Episodes

Phil Hawkins has worked in loyalty programs for 25 years, and was most recently the Chief Operating Officer at Flybuys in Australia. In this episode, Matt chats to Phil about some of the things he’s learned during his career in loyalty. Find out what happens behind the scenes, what makes a good (or bad) loyalty program, and why elite status tiers wouldn’t work for a retail loyalty program like Flybuys. Episode contents: 1:16 – Fortnightly news round-up 9:48 – Interview with Phil Hawkins 33:...

AFF on Air continues with its series of podcasts looking at what it’s like travelling to different destinations around the world as international borders open up again. In this episode, Matt speaks to two Australian frequent flyers who recently travelled to the UK. One of them flew to London with Qantas via Darwin, while the other flew with Japan Airlines via Tokyo. Unfortunately, one of this episode’s guests did get COVID-19 while in the UK, but this person still doesn’t regret going for a sec...

Many Australians are understandably a bit wary of travelling overseas at the moment in case they catch COVID-19 while they’re away. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to Australian Frequent Flyer forum moderator Bill MacCubbin (whose AFF username is “straitman”) on a recent trip to Fiji. But it wasn’t really a horror story at all – Bill recovered quickly, was looked after very well and didn’t have too much trouble eventually coming home. In fact, even with the benefit of hindsight, Bi...

Although many Australians would like to travel overseas over the coming year, many are holding off for now. That’s totally understandable – there are still so many unknowns and risks involved with overseas travel in 2022. But is it really that scary out there? For those who’ve been stuck inside Australia for the past two years, it can be difficult to imagine what life is actually like outside the country at the moment. So over the coming months, Matt will be chatting on the podcast to Australia...

In the final AFF on Air podcast episode for 2021, Matt is joined by the owner of Australian Frequent Flyer Clifford Reichlin for a chat about the challenges of running a travel website during a pandemic – when nobody can travel. Also in this episode, how to get an upgrade when flying with Qantas or Virgin Australia, and a potentially clever hack to get two free nights at Accor hotels. Episode contents: 0:54 – Fortnightly news round-up 10:37 – How to upgrade your flight on Qantas or Virgin Au...

As the international border reopens, some Australians are starting to book overseas trips using their frequent flyer points. But post-pandemic award travel is a bit different – the pandemic has turned award availability on its head, and Australians are also using their points to travel to different places than before. In this episode, Matt chats to James Green from Frequent Flyer Solutions about what’s changed for people using their points to book international flights in and out of Australia. ...

In this episode, Matt chats to frequent flyer and lifetime Qantas Platinum member Chris Gibbs about how he managed to earn well over 100,000 lifetime status credits on Qantas, what he learned along the way and his thoughts on the future of business travel after the pandemic. Also in this episode, international travel insurance options that cover COVID-19 and Matt shares his experience of flying to Sydney from overseas in the first week of quarantine-free travel resuming. Episode contents: 2:0...

Bonza is a new Australian start-up airline with big plans to carve its own niche out of the Australian domestic aviation market when it launches in the second quarter of 2022. Operating a small fleet of Boeing 737-MAX 8s with 186 Economy seats each, Bonza won’t be competing with Qantas and Virgin for business travellers. Instead, it plans to stimulate demand for leisure travel on new routes that aren’t already being serviced to their full potential. To learn more about Bonza’s plans to launch ...

Yesterday, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced some big news: From 1 November 2021, vaccinated Australians will finally be allowed to leave the country, and return from overseas into NSW without having to quarantine. There’s a lot to unpack from this announcement. Joining Matt to do so on this episode of AFF on AIR is travel agent and regular podcast guest Alan Lam from Netwave Travel. If you’re wondering which airlines are now flying to Australia, what requirements are in place to enter an...

The Australian government has announced that international border restrictions will start to be relaxed from next month. In this podcast, Matt explains what we do and don’t know so far about the new border arrangements and how Qantas plans to restart international flights from November – a month ahead of schedule. Also in this episode, learn about Virgin Australia’s new bonus Velocity status credit offers & status extensions. Plus, when will Velocity reopen reward bookings on international flig...

Many previous episodes of the AFF on Air podcast have explored the difficulty of getting back to Australia during the pandemic. Navigating the current system is clearly a nightmare for travellers. In this episode, we’ll get an airline’s perspective. Karl Schubert is the Public Relations Manager for Singapore Airlines in the South West Pacific region, and he joined Matt for a chat about the challenges Singapore Airlines has faced in operating over 5,000 flights to Australia since April 2020. Si...

Returning to Australia over the coming few months is likely to be as hard as it’s ever been during this pandemic. But there is light at the end of the tunnel! Australia is on track to ease some international travel restrictions and introduce home quarantine for some vaccinated travellers by the end of this year. This episode features an interview with travel agent Alan Lam about international travel to & from Australia over the coming months, and beyond. Also in this episode, key takeaways fro...

