Tag: frequent (Page 3 of 5)

QANTAS Unveils Vaccine Reward Mega Prize Campaign

August 23, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

A year’s worth of free flights, Accor hotel stays and bp fuel up for grabs*
Free Qantas Points, Status Credits or $20 flight discount for fully vaccinated Australians
Qantas teams up with Australian singer Tones And I to launch TVC to ‘Be Rewarded’

The Qantas Group is launching its reward campaign for COVID-19 vaccinated Australians to recognise their role in helping the country get out of lockdown.

From tomorrow, fully vaccinated Australian-based Frequent Flyers who are 18 and over will be able to claim their reward through the Qantas App by choosing one of three options:

1000 Qantas points
15 status credits (which help Frequent Flyers move up between Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers)
$20 flight discount for Qantas or Jetstar

Members will then be automatically entered into a mega prize draw to win a year’s worth of flights, accommodation and fuel.

Ten mega prizes will be up for grabs with a winner selected from each state and territory and two mega prize winners as part of a national TV campaign.

Winners of ten mega prizes will receive a year’s worth of flights to take off to more than 60 destinations around Australia, with free accommodation across 345 Ac cor hotels, resorts and apartments (including Sofitel, Pullman, Peppers, Mantra, Mercure, Mövenpick, Novotel and Ibis) and top up their cars with free fuel from any of bp’s 1,400 service stations across the country.

Winners will also be able to take off to any Qantas and Jetstar international destination when borders start to open.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the vaccine rollout was critical for protecting public health and key to breaking the cycle of lockdowns.

Australians can claim their points, status credits or flight discounts and be automatically entered in the mega prize draw by downloading the Qantas App (via the App Store or through Google Play), using their Medicare app to access and upload their COVID-19 digital vaccination certificate and selecting their reward choice. Vaccination certificate information will be deleted upon verification.

Click the link below to read the full story!

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-unveils-vaccine-reward-mega-prize-campaign/

Virgin Australia Launches New Routes and Announces Fare Sale

August 10, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Virgin Australia will introduce two new direct services ahead of the September school holidays as the airline pivots its network schedule to reconnect Australia in new ways.

The new services, focussed on markets with open borders, include the resumption of flights between Adelaide – Darwin from 6 September and the introduction of a brand-new direct service, never before operated in the airline’s 21-year history, between Adelaide – Launceston, commencing on 7 September.

To kickstart the launch of the services, Virgin Australia is offering the following one-way Economy sale fares from today until midnight this Friday 13 August or until sold-out:

Adelaide – Launceston from $59
Adelaide – Darwin from $119

And for customers looking to travel at the pointy end, Virgin Australia will continue to sell their great value Business Class fares on these services:

Adelaide – Launceston from $299
Adelaide – Darwin from $529

Along with checked baggage and seat selection included in all airfares, Virgin Australia is also offering double Velocity Frequent Flyer Status Credits on all new eligible bookings (excluding Getaway fares) made by midnight tomorrow (Tuesday 10 August).

Virgin Australia customers who hold travel credits or Future Flight credits are also encouraged to take advantage of the great value fares which are expected to sell-out quickly.

QANTAS Announces Another New Queensland Route to the Whitsundays

July 11, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Queenslanders will have more travel options to the world-famous Whitsundays with QantasLink launching direct flights from Brisbane to the Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine) for the first time in seven years.

From 17 September 2021, QantasLink will operate up to seven weekly return flights between Proserpine and Brisbane with its 74-seat Q400 turboprop aircraft, adding more than 1000 seats on the route each week.

It follows the new routes QantasLink commenced from Brisbane to Albury and Cooma earlier this week. Between Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar, the Group has now launched more than 45 new routes since international borders closed, around half of which are into Queensland.

QantasLink CEO John Gissing said the new route would create stronger connections to the popular tourism destination.

Special fares on the new route are available from $109 one-way at qantas.com or through Travel Agents, until 10 July 2021, unless sold out prior.

The new Brisbane-Proserpine service will complement Jetstar flights to the Whitsunday Coast from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Qantas has recently extended its Fly Flexible policy, offering customers who book flights before 30 September 2021 with unlimited ‘fee free’ date changes when travelling before 28 February 2022. (A fare difference may apply).

Emirates and TAP Air Portugal Sign MOU to Expand Strategic Partnership

March 17, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Dubai, UAE, March 2021 – Emirates and TAP Air Portugal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand the codeshare partnership currently in place between both airlines. The new agreement will see customers of both airlines benefit from seamless connectivity on many new routes across the Americas, North Africa and East Asia. Emirates and TAP Air Portugal will also explore ways to enhance the co-operation on their respective frequent flyer programmes including reciprocal earning and redemption opportunities and popular benefits such as lounge access.

In addition, both airlines plan on supporting each other’s stopover programmes in Dubai and Lisbon, with Emirates also supporting TAP Air Portugal as it looks at potential expansion opportunities in the UAE.

