All posts tagged: Qantas

Qantas Singapore First Lounge to open doors in late November

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The much awaited first class lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 1 should open from the week of 18 November 2019 Finally we are very near to the fanfare: the Qantas Singapore First Lounge is expected to open this month, in November. The airline has earlier said that the lounge will be opened in mid to late November. Based on sources, the lounge should be opened from 18 November 2019 if there are no hiccups. Official opening on 2 December Based on a report by Executive Traveller, the official opening date of the lounge is set to be on 2 December 2019, and Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce will be present to officiate the opening. However, according to some sources, there seems to be a staff event over the weekend of 16 & 17 November as a trial before the doors are opened to customers on 18 November, Monday. Long awaited development As early as mid-2018, Qantas announced that it will be building a separate First class lounge for its topmost tier members, a nod to …

Qantas’ refurbished A380 takes to the skies

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After more than 18 months since Qantas announced a refurbishment programme for its A380 fleet, the first of the refreshed birds is finally out of the factory and back in the skies. The first of Qantas’ twelve refurbished Airbus A380 will begin flying the flagship Sydney-Singapore-London route next week, following an extensive make-over which includes a modernisation of the first class cabin and installation of the airline’s latest business class seats, along with two new upper deck lounges. What has changed? The multimillion-dollar upgrade most significantly features an upgraded business class cabin featuring their flagship business suites, as well as their latest premium economy product. The upper deck is also now exclusively premium, with all economy class seats now moved to the lower deck. The on-board lounge has also been redesigned.  Don’t expect to see a brand new first class product on the Qantas A380 – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing given that the product actually works (see my review here!) and remains pretty luxurious even a decade after it was first rolled out.  …

PSA: 10 days to use your Qantas Points before the new chart kicks in

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Back in June 2019, Qantas made a big announcement on how the Qantas Frequent Flyer programme was going to be ‘enhanced’, unlocking ‘more benefits’ for members. It was a particularly interesting announcement insofar as the award charts are concerned: while the premium cabins (premium economy, business and first) redemption requirements are going up between 12.9% and 15% from 18 September 2019, those for economy have actually been reduced immediately since the announcement by up to 10%. Of course, the increase comes with a slight decrease in the charges and fees you have to pay on top of the points, although it’s nowhere as low as what Krisflyer charges in terms of fees. I want to fly business or first class. Is it worth redeeming now or later? If you have plans to travel within the next year, it’s definitely better to redeem them now, even though the fees associated are higher now. For Singapore to any Australian destinations on the east (Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney) on Qantas or Emirates, you will need to fork out 8,400 …

Qantas Frequent Flyer changes: 4 things you need to know

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Qantas Frequent Flyer made a major announcement yesterday, unveiling some of the key changes in its programmes. Here are some of the things we thought you might want to know: 1. Redemption rates for premium classes are going up by up to 15% From 18 September 2019, Qantas will be increasing the number of points required for award tickets and upgrades on premium economy, business and first class seats, while reducing the fees required for these seats internationally. On average, the number of points required are going up between 12.9% and 15%, depending on class and the distance traveled. The tables below are only for redemptions on Qantas, Emirates, American Airlines, Fiji and Airnorth services: Zone One-way distance Premium Economy Old (‘000 pts) New (‘000 pts) Increase % 1 0 – 600 12 13.8 1.8 15.0 2 601 – 1,200 18 20.6 2.6 14.4 3 1,201 – 2,400 27 31.0 4.0 14.8 4 2,401 – 3,600 37 42.2 5.2 14.1 5 3,601 – 4,800 45 51.3 6.3 14.0 6 4,801 – 5,800 54 61.5 7.5 …

Qantas running mid-year sale from now until 26 June 2019, return fares from S$424

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Qantas is currently running a special mid-year sale with a twist. For the first time, it is also offering its email subscribers an additional discount on top of the sale prices. The sale will end 26 June 2019, 11.59 pm. All fare classes are on sale, and sale fares start as below: Destination Return fare from (S$) Economy PremiumEconomy Business First Sydney 557 1431 2952 8123 Melbourne 555 1432 2952 6481 Brisbane 529 1685* 2952 8410* Perth 424 N.A. 2001 N.A. London 1070 2954 5537 11584 *Via Melbourne or Sydney; domestic class of service will be in Economy (for Premium Economy fares) or Business (for First class fares) On top of Australia and London, there are also sale fares available to New Zealand. Of which, what’s notably attractive are fares to Wellington with return fares starting from $664. Note that Qantas do add on surcharges for travel on weekends (typically Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) so fares may vary a little, depending on when you intend to fly. If you are looking at ExpertFlyer.com for fare …