Swine Flu – Essential advice for travellers

July 22, 2009 – 4:43 pm

There has been a lot of publicity regarding the swine flu, and countries throughout the world are reporting increasing numbers of people contracting the H1N1 influenza virus.

The following is some advice on what you can do to minimise the risk of contracting swine flu while travelling and also information on what is being done to combat the spread of the virus both here and abroad.

Swine flu spreads from person to person via respiratory droplets, which are expelled by people when they sneeze or cough. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), any person who is in close proximity with someone who has influenza like symptoms is at risk of being exposed to potentially infective respiratory droplets.

As one would expect, swine flu does pose a risk to anyone travelling in confined spaces and you can’t get anymore confined that sitting on an aircraft.

Fortunately most modern aircraft cabin air recirculation systems are equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters that have an efficiency rating of greater than 99.999% which means they are able to remove particles down to a size of 0.1 microns making them effective in removing viruses including swine flu.

The risk of being infected by swine flu on an aircraft is about the same as what it would be travelling on a train or bus, not completely risk free, but not high risk unless you are unfortunate enough to be seated to someone who is showing symptoms of swine flu and are coughing and spluttering.

However air travellers do need to take care. Being diligent with hand hygiene is the single most important thing you can do. Antibacterial hand gels and disposable wipes are very good as they are portable and can be used at any time. If you are handed anything like a sandwich for example, or you have been pushing a baggage trolley around the airport that other people may have handled, make sure you clean your hands with antibacterial gel or wipe before you touch anywhere on your face.

Masks are also common in some countries particularly in Asia, but just how effective are they in minimising the risk of contracting a virus?

The WHO does recommend the use of masks however they warn that if masks are used incorrectly, they may actually increase the risk of transmission of viruses rather than reduce it.

The problem with masks is that people do not know how to use them properly. The outer surface of the mask will get contaminated and if you touch the outside of the mask, then your mouth without first washing your hands, you will potentially be undoing the benefit of wearing one.

Mean while back to the aircraft and being seated to someone that is coughing and spluttering. It can be a good idea to carry a mask with you if you are ever faced with this situation.

The most obvious thing to do is to move seats but if you can’t, carrying a spare mask may be handy so you can hand it to your neighbour and give them a run down on their obligations for wearing it during the flight.

If you do contract flu like symptoms while you are away, the best advice is to stay in your accommodation if you feel unwell and contact your travel insurer and they will find a local doctor that will be able to assist you.

When you speak to the travel insurer, obtain advice from them on the process of rearranging your travel requirements if you think you may be delayed in the one spot until you are well enough to resume your travels.

It is extremely important to delay your travel if you are feeling unwell.

A number of countries are now using medical screening and quarantine measures to combat the spread of the swine flu virus. In some countries, health and quarantine officials have extensive powers to detain people suspected of having the swine flu and a growing number of people are being temporarily quarantined on arrival into foreign countries.

The Australian Government will provide consular assistance as required to travellers who are quarantined. However there may be cases were legal and practical limits to the assistance consular officers can provide. It is important to follow the instructions of local authorities as in some cases, failure to do so could result in fines or imprisonment.

For more information, contact the Commonwealth Health Hotline on 1802007 or if calling from overseas you can call toll free on +61 8840 28833 or go to the Health Emergency website.

Related Articles: UoM Travel Insurance and Swine Flu (H1N1)

By Simon Crunden | Posted in Important Travel Updates | Comments (0)

Tiger plans to increase flights between Melbourne and Sydney

July 21, 2009 – 8:55 am

Tiger Airways plans to increase its flights to Sydney from Melbourne and Adelaide after adding another Airbus A320 aircraft to its fleet in early October.

Tiger Airways Australia, which began flying on the Melbourne to Sydney route on 3 July, will increase the flights between the two cities to nine-daily from four-daily on 4 October.