Subject to required regulatory approvals, the expanded agreement is expected to come into effect from 01 May 2021, will provide customers with seamless booking, ticketing and travel benefits across 70 destinations on both airlines’ networks.

Under the expanded partnership, TAP Air Portugal will place its code on Emirates’ flights to popular East Asia destinations such as Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Mumbai, Delhi, Dhaka, Male, Jakarta, Denpasar, Manila, Hanoi, as well as Barcelona, and Mexico City.

Emirates customers will be able to seamlessly access additional domestic destinations in Portugal, as well as TAP Air Portugal’s flights to cities in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Morocco, Tunisia, Gambia, and Cape Verde.

Qantas Starts Flights to Griffith, Australia

March 1, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

QantasLink is today adding Griffith to its map, operating direct flights from Sydney for the first time to meet increased demand for travel within Australia. The inaugural flight QF2121 arrived in Griffith from Sydney at midday with local business and community leaders at the Airport to welcome the aircraft’s arrival. The service will operate daily with the airline’s turboprop 50-seat Q300 aircraft, adding more than 700 seats on the route each week.

Speaking from Griffith to mark the inaugural flight, QantasLink CEO John Gissing said the new route reinforced the national carrier’s commitment to supporting regional Australia. “As the national carrier, we have an important role to play in driving tourism and supporting the industry in its recovery from COVID-19. We know Australians want to travel so we’ve been looking for opportunities to support new routes where there is demand and help deliver a boost for local businesses. We’re working with tourism partners to promote the world-class wineries and fresh produce of the beautiful Riverina region to millions of our frequent flyers around the country”.

Qantas (QAN.AX) is also today launching a new regional route from Melbourne to Merimbula. Since the start of COVID-19, the Qantas Group has announced or commenced flying on 26 new routes across Australia, reflecting new travel demand patterns.

The route launch follows a new suite of initiatives introduced for customers, including a boost to flexibility allowing unlimited flight changes until at least February 2022.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Qantas has introduced a number of initiatives improve safety and peace-of-mind when travelling domestically through its Fly Well program, including masks on board, hand sanitising stations and enhanced aircraft cleaning.

Virgin Australia Opens Lounge of the Future

February 26, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Virgin Australia has today revealed its Lounge of the future, with the opening of its highly anticipated Adelaide Airport Lounge. Designed by Brisbane’s WMK Architecture, the 283-seat Adelaide Lounge completes Virgin Australia’s network of seven domestic lounges across major airports around Australia. All future Lounge refurbishments around the domestic network will be done in line with this new and fresh design thinking.

The Lounge is true to the Virgin Australia brand, creating a warm, authentic and inviting environment for frequent flyers.

The contemporary design includes a breeze block feature wall upon entry, with canopy ceilings, before ceramic tiling leads guests into a large light-filled space, with the centre walkway leading guests to numerous dining and seating areas. Ambient lighting, bright greenery and Australian sustainable furniture completes the Lounge, making it a relaxed, inviting and uncomplicated place, to refresh and recharge in a delightfully Virgin way.

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the new lounge was the first of many new and exciting products for customers following the airline’s re-launch.

Adelaide Lounge features

The Coffee Bar: An eye-catching central café seating area, transforming from a place to unwind over a coffee during the day, turning into a wine bar at night.

The Cellar Door Hub: With some of Australia’s most awarded wineries on the doorstep of Adelaide Airport, Virgin Australia has created a feature space for South Australian wineries to bring their cellar door to the Lounge for seasonal wine tasting.

Distinct dining areas: Separate dining areas with diverse functionality have been built adjacent to servery areas to cater to all guest’s eating preferences, including large social tables, and banquette seating for more private dining.

Delta Named Best Airline for American Travelers by USA Today

February 19, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards announced their list of best airlines, airline amenities and airports of 2021 – naming Delta (NYSE: DAL) the best airline for American travelers, the Delta Sky Club at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as the best airport lounge and Delta flight attendants as the best cabin crew.

Nominees in all categories are chosen editorially by a panel of experts. Once the nominees were selected, readers could vote once per category, per day for four weeks. The winners indicate which airlines, airline amenities and airports make getting to your destination a pleasure rather than a pain.

The Delta Sky Club at New York-JFK features a Sky Deck overlooking Terminal 4, free WiFi, fresh food, premium drinks and more. During the ongoing pandemic, guests can expect to see a new standard of Club cleanliness that includes the same Delta CareStandard practices found throughout the airport and onboard aircraft. This includes but is not limited to: individually packaged fresh food options; plexiglass partitions at check-in, at the bar and between seating areas; limited capacity and blocked seats to promote more space; and enhanced cleaning measures. Learn more on delta.com

In September 2020, the airline opened its newest and largest Delta Sky Club as a part of Salt Lake City International Airport’s newly opened terminal. Delta’s support of the new Salt Lake City Airport build is part of the airline’s ongoing strategy to modernize our hub infrastructure and customer experience by investing more than $12B in airport projects.

