QANTAS and Jetstar to do less with less

With sky-high fuel bills QANTAS has decided to do some route pruning. QANTAS will exit the Gold Coast-Sydney and Ayers Rock-Melbourne routes and reducing services on Ayers Rock-Sydney from August. From July Jetstar will cut Sydney-Whitsunday Coast, Adelaide-Sunshine Coast, and Brisbane-Hobart. The service reductions will reduce capacity by five percent ‘the equivalent of grounding six aircraft’.

According to the SMH

Qantas plans to “ground” two Boeing 767s, retire one ageing 737 and speed up the retirement of its fuel-guzzling fleet of four 747-300s.

But in a worrying sign, Qantas said its low-cost subisidiary Jetstar would cancel the delivery of one A321 and ground another of its relatively new A320s. This counters moves by other airlines to focus on the retirement of older and less fuel efficient jets. Jetstar said the grounded A320 would be used as a “spare”.

ABC Radio National’s PM: QANTAS reacts to petrol prices by cutting routes

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14,000 staff banned from flying BA because they threatened to bump the CEO’s daughter from a flight

Let me ask you a question? What would you do if, as CEO of a very large and influential company and your teenage daughter and her friend were intially bumped from an over-full international flight but placed back on the flight when you protest?

Complain? Sounds kinda reasonable.

Seek compensation? Perhaps, if you want to make a point. But maybe you’re still not satisfied…

Decree that none of your 14,000 employees will fly on the airline for business? Well naturally. Acorrding to The Times that’s exactly what an angry Chris Bell, chief cigar-chewer at UK bookmakers Ladbrokes, has done. British Airways, the airline at the center of the storm, claim to have offered the two girls, who were returning from a holiday in the Bahamas with Bell, £250 each in compensation. Mr Bell, however, is quite rationally having none if it. The Times claims ‘the private dispute, which has ratcheted up into a corporate row, could cost BA up to £2 million in business and has forced Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive, to intervene personally in an effort to defuse the situation.’

For their part, Ladbrokes claim ‘the way Mr Bell had been dealt with was only one of a number of issues the bookmaker had with the airline’.

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[Image by zen]

Welcome to Qantas’ asylum (and where the bloody hell is my bar?)

In 2005 we were promised a new age of air travel. The A380 would revolutionise the flying experience, transforming it into something akin to the glorious age of great passenger liners, complete with all the amenities one could desire

A model of a bar area in an Airbus A380 shows how the plane’s “superjumbo” proportions may benefit some passengers. The plane’s main and upper levels will serve as passenger areas. The lower deck will be for freight—or additional passenger facilities such as sleeper cabins, child care, gymnasiums, casinos, or business centers, at the discretion of the airlines that purchase the planes.

(National Geographic)

Well, readers, that bright new future is upon us! The Herald Sun has a gallery of images showcasing the fit-out of the new Qantas A380. Behold the beauty of the new economy class – unlike any travel experience before…

I WANT MY BAR! Given the spike in fuel prices and competition from low cost carriers, at a pinch I’ll even settle for the gymnasium, casino and child care. But Nothing! Qantas: snot-green seats do not a great flying experience make. I can’t wait to spend twenty-four hours somewhere this dreary and soul-destroying. Steerage must have been worse…

Ah well, at least they’ve gone the extra mile for the patricians behind the curtins…

Wow! Seventies wood-grain meets beige. Singapore Airlines must be absolutely terrified.

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AirAsia to Fly to Perth – Flights from $99

According to TravelWeekly AirAsia’s next Australian destination will be Perth, with weekly flights commencing November 2 and daily flights from March 2009. Intial fares from $99.

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Qantas strike tomorow the first of many?

Qantas’ dispute with its engineers appears to have taken a turn for the worse. The union is demanding a five percent per year wage rise, while the airline is offering two percent. The four hour strike tomorrow between 2pm and 6pm which will result in the cancellation of at least 12 domestic flights may be just the beginning as Qantas is threatening to break the dispute with non-union labour, targeting retired engineers and expat staff.

We can only hope this is all resolved before it gets really nasty for passengers.

Update: Walkoff off.

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Air Asia: Gold Coast – Kuala Lumpur $137 INCLUDING taxes

Overnight Airaisa have confirmed our earlier post regarding a free flights promotion running until the 16th of May. Flights from $137 each way Gold Coast – Kuala Lumpur including taxes and charges for travel 10th of June 2008 – 30 April 2009. Interestingly, this overlaps with the expected launch of AirAsia flights to London in March 2009 and if there are startup bargains to be had it could turn out to be an EXTREMELY cheap period to travel to Europe.

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Free Flights to Kuala Lumpur (?)

