Flighthacker

Although details are sketchy at this moment, Jetstar have announced that in conjunction with Macquarie Bank, they will be releasing a Jetstar MasterCard in two flavours today – being regular and platinum. For the regular card, every dollar spent equates to 1c in Jetstar money, which can eventually be redeemed for flight vouchers and promotional offers. For platinum, this doubles to 2c.

Word has it that there may be a Qantas/Jetstar points tie-in announced next year.

Make sure you check details first, but the skinny is that interest will be pegged at 10.99% and the card itself will come with a $49 annual fee. So, if you think all those cents accrued will exceed the annual price tag, then it doesn’t seem too rough to me. Hopefully it won’t come with a minimum spend in order to collect points, like that pesky Everyday Rewards/Qantas Frequent Flyer card.

Watch this page for the card’s launch later today.

Recently I had the pleasure of flying Tiger Airways between Sydney and Melbourne, on my own coin, of course. Prior to the flights, I had been inundated with both positive and negative stories regarding Tiger flights, ranging from, “Oh, you have to walk on the tarmac, ooooh!”, to “Well, it’s $28 a pop”, not to mention exposure to Channel 7’s controversial show, ‘Airways’. Combining these tales with my own experience, I realised that, for all its merits, perhaps Tiger Airways isn’t really for everyone. The following is my breakdown of what to expect on a Tiger flight; hopefully it will help you decide whether Tiger should be your carrier of choice, or if you should invest that extra few dollars to avoid the mobile stairs. Read entire article.

For the first time in living memory, Sydney has been hit by an apocalypse-red dust storm, paired with gale-force winds and a whole lot of environmental anxiety. This has caused chaos on both the ground and in the air, causing numerous flights to be redirected to Melbourne and Brisbane airports and creating major delays for passengers arriving to or departing from Sydney Airport. Even I encountered a significant delay this morning, while determining whether I wanted to walk through a painted reproduction from the final chapter of a children’s Bible. Finally, I closed my eyes and stepped outside – it couldn’t be any worse than in the Emirates, if they were to ever have a cold day, right?

If they ever had a day this cool in Dubai, I’m sure there would be chaos, too. But that was beside the point.

Onto the practical stuff:

• As of the time of writing, Sydney Airport’s website has been put out of order due to the influx of enquiries regarding flight delays
• Significant delays are to also be encountered at Brisbane airport, due to the arrival of redirected flights
• Qantas has announced that they will be refunding or rescheduling passengers on affected flights
• Jetstar will be rescheduling passengers on affected flights until Friday
• No word from Tiger Airways and Virgin Blue – call your airline if you are concerned about potential delays on flights departing in the next 24 hours

Well, the skies are starting to clear now over Sydney in a fascinating transition, from the morning’s blaze of grapefruit red, to a dull orange-yellow, to cottage cheese and finally, a sliver of blue. Check out this amazing Sydney dust storm photo set on Flickr.

What a dramatic, final day to my twenty-fifth year!

First of all, I’m not a travel agent. In fact, I’m a graphic designer who primarily constructs email and websites with some degree of competency and plans holidays with zest and grand design. However, unlike my travel agent friends, I don’t have access to magnificent tools or connections, so when it comes to finding the right hotel, I use the same resources as everyone else – travel websites. Read entire article.

Now that Lance Armstrong has confirmed that he’s racing in the Tour Down Under, I’ve started seriously thinking about attending the first leg of the world’s greatest cycling series, the UCI ProTour, in Adelaide, South Australia. If you’re planning to cheer on the world’s greatest cyclists at the tour during 17 – 24 January, 2010, here are some tips on how to get there and stay like a fan should… On a bike-chain budget! Read entire article.

Hand Luggage Only (HLO) travel seems to be a perennial topic across countless travel sites and forums, especially now that pretty much every low-cost airline has provided it as a fare-saving option. Often the questions raised include the following:

• I’ve booked a discount flight and waived the check-in baggage fee, how am I going to carry everything I need?
• I’m tired of lugging a suitcase around, can I fit everything into a carry-on bag instead; or
• Honestly, how do you carry-on only folks do it?

Read entire article.

Everyone will tell you – Earlybird specials are dead. So when exactly is the best time to book that budget holiday and how? Here are some lessons I’ve learnt from tracking sales and booking fares, so don’t let anyone bully you into buying an airfare 10 months in advance! Read entire article.

Well, when I’m not writing, performing the day-job or watching Tour de France, I seem to be doing one thing quite successfully – booking holidays for other people. So when I do get the pleasure of booking a trip for myself, I have the bargain radar well honed  and those specials be quakin’ in their boots.

The mission: Fill a 5-day, 6-night itinerary with fun (and not too pricey), Winter things to do in Christchurch and Queenstown, New Zealand. With a fistful of Australian dollars, this wasn’t to hard at all (all prices are in AUD). Read entire article.

To celebrate the launch of CherryPow.com yesterday, I’ve decided to write on a topic that has many ski-bunnies quaking in their boots, being how to carry your prized ski equipment on a low-cost flight in Australia and New Zealand. Read entire article.

Foremost, I’ve read a handful of articles proudly proclaiming that “you can now fly around the world using discount airlines alone!”, but sadly, no-one has told their fair readers how this can be done. Secondly, I’ve read countless round-the-world (RTW) itineraries and they all share one thing in common – they’re all the sort of trips that your mum would put you on. So let me hit two birds with one stone, friends. Not only am I going to show you how to travel RTW solely on low-cost carriers, but provide you with two itineraries that not only showcase the variety of airlines that can get you there on the cheap, but will provide trips to remember. For all the wrong reasons. Read entire article.