Saudi Arabia is launching a new visa regime for 49 countries. The Muslim kingdom, relatively closed off for decades, has in recent years relaxed strict social codes. They stopped segregating men and women in public places and requiring women to wear all-covering black robes or abayas. How to apply Visas will be available online, with […]
– here is a good summary of all the myriad of airline stakes Ethiopian Airlines has accumulated, Chad is the newest one the airline is bidding for – there is so little competition and such strong demand from Australia’s and New Zealand’s economy that Qantas and Air New Zealand report record profits Qantas may soon […]
– Virgin Australia Velocity is switching to a spend based mileage earning starting today for Trans-Tasman flights The airline also adds free bags, free food, drinks and entertainment to their Economy flights to New Zealand. Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand had terminated a codeshare agreement that will make it much harder for Virgin Australia […]
– American Express has launched Marriott Rewards/SPG credit cards that come with a 100,000 (Business Card) and 75,000 Personal card sign-up bonus The sign-up bonus is roughly in-line with the bonus that was offered for Starwood cards before. American Express and Chase are planning to share data on which cards for the combined programs you […]
After trying out the Air New Zealand long-haul business class product from San Francisco to Auckland and being suitably impressed, I was looking forward to flying back to the US but this time it would be to Los Angeles International Airport instead. It ended up being a similarly excellent experience overall. By the time I had […]
– bad news for passengers in Australia/ New Zealand the (former) rivals Air New Zealand and Qantas will set up a codeshare agreement (read revenue share) Airfares and airport taxes are already sky high in the region – something that will only get worse. – one of Norwegian’s first routes to the US was Stockholm […]
After my great experience with Air New Zealand Business Class from San Francisco to Auckland, I was excited to be onboard the same product (but different airplane) again for my flight to Brisbane. Immigration and Security at the International Terminal in Auckland looked intimidating with long lines but they moved quickly and it took less […]
Air New Zealand runs a massive business class lounge for their premium passengers at Auckland International Airport. How well does the Air New Zealand Business Class Lounge treat passengers? When I arrived at the lounge at 7.30 AM, I had no idea that I had just hit the busiest time of day with many domestic […]
My Favorite 13 Things to do Queenstown, New Zealand – Understand Queenstown is a ski resort town (that also doubles as a summer lake resort) far down the South Island of New Zealand. Queenstown is ‘just’ at 41 degrees south but the air gets cooled down thanks to the Antarctic currents out in the ocean […]
Air New Zealand has a near monopoly position on most domestic routes in New Zealand. The airline earns on average NZD 20 cents per seat kilometer flown from their domestic operations – that is about double what they see in international operations. The domestic terminal at Auckland Airport is a low-key, yet efficient affair. To […]