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Celeb Travel / Qantas / John Travolta / Frequent Flyer Programs / Australia / SYD / MEL / Australia Travel / → All Tags

While Obama's In Oz, Travolta Pops Up On Qantas

The never-ending saga of Qantas and the rebuilding of a reputation continues and today the process got a boost. While Barack Obama was touring Oz, John Travolta made a surprise appearance on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne. He wasn't a passenger but he was in the business class cabin of the B767.

We know that the Saturday Night Fever star is a world ambassador for the flying kangaroo and actually has a retired Boeing 707 parked in his driveway. We also know that he has been featured as a captain in the in-flight safety announcement. Now, he turns up to present the most frequent flyers with Qantas' top status, Platinum One. Unfortunately, this was a one-off presentation; he was just in town for a 91st birthday bash Qantas decided to throw for the elite status flyers.

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Qantas / Australia Travel / Australia / New Zealand / Airlines News / Airline Industry / Airline Strikes / Frequent Flyer Miles / → All Tags

How Does a Red Kangaroo Say 'I'm Sorry?'

We already talked about how the CEO of Qantas decided to counter industrial action by shutting down the complete worldwide operations. Since that weekend, Qantas is back up in the skies with a new motto, "Book with confidence and certainty," and a lot of explaining to do for the more than 70,000 passengers that were left stranded.

Leaving travelers stranded and with unanswered questions, Qantas had to do something. During the shutdown, the company offered to reimburse those who needed to re-book on different airlines, even pay the difference of airfares. For those who decided to stay in the city in which they were stranded, Qantas paid hotels, meals and phone calls up to a certain amount. If you were one of the unlucky passengers and you're still struggling to figure out what you get from all this, visit Qantas' website for more details.

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Airline Strikes / Qantas / Australia / Australia Travel / Airline Industry / Politics Travel / Travel News / Airline News / → All Tags

Is the Qantas Shutdown the Beginning of a Winter of Airline Strikes?

Australia's flagship carrier Qantas had been having labor problems for months. Within the last few weeks the union representing the airline's mechanics, pilots, baggage handlers and caterers escalated the dispute, launching a series of rolling work stoppages that triggered dozens of cancellations and created general chaos.

Then, over the weekend, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce re-raised by straight-up shutting down the airline, essentially forcing the situation.

As management no doubt hoped would happen, a hastily-called court brought the parties together, turned to the unions, and told them to get back to work. Qantas will now spend the next few days picking itself off the floor as flights begin again. Our backgrounder on the strike itself and the slow recovery is here, including details on how the airline tried to mitigate the pain over the weekend.

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Big Ash Problems / Volcanoes / Delays / Travel News / Weather / Australia / Australia Travel / Melbourne / Melbourne Travel / New Zealand / New Zealand Travel / Qantas / Air New Zealand / Jetstar / → All Tags

Chile's Puyehue Volcano Eruption Grounding Flights Across Australia and New Zealand

Well this is getting kind of tired. In March Big Ash Problems caused by erupting volcanoes grounding flights throughout Japan. Then in May it was Europe's turn, with the ash cloud from Iceland's Grimsvotn eruption disrupting air travel first in Scotland and then in other parts of the continent.

Now the Puyehue volcano in Chile has blown its top. First the ash cloud first wrecked havoc on Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Then over the weekend it traveled across the Pacific and shut down airports from Melbourne to New Zealand. With some flights still grounded indefinitely, 2011 is shaping up to be even worse than 2010, the year of vengeful air travel volcano gods.

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Film Festival Travel / Australia / Skiing / Vermont Travel / Japan / → All Tags

Baby, It's Cold Outside, Especially at the Backcountry Film Festival

Experience the Australian Alps from the comfort of a movie theater

Film, at its best, has the ability to transport us to a different time, place or state of mind. The great leisure of cinematic travel is that you do so parked in a plush theater chair for two or so hours, with a jumbo pack of Milk Duds and Red Vines by your side. The Fifth Annual Backcountry Film Festival aims to take theatergoers on a tour of wintry locations the world over, from Vermont to Japan.

