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Qantas introduce additional baggage allowances
November 11, 2009 – 8:34 am
Qantas this week introduced a checked baggage surcharge for all their domestic and international flights. This is the first move my Qantas to introduce this type of surcharge which until now, has remained the domain of low cost carriers.
The new surcharge allows passengers to purchase additional checked baggage allowances in 5kg, 10kg, 15kg, 25kg and 35kg weight bundles online via the Qantas website for all Qantas destinations except the US where passengers are required to purchase up to a maximum of two additional pieces of checked baggage at 23kg per piece per flight.
The surcharges vary according to destination and start at $35 for an additional 5kg on Australian domestic and Trans Tasman flights and $105 per additional piece of luggage for US flights.
Additional baggage allowances can be purchased online via www.qantas.com on the “Manage Your Booking” page from 7 days before the scheduled departure and up to 3 hours before departure (provided the passenger has not checked in for the flight at the airport).
It is strongly recommended that passengers check the weight of their baggage before leaving for the airport and purchase additional baggage allowances as necessary, as airport excess baggage surcharges are significantly more expensive than what you can purchase online.
In an update sent to the travel industry, Qantas were quick to point out that passengers were still entitled to a free checked baggage allowance when flying with Qantas and that there had been no change to the current free checked baggage allowance policy.
For more information on additional baggage surcharges visit www.qantas.com or click on the following link:
New University of Melbourne travel portal demonstration
November 6, 2009 – 11:14 am
The University of Melbourne is in the process of introducing an online Travel Portal which will be used by all staff for the approval and arrangement of all travel.
This system will replace the existing paper based processes such as the HR18 forms and will come into effect in mid December 2009.
A demonstration of the new Travel Portal can be seen between 1.00 and 2.00pm on Wednesday 18th November at the Asia Centre-Carrillo Gantner Theatre.
Enquiries: Henry Sammut 8344 9278 / email: hsammut@unimelb.edu.au
Qantas to commence operations out of LHR terminal 3
October 26, 2009 – 7:57 am
Qantas has announced it will move its London Heathrow operations to Terminal 3 next Thursday, 29 October.
Qantas have announced that Terminal 3 will become the new home for Qantas flights to and from Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Australia and British Airways flights to Singapore, Bangkok and Australia.
According to the Qantas website, Terminal 3 has undergone a multi million pound transformation and will offer dedicated Qantas check-in counters for all classes of travel as well as check-in kiosks enabling passengers to check-in, allocate seats and print boarding passes for Qantas flights.
The new Terminal will offer a new car park with a covered walkway to the terminal building and a new terminal forecourt. London Heathrow Terminal 3 will also provide quicker and easier transfers for Qantas passengers connecting onto oneworld airline alliance partner flights.
Click on the following link for further details:
Update provided by QBT
UoM appoints new panel of travel agents
October 20, 2009 – 10:06 am
Property & Campus Services announced today the appointment of a new panel of preferred travel agents as part ongoing review of travel management within the University of Melbourne.
The new panel of preferred travel agents including Campus Travel, Navigator Travel and QBT were appointed by a nine member panel following an extensive review of the market which commenced early June.
The University has also appointed for the first time two preferred events and group management companies Australian Business & Conference Travel (ABC Travel) and CiEvents.
A number of new and improved services have been negotiated with the new preferred suppliers as well as significantly improved pricing structure which will increase the transparency of the cost of airfares and travel related services booked through the travel agents.
Further details of the new agreements will be released in conjunction with the implementation of travel portal which is on target for release in December this year.
University of Melbourne Travel Category Manager David Papov said that the appointment of a panel of travel agents reflects the requirement to provide an extended range of travel services to the University.
“We have selected agents that will provide a complete range of services including smaller boutique type agents as well as the larger travel agents one of which will have a location on the Parkville campus. The agents will also integrate within the Portal environment and provide a full service centralised travel system for the University” he said.
The current travel agent agreements will remain in place until 30 November when the new Agreements will take effect.
For further information on the new travel agency appointments contact Simon Crunden at travel-enquiries at unimelb.edu.au.
Important announcement regarding travel to the US
October 16, 2009 – 1:10 pm
Travel Agency QBT today announced important changes to the requirements for passengers travelling on flights operating to, from, within or over the United States effective 31 October 2009.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the introduction of a Secure Flight Program to enhance the security of domestic and international commercial airline travel within the US.
The program will introduce new rules requiring all airlines travelling within US airspace to collect passenger data so it can be provided to the US Transport Security Administration a division of the DHS.
From 31 October 2009 it will be a requirement for airline travel bookings to contain the following information:
- Full Name of the traveller as it appears in the Passport
- Date of Birth of the traveller
- Gender of the traveller
Currently this data is collected by airlines when the traveller checks in for their flight.
The new rule will require the above information to be entered at the time the booking is made by the travel agent or online directly with the airline.
All airlines will be required to comply with the collection of this data for all travellers, for flights to, from and over the US.
For further information on travelling to the US go to the US Transport Security Administration website: .
Update provided by QBT
Timely DFAT reminder on validity of Passports
October 15, 2009 – 12:57 pm
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) have issued a warning in response to an increasing number of Australians who are experiencing travel delays due to their passports being non compliant to the entry requirements of the country they are travelling to.
The DFAT warning reminds travellers that a number of countries demand that passports be valid for at least six months beyond the date of entry to, or intended stay in, the country the traveller is visiting and also states that failure to meet this requirement may prevent the traveller from entering the country and in some instances, from entering subsequent travel destinations.
The Australian Passport Office is in the process of exploring ways of alerting clients to the passport validity issue when booking overseas travel and is currently negotiating with airlines to enforce automated verification of passport validity to prevent travellers from booking international flights if their passport has less than six months validity.
According to Lyn Harris from QBT a number of airlines have already introduced this requirement by forcing travellers to provide their passport details before a ticket is issued as the fines imposed by Customs agencies throughout the world on airlines can be significant.
Are you a UoM Travel Arranger (Administrator)?
October 12, 2009 – 2:50 pm
Travel Portal is in the final stages of development and to build a site for Travel Arrangers to put the system to the test, we require a bit of data from you to enable us to match your Themis profile to your business unit within the University.
If you book travel on behalf of other people within the University (Travel Arranger), then we need to know who you are so we can set up your profile so you can access the profiles of people within your area to make new bookings within the Travel Portal system.
To do this, simply click on the link below and we will be in contact with you to confirm what travellers you need access to.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=EB…
Any questions then give me a call on ext 49282 or email me at travel-enquiries at unimelb.edu.au.
Simon Crunden
Where a cheap fare can get expensive
September 16, 2009 – 8:26 am
Age writer Tony Wilson updates readers on the high’s and low’s of travelling on a low cost carrier and his most recent experience flying to Maroochydore on Tiger Airways and warns travellers to read the fine print before taking the plunge on a cheap airfare. Click on the following link to read the full article:
Qantas announces increase in domestic change fees
August 3, 2009 – 3:26 pm
Qantas has announced that domestic change fees will increase from 1 September 2009.
The current change fee of $44 increases to $50, applies only to Qantas Red e-Deal and Super Saver fares where the passenger requests a change to a ticket prior to departure.
According to a spokesperson at Qantas retail sales, the charges apply to all changes to the above fare types if made online however if changes are made through Qantas telephone sales, airports or Qantas travel outlets, travellers will be charged an additional booking fee of $30.