With Australia's international border still closed (except to New Zealand), and restrictive international arrival caps still in place, flying to Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic sadly remains a huge challenge.

In this episode, travel agent Alan Lam from Netwave Travel returns to the podcast to give an update on how to maximise your chances of successfully booking a flight to Australia during COVID-19. The discussion includes detailed information about what type of ticket to book, how much you can expect to pay, where to fly to in Australia, DFAT repatriation flights, common travel agent scams and more.

This episode includes Part One of our extended interview with Alan on international travel during the pandemic. Part One is all about inbound travel to Australia. The next episode of AFF on Air will include Part Two of the interview, which will be about outbound travel from Australia.

You can contact Alan by emailing alan[at]netwavetravel[dot]com or find him on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum posting under the username "madrooster".

 

Episode contents:

2:09 - Fortnightly news round-up
11:02 - Interview with Alan Lam: Update on COVID-19 airline schedules & when to book flights to Australia
14:50 - Interview: Which fare types give you the best chance of flying to Australia without getting bumped in June 2021, and which is the best Australian city to fly into?
21:00 - Interview: Some strategies for booking with frequent flyer points to Australia (particularly from the USA)
24:01 - Interview: DFAT Qantas repatriation flights
27:50 - Interview: Common travel agent scams

 

Links:

AFF on Air Discussion thread - a dedicated AFF thread to discuss the podcast and ask questions
Travelling to Australia During COVID-19 (Guide)
Travelling to Australia During COVID-19 (Discussion)

 

Frequent Flyer Gazette articles referenced in the fortnightly news round-up:

Overseas Travel for Vaccinated Australians Within 6 Weeks?
Which Countries Ban Their Citizens From Leaving?
Taxi Credit Card Surcharge Rip-Off