Tag: Qantas

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Flying Down Under? Prepare to Shell Out Even More Cash

Where: Australia
February 2, 2012 at 10:34 AM | by | Comments (0)

Flights over the Pacific will be tapping your pockets just a bit more. In response to a carbon tax in Australia and carbon trading schemes in Europe, Qantas has announced their fares will creap up in the near future. Do not fret, as there is still time to enjoy some world-class beaches and pet a koala or kangaroo before the change.

The red roo has announced an increase of no more than 24% in fuel surcharges for international and domestic flights. International itineraries increase by flat rate, while the domestic charge depends on the length of the flight. Unfortunately, with the high cost of jet fuel and taxes, Qantas is not alone in airfare hikes.

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Emergency Landing Forces Qantas Passengers to Deplane Via Forklift

January 31, 2012 at 8:55 AM | by | Comments (2)

From time to time planes are forced into emergency landings. Sometimes the reasons are real emergencies, like a bird strike or cracked windshield. Sometimes the reasons are still real, but are only a smell of smoke in the cabin or an unruly passenger. In all cases, the crew make the executive decision to bring the bird down in the interest of safety. In many cases, the problem is detected, rectified and the passengers are on their way with a bit of a delay. They'll be a little late, but no major dramas ensue.

Over the weekend, a Qantas aircraft had such an emergency where the crew smelled smoke on board. Naturally, alarms were raised and the captain decided to divert to an alternate airport. The Boeing 767, en route from Darwin to Brisbane, safely landed in the small outback town of Mt. Isa.

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Do Not Stow That iPad; Qantas' New Q-Streaming Starts Now

Where: Australia
January 27, 2012 at 11:03 AM | by | Comments (0)

What do you do when you find an Apple iPad in the seat-back pocket? Naturally, watch hours and hours of the newest television and movies. Duh.

This week, Qantas announced testing of their new in-flight entertainment system. We've already talked about the technology the Australian airline brings to cabins both domestically and internationally, and this news is an even more important cog in the wheel.

The fresh entertainment system is called Q Streaming, and it's being trialed on one aircraft at the moment. The technology allows passengers to stream, on demand, the entire portfolio of Qantas entertainment to an on-board iPad. Both business and economy customers can spend the majority of their flight with their eyes glued to the 10-inch screen.

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Virgin Australia: Now with Sexy, Sexy Business Class

Where: Australia
January 18, 2012 at 11:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

Last time we checked in with the happenings of Aussie aviation, Virgin Australia was opening up new lounges all over their network, repainting planes and re-branding airports. It seems, however, that they may have saved that best for last. This week was the official launch of Virgin's business class cabin across their entire fleet of Boeing 737s and Airbus 330s.

Rewind to April 2011, when Virgin Australia was still Virgin Blue, and very busy refreshing itself to become a new airline capable of going head-to-head with rival, Qantas. Since the collapse of Ansett in 2001, Qantas has been the sole player in the domestic business class market. Fast forward to now, where Virgin Australia is sparkly and shiny, and has eliminated their low-cost model to become a premium airline contender.

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Model Miranda Kerr Now Struts Her Stuff for Qantas

Where: Australia
January 16, 2012 at 9:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

Qantas is starting the new year off by pulling some cash from their advertising and marketing budget, as they’re adding a new celebrity representative to the team. Of course they already love having John Travolta around their hangars, but their latest addition brings a true Aussie to the team.

Miranda Kerr has been tasked with representing Qantas at home and abroad as the airline’s newest ambassador, and we’ve got to say she’s just a little bit cuter—sorry John! Qantas even threw a celeb-filled shindig last week to officially introduce their newest member of the team.

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What Melbourne Has to Offer (Besides Tennis) During the Australian Open

January 11, 2012 at 12:18 PM | by | Comments (0)

The whole of Australia is consumed with the Summer tennis circuit currently touring around the country, and the pinnacle of the tennis season down under is marked by the Australian Open played in Melbourne. As the only grand slam tennis tournament held in the Southern Hemisphere, the city is showcased not only as a sport capital, but the cultural capital of Australia.

Melbourne is located on the southeastern Aussie coast and it boasts a vibrant cafe society and an avant garde fashion scene. Originally established during the Australian gold rush, Melbourne's rich history and causes it to be called the "Paris of Down Under." If your plans bring you to the city for tennis, plan to soak up more experiences than just seeing top seeded Novak Djokovic or Caroline Wozniacki.

