Australia Travel Guide

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Flight Review: A Quickie in Economy on Virgin Australia

Where: Australia
May 15, 2013 at 10:54 AM | by | Comments (0)

Now that we've already shared a detailed peek at what it's like to fly up front in the cushy seats of Virgin Australia's Business Class, it's about time to show you what economy has to offer on Australia's newest full-service airline.

The flight: Sydney to Brisbane, Australia.

Since our seat was towards the back of the economy section, we boarded from the back stairs which resulted in a speedy boarding and ultimately got us in the air quicker. A primped cabin crew, outfitted in their red skirt suits with purple scarves, warmly greeted every passenger as they headed for their seats. Just like in business class, these seats are covered in soft leather and have headrests that feature random pops of purple, red or light grey to keep the cabin interesting. Of course the major difference comes in seat size and legroom.

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How Virgin Australia Plans to Beam Magazines and Newspapers to Your iPad

Where: Australia
May 1, 2013 at 9:17 AM | by | Comments (0)

Piles of newspaper and old magazines are no longer an issue for Virgin Australia and their airline lounges, as they’re getting ready to go digital. We’re sure some periodicals will be kicking around in paper format for quite some time, but we still think their latest move is pretty darn clever.

It sounds like visitors to the Virgin Australia lounges down under will soon have access to well over 2,000 different publications thanks to PressReader. Basically you’ll connect to the wireless network, fire up the app, and then start perusing plenty of newspapers and magazines from nearly 100 countries across 50 languages. Local favorites like The Australian and Gold Coast Bulletin are available, but feel free to digitally flip through the Los Angeles Times as well. They promise complete digital replicas of each and every edition, and often things are available through PressReader before they hit the newsstand.

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Hot Pink and Hot to Trot: Qantas' New Uniforms Shock in Sydney

Where: Australia
April 16, 2013 at 8:10 AM | by | Comments (0)

Qantas' new Uniforms are hot. They're also hot pink in places, and so hot that the airline just unveiled them with a full-fledged runway show and livestream during Sydney Fashion Week, starring Aussie supermodel Miranda Kerr.

Kerr catwalked along with the rest of the Qantas crew models to show off the 35 uniform styles to be worn by 12,600 staff starting in 2014. The looks, consisting of 15 different fabrics (including fine Australian Merino wool, Italian leather and a knit trilby hat made from recycled bottle tops) were designed by Martin Grant and paired with the unmistakably scarlet soles of Christian Louboutin shoes.

The Louboutins completed the head-to-toe peeks of red in the uniform, but hold up—remember the saying "if it's too good to be true, it probably is." Such is the case here. The shoes were special only for this runway show, a fact verified by our friends at Australian Business Traveller, who were in attendance at the event. Qantas crew won't be donning the French designer's shoes, which regularly retail for $700 and up; it's normal black shoes after today. Boo hiss.

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What You Should Know After Qantas and Emirates Hooked Up This Weekend

Where: Australia
April 1, 2013 at 11:25 AM | by | Comments (0)


Photo: Bernard Proctor/Qantas & Emirates Facebook

Easter Sunday in Australia was not only filled with egg hunts and chocolate bunnies, but it was the launch of the official partnership between Qantas and Emirates. The day signified the first flights for each of the airlines under the new friendship, all commemorated by each airline sending an Airbus A380 to buzz over Sydney Harbour at around 1,500 feet.

Alliances like this one are becoming a bit more commonplace in the industry, and they're pretty passenger-friendly in terms of more options for flying around the globe and for racking up frequent flyer miles.

Here are the immediate benefits of the Qantas-Emirates partnership for you:

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The Little Things: Celebrating a Birthday on Qantas

Where: Australia
March 8, 2013 at 2:15 PM | by | Comment (1)

In the midst of the bustle of travel, it's all too easy to overlook the details. We're talking about special touches others have stressed over just so you can enjoy a unique experience, whether you know it or not. Every so often we'll highlight The Little Things like this, so now you will know.

These little touches are usually static details that are available to everyone, but this time it was the airline crew who went above and beyond to make us feel special when we flew on the birthday of our travel companion. The crew of this recent flight on Qantas took time out of their busy work duties to wish him a very happy day.

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Catch Sydney's 'Tropfest' Short Film Festival Above Down Under

Where: Australia
February 19, 2013 at 12:12 PM | by | Comment (1)

Heard of Tropfest before? If not, mark it down to satisfy your film buff side, as it is Australia's most prestigious short film festival. During Tropfest, thousands of stars and star-gazers converge on Sydney to celebrate the art of filmmaking. 2013's Sydney Tropfest ended this last weekend, but luckily it's now a global event.

