Frequent Flyer Points

When you fly it is normally possible for you to accumulate frequent flyer points.

Definitely sign up for the frequent flyer program of the airlines you fly! The cost of the program is calculated in your airfare, so you should make the most of it!

Frequent flyer points are points that you receive for each mile you fly (normally you get 1 point for each mile you fly) as long as you have booked an airfare that is eligible for frequent flyer point accrual. These days, many of the super special airfares don't accumulate points, but then again you are getting a great price!

The more you fly with a particular airline, or airline network, the more points you earn which can then be redeemed for free flights. Trust us, this is worth doing! We have earned free flights to Europe, New Zealand, Asia and New Caledonia over the years!

Airline Networks
Most airlines these days are part of airline networks.

Airlines in these networks have agreements so that if you have your frequent flyer points with, say, Singapore Airlines (Star Alliance network) and fly with another airline in the network, you will still accumulate points towards your Singapore Airlines account.

The major networks are:

Star Alliance: Our preferred network which includes the best airlines and most destinations worldwide.

Airlines include: Singapore Airlines, Thai Airlines, United Airlines, Scandinavian, Lufthansa, Swiss, South African Airways, US Airways, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Air China and many more.

One World: The One World network includes Qantas, British Airways, LAN Chile and Japanese Airlines (JAL) amongst others. Not a bad network.

Sky Team: The much smaller Sky Team network includes Air France, KLM, Delta, Aeromexico, Korean Air and China Southern. The network does not have good links into Australia.

Useful Frequent Flyer Point Resources

Webflyer: Mileage Calculator to help work out how many points you'll earn for certain flights and lots of other forums and tools.

Flyer Talk: Lots of forums and information about Frequent Flyer programs.

How to Book Flights

Everyone likes to find the best price on their airfare - that's totally natural! Here is how we go about booking our flights when we travel internationally.

1. Work out the dates you want to travel
Check out our post about working out when you should arrive at your host institution.

2. Check out a couple of sites online to get an idea of prices
Online sites are getting easier and easier to use in order to search for international airfares.

The two sites that we use are:
Expedia.com.au
and
Zuji travel

These sites are great because you can search as much as you like and it is very easy to book. They are very powerful in that they can search multiple airlines (and sometime multiple destinations) at once.

3. Choose your preferred airline and search their website
Once you've used the search engines to identify suitable airlines, go directly to the airline's webpage and check the price they offer for the same flight.

Usually the price will be the same or similar as the online travel search engines (see step 2). If so, we will often book using Expedia or Zuji just to have the support of another organisation behind us if something were to go wrong with our travel plans (i.e. you can ask them to sort out changes for you instead of having to deal with the airline yourself).

4. Finally, go to a travel agent to compare prices
A good travel agent may be able to find other flight routings, airlines or dates that help make your flight cheaper or easier. However, if the travel agent doesn't come back with a better price we always book online.


AIM Overseas' recommended airlines
Finally, here are the airlines that we usually fly. Of course, it all depends where you want to go!

To Europe: We fly Singapore Airlines whenever possible.
The cheapest way to fly to Europe is to fly Air Asia X to London via Kuala Lumpur. Note this is a discount carrier, so your flights will be efficient and no-frills.

To North America: We recommend V Australia. New planes and great service make this the best way to get to the USA. You may need to book onward flights separately.

To Asia: Lots of airlines fly to Asia, so who we fly depends on where we need to go.
Singapore Airlines is our choice carrier, though we've also had great experiences on Thai, Asiana and Cathay Pacific.

Air Asia X is most often the cheapest way to fly to Asia cities, connecting via Kuala Lumpur.

To South America or Africa: There aren't many direct options from Australia to these destinations and you'll most likely end up on Qantas.

Round the World: The beautiful round-the-world option is a great way to see heaps for a great price. We strongly recommend the Star Alliance network which incorporates many of the world's best airlines and gives you access to the widest range of destinations on a single round-the-world itinerary.

Also check out our post on frequent flyer points.


Other Useful Online Tools

Here are some other tools that you'll find very useful when booking flights:

Seat Guru: A MUST to check out EVERY TIME YOU TRAVEL. Seat Guru has reviews of every seat on every type of plane for every airline. This allows you to check if you have been given a good seat or a crap seat by your travel agent or when you check-in online.

Seat counter: For people who know what they're looking for - find how many seats are still available in particular booking classes for flights.

When should I arrive at my host institution?

A common question is 'When should I plan to arrive at my host institution?'

