Tag: holidays (Page 2 of 2)

All Aboard! Book Premium Rail Travel with Qantas Points

December 9, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Qantas Frequent Flyers can now earn and use points on premium train trips around Australia including The Ghan, Indian Pacific and the Great Southern – marking the first time Classic Reward Seats have been offered on the ground.

From today, members can use points to book Classic Rail Reward seats or earn 1 point per $1 spent on Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions journeys.

Journey Beyond offers extended overnight rail holidays that traverse some of Australia’s most picturesque and iconic landscapes such as the Red Centre, Blue Mountains and east coast. The all-inclusive high-end expeditions include bespoke menus inspired by the places the trains travel through and the opportunity for guests to explore beyond the tracks with immersive Off Train Excursions before returning to their onboard accommodation and world-class hospitality.

Qantas Loyalty CEO, Olivia Wirth said at a time when Australians are planning domestic holidays more than ever the partnership with Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions provides even more choice for frequent flyers to use their Qantas Points.

“Ninety per cent of our members want to use their points for travel so the ability to explore the country by rail is an exciting alternative for frequent flyers and a real drawcard for our program,” Ms Wirth said.

“Whether members are redeeming points on flights, hotel bookings, holiday packages or now rail travel, we’re always evolving and innovating to meet the needs of our 13 million members and help bring them closer to their next dream trip.”

Journey Beyond Chief Executive Officer, Chris Tallent said the announcement reflected a coming together of two great Australian brands.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Qantas Frequent Flyer and provide people who love to travel with greater value when they choose a premium rail holiday experience,” Mr Tallent said.

“Like Qantas, Journey Beyond is in the business of taking people to incredible places across the country and curating unique experiences that forge lasting memories.

“As the first travel partner to offer Classic Reward Seats outside of flights, with the launch of our ‘Classic Rail’ Rewards, we look forward to growing our partnership with Qantas and sharing the joy of travel with our guests.”

Bookings are now available for rail travel next year with the Great Southern’s second season being extended by two weeks into February and the once-a-week Ghan service becoming a twice-weekly service from May to August. Work is currently underway to see the Indian Pacific return with its weekly journeys from mid-February.

Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent on all Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions or use points to book twin and single Gold Cabins on The Ghan, Indian Pacific and Great Southern starting from 100,000 Qantas Points.

More information and bookings are available here.

KiwiRail’s Tourism Trains Back on Track for Summer

August 4, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

All KiwiRail’s long distance scenic services will be back this summer, giving New Zealanders the opportunity to see their spectacular country from the comfort of a train.

“When New Zealand went into its Level 4 Covid lockdown at the end of March, all our scenic trains stopped running and we needed to gauge the market and plan the services’ return,” KiwiRail Group Chief Executive Greg Miller says.

“We also had to carry out maintenance work on the carriages we use, and that work was delayed by the Covid lockdown. We prioritised the TranzAlpine, which runs between Christchurch and Greymouth, so it was the first service to resume.

“We have now reached the stage where we are able to announce plans to also re-start the Coastal Pacific and Northern Explorer.

“A record winter school holidays on Interislander and a highly successful winter promotion of the TranzAlpine gives us the confidence that the public will support these tourism trains which will be back in time for the summer holidays.”

The Coastal Pacific runs from spring to autumn, offering vistas of the spectacular coastline between Picton and Christchurch, via Kaikoura, during a five-hour journey.

The Northern Explorer runs between Auckland and Wellington over more than 10 hours, taking in views of Mts Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu, as well as twisting through the famed Raurimu Spiral and stopping briefly in Palmerston North, Ohakune, National Park and Hamilton.

“Pre Covid, rail touring was enjoying a resurgence throughout the world and, with the support of a promised $80 million of Government funding, KiwiRail was planning an ambitious upgrade of its scenic fleet and services,” Mr Miller says.

“The indefinite closure of New Zealand’s borders to international tourists, and the re-purposing by the Government of some of the proposed funding means that, for now, we are hibernating some of those plans and instead concentrating on designing viable timetables and services for the domestic market.

“New Zealanders can be assured that the scenery has not changed, and nor has the warmth of the welcome from KiwiRail’s staff who are eager to be back on track.

“Bookings are already open for our premier service, the TranzAlpine, running from Christchurch to Greymouth and same-day return, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. From September, customers will be able to enjoy the traditional Scenic class seats or pay extra to try a new Scenic-Plus class, which includes enhanced personal food and beverage service at your table.

