With travel industry updates changing at an unprecedented pace, we’ve set up a go-to hub for the latest industry news minus the hysteria and fake news.
We’ll be updating this story as news comes to hand so please keep checking back for all you need to know.
READ: Last Week’s Rolling Updates
Got info or news to share from what you’re experiencing? Please email us at editor@karryon.com.au
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Friday 24, April: G Adventures is launching Virtual Tours and experiences starting this Sunday
G Adventures is launching its first live virtual small group tour this Sunday as part of its new collection of ‘Virtual Travel Experiences’ designed to keep travellers inspired, wherever in the world they may be.
Read more here.
Friday 24, April: Air New Zealand farewells Auckland – Buenos Aires and Los Angeles routes
Air New Zealand has made the difficult decision not to resume its suspended Auckland-Buenos Aires and Los Angeles-London routes due to the deep impact of COVID-19 on forward travel demand.
Read more here.
Friday 24, April: STA fined $14M by ACCC for misleading customers
The Federal Court has ordered that STA Travel Pty Ltd (STA Travel) pay $14 million in penalties for making false or misleading claims when advertising its MultiFLEX Pass product.
Read more here.
Friday 24, April: Cunard extends pause on cruises
Luxury cruise line Cunard has announced that as a result of the continued impact of COVID-19 it will be extending the pause to its voyages.
For Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, Cunard is cancelling all sailings that were due to depart up to and including 31 July 2020.
For Queen Elizabeth, maintaining a shorter summer season in Alaska would not make these voyages viable, so the cruise line has taken the practical decision to cancel the entire Alaska season and all departures up to and including 8 September 2020.
Cunard will be communicating with all guests, and their travel agents, who are booked on affected voyages.
Guests who are booked on cancelled voyages will automatically be given a 125% Future Cruise Credit. This may be used on any sailing before the end of March 2022.
This covers all departures currently on sale. Guests may now also use their Future Cruise Credit for a second cabin to bring friends or family or to upgrade an existing booking. Full details of the changes to operations and options available to guests due to travel on cancelled voyages can be found at www.cunard.com
Friday, 24 April: Hurtigruten offers $200-$500 onboard credit bonus on coastal voyages
Book (or rebook) an Original Coastal Voyage with Hurtigruten and receive between AU$200 and AU$500 onboard credit to spend onboard as you wish.
Available on all voyages
The offer includes the classic 12-day roundtrip voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes and return to Bergen, the 11-day Voyage of Discovery from Bergen to Kirkenes and south to Trondheim, the 7-day northbound voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes, and the 6-day southbound voyage from Kirkenes to Bergen.
“This onboard credit offer is extraordinary value for guests sailing with us on our Coastal Voyages,”
Damian Perry, Managing Director Hurtigruten Asia-Pacific
Additional 5% Low Deposit Offer for all new bookings
New Coastal Voyage bookings can also take advantage of their low deposit offer – pay just 5% deposit on your booking to secure your cruise, with the remaining balance due 60 days before your departure date. This offer is valid on Coastal Voyages departing from 1 October 2020.
Offer details
Bookings must be made before 30 June 2020 for departures up to the end of 2021. Onboard credit offer varies according to voyage booked.
Visit the Hurtigruten website for more details or contact one of their Coastal Specialists on 1300 322 062 (agents).
Friday, 24 April: APT redeploys 4WD’s from Broome to help miners in the Pilbara
As it’s not quite business as usual right now, unusual times call for unusual measures, which saw six of APT’s 4WD vehicles redeployed from Broome to the mining industry in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Taking more than 10 hours to cover 900 kilometers of remote roads, the custom-built Mercedes Benz 4WD vehicles travelled in convoy tackling the daily changes to border crossing restrictions along the way. This all came about because mine operations required additional vehicles to transport workers to and from the mine’s airstrip during shift changes to ensure they meet social distancing requirements during transit.
Commenting on the relocation, APT’s Managing Director, Chris Hall said, “With travel on pause it means we are unable to welcome our guests to the Kimberley. So rather than our 4WDs sitting idle, we decided to help the Pilbara’s mines who were needing transport vehicles. Logistically it was a huge challenge to relocate the vehicles, but nothing our team is not used to and they made it happen.”
Thursday, 23 April: Air Mauritius In Voluntary Administration
Air Mauritius has announced it has entered voluntary administration due to the commercial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement yesterday, the board of directors said while “substantial progress” had been made in developing its action plan, the closure of borders and halting of air services because of the coronavirus has led to a “complete erosion of the revenue base”.
Click here to read the full story
Sadly, the writing appears to be on the wall for South African Airways too.