Both The New Straits Times and AirTravelTips are running a story about AirAsia offering “free” seats between 14th and 16th of May on routes including Gold Coast – KL for travel between 12th January to 30th April 2009. Presumably taxes and surcharges are still applicable. No word on how many tickets are being released.

I can’t find anything on AirAsia’s website or recieved any messages in my inbox, but it may well be worth keeping an eye on the site tomorrow (at least before it melts down) if you’re interested in a deal to Malaysia.

As ever, let us know in comments if you find a bargain!

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Loose Change – A round-up of recent travel tips from around the web (13th of May)

Travel Tips of the Week

John Flinn, SF Gate: Travel Light Means Fewer Clothes, Wash Your Own

A great guide to washing clothes quickly with only a sink.

General

For everyone determined to make the most of their holiday time Bootsnall has five destinations where the summer sun just don’t set (literally).

Bravenewtraveler has some suggestions for avoiding getting lost in a new city.

Wired’s How To Wiki has an excellent guide to buying a digital camera.

Matador has some tips for visiting indigenous peoples.

The Americas

Intelligent Travel has some tips for finding the authentic Flushing in Queens, New York. The Guardian has some tips for free things to do in New York.

SFGate has a guide to LCC’s in Mexico.

Europe

Eurocheapo has some cheap places to see Michelangelo’s work in Florence, including the sadly overlooked Bargello. In Krakow they suggest five free things to do and for good measure they have five great places for a picnic in Paris.

Coach travel in Europe can be a more economical alternatives to the fabled Eurorail pass. itravelnet rounds up the low coast bus services in Europe and surveys European bus passes.

The Guardian has a guide to the Isle of Man. Ask a Local on High Culture on a Low Budget features Mike from London.

Nick Trend in The Telegraph claims to list Venice’s top ten budget (well less than £130 a night) hotels.

With the Champions League final around the corner The Guardian has some suggestions for Moscow.

Rick Steves has a very entertaining audio discussions about Rome and Istanbul.

Asia

9000 Hours in Saigon has a guide to Vietnamese titles

Frommers has an audio guide to South Korea with Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee, author of Frommer’s South Korea.

MSNBC has some tips for first time visitors to India.

Thailand is pretty cheap to begin with, but Budgettravelguide has some tips for making it even cheaper.

Travel Blogging – is that thing still around? has some tips for dealing with Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Stuff.co.nz has some tips for seeing Singapore with children.

Africa

Frommers.com Podcast discusses Namibia.

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[Sunset in Iceland by Deivis, Coach image by orisfrancesco.com, NAIA image via alexyra]

AirAsia to Commence Flights to London in March – KL to London for A$400

According to a report in Malaysian newspaper The Star AirAsia X will commence flights from Kuala Lumpur to London from March next year. According to the article AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes ‘estimated that the average cost of a return fare to London would be about RM1,200 [around A$400] while the higher-class flatbed seats would cost about RM8,000 [around $2,5000] return’. Presuming these figures are accurate (which is a big presumption) a return fare from the Gold Coast to London would be in the ball park of A$1,100. Very tasty.

The flights are likely to operate out of Stanstead with AirAsia X starting with five flights a week using a leased Airbus A340 (with Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 aircraft in the future) but “we will build it up to eventually two flights on a daily basis.”

On-board amenities sound better than one would expect “Our on-board entertainment system will be a state-of-the-art touch screen unit. You can watch movies, listen to music and even order your food from the unit.” Ordering food from the on-board entertainment system does, however, suggest that even what little cabin service one can otherwise expect from an LCC may be stripped away.

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[Image credit Dimitry B]

What Wouldn’t We Give For An Extra 2 Inches?

The Interpreter is a blog that I can’t recommend highly enough for anybody with an interest in Australian foreign policy, geo-politics and other non-geekery (I promise, it’s all really very interesting). One recent post may even be of interest to an audience beyond myself (and a group of middle men who just happen to live at home, wear anoraks and possess an unhealthy interest in train timetables).

What you see before you is no less than a new design for economy class / human cargo hold. The staggered design according to the glossy brochure allows passengers to recline without disturbing the person behind them, provides more leg space (2-inches more!) and increases the width of each individual seat to ‘rival the width of Business class seats, without affecting seat pitch, aisle width or overall capacity’. Today.com has some further details.

Depressingly, according to the manufacturer ‘these are valuable increases given the continued growth in average passenger size (particularly US nationals) and the remaining lifespan of the current generation of aircraft’.

Delta is planning on installing the Cozy Suite in its Boeing 777 and 767 economy class aircraft by 2010, so don’t hold your breath until you get to enjoy the feeling of a child kicking the back of one of these beauties. But just perhaps there’s some hope for those of us marooned down the arse end of the plane.

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