“In spring, the Coastal Pacific will resume travelling from Christchurch to Picton each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning, with a return service the same afternoon.

“Because the Northern Explorer has competition from airlines on the same route and is a much longer trip which is more difficult to make financially sustainable for KiwiRail, there has been speculation over its return.

“We’re pleased to announce that it’s coming back and we are currently working on the timetable, crewing and ticket prices and anticipate it resuming prior to the summer season.

“It looks like all New Zealanders will be holidaying at home this summer and as people plan their breaks, we urge them to demonstrate their support for environmentally friendly travel and choose to sit back and connect with the landscape on their national rail network.

“We will monitor the popularity and profitability of the three scenic services over summer, while also looking at additional destinations and opportunities.

“In addition to these scheduled services, we are looking to expand our fleet to offer enhanced charter services throughout the year.

“Despite uncertainties in the current market, KiwiRail is committed to playing a long-term, vital role in New Zealand’s tourism sector and we are looking forward to rolling out our fleet again.”

Bookings for the TranzAlpine are currently open from September 4 till the end of November, operating four-day weekends (Friday-Monday) and every day during the school holidays from Friday, September 25 to Monday October 12. Bookings for the TranzAlpine from December, and for the Coastal Pacific and Northern Explorer, will open in the next few weeks.

EasyJet Says Can Ride Out 9 Month Shutdown and Slow Recovery

April 18, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: EasyJet planes parked at Luton airport after the airline grounded its entire fleet

LONDON (Reuters) – EasyJet can survive a nine-month shutdown thanks to its measures to contend with the coronavirus crisis and is planning for a slow recovery, the British airline said on Thursday.

As airlines worldwide battle for survival after lockdowns and travel bans brought the sector to a virtual standstill, EasyJet announced a new fleet plan to manage its emergence from the enforced hibernation.

The UK-based company said it will start to shrink its fleet and the number of planes it operates will not reach pre-crisis levels until 2022, signalling that it does not expect a quick recovery for the industry.

“We’ve been able to adapt ourselves to reduced demand for the next couple of years, then have the flexibility to increase as demand picks up again,” Chief Executive Johan Lundgren told reporters.

The industry is split on how quickly the sector can recover. Lufthansa, plane manufacturers and airline body IATA have warned that it will be a slow process. EasyJet’s bigger low-cost rival Ryanair, meanwhile, has predicted a swift rebound in traffic.

Lundgren said that, while he does not expect the grounding of easyJet’s fleet to last nine months, the company would remain cash-positive even if that were the case and could survive for longer than that by seeking additional funding.

Among the steps it is taking, easyJet is in talks over the sale and leaseback of some planes to leasing companies, with expected proceeds of up to 550 million pounds ($687 million).

“Overall, the company has presented a very credible response to the crisis,” said Goodbody analyst Mark Simpson.

In addition to the deferral of new orders and non-renewal of leases, easyJet said it now plans to sell six aircraft.

The airline, however, has faced calls from its founder and biggest shareholder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, to terminate its 4.5 billion pound order with Airbus for 107 new jets.

He escalated his row with management on Thursday, issuing a statement saying he planned to call for the removal of Lundgren as well as chairman John Barton at forthcoming meetings. He said Lundgren should not send money to Airbus for planes while running an “aircraft parking lot”.

CASH PILE

Through various funding initiatives, easyJet expects to generate total additional liquidity of about 1.85 billion to 1.95 billion pounds, leading to a notional cash balance of about 3.3 billion pounds.

Given the level of continued market uncertainty, the company said it is not possible to provide guidance for the remainder of the 2020 financial year.

However, it said winter bookings are well ahead of those at the same stage last year, with Lundgren adding that he expects there to be pent-up demand for holidays as people emerge from lockdown.

But travel restrictions are likely to ease slowly and easyJet will have to be flexible, the CEO said. “I don’t think this is going to be a case of let’s just open everything up,” he added.

Measures under consideration include disinfecting aircraft and steps to ensure social distancing on planes.

“We will clearly look to have the middle seat empty as we start,” Lundgren said. “I think that is actually what the customers would like to see.”

EasyJet shares were up 2.2% at 616 pence at 1207 GMT, having lost more than 50% year to date.

($1 = 0.8007 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and David Goodman)

All Aboard! Book Premium Rail Travel with Qantas Points

KiwiRail’s Tourism Trains Back on Track for Summer

EasyJet Says Can Ride Out 9 Month Shutdown and Slow Recovery

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