The increase on the Melbourne to Sydney route will give Tiger 63 weekly flights in the sector. However, according to an industry source, Qantas has over 210 weekly flights between Melbourne (Tullamarine) and Sydney while Virgin Blue has 164 weekly flights. Jetstar has three weekly flights from Tullamarine and 41 from Avalon.

In a quick price check this morning , Tiger fares for departure this Thursday remain extremely competitive with their lead in fares on the early morning Sydney bound flight starting at $68.00 compared to Virgin Blue and Qantas fares which start at $115.00 and $156.00 respectively.

By Simon Crunden | Posted in Airline Updates | Comments (0)

Tips on how to get the best deal on your next overseas trip

July 15, 2009 – 4:48 pm

Whenever people hear that you work in travel, they will often launch into detail of their next trip to the other side of the world rounding off with the inevitable question – “How do I get the best deal on flights?”

At this point in time it is difficult not to get a good deal. In possibly the biggest bear market the travel industry has seen, there are any number of extraordinary deals available to the savvy traveller who is quick off the mark.

For those of you who don’t have the time to constantly check and compare fares through any number of sources, here are a few tips that will take you a long way down the path of securing the best possible deal.

The first step is to plan your travel itinerary around the times when fares are more likely to be cheaper.

Avoid travelling in the week leading into and during school holidays and avoid flights on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays on either end of your journey as airlines tend to restrict the availability of cheaper fares as they know they will fill the seats.

If you are going to limit your search to one airline, and I don’t recommend you do this, compare airfares on flights for travel on different routes or depart at different times as airlines will discount fares on less popular flights.

A good example of this is the Qantas flight (QF29) to London via Hong Kong. Since the onset of the global economic crisis, fares on this route have declined sharply as Qantas has moved to reduce the impact of the sharp decline in passenger numbers between Hong Kong and London.

If you can avoid flights on newer aircraft, for example the A380, as airlines will have you pay a premium to fly on their brand new aircraft.

Expect Singapore Airlines to increase fares after their inaugural A380 flight out of Melbourne in September to Singapore and London. On the other hand, if you can ignore the hype, other airlines will be trying to create their own headlines by slashing their fares in order to maintain market share.

Look out for great deals on airlines that have just entered the market or have increased services on particular routes. The number one strategy for airlines promoting new services is to release cheap fares in an attempt to grow market share.

Three relatively new airlines in this position at the moment are Etihad who are offering rock bottom fares to Europe via the UAE and VAustralia and Delta Airlines who are offering extraordinarily cheap fares to the US in an attempt to destabilise incumbents Qantas and United Airlines.

However the best deal is not always about securing the cheapest fares.

Take time to explore your options of travelling to your final destination. If you are travelling to Europe, don’t always fall into the trap of flying via London if your final destination is in Continental Europe.

There is any number of airlines with hubs in Asia and the Middle East who will have you at your destination well before alternative airlines who seem to think London Heathrow is a great place for people to spend time waiting for connecting flights into Europe.

Most top tier airlines offer very similar products in terms of seating, cabin service and in-flight entertainment, particularly in economy class but they do vary considerably between types of aircraft.

Travellers looking to travel on the newest aircraft need to be careful and ask plenty of questions of their travel agent, or click on the available aircraft type links when booking over the internet when finalising flights as it is not always obvious that they will be travelling in the comfort of the latest and greatest aircraft. For a number of people, including seasoned travellers, there is nothing worse than arriving at the airport to board a flight only to see and older type aircraft as this often gets the journey off to a bad start.

If an airline places a ticketing time limit on the purchase of an airfare months before the flight is due to depart, this generally means you have secured a good deal. Just one word of warning, cheap tickets generally means plenty of restrictions.

Make sure you are fully aware of the terms and conditions of the fare you are purchasing before you hand over your credit card for payment. If you book through a travel agent, insist they print out the fare rules on the itinerary they provide you including details of applicable cancellation and change fees and not just the generic rules generated by their reservation systems.

Finally, when you pay for your ticket, take out travel insurance at the same time so if you need to cancel for reasons out of your control, at least you know you are covered.