Your lift ticket to mountainous and blistering-cold regions comes in the form of films shot in the backcountry of different nations, including unlikely places such as Australia. It's a little-known fact that there is snowboarding along with surfing down under.

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Bizarre Foods / Food Travel / Andrew Zimmern / Australia / Sydney / → All Tags

'Bizarre Foods' in Eastern Australia Cuts a Slice of Tiger Pie

Is it just us, or did Andrew Zimmern kind of take this week off? Sure there was a new episode of Bizarre Foods, but it was decidedly un-bizarre; we'd eat all of it no problem.

Andrew was in Eastern Australia this week in what seemed like a less-intense mode after a rough time in the Outback. What we mean is, he went to the Sydney Opera House and Bondi Beach and ate Vegemite; is this "Bizarre Foods" or "Bridget's Sexiest Beaches"?

We will concede that he did find some bugs to eat, but even those were in a stir fry—not exactly the slimy and hardcore chewing we expect of Andrew. In all fairness, he does a great job as a not-so-crazy travel host, since he actually got us pretty excited about hitting up Oz for some tiger pie and Wagyu steak.

We're hoping to get our usual dose of gross eating next week when Zimmern heads to Singapore. Just promise us one thing, Z: no more steaks!

Related Stories:
· Eastern Australia Travel Guide [Bizarre Foods]
· The Real Outback Stekhouse [Jaunted]
· Bridget's 'Sexiest Beaches' Is Not Exactly Blowing Our Minds [Jaunted]

[Photo: Travel Channel]

V Australia / Airlines / New Airlines / Australia / Richard Branson / Virgin Blue / → All Tags

Calculated Speculation: V Australia Edition

Is V Australia about to officially announce LAX-SYD service at a press conference? That is the likeliest first route--or perhaps SFO-SYD--for the international arm of Australia's Virgin Blue Airlines.

We hear there's an "event" happening in Los Angeles this Monday, 3/31. Let's say this is the big shebang and we get an official ticket sale date and launch date (probably early fall '08) for LAX-SYD...will they give us cabin details? And more importantly, PRICING? Where do you think V Australia is going with these details?

We say: hopefully, as far as pricing goes, to the sub-$1000 (round-trip) sweet spot...sweet spot for flights between the U.S. and Australia, that is. Oh, the soothing lullaby of skies opening up...

Related Stories:
· V Australia [Official Site]
· V Australia [Wikipedia]

[Photo: scherre]

Qantas / Museums / Australia / Airplanes / → All Tags

Qantas Gets A New Old Plane

Up in Queensland, the Qantas Founders Outback Museum has got a new baby this week. A very special Boeing 707 has been recovered from the scrap heap in the UK, restored and now flown back to Australia, ready for a new home in the Qantas Museum.

It's special because in 1959 it was the first commercial jet in Australia, and some would say that made it the beginning of mass tourism in Australia--it made the trip from Australia to the US or Europe much shorter and finally affordable for more normal people. And like most Qantas plans, it never crashed: yet. It's got a few demo flights to do before it gets tied down permanently for you all to visit in Longreach, but we're confident the Flying Kangaroo can make it.

Related Stories:
· First Qantas Jet To Make Final Touchdown [ABC]
· Some Qantas News That Doesn't Involve Sex [Jaunted]
· Got a Taste For Qantas? [Jaunted]

[Photo: ABC]

Australia / Awards / → All Tags

Giddy for Gold Logies, But No One Goes Yarra

Last night, in Melbourne, Australia, the self proclaimed sporting capital of the world, pop culture rag TV Week hosted its Gold Logies, Australia's version of the Emmys.

Kate Ritchie, the Susan Lucci of Aussie soaps, took home the award for Most Popular Personality on TV. Ritchie grew up playing Sally Fletcher for the last 19 years on Home and Away. The show, naturally, follows the lives and loves of residents in a suburban small town.

