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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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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 Newbie Traveler Takes His First Flight on an A380: An Illustrated Journey

February 22, 2013 at 3:19 PM | by | Comments (2)

What would your life be like if you hadn't yet traveled? If you'd spent years reading travel novels and fantasizing over guidebooks, but hadn't made the big leap? This is the case for Andy Miles, who in his late twenties has just embarked on trips to hit cities for the first time. He's walking us through the emotions and observations of a true Newbie Traveler.

Contrary to what I learned as a youngster growing up in Texas, everything is not bigger there. Truth be told, everything is actually bigger in France—Toulouse, France to be exact. The reason for this is because that's where Airbus completes final assembly of their massive A380 airplanes.

After years of waiting, I finally got the chance to experience one of these incredibly beautiful planes myself, on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles nonstop to Sydney, Australia.

Seeing as how I booked my first A380 flight six full months before the day of departure, I had a lot of time to tell my friends about it, i.e. brag incessantly. The thing I forgot about bragging is that in order for it to work, you have to be doing something others care about. Unfortunately for me, I did not hang out with many #avgeeks during this time, so my brags usually fell upon deaf ears and I just came off as "nerdy" for caring about something as uniquely marvelous as a two-story airplane.

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Inside Virgin Australia's Lounge at Sydney Airport

November 8, 2012 at 4:50 PM | by | Comments (2)

We've already told you about our experience onboard Virgin Australia's new(ish) business class product. It's now the time to give a peak into the airline's lounge at Sydney's domestic terminal.

After a short hunt like a mouse looking for cheese, we eventually worked out the signage and rode a virtually unmarked elevator to the second floor. A flash of our Business Class boarding pass and we were in. On first impression, the space looked quite tired and nothing like our visit to the shiny new lounge at Brisbane, but it's still a huge upgrade from sitting at the gate with everyone else.

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Flight Review: Doing a Domestic Quickie on Virgin Australia

Where: Australia
November 6, 2012 at 5:16 PM | by | Comments (0)

After some time talking about the sexy new business class, the movie filmed onboard and even a new TV commercial, it was time for us to experience all the hooplah around the updates at Virgin Australia. We are huge fans of what Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America do, so we were excited to fly on the Aussie cousin.

Our flights were between Brisbane and Sydney which are pretty close to each other, but, along with Melbourne, create the Golden Triangle of Australian commercial aviation. Flights between these three cities are the busiest routes in the country and highly competitive. When we saw "Happy Hour" fares for $200 AUD each way in business class, we excitedly click "purchase."

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Free Airport WiFi Goes Down Under Thanks to Qantas

Where: Australia
November 2, 2012 at 12:18 PM | by | Comments (0)

Qantas is rolling out a new technology initiative for all of its passengers. It's like music to our ears and comes in the form of free WiFi. This may not sound like news as we have told you before that the airline has been trialing in-flight WiFi, but this time the web-surfing can be done on the ground.

The Red Roo is outfitting its major airports with complimentary wifi for passengers just passing through the terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. The general airport access is in addition to the lightning fast wireless internet that frequent flyers love in each of its lounges.

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A Little Secret to Sampling Qantas International Business Class

Where: Australia
September 11, 2012 at 8:32 AM | by | Comments (0)

Flying Business Class on any airline is certainly a treat, especially when it's part of an international journey. If you have ever priced it out —even just for giggles—it is, in truth, likely still hella expensive. Qantas has a little solution to this problem: fly an internationally configured Boeing 747 between Brisbane and Sydney.

All in all, flying time just over 60 minutes, so you might question if it's worth bothering to try Business for an hour. The flight is QF8 and it takes off from Dallas and makes it way over to Australia, but since the head winds are bit stronger when going west, it has to stop in Brisbane to fill its belly full of fuel and continue on to Sydney. Qantas makes the stop a little more financially viable by picking up some passengers who need to head to "big smoke." Like us.

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Singapore Airlines Set to Sweeten Up Their SilverKris Lounges in 2013

Where: Singapore
August 31, 2012 at 10:46 AM | by | Comments (0)

Even some of the most luxurious and well appointed airport lounges need a fresh coat of paint every so often. That's why Singapore Airlines has revealed plans to completely overhaul their lounges across the the entire network. The airline is expected to spend around $20 million dollars on the complete refurbishment, so it's safe to say that we can expect more than just paint.

Without giving away too much, the architects of the project have been tasked with creating a "home away from home," so passengers can feel even more relaxed before heading off on a long-haul journey. All lounges will further improve the "ground to air" experience for passengers.

We dont know how they'll do it, but if they can improve on this lounge in Singapore, the outcome will be nothing short of stellar.

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United's Business Class Food Upgrade Hits the Spot, Has Cinnamon Rolls

August 3, 2012 at 11:23 AM | by | Comments (0)

Recently, we told you about our experience aboard a long, long flight on United in business class from the US to Australia. While we might give the actual service a mediocre score, we mentioned that recent upgraded food options have hit the mark for an American carrier.

Our flight details consisted of two different city pairs and each meal content and presentation was quite notable. We had a flight from San Francisco to Sydney and our return was to Los Angeles. The upgraded Business Class menu offers five courses featuring a starter, salad, four options for main courses, a cheese and fruit plate, and an ice cream sundae.

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Putting United's Transpacific Business Class Under the Microscope

July 18, 2012 at 5:34 PM | by | Comments (4)

Spending 14 hours on a plane sounds like absolute airline hell. A few things can make that hell a lot more bearable, and spending the entire flight in a lie-flat business class seat is definitely one of those things. Flying a super long-haul transpacific journey to and from Australia on a United bird was the way we chose.

After finding a great deal to redeem some miles we had with United, we looked over the routing. Our entire itinerary took us from Sydney to Chicago with a stop at LAX. One the way back, we had a layover in San Francisco. All up, it only reduced our mileage account by 135,000 miles for the entire premium cabin roundtrip.

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Guess the Airport Lounge with a Self-Serve Hot Dog Cart

Where: Australia
June 20, 2012 at 11:12 AM | by | Comment (1)

We've heard it all before: It's great to travel, but it's even greater to come home. And while we find half of this true, it is nice to get a little slice of home while exploring abroad.

On a recent international trip, we swaggered into the international business class of a partner airline we were flying and one very bright thing caught our eye. It was an authentic hot dog cart...the ones we would see in the zoo or parks back home.

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Sydney Gets Lit!

June 1, 2012 at 7:03 PM | by | Comment (1)


Is that someone sleeping on the Opera House?

Paris might be shaking in their boots with the newest installation art project that has Sydney lighting up like a Christmas tree. Currently artists are testing their light manipulating skills with projects all around the city as part of Vivid Sydney, as the city once again proves itself a playground for experimental art.

Using various buildings around the city, creatives will shine lights to morph the building into a museum gallery. The show is in its 4th year, with attendance and visitors increasing exponentially. The iconic Sydney Opera House is of course a major focus of the installation, as light and artwork are projected onto the famous architectural sails. Each night at 6pm, the Opera House and other buildings will flip the switch to shine. There are even purpose built structures like igloos made from gas cans lit from the inside.

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