Matt talks to an Australian Frequent Flyer member currently nearing the end of 14 days of hotel quarantine at the Marriott Hotel in Brisbane. And Qantas Frequent Flyer gives another round of 12-month tier status extensions. Episode contents: 1:00 – Fortnightly news round-up 10:18 – Qantas Frequent Flyer’s latest round of status extensions 17:33 – Interview with oz_ally about her hotel quarantine experience in Brisbane 39:08 – Response from Finnair regarding the IfDelayed bankruptcy discusse...

There are countless claim agencies in the European Union that specialise in pursuing airlines for compensation owed under the EC261/2004 regulation. Their promise is simple: They’ll chase up airlines for money owed under EU laws for flight delays, cancellations and instances of overbooking on behalf of airline passengers who lack the time or expertise to do it themselves. If they are successful, the agency will keep a portion of the payout. If they are unsuccessful, there is no fee to the custom...

Ever wondered what the people designing loyalty programs are thinking? For example, why do points expire so quickly? Are all airlines just trying to devalue your points? And what role do loyalty programs play in helping airlines out of the pandemic? Find out this and lots more in this episode, as loyalty program expert David Feldman from New World Loyalty joins Matt for an extended interview! Also in this episode, Matt heads to Longreach and chats to Sarah Collins, the Project & Product Develop...

Earlier this year, consumer group CHOICE surveyed more than 4,000 Australians whose travel plans were disrupted by COVID-19. This week, CHOICE published its findings in a report called Consumer protection for Australian travellers: a plan for clarity, consistency and fairness. And the findings are pretty damning for the travel industry. Many complained that it was far too difficult to get a refund or use their travel credit. According to CHOICE, only 17% of survey respondents actually got a ful...

Departing Australia in 2021 is unfortunately not as simple as booking a ticket and going to the airport. If you’re an Australian citizen or permanent resident who normally lives in Australia, you’ll firstly need to apply for an exemption from the Department of Home Affairs to even be allowed to exit Australia. You’ll then need to navigate complex COVID-19 testing requirements and entry requirements for your destination (and any transit) countries. The previous episode of AFF on Air included Par...

With Australia’s international border still closed (except to New Zealand), and restrictive international arrival caps still in place, flying to Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic sadly remains a huge challenge. In this episode, travel agent Alan Lam from Netwave Travel returns to the podcast to give an update on how to maximise your chances of successfully booking a flight to Australia during COVID-19. The discussion includes detailed information about what type of ticket to book, how much...

Business rewards programs such as Qantas Business Rewards have become increasingly popular. With Qantas Business Rewards, points are earned by the business and can then be transferred to anyone including employees. But does this have any Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) implications? Also in this episode, Matt gives an update on the trans-Tasman travel bubble and explains how you could renew Virgin Australia Gold status for under $1,000 thanks to a new Velocity Frequent Flyer promotion. Episode conte...

Over the past year, flying back to Australia has been very difficult for tens of thousands of Australians – some who are still stuck overseas. Many have been bumped off their flights due to the Australian government’s restrictive arrival caps. Even some passengers on expensive paid airfares have been kicked off their flights. So, clearly trying to fly from Europe to Australia during the pandemic using frequent flyer points is very risky. But it’s not entirely impossible. In this episode, Matt c...

The trans-Tasman travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand is now well and truly open, and thousands of Aussies have already flocked to New Zealand to take advantage of it. In this episode, Matt chats to Alan Lam from Netwave Travel (a.k.a. madrooster on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum) about the bubble and what you need to know before travelling to New Zealand right now. You can contact Alan by emailing alan[at]netwavetravel[dot]com. Also in this episode, how you can claim back the G...

The long-awaited trans-Tasman travel bubble is finally here, with quarantine-free travel in both directions between Australia and New Zealand starting on Monday, 19 April! To celebrate the occasion, Qantas is reopening its flagship international First Class lounges in Sydney and Melbourne from the same date – and even Qantas Club, Gold members and Business class passengers will have access to them. In this episode, hear what Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has to say about the launch of trans-Tasman flig...

Last Thursday, 800,000 half-price domestic flights went on sale as part of the federal government’s push to get more Australians to holiday at home. In this epsisode, find out how to book one of the discounted flights to 15 Australian regional destinations, and what catches to look out for. This episode also features an interview with Sam Heathfield (a.k.a. “support” and “samh004”, who is responsible for AFF member support and does a lot of work at AFF behind the scenes). Plus, what to do with ...

It’s exactly one year today since Tasmania became the first Australian state to close its border to interstate travel. Since then, there have been endless state border closures and changes to interstate travel restrictions. But thankfully, as of last Monday, all domestic borders in Australia are now open again for the first time since March 2020. Things are now looking up! On this one-year anniversary of the start of the coronavirus pandemic, we find out what happened to Henrique Pereira, the m...