In this episode we touch on the implications on ACCC’s Interim approval on Qantas and Emirates’ partnership.
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Travel News Summary:
Hey there. Jake here from Business Travel Management with another news update.
We’re going to be speaking about Virgin Australia, about the Qantas and Emirates partnership deal, and some aircraft announcements with Qantas as well, so stay tuned to find out more.
Straight off to Virgin. They have just upgraded their reservation system to fall into one of the legacy GDS solutions, which is what we use to book flights for you in the office here. As a result of that, they’ve modified their baggage allowances a little bit. It’s quite positive for most people, so check that out. We’ll include the link below.
The other thing they’ve done, is they have announced that their Velocity frequent flyer seat redemptions will now earn status credits, so that’s fantastic news. Most airlines don’t give status credits when you get the frequent flyer seats or frequent flyer bookings, so that’s one advantage now with Virgin Australia. If you’re redeeming points to fly somewhere, you’re going to also earn the status credits for that flight, which of course, will allow you to get closer to the next level, which will get you more benefits.
- Qantas and Emirates scores government interim approval on partnership deal.
We’re nearing the completion of the Qantas and Emirates deal. We have had word that they have got interim approval from the ACCC and they’re also enabled to start selling seats. Their full range of code share flights is now loaded into the system, and you can start booking.
As we discussed earlier in an earlier episode, the delays if you’re looking to stay on a Qantas aircraft to Dubai and then fly on to Europe with an Emirates code share flight, are substantial, with the Qantas flights arriving around midnight and the vast majority of flights out of Dubai into Europe not departing until after 7 AM. The best solution if you’re looking to save time but fly as quickly as possible to Europe, would be to pick a Qantas code share flight on an Emirates aircraft ex Australia.
- Qantas announces the introduction of A330′s via Sydney – Melbourne routes across to Perth.
Staying on Qantas, we’ve also announced previously that they will be introducing A330s on their Sydney and Melbourne routes across to Perth, effective May. We have word that they will be actually releasing it a month early, on particularly the Sydney-Perth route. The other thing they’re doing, is they’re upgrading their Boeing 767 aircraft, which typically flies the Brisbane-Perth route. They’re going to retrofit that with a similar product to everything else. When you’re flying the long haul across the continent, it’s going to be really nice and comfortable.
That’s it for another episode. Thank you very much for tuning in, and we’ll speak to you again very soon.