When it began 20 years ago the festival was named Tropicana Film Festival, since shortened to Tropfest. The first screening had about 200 spectators and, in contrast, this year's had about 150,000 heading to the city's park area named The Domain. Mother nature held off her fury long enough for people to relax on the grass and catch the 16 finalist films. And, for the first time, the festival was telecast on Australian network TV.

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Sandcastle Airplane!

Where: Australia
February 18, 2013 at 4:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

While most of the the US is still shivering and donning scarves, it's the height of summer in Australia and Qantas will not let us forget it. In fact, they've set up the ultimate sand castle display right in Sydney's Circular Quay.

The 'Flying Kangaroo' recently (re)launched flights from Sydney to Gold Coast and wanted to draw some unique attention to it. Since the "glitter strip" is well-known for its beach culture —we're talking about the Surfers Paradise— what better way to turn some heads with a sculpture meticulously carved into the shape of a plane full of passengers heading to soak up the sun.

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Qantas' New In-Flight iPads are Boss

Where: Australia
February 15, 2013 at 9:32 AM | by | Comments (0)

Yesterday we talked about Qantas' comfy new black leather business-class seats, but the real champion of the overhauled airplane is the in-flight entertainment system. We have mentioned Q Streaming before and we're excited to get our hands on the technology.

Not for lack of trying, we have been on a few planes with the hopes of discovering an Apple iPad in the seat-back pocket all to be disappointed. As soon as we turned the corner to board the plane and saw the product logo right next to the door, admittedly, our heart skipped a beat. We can finally catch up on a few episodes of Modern Family directly streamed to the device over a WiFi network.

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Putting Qantas' New Domestic Business Class Seat Under the Microscope

Where: Australia
February 14, 2013 at 1:28 PM | by | Comment (1)

Last summer we spread the news about Qantas refurbishing the cabins of its aging Boeing 767 fleet. Most particularly, some flashy new black leather seats in the domestic business class cabin were coming in and, only recently, we booked a flight (Brisbane-Sydney) to try them out.

First impressions of the cabin were good. By today's standards, this plane is old and a little sprucing up to modernize it was much needed. The seats are merely reupholstered, but it really didn't matter to us since it was a short flight. Back in August, we thought the airline was adding an über-luxurious wood grain arm-rest. Instead we found this was also upholstered in a tan leather. Although that was a little bit of a let-down, it was still nicer than before.

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Jetstar Really Thinks a Quick Trip Can Turn Seatmates into Lovemates

Where: Australia
February 11, 2013 at 11:39 AM | by | Comment (1)

Just in case you haven't walked within a few feet of the greeting card section of your local drugstore, this week is Valentine's Day. Consider this fair warning if you haven't already scrambled to buy chocolates or flowers, but if you don't have a special one just yet, Jetstar has the solution to your problem. "LoveJet"! (cue the cheesy music)

The Australian low-cost carrier has hooked up with Aussie dating site, RSVP, to bring the world some real (multi-)mile-high dating. Last year, we saw KLM try to pair passengers looking for interesting conversation and a possible love connection, but Jetstar is actually planning on making the relationship magic happen.

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One Very Good Reason Not to Steal Qantas' Cups

Where: Australia
February 8, 2013 at 11:00 AM | by | Comment (1)

Airline memorabilia collectors, beware! There's no need to longingly look at the china on your meal tray when flying, now that Qantas sells everything you need to complete your own premium class set-up at home.

Probably in an effort to curb the "5-finger discount," the Red Roo has begun selling their Marc Newson-designed tableware that is not only stylish, but quite practical on land as well. The bright white, modern bone china pieces would make a nice addition to any set table, not to mention their potential to start travel conversations over dinner.

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Head to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo to Pet a Kangaroo and Kiss a Koala

Where: 1638 Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah, Queensland, Australia, 4519
February 7, 2013 at 10:33 AM | by | Comments (0)

February marks the birthday month for Australia's most famous conservationist, Steve Irwin. There might be no better way to celebrate the life of the zoo-keeper than to head off to his very own zoo, aptly named, Australia Zoo.

Located about 60 minutes north of Brisbane, the 100-acre park was originally started by Steve's parents as solely a croc and reptile park. In 1992, Steve took ownership of the zoo and he escalated it to become one of the best zoos in the country, featuring a unique 'Crocoseum' for putting on demonstrations for visitors with live crocodile hand-feedings and a full animal show.

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