The end-of-August round-up of travel news notes the arrival of new airlines into Gold Coast and Cairns, the ongoing rollout of free WiFi on international carriers, a win for Malaysian Airlines economy class passengers, more countries offering Australians visa-free entry, a refreshed Sydney Airport lounge and bad lounge food avoidance tactics at the same airport. 

New international flights to Gold Coast and Cairns

Queensland’s secondary international airports have secured some additional airlines. Hong Kong Airlines is operating a short series of flights between its home city and Gold Coast between January 17 and February 15, 2025, to test the viability of permanent services. The four roundtrips per week will be operated by A330-300s which have economy and a lie-flat 1-2-1 business class cabin.

Meanwhile, AirAsia has begun flying between Denpasar and Cairns thrice weekly using A320-200s. The year-round flights started in mid-August. The link to Denpasar is handy for Cairns residents because lots of long-haul airlines fly into the Indonesian city, and premium cabin fares out of Denpasar into Europe are usually far less than on the same airline flying to the same European destination out of Brisbane.

More dates set for airline WiFi rollouts

International airlines flying to Australia continue to schedule free WiFi rollout across all cabin classes. ANA, which flies between Tokyo, Perth and Sydney, already offers business class passengers complimentary WiFi on international flights, but recently said it would offer the same to premium economy and economy class passengers from March 2025.

Delta, which flies between LA and Sydney and will start flights to Brisbane in December, is rolling out free WiFi on its Viasat-equipped widebody aircraft on a route-by-route basis. Unfortunately, trans-Pacific flights will be among the last to get it, sometime in the latter half of 2025.

Qantas is also working on its free WiFi offering on international flights and should have it available across all A330-200 aircraft from early 2025 and its A330-300, B787-9, and A380-800 fleet by the end of  25.  The A330-200s primarily fly into Asian ports such as Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, Bengaluru, and Hong Kong but also appear on the Brisbane – Los Angeles and Brisbane – Auckland routes.

Malaysia Airlines offers ‘Chef on Call’ options in economy class

Malaysia Airlines is slashing its international network over the remainder of the year because of operational constraints but it is not affecting its Australian flights (so far). On matters WiFi, Malaysia Airlines passengers already have unlimited complimentary Wi-Fi. Alas, it does not support streaming apps. 

On matters food, in a rare piece of good news for economy class passengers, Chef on Call options are now available for pre-ordering on Malaysian Airlines. Other than special diets, access to menus beyond the chicken or beef options on the trolley is usually the preserve of premium class cabins.

However, in addition to trolley options, economy class passengers on flights to and from Australia can also pre-order meals such as nasi lemak with shrimp sambal, e-fu noodles with braised chicken, or classic beef lasagne. Granted, it’s not lobster thermidor, but it is more choice in economy class, and that’s a good thing.

More visa-free travel options for Australians

China has recently began allowing Australian passport holders visiting for business, tourism, family visit or transit purposes visa-free entry for stays of up to 15 days. The rule took effect on July 1, 2024, and covers entry from open sea, land, and airports.

If China appeals but you feel like stretching your wings a little more, neighbouring Mongolia now also started allowing Australian passport holders visa-free entry for stays of up to 30 days. Mongolia relaxed its entry rules last year.

Slightly closer to home, Sri Lanka is temporarily dropping its visa requirement for Australian passport holders from October 1, 2024. The Sri Lankan Government wants to see if the six-month visa-free travel generates greater tourist numbers and more badly needed hard currency. New Zealand passport holders are also eligible for visa-free travel to China, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka.

Sydney’s Singapore Airlines Lounge refresh

Singapore Airlines has re-opened its Sydney lounge after a quick overhaul. DMARGE hasn’t had the chance to give it a whirl yet, but early reports say there’s new carpet and a new barista bar, although what was wrong with the previous one is a mystery. The bathrooms remain unchanged, as does the buffet, but Singapore Airlines already did decent lounge food, so the failure to upgrade is not necessarily a crime against humanity.

Unless you’re flying in first class, in which case you have a separate lounge away from the business class and Star Gold riff-raff, DMARGE’s Sydney Star Alliance lounge strategy is to head to the Singapore lounge for a bite to eat before swinging next door to the more expansive Air New Zealand lounge and its above-average bar.

Unless it’s an evening flight, in which case the Singapore Airlines lounge is closed, and you have to close your eyes and pray the Air New Zealand buffet tastes better than it looks. Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t.