Velocity Award Flight Redemptions to have Carrier Surcharges from Jan 1st 2019
 

https://www.velocityfrequentflyer.co.../PointsTables/

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1120d4105e.png

Ouch! The lack of these was a clear differentiator ... :(

In addition, VA is reducing the conversion rate of Velocity points to SQ KrisFlyer points from 1:1.35 to 1:1.55 - also in effect from January 1, 2019.

Together, these changes represent a major devaluation of the Velocity redemption proposition.

Ugly devaluations like this come in threes, what will the third one be? What's the betting it will become harder to earn status with higher thresholds and/or curbs on family pooling.

Wow, that's a huge fee for a J redemption. Poor move VA.

Does QF have similar fees?

More. A lot more :td:
In 2016 I paid US$450 taxes & surcharges for a J award DFW-SYD-MEL

If you've been anywhere near a petrol bowser lately, you'd know what's going on with prices there. I'm sure the airlines are facing similar on their jet fuel.

Wouldn't be surprised if Qantas moves theirs up as well. But who knows, they don't seem big on disclosure....

Just received the following in an email :

Important Service Message

Changes to the Velocity Program on New Zealand Routes

Air New Zealand will depart the Velocity Frequent Flyer program as an Airline Partner on 28 October 2018.
Velocity members travelling on Air New Zealand flights booked prior to 6 April 2018, for travel after this date will still be eligible for Velocity Points and Status Credit earn up until the end of April 2019.
Velocity members will still continue to earn Velocity Points and Status Credits on the Virgin Australia network between Australia and New Zealand.

Carrier Charges on Virgin Australia-Operated Flights

A carrier charge will be payable on Reward Seats booked on or after 1 January 2019 on Virgin Australia operated flights; and Delta Air Lines marketed and operated flights between Sydney and Los Angeles.
For Domestic travel1, a carrier charge of $3.50 for Economy or $5.50 for Business Class will apply. For flights between Australia and New Zealand, the charge will be $3.50 for Economy or $5.50 for Business Class. Short-haul international flights incur a carrier charge of $25.00 for Economy or $50.00 for Business Class. Flights between Australia and Hong Kong will incur a carrier charge of $35.00 for Economy or $50.00 for Business Class. Flights between Sydney and Los Angeles (including marketed and operated by Delta Airlines) will incur a carrier charge of $60.00 for Economy, $145.00 for Premium Economy, or $230.00 for Business Class2.
Carrier charges are quoted in Australian dollars, and payable per person, per sector. For example, the carrier charge on a return economy Reward Seat from Adelaide via Melbourne or Sydney to Hong Kong will be AUD$77.

One thing to note is that the $3.50 is exclusive of GST (and they nicely used an example of ADL-SYD-HKG where the domestic component doesn't attract GST)

If correct, that's a huge oversight on their behalf. Advertising prices that like on a consumer website without GST is not legal...

They'd get away with it because it may not be subject to GST (when connecting to an international flight)

That's true of any domestic airfare price they publish anywhere, yet those are still advertised as the GST inc price.

At an absolute minimum they should be stating that GST is not included for the domestic charge.

If they are advertising it as part of a through fare (in this case, ADL-SYD-HKG, then the ADL-SYD) part does not attract GST, and won't be included.

If they are advertising ADL-SYD as a standalone domestic fare, then GST will be included.

Remind me, when was the last time airline fuel surcharges dropped when petrol prices fell?

Petrol wasn't 0 dollars per liter when award tickets had 0 dollar surcharges.

This has nothing to do with the price of petrol. Award tickets are capacity limited so they are a minor cost, if any, to the airlines. It's a money grab, plain and simple. But I blame QF more than VA...

Jet fuel is 36% more expensive now than it was 12 months ago. Of course they're going to recover that somewhere....