Aussies are definitely not impervious to the charms of a cold can of Fosters; after all, they do have record-breaking pub crawls and boats made of beer cans. But if you're flying on a domestic Qantas flight Down Under, there are a few less beers going round these days.
Citing unruly behavior, mostly from drunken mine workers heading home after a couple of weeks working in the desert, Qantas has banned full strength beer and spirits on all flights within Western Australia. This follows existing bans on sales of spirits on intrastate flights in other parts of Australia.]]>
Australia seems like a long way from just about everywhere, right? (Maybe not from New Zealand!). So if you want to get there in a bit of comfort, it would be great to splash out on a business class seat. Aussie airline Qantas wants to make this financially easier for us for a while, with a 40% off sale on business class seats from Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York down to Sydney or Brisbane.
Business class is certainly a nicer way to travel on those long, long-haul flights, although the funny thing is that Qantas claims to have invented business class back in 1979; if you prefer to believe Wikipedia, it was actually British Caledonian in 1978. ]]>
It seems hard to believe that it is almost 75 years since the first regular flights from Britain to Australia began, but it's apparently true that as far back as 1935, the wealthy were skipping the long boat trips and flying Down Under. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Australia flights next year, Qantas Holidays are putting on a real "trip of a lifetime" vacation on the historical "Nostalgia" and "Classical" routes.
Flying with a group of just 22 passengers on a classic Convair CV580 plane, the 22-day trip from London to Sydney (or the 21-day reverse journey) will be something quite special. With a maximum flying time of four hours per day, there are numerous stops in countries as diverse as the Czech Republic, Syria and Vietnam. Daily excursions could take you over the Himalayas, by water taxi to stilted houses in Brunei, or on a dawn cruise on the Ganges. ]]>
Want to be the first to see the sunrise on New Year's Day 2010? Then get yourself booked onto a flight on the Qantas A380, which will spend New Year's Eve 2009 flying over Antarctica.
A gang called Antarctic Sightseeing Flights are running the trip, which starts in Sydney and will pick up more passengers in Melbourne before heading down in the direction of the South Pole. You'll spend almost 12 hours on board but it's no ordinary flight—they'll have a jazz band playing, a bit of a party atmosphere, and a strict seat rotation policy so that everybody gets their share of the best views.]]>
Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man might have said that Qantas never crashed, but these days he'd be changing his tune. This week Aussie airline Qantas announced that they will retire a few of their ageing Boeing 747s in November, and we're not alone in wondering exactly why.
One of the 747s in particular has been labeled "jinxed" after it was involved in a mid-air explosion last year and an engine shutdown this week that forced a diversion to Perth and had the pilot land with only three engines going. ]]>
Are you under 30 and British? If not, don't stop reading yet because you can at least be super jealous of those who are. Qantas has planned a ridiculously sweet with STA travel agencies: the Ten Pound Pom promotion, offering tickets from London to major Aussie cities for just £10 ($16).
It sounds too good to be true, but it's for real, and is a nod back in history to a scheme from just after World War II when the Australian government needed immigrants and let British would-be-Aussies pay just ten pounds for their passage from Britain to Oz. This time around it's limited to just 150 tickets for under 30s, with a valid Working Holiday Visa.
STA and Qantas are expecting people to camp out for the tickets, which go on sale at selected STA travel agents across Britain on August 5. They are also offering discount fares for those who miss out on the ten pound fare, starting from £679 ($1,100), which is nice of them but doesn't sound anywhere near as good as ten pounds.
Related Stories:
· 10 Pound Pom [Official Site]
· New Generation of 10 Pound Poms [Brisbane Times]
· Working Holidays Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: daveknapik] ]]>
We have to admit we were a little surprised to learn that the trip from Sydney to Melbourne ranks as the third-busiest travel route in the world, but if that's true, then it sure makes sense that low-cost carrier Tiger Airways has just thrown its two cents in the ring.
Since last Friday, Tiger has been running multiple flights between Sydney and Melbourne each day, with all-inclusive one-way fares starting from A$39 ($31) for the 90-minute flight. There's heavy competition from Jetstar, Virgin Blue and Qantas, but at the moment Tiger's prices are definitely amongst the lowest. If nothing else, this means that if you get Down Under, you will definitely be able to take in both Sydney and Melbourne without adding too much strain to the budget.
Related Stories:
· New Melbourne to Sydney Flight Route Takes Off [The Age]
· Tiger Airways Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: 713 Avenue] ]]>