Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program has announced a brand-new partnership with Luxury Escapes, following the conclusion of the travel company’s previous tie-up with Qantas.

This collaboration is primed to provide enhanced benefits to their shared customer base, which encompasses millions of Australians.

From today, they will be able to earn and redeem Velocity Points when they book luxury holiday packages, stay in high-end hotels, embark on cruises, join tours, and access several other premium offers on luxuryescapes.com.

For every dollar spent on eligible bookings with Luxury Escapes, Velocity members will earn 1 Velocity Point.

Furthermore, members can use their accumulated points to either partially or completely offset the cost of their Luxury Escapes holiday bookings. As regular readers will know, you’ll get less value from your points this way than using them for flights or upgrades – so consider this before redeeming your points.

In line with this partnership announcement, Luxury Escapes is also unveiling its new flagship store at Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre. The store promises an immersive retail experience with travel deals, interactive displays, barista-made coffee and even French champagne.

To mark the occasion, Velocity is offering a chance for its members to win one of five 100,000 Velocity Points bundles. To participate, members need to make a booking in the new store using their Velocity number by 6 pm AEST on 27 August 2023.

Nick Rohrlach, the CEO of Velocity Frequent Flyer, shared his enthusiasm about the collaboration. He stated that this partnership with Luxury Escapes stands as a testament to Velocity’s commitment to offering more choices, value, and rewards to its vast membership base.

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Qantas has announced that it plans to exceed its pre-COVID international flying capacity next year as its final A380s return from storage and new Boing 787 Dreamliners are delivered.

The airline is today adding more than 250,000 seats to and from Australia, with a focus on New York, Los Angeles, Bali and Johannesburg.

The changes include:

• Sydney-Bali – larger Airbus A330 aircraft will replace daily Boeing 737 flights from October this year with more premium seats and fully-flat beds in business class
• Sydney-Auckland-New York – following the successful launch of the new route in June this year, flights will increase from four per week to daily from August 2024
• Sydney-Johannesburg – for the first time Qantas A380s will operate to South Africa from July 2024, nearly doubling capacity during peak periods
• Melbourne-Los Angeles – capacity will increase by around 20 per cent with more A380 flights on the route from July 2024
• Sydney-Los Angeles – flights will increase from eight to nine per week from July 2024, operated with a mix of 787 and A380 aircraft.

The A380s have all been refurbished with the airline’s latest economy, premium economy, business and first class seats.

Qantas appears to be in the process of updating its booking system to reflect the new flights. We don’t see any new reward seats available, but that could change, so keep an eye out!

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Qantas has today confirmed it will support the Yes campaign for the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum.

The airline has unveiled special livery on three Qantas Group aircraft which feature the Yes23 campaign logo. These are a Qantas Boeing 737, a QantasLink Dash 8 Turboprop and a Jetstar Airbus A320.

In addition, Qantas will help out Yes campaigners with travel so they can engage with regional and remote Australians ahead of the referendum.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament continued the airline’s commitment to reconciliation and, more broadly, the notion of a ‘fair go’.

“Qantas has a long history of supporting reconciliation with First Nations people, from the Aboriginal artwork on our inflight magazine in the 1960s and on our aircraft since the 1990s, to our support for constitutional recognition in 2014, public support of the Uluru Statement of the Heart 2019, and our First Nations employment and supplier commitments.

“We’re supporting the Yes23 campaign because we believe a formal voice to government will help close the gap for First Nations people in important areas like health, education and employment.

“Like our Flying Art livery aircraft showcasing First Nations culture to a global audience, these aircraft will send a message of support for a Yes vote as they travel the country.

“We know there are a range of views on this issue, including amongst our customers and employees, and we respect that. I encourage people to find out more, to listen to First Nations voices, and to make their own decisions,” added Mr Joyce.

More information about the Qantas Group’s commitment to reconciliation is available here.

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The low-cost carrier Bonza has today revealed its third base will be at Gold Coast Airport, complementing its existing bases at Melbourne Tullamarine and Sunshine Coast airports.

Two Boeing 737 aircraft will operate from the iconic holiday spot to 11 existing Bonza destinations: Albury, Bundaberg, Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay, Melbourne Avalon, Melbourne Tullamarine, Mildura, Rockhampton, Townsville and the Whitsunday Coast.

The airline says the new flights will be on sale very soon through the airline’s app, which is the only place to book direct.

Starting fares will range from $49 to $79 per person one way. 