Qantas Adds New Routes to North Coast for Holidays by the Sea

February 18, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Three new routes to Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay (Ballina)
Additional seats to Coffs Harbour from Sydney for April school holidays
Sale fares on new routes from $129 one-way

Qantas has today announced it will add three new routes and extra seats to the New South Wales north coast to support growing demand for holidays in Australia. From 1 April 2021, Qantas will launch three new routes to both Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay (Ballina).

Melbourne to Coffs Harbour – flights will operate daily with Qantas’ Boeing 717 aircraft, adding more than 1,750 seats on the route each week.

Brisbane to Coffs Harbour – flights will operate four days per week with the turboprop Q400 aircraft, adding around 600 seats on the route each week.

Canberra to Byron Bay – Qantas’ first ever direct service connecting the two destinations, offering two flights per week with the turboprop Q400 aircraft. Flights will initially operate in April and Qantas will look to continue the service from July in line with demand.

More seats will also be added between Sydney and Coffs Harbour with the introduction of Qantas’ larger two-class B717 aircraft during the April school holidays, operating alongside the Q400 which also operate on the route. This will see Qantas offer around 500 extra seats on the route each week (a total of 4,300 seats), and the option to travel in Business.

QantasLink CEO John Gissing said these new routes would provide Australians with more options to plan their next holiday in their own backyard.

“The beautiful coastal hubs of Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour continue to be incredibly popular with travellers, so it makes sense to provide direct connections from other capital cities to make them even more accessible.

“Travellers from Canberra can spend more time on the beach and less time on their journey with our direct service to Byron Bay.

“We’ll be promoting these new flights to millions of our frequent flyers across the country and think they’ll enjoy the benefits of our premium service, including complimentary food and drinks, baggage and lounge access before they fly out.

Qantas is offering special fares for flights on the new routes from $129 one-way for periods of travel between April and October, available at qantas.com or through Travel Agents, until 11:59pm 21 February 2021, unless sold out prior.

Qantas currently operates up to 20 return flights per week between Sydney and Ballina Byron Bay and 28 weekly return flights between Sydney and Coffs Harbour.

The announcement follows a suite of customer initiatives unveiled last week, including a boost to flexibility allowing unlimited flight changes until at least January 2022.

Qantas & Japan Airlines Form Tourism Recovery Business Venture

December 27, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Qantas and Japan Airlines (JAL) today announced plans to form a new joint business, designed to better serve customers travelling between Australia, New Zealand and Japan and support the tourism industry’s recovery when international flying resumes.

The airlines have submitted an application for authorisation to regulators in Australia and New Zealand, with a decision expected within six months. Subject to this regulatory approval, it is anticipated that the joint business would commence operations around July 2021, when Qantas has said it expects its international network to gradually restart.

The coordination made possible through a joint business would enable Qantas and JAL to ramp up flights between Australia and Japan sooner than would otherwise be possible. The airlines have flagged an intention to launch a new route between Australia and Japan and expect to announce details once regulatory approval is received, borders open and demand returns.

Under the proposed five-year agreement, the airlines would deliver substantial benefits for customers and help accelerate the recovery of the tourism, trade and corporate travel links between Australia and Japan, including:

An expanded codeshare relationship and optimised schedules on flights between Australia and New Zealand and Japan, opening up more connections to more destinations beyond the major city gateways. Qantas customers would have access to 14 new codeshare destinations in Japan and JAL customers would have access to 15 new codeshare destinations in Australia and New Zealand.
Enhanced frequent flyer benefits for Qantas and JAL customers, including improved earn of Qantas points or JAL miles on routes under the joint business beyond what is possible today, as well as the ability to upgrade using points or miles on each other’s services.
Improvements in the customer experience, including streamlined processes for disruption management and investments in product and service inflight and on the ground, designed to better serve the carriers’ joint customers.
More premium travel opportunities, with Qantas able to offer customers a greater number of Business and Premium Economy seats on flights operated by JAL.
Coordination of pricing, schedules, sales and tourism marketing to develop new and improved travel products, delivering more choice for customers.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the joint business would play a vital role in reviving trade links with the world’s third largest economy and deliver significant benefits for customers travelling between Australia and Japan.

“Around half a million people visited Australia from Japan in 2019. We want to see that tourism resume and grow even further by making it easier for Japanese travellers to visit,” said Mr Joyce.

“The joint business means we’ll be able to build on our existing relationship with JAL through oneworld to offer more routes, better flight connections and more benefits to frequent flyers. It also helps us diversify our portfolio of joint businesses amongst Australia’s key trading partners.

“It will be a win for our customers, a win for trade and a win for the one million people who work in tourism across Australia.”

Japan Airlines President Yuji Akasaka added: “For over 50 years, JAL and Qantas have operated flights between Japan and Australia, demonstrating our mutual commitment to support and strengthen the diplomatic relationship built by the two countries.

“We believe that a joint business with Qantas will make for a quicker recovery between both countries with the ability to expand connectivity within each carrier’s respective domestic network, providing more customer choice and travel growth opportunities.”

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.

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