Thursday, 23 April: Intrepid Suspends Global Operations Until 30 September 2020
Intrepid Group has today confirmed that it will suspend all tours globally until 30 September 2020, with the exception of polar voyages and some trips within Australia.
Customers booked to travel on an Intrepid Travel or Peregrine Adventures tour during this time will receive a credit valued at 110% of all monies paid to use towards an alternative tour with a departure date before 30 September 2022.
CEO James Thornton says that the decision to extend the suspension of Intrepid Group’s trips is due to the ongoing global impact of coronavirus (COVID-19), and the likelihood that international borders will remain closed for an extended period of time.
“This is an extraordinary situation for the whole travel industry. As a responsible travel company, we’re doing our best to look after all the people that depends on our business,”
James Thornton, Intrepid CEO
“We look forward to resuming trips when we can once again operate trips that benefit both our travellers and the people they visit along the way.”
Click here for more information on Intrepid and Peregrine.
Thursday, 23 April: Princess Cruises thank the Illawarra Community & prepare to set sail.
Princess Cruises President, Jan Swartz, today applauded the crew of Ruby Princess for their strength and fortitude and thanked the Illawarra community for supporting the crew while the ship was berthed at Port Kembla.
Ms Swartz said crew members were inspirational in the way they dealt with extremely difficult circumstances while building a powerful bond with the local community.
“The nightly applause ceremony in which the crew clapped all of the people who supported and cared for them during this difficult time was a wonderful expression of goodwill that was reciprocated by the community,”
Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises President
To mark its gratitude to the local community, Princess Cruises is making a contribution of $50,000 to support the outreach to seafarers of the Mission to Seafarers at Port Kembla.
Thursday, 23 April: Solomon Airlines’ one-off passenger flight
Solomon Airlines will operate a one-off commercial flight on 30 April following consultation with the Solomon Islands Government and foreign High Commissions, including Australia and New Zealand.
The Airbus A320 flight will position from Brisbane to Honiara as a cargo-only service on 29 April and will depart Honiara International Airport on 30 April returning Solomon Islands based passengers to Australia or to transit in Sydney and Brisbane to onward international destinations.
Solomon Airlines Flight IE4710 will depart Honiara at 0450, arriving Sydney at 0805, departing Sydney at 0905 and arriving Brisbane at 1015.
Click here for more information.
Wednesday, 22 April: Emirates steps up safety measures
Emirates is stepping up precautionary measures to ensure the health and safety of its employees and customers.
EK staff will now don personal protective equipment, which includes a protective disposable gown over their uniforms, and a safety visor, in addition to masks and gloves.
Onboard, seats are pre-allocated with vacant seats placed between individual passengers or family groups in observance of physical distancing protocols.
READ: Silver Lining: Airlines Are Ditching The Loathed Middle Seat
READ: Emirates Rolls Out ‘Rapid’ COVID-19 Testing For All Passengers Departing DXB
Wednesday, 22 April: “This Is Not The End For Virgin Australia”
The general view from economists and financial experts is that Virgin Australia will secure a new owner in the coming months and successfully restructure the business to stay afloat and competitively remain the number two airline in Australia post-COVID-19.
As Paul Scurrah, CEO, Virgin Australia said yesterday “Australia needs a second airline, and we are determined to keep flying. We’ll come back leaner, stronger and fitter.”
You can read our full story on the Virgin Australia situation here.
Wednesday, 22 April: Intrepid refuses refunds after backdating a new company policy
Intrepid Travel has changed its refund policy and applied it retrospectively to avoid giving refunds for trips cancelled due to COVID-19.
Intrepid’s original
Now, effective 14 March, customers can no longer claim a refund but rather a credit voucher of 110%, which can be used for future travel with the company for trips departing before 30 April 2022.
Intrepid said the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 forced them to “adapt” their cancellation policy.
You can find all the details here: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/covid19
Wednesday, 22 April: CMV encourages new cruise bookings with flexible travel policy
Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) has expanded its flexible travel policy for all new bookings made from now until the end of May, to encourage those thinking about future travel to consider planning a cruise.
The updated policy offers guests more peace of mind when making new bookings in the short-term, with fully-transferrable deposits for
new bookings made from now until the end of May, applicable on any sailing or any ship departing in 2020, 2021 or 2022, up until 90 days prior to sailing. All standard administration and transfer fees will be waived
under CMV’s booking policy, to give cruisers confidence in future travel.
CMV’s refreshed policy is also a way for the cruise line to support agents in securing bookings and commissions. Despite the issues that the travel agent community are facing, agent partners still account for the majority of CMV bookings made..
