Qatar have been my favourite airline for over a year now. Based in the Middle Eastern kingdom of the same name, the airline has been growing aggressively adding destinations, planes and crew at a rapid pace. Along the way, they seem to have maintained their quality. The airline, has in more recent years become profitable. Last year, they joined the One World network and this week announced they were forming a Saudi Arabian subsidiary: Al Maha. Skytrax list Qatar as one of the few five star airlines in the world, along with Asiana, ANA, Cathay…
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Reviving Qantas
The news that Qantas has been devalued by two rating agencies to “junk status” filled many of us with dismay. In 2020, Qantas should be celebrating its 100th anniversary. Only two airlines: KLM and Aviannca are older. Qantas has survived the Great Depression, World War Two, 1970s hyperinflation and oil crisis, the Asian Financial Crisis, the bombing of the World Trade Centre, SARS and the the global financial crisis. It has outlived other Aussie competitors: Ansett (1935 to 2002), Australian National Airways (1936 to 1957), Compass (1990 to 1993) and East-West (1947 to 1993). Today,…
Jetstar’s International 787 Routes
In contrast to the gloom that emanates from Qantas, Jetstar continues to announce growth. Its first international Boeing 787 Dreamliner service commenced from Melbourne to Bali, accompanied by announcements of Jetstar operating 787s from Sydney to Bali in January, 2014, Sydney to Phuket in February and Brisbane to Bali route from April. They will replace their A330 fleet with 787s. Their eleven 330s will cascade back to Qantas which will use them to replace their aging and fuel hungry 767s by early 2015. Sadly, Qantas has still not made a decision on their future deployment…
Considering Carry On
I was standing at the check in counter for Lufthansa at Frankfurt. The check in agent asked the passenger next to me to present his carry on bag so she could weigh it. “why? It’s just carry on” “yes sir. I need to weigh it. Sir it weighs 12kilograms. You must check it. ” “the last airline let me carry it on” “You have to remove items or check it in sir” “this has nothing to do with safety. You just want to make money. Get me your supervisor” The customer then berated the supervisor.…
Flight from Hell for Qantas Sick Pax
Last Thursday, 26 passengers, high school students and their teachers, spent most of a horror flight from Santiago vomiting and experiencing diarrhoea on a plane with eight available lavatories. The passengers were okay when they boarded QF28 but three hours into the flight, reported symptoms consistent with a highly contagious infection norovirus, the leading cause of gastroenteritis. The group had been on a pilgrimage to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil for World Youth Day to see Pope Francis. The airline believes the students were sick before boarding. A team of paramedics met the 747 when…
787 fire update- is the plane troubled?
The jury seems divided between those who see Boeing’s 787 as a plane experiencing teething problems or an aircraft that is “doomed”. The media headlines have described the plane as “plagued”, and even “troubled”. This week, US aviation regulator, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published an airworthiness directive advising all carriers to remove Honeywell emergency locator transmitters (ELT) from their 787s. Last week, the FAA suggested airlines should inspect the units on their 787s for pinched wires in the casing and/or evidence of heat or moisture. United Airlines is the only US carrier currently flying…
380,000 points for $70
Here is a deal for you! When Mr Agius of Melbourne, Australia got a letter from the National Australia Bank (NAB) in January, offering him 100 additional points for each eligible purchase made on a NAB Qantas credit card, he went into action. He made 7000 purchases of one cent each – mostly between January 6 and January 9. Most of the purchases were used to top up his CityLink Tollway pass. For the bank had made a fatal error in that they didn’t specify how much you had to spend on each purchase to…
Qantas Downgrades Status
I must admit, I am somewhat protective of my “status” with Qantas and Virgin Australia. I like my perks of lounge access, express check in and other bonuses. So any change an airline makes to how status credits are earned, what they mean and what benefits I receive, piques my interest. For example, from tomorrow, Qantas is changing how you get their “Loyalty Bonus” For every 500 status credits earned, Qantas currently will reward passengers with an 8000 point “loyalty bonus”. 500 status credits is equal to 50 flights between Sydney and Melbourne in Discount…
World’s best airlines -skytrax 2013
The 2013 Skytrax World Airline Awards were announced at the Paris Air Show on the 18th June 2013. The awards are based on a passenger satisfaction survey completed on 200 airlines by travellers from over 160 countries. They review over 40 plus areas from check-in to cabin cleanliness to food to service. The airline award winners are becoming fairly predictable. The names Air New Zealand, Air Asia, Qatar, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Singapore sit in the top categories year on year. It makes me wonder if the airlines that are not in the Top 20…
Qantas to Bangkok-Trip review
This was no ordinary flight for me. According to my flightmemory, it was my 950th flight ever. In addition, it was my 275th flight with Qantas and my 24th on an Airbus A330. Booking: 9 out of 10 Qantas’ booking engine is very streamlined. Six steps take you from enquiry to payment. If you are logged in as a Qantas Frequent Flyer, then the amount of information required to be typed in is minimal. Thanks to Skyscanner, I found the same fare on another website for $249 less. This saved me almost a third of the fare. It has annoyed me…
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