The ceremony also honored the late Crocodile Hunter for his contributions to documentary film. Terri Irwin and her franchise, er, daughter Bindi accepted the award on Steve's behalf.

Few Hollywood stars showed up for the event. Jessica Alba came to support two of her Fantastic Four nominees, Michael Chiklis and Ioan Gruffudd. Alba blazed down the runway faster than The Human Torch, reports The West Australian.

Sadly, no one took a plunge in Melbourne's famous upside down river.

Australia / New Year's Eve / → All Tags

New Year's Down Under

If you're Down Under for the New Year, the ultimate celebration takes place at Sydney Harbour, but there are plenty of other good spots to bring in 2007. Melbourne's been shivering through the coldest Christmastime in history, but they'll host a massive fireworks show along the Yarra River near the city center. Bad pre-Christmas weather also meant that a lights show at Federation Square has been moved to NYE.

Queensland's capital, Brisbane, offers the Streets New Year's Eve party on South Bank, and over on the other side of Oz in Perth, you can choose between the Vienna Pops Concert or jazzy NYE on the Rocks. Or if you don't want to celebrate with tens of thousands of revelers, but a few hundred instead, check out the newyearseve.com.au site for a rundown on events in local clubs and pubs around the country.

[Photo: peculiarhand]

Related Stories:
· Sydney Farewells '06 [Jaunted]

Australia / Tourist Attractions / Big Things / → All Tags

Breaking News: Big Banana Just Got Bigger!

All you well-informed Jaunted readers know that big stuff is big Down Under, and perhaps no object is more popular than Coffs Harbour's Big Banana. The giant bendy fruit, celebrating one of the major crops of the area, has been a tourist attraction (of questionable value) for many years now. But today we want you to know that the Big Banana is getting bigger.

The Big Banana and its connected attractions have already been blessed with a $2 million upgrade, and that's just the beginning of a 10-year, $18 million improvement plan. Just imagine how many black blemishes can be scrubbed out of a banana for that kind of cash. This week, the first phase of the extension opened, including:

a games hall for children, a guided tour through a working banana plantation, an interactive banana-packing shed, as well as "two high-tech shows with hologram-like figures"

How itchy are you getting in your seat, just waiting to get to the new bigger and better Big Banana? The Sydney Morning Herald rightly suggested that other big fruit in Oz might be shaking in its peels, but had a few good ideas for other improvement plans:

To compete, should the Big Orange add rides derived from juice-based cocktails such as the Screwdriver, the Bahama Mama and Sex on the Beach, while the Big Pineapple offers an interactive exhibit called the Rough End?

Bigger and better, what can we say.

[Photo: Straußer]

Related Stories:
· Achievements: Bananas in Dioaramas [SMH]
· More on Coffs Harbour and the Big Banana [Jaunted]
· Banana Prices Going Bananas [Jaunted]

Animals / Australia / → All Tags

When Emus Grab Your Clothes

Birds are just so troublesome in Germany. If they're not Australian swans falling in love with plastic birds or lusting after donkeys, they're ripping people's trousers off.

The papers describe the latest culprit as a giant emu--we suspect he's just a normal-sized emu, that great ostrich-like Aussie bird who always has an aggressive glint in his eyes. In Kaarst, western Germany, this emu even managed to tear the trousers of a police officer who tried to arrest him after he pestered passersby.

There are some obvious problems here: lovesick birds and far-from-home Australian birds are largely causing the trouble in Germany. Obviously some community work on making migrant birds feel more at home and giving counselling to birds on romance and love is what's needed to fix up the country. Any bird psychologists out there prepared to help? Just remember to beware of the birds on your next trip to Berlin, Bonn or the Black Forest.

[Photo: O2BMarie]

Related Stories:
· Big Bird Rips Off Trousers [Ananova]
· When Birds Won't Fly South [Jaunted]
· The Gander of Cottbus [Jaunted]