Tuesday, 21 April 2020: The First Ruby Princess crew disembark
49 crew members, from New Zealand, the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Japan, have been allowed to disembark the Ruby Princess today, which has now been docked in Circular Quay for 33 days.
Police will escort the group, which has one person infected with COVID-19, to a Sydney hotel and then onward to the airport.
Click here for more information.
Tuesday, 21 April: 2020 Cruise Conference cancelled
The New Zealand Cruise Association has decided to cancel the 2020 New Zealand Cruise Association Conference and postpone the event to next year.
The 2021 Conference will be held in Christchurch, with the Lyttelton port visit and Welcome function on Thursday 19th August 2021 and the conference day on 20th August 2021 – the venues remain the same.
Monday 20 April : Delta Air Lines announces changes to their ‘experience’
To make it easier to practice social distancing during travel, the following temporary changes will be implemented on all Delta flights through June 30, 2020:
- Reducing the total number of passengers per flight.
- Blocking middle seats in Main Cabin, Delta Comfort+® and Delta Premium Select.
- Pausing automatic, advance Medallion® Complimentary Upgrades and processing any available upgrades at the gate.
- Modifying our boarding process to now board by row
Delta is also paring down to essential onboard food and beverage options in an effort to reduce physical touch points between customers and employees.
Club operations will also be affected with the discontinuation of shower services and scaling back of food and beverage offerings. s
Monday 20 April: Rex to introduce temperature testing at check-in
Regional Express (Rex) is rolling out body temperature testing at check-in
counters across its network of 55 destinations.
“As an added precautionary measure to protect our passengers, staff and the communities we
Rex staff commencing duty will also have
Rex will also make efforts to space out the seating allocation of all passengers to facilitate social distancing.
Unrelated parties will not be assigned seats next to each other where possible and there will also be changes in the in-flight catering service provided to minimise the risk of infection.
Friday 17 April: Etihad “Focused on the Future”
Friday 17 April: Qantas And Virgin Get $165m Hand Out To Keep Flying Domestically
Etihad Airways plans to operate a “reduced network of scheduled passenger services” from May 1, subject to the lifting of UAE government-imposed travel restrictions on passenger travel.
Click here for more information.
The Federal Government has announced that Virgin and Qantas will receive financial support to maintain limited and affordable domestic flying routes for 8 weeks as part of a $165m package to help them navigate the coronavirus crisis.
READ: Qantas & Virgin To Keep Flying Domestically Thanks To Government Backing
Friday 17 April: Emirates tests passengers for COVID-19
Emirates in coordination with Dubai Health Authority (DHA) will be introducing additional precautions for passengers travelling on its flights; with all passengers being tested for COVID-19 before departing from Dubai. Emirates is the first airline to conduct on-site rapid COVID-19 tests for passengers.
Click here for more information.
Friday 17 April: Holland America Line Extends Temporary Pause of its Global Ship Operations Until June 30
Due to continued port closures including Canada’s cruise ship suspension until July 1 and other travel restrictions resulting from global health concerns, Holland America Line has made the decision to extend its pause of global cruise operations and cancel all sailings scheduled to depart through June 30, 2020. This includes Alaska, Canada/New England, and Europe cruises.
Guests with impacted cruises have two options to choose from and must make their selection by June 1, 2020:
- Option #1: Defer a refund and receive a Future Cruise Credit for 125% of the base cruise fare paid plus an onboard credit of US$250 per person, which can be applied toward any future cruise(s) through Dec. 31, 2021. Guests who haven’t paid in full will receive a Future Cruise Credit for 125% of the amount paid to Holland America Line.
- Option #2: A 100% refund of all monies paid to Holland America Line will be reimbursed. This includes Holland America Line’s Flight Ease air, Cancellation Protection Plan, Holland America Line pre- or post-cruise hotel packages or transfers, prepaid shore excursions and amenities purchased through Holland America Line, and taxes, fees, and port expenses.
Click here for more information.
Friday 17 April: With Love From Vegas
Hotels on the Las Vegas Strip are lighting up their windows with hearts and messages to show support during these tough times. With the unprecedented closure of all Strip resorts, the messages of LOVE, #VegasStrong and “We Love Vegas” display the sentiment that hotels are missing guests as much as guests are missing them.
These messages of hope and resiliency can be seen up and down Las Vegas Boulevard at Hilton Grand Vacation, MGM Grand, New York-New York, Flamingo Las Vegas, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Wynn Las Vegas, Encore, Venetian Resort, ARIA, Vdara, and Delano Las Vegas.
