Tag Archives for australia.
United is clearly the global carrier among U.S. airlines, and among airlines with the widest reaches in the world, willing to take big swings even to destinations where they lack partners or connecting traffic and that haven’t demonstrated passenger demand yet.
Florida resident Liliana Goodson, whose pronouns are they/them, was headed to clown school in Sydney. When they arrived at the airport, they were stopped with a Colt 45 pistol and ammo in their luggage. They were also carrying squirrel feet, rabbit pee, and a cat spine. The gun was 24-karat gold-plated.
Virgin Australia flight attendant, Dylan Macnish, has to be reinstated after an Australian employment tribunal ruled that his dismissal in February 2024 was unfair. Among other things, he admits to drinking alcohol within 8 hours of working a flight.
United’s seasonal second flight between San Francisco and Sydney will only operate for two months, and only three days a week instead of daily. They’ll use a smaller plane for San Francisco to Melbourne, and there will be fewer LA – Melbourne flights leading into peak season. Houston to Sydney will also see fewer frequencies as well.
Bonza, the Australia sibling to Canadian ultra-low cost airline Flair, is being forced to cancel flights as their aircraft get repossessed. Reportedly their entire fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft was seized. The carrier no longer appears viable with all flights suspended.
United Airlines service to Australia is up 50% year-over-year. And it’s not just offering more flights, it’s flying larger planes to Melbourne than before.
United Airlines is the largest U.S. international carrier, the largest Pacific carrier, and is doubling down on being the largest U.S. airline between Australia and New Zealand by adding several new routes and increasing capacity on several of their existing routes. They were unique among peers in not suspending service to Australia during the pandemic, and with partnerships with Air New Zealand and now Virgin Australia they’re able to connect passengers Down Under as well as across the United States.
United is running a sale on coach international award travel that lets elites and co-brand cardmembers book Australia awards from just 40,000 miles roundtrip, as well as discounting numerous other destinations up to 50%, when you book today while lesser discounts will remain through December 2.
There’s no brand that’s been tarnished as much in Australia over the past year as Qantas. They don’t have enough seats to meet demand, and their operations have been awful as they’ve returned to international service. Stories are rampant of passengers with cancelled flights, where the airline stranded them abroad telling them they couldn’t return home for weeks.
Yet the Aussie government still protects Qantas from competition, limiting flights and keeping prices high. Citizens there should be outraged at the crazy stunts Qatar Airways has to engage in just to provide more flights in and out of the country.
U.S. immigration is hard-nosed in Toronto, especially for Canadians entering for temporary work. Portland used to have a reputation as “Deportland.” At most ports of entry to the U.S. they’re looking for terrorists, and people with immigrant intent. In Australia they’re looking for… snacks.
It was only last month that Australia fined a woman $1750 for failing to declare a half-eaten subway sandwich. Now a passenger has been fined $1870 after McDonalds McMuffins were found in their backpack.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
