Soar above your competition and impress your friends with all the latest airline news. Or at least kill a good 20 minutes by reading the whole thing.

Brisbane Airport gets counter-terror squad

A new counter-terrorism squad armed with very powerful weapons will be based at Brisbane Airport, according to The Advertiser.

The move marks one of Australia’s biggest security crackdown and seeks to tighten a security loophole concerning those travelling under a fake name.

The government is injecting 135 specially trained Australian Federal Police officers trained in rapid detection of terrorists.

Regional Victoria scores more QantasLink flights + Qantas’ new points partnership 

QantasLink will launch flights between Mildura and Sydney, and increase the number of services to Bendigo, helping boost tourism to regional Victoria.

From 29 March 2020, QantasLink will operate flights four days per week between Sydney and Mildura with its 74-seat Q400 turboprop aircraft, offering more than 30,000 seats each year.

The new service will be the only direct connection between Sydney and Mildura, saving travellers around two hours compared to flying via Melbourne.

The launch of the new route follows the success of QantasLink’s Bendigo to Sydney route which took off in April of this year. In response to high demand on the route, QantasLink is adding three new weekly return services from 30 March 2020, bringing the total number of return flights to 10 per week.

To celebrate the new route, QantasLink is offering special fares of $179 one-way between Mildura and Sydney, for select travel dates from 29 March 2020 to 25 October 2020. Fares available to book at qantas.com and through travel agents, and the sale ends on 18 December 2019.

Meanwhile, the national carrier has also announced a partnership between its Frequent Flyer program and Audika, an Australian company geared towards promoting hearing health.

Exercise en-route thanks to Air New Zealand and Les Mills

Air New Zealand has teamed up with the world leaders in group fitness at Les Mills to create a series of inflight wellness exercises specifically designed to enhance the wellbeing of its customers.

From 1 December, all customers travelling on international Air New Zealand services will have access to a series of stretches, exercises and meditation techniques hosted on the airline’s inflight entertainment system to help ease the tensions of travelling.

LATAM’s new codeshare with Delta

LATAM Airlines Group (‘LATAM’) has announced that its affiliates LATAM Airlines Peru, LATAM Airlines Colombia and LATAM Airlines Ecuador have signed codeshare agreements with Delta to provide greater connectivity with the United States starting the first quarter of 2020, subject to applicable regulatory approval.

The three codeshare agreements signed with Delta on December 2, 2019 will offer LATAM customers the possibility to connect to up to 74 onward destinations in the United States and Canada and will open up to 51 onward destinations for Delta passengers in South America.

Flights to the Philippines from $159*

Make sure your clients ‘sleigh’ their Christmas shopping by surprising someone special this year, and purchase flights from Australia to the Philippines from only $159* one-way, thanks to Cebu Pacific.

Aussies are being encouraged to share the joy of travel this year and secure the seat sale fare by booking tickets from Sydney or Melbourne to Manila, from Monday 9 until Thursday 12 December 2019, for travel between January 1 and May 31 2020.

Emirates celebrates 50th anniversary of Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens 

Celebrating the great strides forward that rugby has taken in the UAE and the milestone 50th anniversary of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, Emirates is ramping up activities during the tournament, with exciting initiatives to engage with tournament visitors and fans of all ages over the three-day event.

The 2019 Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens kicks off tomorrow at the Sevens Stadium, with what promises to be the largest and most action-packed event on record with over 100,000 fans expected ready to watch over 900 rugby and netball matches across the three days.

British Airways trials 3D printing to improve punctuality and reduce emissions

British Airways is exploring the possibility of using 3D printers to create aircraft parts in the future. These printers would be located at airports around the world to reduce delays for customers and emissions caused by transporting items.

The airline’s innovators predict that non-essential cabin parts will be first on the list to be generated, including pieces of tray tables, entertainment systems and toilets. While these components do not impact the safe operation of the flight, they can reduce the number of seats or toilets available for customers and cause delays as engineers wait for the parts to be flown to wherever the aircraft is.

Plaza Premium Lounge celebrates the festive season with Santa’s elves

Global travellers are invited to capture “Your Airport Moment” with Santa’s elves, who will be appearing at select Plaza Premium Lounge locations to spread the joy with surprises. In the season of gifting, Santa is sharing a special offer with lounge guests to purchase a Plaza Premium Lounge gift card online or in selected lounge locations in addition to creating an exclusive Plaza Premium First multi-entry gift, ideal for friends and families to share.

This year, the elves have planned a round-the-world trip to visit Plaza Premium Lounge in Melbourne, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, London, Rome and Toronto between 16 and 20 December 2019. Guests are welcomed to mingle and dance with them while enjoying mulled wine, festive dishes and sweets specially prepared by the lounges’ culinary teams. To make a lasting impression, Plaza Premium Lounge will also present fun props for travellers to take photos and share with their loved ones or on social with #XmasBeginsHere.