By Simon Crunden | Posted in General Interest | Comments (0)

Qantas and Delta part company

July 14, 2009 – 10:30 am

Qantas have announced that effectively immediately, Delta Airlines is no longer available for purchase in conjunction with Qantas flights within the North American market.

To cover the gap, Qantas have recently extended codeshare services with American Airlines which covers travel from Los Angeles to Atlanta, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Detroit, Tampa, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Orlando and Memphis.

The move away from Delta will mean that travel to a number of final destinations in the US on Qantas itineraries will be via American Airlines hub Dallas Fort Worth.

Depending on your final destination, the flight through Dallas Fort Worth will not add a significant amount of time to your overall trip as American Airlines have excellent connections to most of the major centres throughout the US.

Qantas have advised that travellers who wish to continue to use a Delta services from Los Angeles can continue to do so, however this will require a separate ticket to be issued and travellers will be required to re-check baggage in at Los Angeles as they will not be checked through to their final destination.

For more information on the changes and how they may affect your current itinerary, contact your travel agent or visit the Qantas website.

By Simon Crunden | Posted in Airline Updates | Comments (0)

Heading overseas and want to take your phone?

July 10, 2009 – 7:51 am

Information Technology Services have developed a handy website to assist staff who are heading overseas and need to take their mobile phone or personal mobile device with them to make calls while they are out of the country.

The website provide details on how to activate global roaming services, what the costs are for these services and tips on how to save money while making calls or accessing email and internet using mobile handsets.

Click here for more information

By Simon Crunden | Posted in General Interest | Comments (0)

Who can benefit from the University’s Preferred Supplier Hotel Agreements.

July 9, 2009 – 3:28 pm

There have been many queries throughout the university of who is actually eligible to access the hotel rates in the university agreements.  The rates are available to

  • ALL university staff and students, for business or private use. 
  • External delegates that university staff may be booking accommodation for and bear the costs.
  • If the university is co/organising an event and requires accomodation, a member of the university whom is organising the event can freely contact the hotels and make arrangements for delegates (university not bearing the acommodation cost) to also receive the university’s rates. 
All four local hotels also have a variety of conference facilities available at university rates.
 
If you have any general or specific comments / questions click on the comments link below.
By dpapov | Posted in Hotel Updates | Comments (0)

V Australia and Delta announce joint service agreements

July 9, 2009 – 2:12 pm

V Australia and Delta have announced they are planning a joint services agreement between the two airlines on the highly competitive trans-Pacific route.

The agreement will strengthen the two airlines positioning in the Australian and US markets as it will provide double daily flights between Sydney and Los Angeles with flights departing in both the morning and evening from each location.

The agreement will provide massive benefit to travellers heading to the US from Australia as will allow through fares to be purchased from any location within Virgin Blue’s Australian domestic network to any number of destinations within Delta’s extensive US network.

As well as improvement in schedules, the agreement will allow the two airlines to reciprocate frequent flyer program benefits, lounge access and the expansion of services and routes.

Given the intense competition that has evolved on the Trans-Pacific route in the past five months, the proposed agreement between V Australia and Delta makes perfect sense said industry consultant Simon Crunden.

“Both airlines have limited exposure in each other markets and pooling resources to promote the trans-Pacific route both in Australia and the US will provide both airlines significant benefits” he said.

Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey said that the alliance between the two airlines will offer travellers many new benefits and possibilities, and ensure that vital competition is sustained on the trans-Pacific route.

While the agreement is subject to approval by the US and Australian regulators, the airlines will argue that the joint service agreement will expand their services between the US and Australia, and allow them to compete more effectively against the two major incumbents Qantas and United Airlines.

Joint services agreements have been used by airlines over a considerable number years to compete more effectively on key routes and to expand their product reach into markets where they have limited exposure, none more so than Qantas and British Airways who have used agreements to market joint services between Australia and Europe to great effect.

V Australia have announced recently that they will be commencing three-times weekly non-stop services between Melbourne and Los Angeles in September.