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Six US Airports for Stalking the Airbus A380

January 11, 2012 at 9:28 AM | by | Comments (0)


Korean Air and Lufthansa A380s snuggle up at JFK Terminal 1

Look, if you're an airport and you want to have the superjumbo Airbus A380 flying in and out, you can't just be like "hey, airlines, bring that big thang on over." Nope. Instead certain preparations must be made to accommodate an airliner of the A380's size and heft. To effectively manage each plane's 500+ passenger load, more jetways are needed, plus support vehicles to reach the upper deck. In some cases, airport runway indicator lights may need to be moved and the tarmac reinforced.

In other words, A380s can't just fly anywhere and, although the massive planes have been in the air since Singapore Airlines took delivery of the very first in 2007, not all that many airports around the world are treated to them. At least some of those are the United States...

US airports where you'll find A380s:

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Some Qantas Passengers Learn about the Seatbelt Sign the Hard Way

January 9, 2012 at 9:29 AM | by | Comments (0)

We’ve all rolled our eyes after the pilot has turned on the fasten seatbelts sign for like the umpteenth time, but once again we’re reminded that the folks up front have good reason to so.

Over the weekend a handful of passengers were tossed around a bit after hitting some pretty decent turbulence aboard a Qantas A380 flight from London to Singapore. There were seven passengers that reported injuries, and there were four that actually needed to head off to the hospital to get checked out. Most of the injuries involved bumps and bruises, and everyone has since been cleared to fly with no lasting problems.

The folks sustaining injuries were actually out of their seats and still meandering around the cabin when the plane hit the pocket of severe turbulence, so let this serve as a remember to follow along with all those lighted signs and placards.

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The Most Ridiculous Travel Idea of 2011 Is...

December 29, 2011 at 3:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

In 2008 we favorably covered the efforts of American Airlines flight attendants who were trying to block airplane wifi from showing porn. In 2009 we disgustedly called out in-flight porn reading on our "Top Ten Gross Things People Do On Airplanes" list. In 2010 we specifically chastised Democratic Representative John Conyers for flipping through a Playboy while sitting in couch.

Apparently none of that helped. 2011 was the year when in-flight porn viewing—enabled by technological innovation and monetized by some of the most obnoxious companies in the travel industry—broke into the mainstream. Ryanair used iPad porn as a publicity stunt and Qantas started screening an explicit guide to the female orgasm.

And so we're declaring airline-sponsored in-flight porn, which is frankly pervy beyond belief and seems to be catching on, to be the Most Ridiculous Travel Idea of 2011.

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Qantas and Virgin Australia Battle for Tech Supremacy

December 21, 2011 at 10:58 AM | by | Comments (0)

Lots of exciting techie news coming from Down Under! Australia seems to be the competitive hub for in-flight technology; this week Qantas dropped big news. They're doing WiFi on international flights. To America. On their Airbus A380! Yes, this is all correct, The flying kangaroo will be trialing their in-flight browsing service on flights between Australia and LA. Premium passengers flying on any one of the 6 A380s will be able to use their smart-phones, tablets or laptops to surf the web. Skype and Facetime are a no-no since the service will not have voice enabled 'pico-cells'.

Passengers in both first and business class will have to purchase the web browsing, but no prices have been announced. We have to say, however, that for a 15-hour flight we're more than happy to fork over our cards and while away the hours doing something other than playing Angry Birds. Let the WiFi wars begin!

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Tap, Tap, Tap and You're All Checked In on Qantas

Where: Australia
December 13, 2011 at 10:49 AM | by | Comments (0)

Last year, Qantas changed the feel of the airport experience with their Next-Generation check-in. Thanks to the introduction of towers—each around 5' tall—where you check in with a simple swipe of a membership card, passengers in Qantas domestic terminals are having an overall quieter, less-hectic experience. There's not even the need for a boarding pass, since the bar code on the frequent flyer card is the paperless replacement.

When launched, we told you The Red Kangaroo was on the forefront of this technology, trialing in a few cities around Australia before introducing it, practically, across the entire domestic system in 2010. Ticket counters have been replaced with traditional kiosks for those who do not have a smart-chip card, but the number of towers outnumber the kiosks. We have had the chance to use this innovation and think it's pretty amazing, not only because of the technology but also for its efficiency and massive help on cutting down the time from airport door to plane door.

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

November 17, 2011 at 2:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

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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