2PAXfly
QANTAS: At war with the Australian Financial Review – not the first time.
Qantas appears to be in dispute with the Australian Financial Review, according to its sister masthead the Sydney Morning Herald. It’s over the highly critical, but intensely amusing articles of Rear Window columnist Joe Ashton. You may remember the name Joe Ashoton from other posts on this blog. He is...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Dispute on who pilots the A380s
Qantas having a dispute with pilots is nothing new. CEO Alan Joyce shut down the whole airline in 2011 because of a dispute with pilots among other staff. This current dispute as outlined in the SMH is more nuanced and is mired in the creaking seniority system that applies to...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Hong Kong Lounge, once permanently closed, reopens today
Hong Kong’s reopened Qantas Lounge, used to be one of my favourite lounges, and I was a bit devastated when its permanent closure was announced at the beginning of the pandemic. That decision was reversed when Qantas announced its major lounge refurbishment program. Many Qantas Lounges have been pretty tragic...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Announces new CEO – Vanessa Hudson
Qantas has just announced that Vanessa Hudson will replace Alan Joyce as CEO and Managing Director as of November 2023. Ms Hudson is currently the Qantas Group’s CFO. I detailed her long history with Qantas in a previous story on the internal candidates being interviewed. She has been with the...
2PAXfly
TRIP REPORT: Qantas QF477 Sydney to Melbourne in Economy – call that a meal?
I wouldn’t normally report on a pedestrian trip like a Melbourne to Sydney domestic flight. However, as one of the busiest routes in Australia, and in fact in the world, I thought it might be interesting to document the service on this well-patronised route. Introduction Qantas essentially runs flights every...
2PAXfly
TURKISH AIRLINES: Bound for Australia – direct
Turkish Airlines has confirmed to a journalist at ET that it is renewing plans to fly directly to Australia. Way back in September 2018, pre-pandemic (the way we seem to define everything these days, even though the pandemic is not over), the then Chairman of Turkish Airlines, Ilker Ayci, announced...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Alan Joyce’s replacement – Internal candidates interviewed. Announcement in May?
According to the usually reliable Lucus Baird of the Australian Financial Review, Qantas completed interviewing internal candidates to replace Alan Joyce as CEO last week. He speculates that there might be an announcement before the end of April about who will succeed, and when they will take up the position....
Wild About Travel
Beautiful Bold Brightline -the best way to ride
IIn 2018, Brightline did the unthinkable and opened a new private rail service in the car focussed United States of America. The USA is a country that closed most of its rail network in the 1950s and 1960s. I am a huge rail fan and have travelled by train right...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Purchase of Alliance Aviation denied by ACCC
The Australian Corporation and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is set to oppose the acquisition of Alliance Aviation Services Ltd by Qantas. Alliance is primarily a supplier of FYFO (Fly-in-Fly-out) services for mining and resource companies, in Queensland and Western Australia. Qantas also supplies these kind of services to the same market,...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: First Class Check-in suite reopens at Melbourne Airport next week
AFF is reporting that Qantas has confirmed it will re-open its First Class Check-in Suite at Melbourne’s international terminal as of Wednesday 26 April next week. The facility has been closed since the shutdown of international flying in 2020 due to COVID-19. The Melbourne First Class check-in differs from its...
2PAXfly
LOUNGES: New Plaza Premium Lounge for International Adelaide Airport, South Australia
This new lounge will be the only lounge available to passengers travelling on international departures out of Adelaide (ADL), or in transit. At 532 square meters, the lounge located in the international wing of T will cater for 137 people at any one time and will service morning flights between...
2PAXfly
UNITED AIRLINES: flights to Australia & New Zealand up 40%
This southern hemisphere summer, United will provide more flights than any other USA airline to Australia and New Zealand. More than Qantas, and more than Air New Zealand. This will allow Americans to escape their northern hemisphere winter, and enjoy the delights of southern hemisphere summer. This will provide some...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: starts direct flights Melbourne to Jakarta, Indonesia this week
The first direct flight of about 7 hours headed from Melbourne to Indonesia on Sunday 16 April and then running three days a week, year-round. Qantas and Jetstar operate around 106 return flights per week from Australia to Indonesia, mainly to the island of Bali. Direct flights to Jakarta only...
2PAXfly
FIJI AIRWAYS: Starts Nadi to Canberra direct service in July
Fiji Airways starts direct Canberra to Nadi flights from July 2023. Fiji is a popular holiday destinations, and this new service will allow Canberrans to fly directly to Fiji instead of via Sydney or Melbourne. The new route Nadi to Canberra will run twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays from...
2PAXfly
QANTAS: Red Tail Sale to the USA. Now until 19 April
Now that the frequent flyer baiting Double Status Credits and Double Points promotion is over, Qantas is tempting price-sensitive travellers with fare discounts in this Red Tail Sale. Some of these airfares are nostalgic, with prices close to those regularly seen pre-pandemic. There are good prices across all classes in...
2PAXfly
BONZA: Board movements. A bit weird.
The 777 Partners representative and Executive Chairman of Bonza, Richard ‘Rick’ Howell, has left, after only four months at the airline. With the recent re-assignment of an aircraft from Bonza to a Canadian low-cost airline it sounds like something is going on. Add the fact that aircraft have been taken...