This news follows the move last month to cut routes and reduce frequencies due to customer demand and resource shortages.

The airline says it will lease two aircraft to enable its Gold Coast expansion.

This next phase of Bonza’s growth will see 70 new flights per week and almost 700,000 additional passenger seats a year into and out of Gold Coast Airport.

The airline says there will be additional and new destinations that will connect with the Gold Coast and those will be revealed “when the time is right”.

Recruitment for Gold Coast based pilots and crew is expected to begin shortly.

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Six months into its operation as Australia’s newest low-cost carrier, Bonza is making some changes to frequencies and routes to improve reliability and experiences for customers.

The airline will cut five routes where there isn’t sustainable demand at present:

• Sunshine Coast to Coffs Harbour
• Sunshine Coast to Port Macquarie
• Sunshine Coast to Tamworth
• Cairns to Mackay
• Toowoomba Wellcamp to Whitsunday Coast.

Some other (unspecified) routes will be reduced to just one flight per week.

These changes will take effect from 1 August.

Three strong performing routes, namely Sunshine Coast to Albury and Melbourne (Avalon) plus Melbourne (Tullamarine) to Port Macquarie, will welcome a new service each week.

Customers affected by flight cancellations will be contacted by the airline and will receive a full refund or alternate flights with Bonza, depending on their scenario. 

Bonza says these changes will allow it to maintain some spare capacity so there’s a buffer when things don’t go to plan.

Further, by focusing on well-performing routes, the airline says it’s setting itself up to be in a better financial position to compete and survive.

Bonza states that it will soon start selling tickets for the late October to April 2024 schedule which means travellers will be able to book flights for their summer holidays, Christmas or Easter 2024.

The airline is also working to establish a third base alongside Melbourne (Tullamarine) and the Sunshine Coast, and with that will come new job opportunities and new routes to existing and new destinations. 

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Virgin Australia is today celebrating the arrival of a brand new Boeing 737-8 aircraft, an important milestone in its fleet renewal program.

The plane is one of 33 fuel-efficient Boeing 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft Virgin Australia has on order, with more set to be delivered in the coming months.

With the arrival of the new jet, Virgin Australia has also revealed the design of its refreshed business and economy cabins, which will feature on the new aircraft and will be retrofitted on the existing fleet as part of a $110 million investment.

Highlights include:

• in-seat power for all business and economy seats
• larger overhead lockers, with 50% more capacity
• wider business class seats, which also feature leg rests with extendable footrests, storage compartments, tablet/device holders and water bottle holders
• a new economy seat design, featuring a ribbed backing to elevate comfort and ergonomics
• a personal tablet/device holder for all economy seats.

Work to refresh the existing fleet will begin later this year and is expected to last around two years.

The airline also plans to install a new divider between the business and economy cabins (in fact, it’s not visible at all in the images supplied today) and remove one row of Economy X seats to make way for additional regular economy seats.

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Jetstar has today announced the launch of direct Melbourne-Fiji flights, starting 16 December 2023 – just in time for the bustling Christmas season.

These Melbourne-Fiji flights are designed to meet the escalating demand for travel to the tropical paradise, as evidenced by the strong response to Jetstar’s relaunched Sydney-Fiji service.

Jetstar plans to conduct three flights a week using its Airbus A321neo LR, noted for its quieter and more fuel-efficient operations.

Each year, it will carry up to 72,000 customers to Fiji from Melbourne.

To commemorate this milestone, Jetstar is introducing a 24-hour sale from midday today, slashing prices for one-way fares to a mere $179. So if you’ve been itching for an exotic holiday, there’s no better time to snag those tickets.

With the launch of the Melbourne-Fiji service, the schedule for the Sydney-Fiji route will be adjusted to three return flights per week starting December 16, 2023.

Below is the new flight schedule:

• Melbourne to Fiji (Nadi): Flights JQ121 depart at 06:15 on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and arrive at 12:15.
• Fiji (Nadi) to Melbourne: Flights JQ122 depart at 13:15 on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and arrive at 17:50.
• Sydney to Fiji (Nadi): Flights JQ119 depart at 09:45 on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and arrive at 14:55.
• Fiji (Nadi) to Sydney: Flights JQ120 depart at 16:00 on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and arrive at 19:50.

Jetstar’s newest direct flight offering from Melbourne to Fiji is a welcome addition, especially for those eager for a tropical getaway. Just remember, the sale ends at 11.59am AEST on July 5, 2023.