By Simon Crunden | Posted in Airline Updates | Comments (0)

Travel agency services review underway

July 8, 2009 – 4:33 pm

Property and Campus Services released a travel agency services request for tender earlier this week following approval from the Major Tender Board.

The tender was sent to thirteen travel agents identified through the recent traveller survey and a number of other travel agents who responded to the advertisement listed in the public tenders section of last weekend’s Saturday Age.

The tender document is designed to review travel agencies capabilities across three disciplines including traditional travel agency services, online booking fulfillment and group management services.

The tender coincides with two other travel projects that are being managed by Property and Campus Services – travel portal and the review of the university’s preferred airlines.

Project Manager Simon Crunden said the objectives of the tender process are to negotiate better prices and terms for travel agency services, encourage the development of simplified service standards and build internal capabilities that will allow the university to manage total travel expenses.

“Last year the university booked travel through over 100 different travel agents and the tender will provide us an opportunity to review the market to identify suppliers that meet the university’s quality and compatibility requirements while at the same time create cost reduction opportunities through consolidation of our travel spend volumes” Mr Crunden said.

The tender process will run throughout July and August with announcements of preferred vendors expected to take place in early September.

By Simon Crunden | Posted in Travel Agency Updates | Comments (0)

Air New Zealand safety video has nothing to hide

July 6, 2009 – 2:00 pm

Air New Zealand has produced a new onboard safety video featuring its employees without clothes and only covered by paint as a part of its new Nothing to Hide marketing campaign. No doubt it will attract a bit more attention than most safety videos offered by other airlines.

By Simon Crunden | Posted in General Interest | Comments (0)

Tiger in the air between Melbourne and Sydney

July 3, 2009 – 3:28 pm

Tiger Airways launched services between Melbourne and Sydney for the first time yesterday and with it came the expected media frenzy on the potential impact the new player will have on one of the world busiest routes.

While Tiger is expected to push aggressively for market share with the release of deeply discounted fares, it remains to be seen what impact the airline will have with it’s current three and soon to be four daily services between Melbourne and Sydney.

A quick price check this morning confirms Tiger is hitting the market with exceptionally low fares.

A return airfare on Tiger from Melbourne to Sydney for Wednesday 8 July produced a fare of $166 plus an additional $20 if you need to check in luggage and a $12 credit card fee.

By comparison, Virgin Blue were offering flights for similar times for $330 plus $16 for checked in baggage with Qantas offering fares for $452 plus a $7.70 credit card surcharge.

While Tigers fares are clearly cheaper than the two major incumbents, the numbers of flights they provide at this point in time are limited with travellers only being offered a choice of three flights between Melbourne and Sydney at 6:50am, 4:25pm and 7:35pm while on the return, flight times were 8:45am, 6:20pm and 9:30pm. This is a stark contrast to Virgin Blue who provides 25 daily flights and Qantas who provide 30 flights.

What may cause trouble for the airline, on what is considered a major business route, is a history of poor on time performance and a reputation for delayed flights which leaves passengers stranded at airports for hours waiting for the next flight.

According to government statistics, Tiger’s on-time arrival performance for May is 73%, well down on other airlines and you don’t need to venture too far to find a disgruntled Tiger passenger who has written a few colourful sentences about a recent trip.

To the airlines credit, they recognise this and are working hard to turn things around. Tiger’s reliability issues stem from the limited number of aircraft in service at this point in time, with only four A320’s servicing 11 destinations from Melbourne. This is something the airline is looking to address through the introduction of new aircraft which will allow them to increase the frequency of flights across their current network.

But it won’t come easy, as Tigers foray into the Australian domestic market is at a time when the two major domestic carriers are rationalising services in an attempt to minimise losses caused by the biggest downturn in aviation since the start of the jet age.

Finally a word of warning when booking flights using the Tiger website, as they display flight availability over several days on the single page and you need to take care to read the flight information before you select your flights.

By Simon Crunden | Posted in Airline Updates | Comments (0)