One of the disadvantages of being based in Australia is that my long distance flights are all very long. And many of my flights have been done in the back of the plane! the reality is that this is where most passengers end up. The hallowed grail of Business or First can be elusive despite our best prayers, wishes and attempts! Here are 12 tips: Do some research- some airlines do long haul better than others. Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Finnair, Lan, Malaysia, Qatar, Qantas, Turkish and Singapore keep me much happier than Air Canada, Air France, American, Delta, Etihad and…
Frequent-flyer program
Tag Archives for Frequent-flyer program.
Where to credit air miles
Booked your ticket and airline and trying to work out which Frequent Flyer program will get the most miles. It can be useful if you are planning a one off trip or thinking through your mileage earn for the next 12 months. Where to credit is a handy way to find out that your First Class ticket will get you 130% of miles with one airline and 300% with another. Or my Malaysia airways discount economy ticket will get me 25% of the miles with Malaysia and 0% with any other carrier. It is very simple…
Fight Cancer With Us: #flyforpink
My sister died two years ago from Cancer. She fought it nobly. You can understand why I will support (almost) anything that helps support the fight against cancer. Here is a simple way you can join in the fight during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Hint: Cover up your frequent flyer number and other personal details. For every boarding pass photo posted to Twitter & Instagram with the hashtag #flyforpink, the frequent flyer collaborative of BoardingArea, Milepoint,Freddie Awards, Bonusfeber, Ikvliegveel and Frequent Traveler University will donate fifty US cents to cancer-related causes. If we…
3 New Airlines Joining One World
My favourite alliance oneworld (named best airline alliance of 2013) are in the process of adding three airlines to its stable of airlines. This addition of these new members is reportedly the biggest expansion since the program began.The three new carriers are: TAM – member from 31st March, 2014 US Airways – member from 31st March, 2014 Sri Lankan- member from 1st May 2014 TAM (JJ) Hubs: São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Founded: 1976 Fleet: 172 Destinations: 61 destinations in 16 countries Skytrax Rating: 3 star airline. Skytrax Passenger Rating: 42% In 2012, Brazil’s TAM merged with Chile’s LAN. One…
Qantas Freq Flyer “Re-Graded”
Qantas Airways have announced some significant changes to their ten million member Frequent Flyer program to take effect 1 July, 2014. Like many other airlines in the world, Qantas will give more points to those who spend more money. Domestic Points Earning Rates Change On Australian domestic flights, points will be awarded at different rates depending on whether a flight is: Discount Economy Flexible Economy Business Flexible Business. The losers: those flying discount economy short haul fares within Australia e.g. Sydney to Melbourne, Sydney to Canberra and Canberra to Melbourne. From July 1st, the guaranteed minimum number of points a passenger…
Qantas Gold Frequent Flyer-again
Quiet week here with no travel anywhere! Qantas sent me through my new Qantas Frequent Flyer card last week. My Frequent Flyer membership ticked over July 31, 2012. I have retained Gold status for another year.I had contemplated a last ditch Platinum run but resisted it. I also have some points with Emirates, JetBlue, Southwest and United. My other two main Frequent Flyer programs are with Virgin Australia (Platinum Status until December, 2013) and Delta (Silver Status until January). I also reached 7000 vists in July which was a new record for me. 80 per cent of you are regular visitors…
Jet Blue, Emirates Freq Flyer Reciprocity
The bigger news is that Emirates and JetBlue (having announced a code sharing agreement in April, 2012) have now said that as of yesterday (July 1, 2012), their Frequent-flier programs are now reciprocal. Fliers can earn credits in either of the carrier’s loyalty programs (but not both on the same flight!).Jet Blue customers can earn TrueBlue points on any of Emirates’ worldwide flights based on the number of miles on that flight and fare class: Emirates Economy Saver (B H K L M Q T U V X ) will earn 0.5 True Blue Points for every…
Virgin Australia A330 Per – Syd Business
In aviation, a year can make a huge difference. A year ago Virgin Australia was Virgin Blue. They did not have A330s and they had no business class. All that changed in May, 2011 when the discount carrier became “ahem” less discount. Since then, my observation is that Virgin have continued to improve their product. Significantly, they managed to increase profits by 118 per cent last year. Not an easy feat in this industry. Today, I review their A330 Business Class product. Booking: 9 out of 10 Virgin Australia has a very simple and straight forward booking system at www.virginaustralia.com.au All…
Tuesday Trip Report: Royal Brunei
Long been curious to try Royal Brunei. Due to a quirk in my schedule, I got the chance to last week. Even though it involved two stopovers, their flight got me out of London and into Melbourne at a time that fitted my schedule. My first Royal Brunei sector was actually the 787th flight of my life. I had hoped for a flight on the 787 but the timing didn’t work. (For those who have been following, I flew my 737th on a Southwest 737, 747th in a Qantas B747, then United for 757, Qantas for 767…
Emirates: No Match
Its like being turned down by someone you most like! Ever had that experience? I just asked Emirates, my favourite airline, for a “status match” with Qantas where I hold Gold Frequent Flyer Status. One of the difficulties of being “high status” with one airline is that it does “lock you in”. Gold Status comes with express check in, lounge access, bonus frequent flyer points and higher luggage allowances. I have Blue Status (the basic level with Emirates) because I frankly haven’t flown them enough. They don’t fly on most of the routes, I have…
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