Thursday 16 April: The Together In Travel Podcast is LIVE!
We’re extremely excited and proud to announce that our weekly Karryon Together In Travel Podcast is here!
In our first episode, hosted by Karryon founder Matt Leedham, we chat with Curated Travel Agent, Matt Castell about life lessons and working together through COVID-19 and gauge his thoughts around what happens next.
Subscribe to the podcast via all your favourite places and stay tuned for episode two, coming next week.
And if you haven’t joined our Together in Travel Facebook closed group yet, please do! You’ll find 5,000 of your industry peers supporting each other and sharing the good stuff through these challenging times.
You can join the group here.
Thursday 16 April: Marriott International lights up across Asia Pacific to spark hope
Across Asia Pacific, Marriott International will light up its properties to send a positive message, offering a ray of hope to the communities they are in for locals and travellers alike.
The “Light for Hope” initiative looks to spread positivity amidst the challenging times the world is currently facing.
Last week, over 270 hotels across various cities and regions, from Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Saigon, Jakarta, Maldives, Mumbai and many more lit up their hotel rooms to the symbol of a smiley face, as seen from the façade of the hotel.
The symbol was chosen to project a happy demeanour radiating positivity, with hopes that it brings a smile to the faces of everyone who sees it.
“In times of uncertainty one thing remains certain – we are in this together, and we will come out stronger”, said Craig S. Smith, Group President, Asia Pacific, Marriott International.
Thursday 16 April: Princess Cruises Expresses Deep Sadness Over Coronavirus Impact
In response to the NSW Premier’s announcement of a Commission of Inquiry regarding the Ruby Princess, Princess Cruises expressed its deep sadness over the terrible impact the coronavirus has had across the globe.
In addition, Princess confirmed its intention to assist the Commission of Inquiry in its efforts to establish the truth of what happened in relation to Ruby Princess.
“It is heartbreaking and distressing to know that coronavirus has had and continues to have, such a terrible impact on so many people across the world, including some of our guests, crew members and their families. Our hearts and thoughts go out to everyone that has been affected,” said Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises.
Ms Swartz said the world had a common enemy with COVID-19 and it would willingly participate with all three government-instigated inquiries – the Commission of Inquiry, police investigation and coronial inquiry
Thursday 16 April: Topdeck refuses refunds after changing policy retrospectively
According to a report in The Guardian, Topdeck Travel has altered its refund policy and applied it retrospectively to deny refunds to customers for trips cancelled due to the pandemic.
Topdeck said the changed policy meant they were only offering credit vouchers in order to travel with them in the future, which will not be redeemable for cash refunds.
Wednesday 15 April: Princess extends temporary pause of global ship operations
Wednesday 15 April: Seabourn hold operations through to June 30th, 2020.
Seabourn has today announced an extension of its voluntary hold on operations through to June 30 2020.
Seabourn will be communicating changes for voyages scheduled to depart in the extension window with all booked guests and their travel advisors.
Guests on impacted voyages will receive a 125% refund on monies received in the form of a future cruise credit, which must be booked by Dec. 30, 2020, but can be applied toward any future cruise through December 31, 2021.
For guests who do not opt to choose the 125% future cruise credit, a 100% refund of the monies paid to Seabourn will be reimbursed to the original form of payment.
Click here for more information.
Wednesday 15 April: itravel waive fees
itravel has waived all franchise and administration fees for all franchisees, mobile agents and affiliates until further notice.
“It was a no brainer for us. Our network is like our family. We will protect them as much as we can.”
Steve Labroski, MD
itravel agents are delighted and overwhelmed by the gesture.
Nannette from Red Skies Travel, an affiliate of itravel, “Thank you – you guys are the best. It’s so appreciated.”
“What an amazing gesture”, says mobile agent Wendy Begue and franchisee, Melissa Devlin says “Every little bit helps. Thank you so much.”
Click here for more information.
Wednesday 15 April: Qatar Airways announces charter flight from Christchurch to Paris via Perth
Qatar Airways has revealed it will be operating a charter flight from Christchurch to Paris via Perth, organised with the French Embassy in New Zealand, to repatriate French nationals and residents.
The flight will leave Doha today (14 April), stop in Perth to pick up passengers before heading to Christchurch for additional passengers, and departing Christchurch on 16 April.
This will be Qatar Airways’ first-ever passenger flight to Christchurch.
