrated headphone-free stereo and ample storage space.
3. Premium Economy Class: Redefining Class Comfort
Seating Configuration: This cabin offers substantial privacy enhancements through larger partitions and is the world’s first Premium Economy Class to boast electrically operated reclining functionality.
Specifications:
Type: Fixed-back mechanism
Seat Pitch: Approximately 107cm (42 in.)
Individual Monitor Size: 16 in.
Noteworthy Features:
Large privacy partitions.
Electric leg rest with horizontal adjustments.
A significantly larger 16-inch 4K widescreen monitor compared to the previous model.
4. Economy Class: A Nod to Spacious Comfort
Seating Configuration: Continuing its legacy of six consecutive SKYTRAX awards for “Best Economy Class Airline Seat”, JAL’s new economy seating prioritizes legroom and overall comfort.
Specifications:
Type: Reclining mechanism
Seat Pitch: Approximately 84-86cm (33-34 in.)
Individual Monitor Size: 13 in.
Noteworthy Features:
Spacious seating with a wide seat pitch.
The industry-leading 13-inch 4K monitor in its class.
Inflight Entertainment
Passengers aboard the A350-1000 will be treated to Panasonic Avionics Corporation’s latest inflight entertainment system and Wi-Fi service.
The introduction of 4K monitors across all classes, paired with Bluetooth connectivity, ensures a premium viewing experience. Integration with the JAL Mobile App further personalizes this experience, allowing passengers to curate their favorites list.
Redefining the Dining Experience in the Skies
First Class and Business Class passengers can expect a renewed vegan and vegetarian menu, curated under the watchful eye of Chef Fumio Yonezawa.
For long-haul business travelers, a new service slated for spring 2024 will empower passengers to customize their inflight dining schedule.
Meanwhile, Premium Economy and Economy Class passengers can look forward to a revamped vegan and vegetarian menu, in addition to a new optional paid menu offering diverse culinary choices.
Enhanced Amenities
First and Business Class passengers will receive amenity kits adorned with artwork from Heralbony’s artists. In a move toward sustainability, the packaging will transition from petroleum-derived plastics to paper. As a special inaugural celebration, an exclusive “MISOKA” toothbrush, free from petroleum-derived plastic, will be provided for a limited period.
In Conclusion
The A350-1000 heralds a new era of luxury, comfort, and innovation for JAL’s international flights. Passengers on the Tokyo (Haneda) to New York (JFK) route are in for an experience that seamlessly marries Japanese aesthetics with modern conveniences, setting a new benchmark in global aviation.
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Qantas is making headlines for a positive reason today: the airline has announced it will revise a much-hated policy related to its frequent flyer program.
Previously, the rules of the program stated that the Qantas Points accumulated by a member would be automatically forfeited when they died. However, this is set to change in the coming weeks.
Qantas has decided to scrap the longstanding policy, labeled as inequitable by many, which prohibited family members from inheriting the unused points of their departed loved ones.
Soon, relatives will have the ability to reclaim these points. While the details haven’t yet been released, it looks like the revamped policy will provide a 12-month period in which family members can request the transfer of the remaining points to their accounts.
Virgin’s loyalty program, Velocity, lets members bequeath their points to friends or family through their will. The designated beneficiaries can easily acquire the points by providing the necessary documents to the airline from the executor.
Qantas’ decision to reevaluate and modify this particular policy is a welcome one for many, addressing longstanding concerns about the fairness of automatically voiding points.
Vanessa Hudson, the new head of the airline, has mentioned that this rule change is part of a broader review of various policies, hinting at more customer-centric modifications in the future.
Stay tuned for more information as it comes to hand.
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