Author: Shane

Changi Airport to shut Terminal 4 temporarily from 16 May

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Not many airlines are operating there for now, anyway. Changi Airport today (12 May) announced that it will be suspending operations at Terminal 4 from 16 May until further notice. It said in a press release: Changi Airport’s terminal operations will be consolidated further to optimise resources in tandem with the sharp decline in flight movements because of the global Covid-19 pandemic. This move will enable Changi Airport Group (CAG) and its airport partners to continue to save on running costs such as utilities and cleaning. Changi Airport Group, press release dated 12 May 2020 Earlier this month, Changi Airport shut Terminal 2 from 1 May for a period of 18 months to upgrade the aged terminal. This is the first time Changi Airport has closed off an entire terminal to facilitate upgrading works in its almost 40 years of operations. Where are T4 airlines moving to? Some time last month, Cathay Pacific has already moved to Terminal 1 at Changi Airport for its 2 to 3 flights each week. It has closed off its …

Qantas puts Project Sunrise on hold

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Non-stop flights from Sydney, Melbourne to London, New York will have to take a stop for now Qantas has suspended its plans for direct flights between Australia east coast to London and New York, also called Project Sunrise, due to uncertainty over travel demand even after Covid-19 fades. Project Sunrise was set to launch by 2023, but in a report by Executive Traveller, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce has confirmed that the project will be put on hold, for now. A350 orders put on hold Qantas has earlier announced that it would order 12 dedicated A350-1000 for this project. The final decision was meant to be made in March 2020, but of course in the face of Covid-19, this was quickly paused indefinitely. According to Executive Traveller, the dedicated fleet of up to 12 Airbus A350-1000 jets would have been “valued as high as $6.8bn (US$4.4bn) based on Airbus’ list price”, Qantas announced Project Sunrise proposal as early as August 2017, initially mapping out potential non-stop destinations such as New York, London and Rio de Janeiro from …

Qantas to extend suspension of most international services until end-July

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Qantas still operating minimum essential international links; seems to suggest opening up New Zealand travel first Qantas today announced a further extension flight cancellations on most international services in June and July. Flights between Australia and New Zealand will however be cancelled up to end-June for now. Before this, practically all flights up to end-May were cancelled, except for a handful of services to four international hubs for the most essential travel. Domestic travel within Australia has also be scaled back to a bare minimum, as many states have imposed travel restrictions and isolation requirements. These reductions are also extended till at least end-June. Qantas however has caveat that “some capacity can be added back in if domestic and Trans-Tasman restrictions ease in coming weeks”. What does it mean for customers Assuming you still have a booking for June and July (not sure why you are still holding on to hope for travelling now, but that’s another conversation), these flights will automatically be cancelled. You will be contacted with an option to receive your credit, …

OCBC Titanium Rewards to award OCBC$ in blocks of S$5 spend

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OCBC going down the UOB way. Right after OCBC made changes to the 90°N card, the bank also revised the OCBC Titanium Rewards card to give out points in blocks of S$5 spend from 1 Jun 2020. On top of the earning change, OCBC will also be add more exclusion categories to what will earn you bonus points with the Titanium Rewards card. Earning OCBC$ based on $5 blocks of spending Currently, cardmembers earn a flat 10 OCBC$, or 4 miles, per dollar spent on the Titanium Rewards card when spending on eligible categories (i.e. sclothes, accessories, shoes, bags, electronics and gadgets and babies’ and children’s wear). From 1 Jun, this will have a technical change: OCBC will award 50 OCBC$, or 20 miles, per S$5 spent, rounded down to the nearest S$5. Why this makes a difference Why this change is material to the Titanium Rewards card is because unlike the 90°N card, this card is a specialised spending card (i.e. the bonus applies for spending in specific categories). The difference lies in the …

OCBC adjusts earn rates on 90°N card

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Travel$ to be awarded in blocks of S$5 spend from 1 Jun OCBC has made some tweaks to their 90°N card, to be effected from 1 Jun. These changes are not major, but may affect the way you spend if you are still using that as your default card. Travel$ to be awarded in blocks of S$5 spend From 1 Jun, OCBC will award Travel$ in blocks of S$5 spend, meaning: For local spend, every S$5 spend will earn you 6 Travel$, equivalent to 6 miles (i.e. 1.2 mpd) For foreign spend, every S$5 equivalent spend will earn you 10.5 Travel$, equivalent to 10.5 miles (i.e. 2.1 mpd) AXS Pay+Earn will earn you 5 Travel$ for every S$5 spend (i.e. 1 mpd) Previously, OCBC award Travel$ based on dollar spend, rounded down to the nearest dollar. So this means that there will be slight changes to the number of Travel$ you earn after 1 Jun: Transaction amount Local/Overseas spend Travel$ earned before 1 Jun Travel$ earned on or after 1 Jun $4.99 Local 4.8 0 …