Wednesday, 15 April: Globus releases Dreaming Doesn’t Stop video
G
“While we’ve all had to hit the pause button on our holidays, the dreaming doesn’t stop. Like the geysers of Yellowstone and the peaks of the Andes, we will rise –
and the world will shine. Until the day comes when we can resume the joy of being your global guide, keep dreaming. We certainly are.”Globus family of brands
Wednesday 15 April: Emirates simplifies waivers and refunds policy
Emirates is offering three options to its customers affected by flight cancellations and travel restrictions:
1. Keep your ticket: all Emirates tickets booked before 31 May for travel up to 31 August will be automatically extended for 760 days. Customers holding such tickets can be assured their tickets will be honoured, and they can rebook when they decide to travel.
2. Request a travel voucher: Travel vouchers are valid for one year from the date the voucher was issued and can be extended for a second year. The voucher can be used for any Emirates product or service, which means customers can use it to offset charges for flights to any destination in any cabin class, or other services.
Customers can
Tuesday 14 April: Virgin Australia Goes Into Trading Halt
Virgin Australia has this morning gone into an immediate trading halt ahead of an expected announcement around restructuring the struggling airline’s $5 billion of debt.
READ: Virgin Australia Goes Into Trading Halt To Reassess Next Move
Tuesday 14 April: Accor plan to rehire all staff
According to Bloomberg, Accor SA Chief Executive Officer Sebastien Bazin says he’s fighting to make sure the hotel group’s operations are in shape when the rebound happens following the coronavirus pandemic.
Accor has laid off 220,000 employees around the world, but Bazin says he intends to re-hire “every one of them” and to re-open each hotel which has been closed.
Click here for more information.
Tuesday 14 April: Scoot update refund policy to include 100% refund
Singapore Airlines’ low-cost carrier, Scoot, has announced that it has updated its refund policy to allow full refunds for customers with bookings made on or before March 15 for cancelled flights originally scheduled to depart between January 23 and May 31 this year.
Eligible customers can choose between a 100 per cent refund via the original payment mode and a 120 per cent refund in Scoot vouchers.
These vouchers will be valid for 12 months and can be used for any travel period available on the Scoot website at the time of booking.
Click here for more information.
Tuesday 14 April: L.A Air quality is the best it has been in decades
According to TMZ, the air quality in L.A is the best it has been in 40 years! Obviously, it’s not because of a positive event, but it is one of the bright sides to people staying home.
L.A.’s infamous rush-hour traffic has been moving 71 per cent faster than it usually does… and that trend’s expected to continue for the foreseeable future. With far less travel emissions, the Hollywood sign is in clear sight!
Tuesday 14 April: Greg Mortimer Passengers Return Home
More than 100 Australian and New Zealand residents who were aboard the Antarctica cruise that was anchored of the coast of Uruguay have returned home on a chartered flight that arrived from Uruguay on Sunday.
According to AAP, of 217 people tested on the vessel, 128 were positive for the virus that causes the COVID-2019 disease and 89 tested negatives.
Those who tested positive must wait until they test negative before flying home.
The passengers are now required to undergo a 14-day quarantine on arrival at a facility in Melbourne, Aurora Expeditions confirmed.
Tuesday 14 April: Support is coming to Pacific Countries affected by Tropical Cyclone Howard
The monster storm has left more than two dozen people dead, according to reports, while homes, buildings and food crops were destroyed.
READ: Cyclone Harold Rips Through Vanuatu And Heads For Fiji
Thousands urgently need shelter, water, sanitation and food.
According to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric “The Secretary-General commends the governments and first responders in the affected countries for their pre-emptive work to make people safe ahead of the storm and to meet their immediate needs afterwards”
“The United Nations stands ready to support these efforts”.
Stéphane Dujarric, UN Spokesperson
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is assisting authorities in Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands to reach those children most in need, the agency’s representative in the region, Sheldon Yett, said on Twitter.
Tuesday 14 April: Air New Zealand Updates Schedule to 30 June
Air New Zealand is extending the timeframe for its significantly reduced network by a month, with its minimal international operations to continue through to 30 June 2020.
This schedule will now apply through to 30 June 2020. All services are subject to change as governments continue to introduce or change travel and border restrictions.
Overall international capacity has been reduced by 95 percent from pre-COVID-19 levels.
Tasman services (per week)
| Auckland-Sydney | Three return services |
| Auckland-Brisbane | Two return services |
| Auckland-Melbourne | Two return services |
Pacific services (per week)
| Auckland-Rarotonga | One return service |
| Auckland-Niue | One return service |
| Sydney-Norfolk | One return service |
| Brisbane-Norfolk | One return service |
Long-haul services (per week)
| Auckland-Los Angeles | Three return services | ||
| Auckland-Hong Kong | Two return services | ||
| Auckland-Shanghai | Three return services from 31 May |
Click here for more information.