Here is a guide.

1. Check what day your program begins

Most often, programs actually begin on a Monday with classes, meaning that the arrival day for the program will be the Sunday before classes begin. For some programs, however, the arrival day is either the first Monday of the program or even the Saturday before, so read your program information carefully.

2. Plan how much time you want to allow for pre-program sightseeing and adjusting to time difference
We normally recommend that students arrive in the correct time zone at least 2 days prior to the start of their program. This allows for plenty of time to adapt to the rhythm of being in a different country, culture and time zone - your body will definitely appreciate having the time to adjust to the new sights, sounds, smells and sleeping pattern!

Most students also like to plan on some time to do some travelling before or after their program. Remember that you'll definitely meet people on your program, so travelling at the conclusion of your program allows you to plan trips with new friends.

3. Ensure you know when you are able to move into your accommodation

Finally, make sure you've checked when you are able to move into your program accommodation and that you've got the address with you. In the case that you'll be brought to your accommodation as part of a group, make sure you've noted the meeting place for the group and know how to get there. Google Maps is a great way to be able to find locations in Australia and abroad.

4. Book your flights accordingly

Book your flights according to what you have worked out to be your ideal date to arrive. If you want further advice, you can always contact AIM Overseas and we're happy to help!
Check out our post on booking flights here.

Welcome to South Africa

"Welcome to South Africa" the sign says when you get off the flight in Johannesburg. And gee it's great to be here!

About halfway through the flight from Sydney it suddenly occurred to me that I didn't have any clue if we needed visas to enter South Africa. Funny how after nearly 10 years working in student exchanges you can end up on a plane going somewhere and suddenly have that sinking feeling that you haven't covered all the bases!

Fortunately, Marine was the prepared one and had checked that in advance (despite those few moments of mild panic where one is suddenly not sure if they actually did do it or not!) and when we got off the plane in Jo'burg we were pleasantly surprised by just how painless immigration was: no landing card to fill out, no photo taken, no worries at all!

We overnighted at the Southern Sun OR Tambo airport hotel and it got full marks from both of us - 2 minutes from the terminals in a shuttle bus, great rooms, free wine and cheese in the evenings (woo hoooo!), and really great buffet meals in the restaurant. And at way less than half the cost of the Intercontinental hotel (the only other hotel at the airport itself), there is no reason to stay anywhere else if you're transiting here.

We're now back at the airport waiting for our flight to Nairobi as we go on with our 4 day odyssey to reach Mt Kilimanjaro's lower slopes.
Sydney-Jo'burg
Overnight stay
Jo'burg-Nairobi
Overnight stay
6 hour bus to Arusha, Tanzania
2 hour car to Marangu
Overnight
Then finally driving out to start the climb.

There were seating dramas with our flight today: despite having made a seating request with our travel agent, and having Gold Star Alliance frequent flyer status, we were seated apart, in crap seats, for a 5 hour trip.

Not happy Jan.

South African Airways were very nice (after telling a little white lie about it being our honeymoon :) and managed to move our seats so we were together.

I always say that there are 3 places where people don't act in their normal way: in supermarket queues, in heavy traffic, and at airports. Law of the jungle applies - do whatever you must to survive!

Seriously though, we're stoked to be here - our first real time off in 6 very busy months and a seriously cool holiday.

Blasting Off

There's nothing like the rush of being on a plane as you scream down a runway, bounce up into the sky and head for some far flung corner of the globe.

It rocks.

There's this adrenaline where suddenly you think to yourself 'Cool, in 13 hours I'm going to be in .....', ignoring temporarily (of course) the small matter of the 13 hours between take-off and landing.

Eat. Sleep. Movie. Book. Stretch. Yawn. Repeat.

Those of us infected by the travel bug love it...can't get enough of it . That unreal feeling of heading off again...the next adventure already underway.

As stupid as it might sound, I've always thought of long-haul flying as being a bit like time travel:

you get into a funny metal box

blast off into the dark night sky

get bounced around a bit

....and some hours later hit the ground where the light is different, the hours of the day are all screwed up and nothing looks at all like the place you left.

Totally time travel!

In a special way we can all be like Doctor Who....well, minus the funky hair and crazy coats....but you can't have everything, now can you?

AIM Overseas is heading to the NAFSA conference in Los Angeles, USA via a few days of university visits in Mexico. Both amazing countries - and more reports to come.

The International Airport: Check-in, Security, Customs and Immigration

Regular travellers know the routine well.

Arrive airport....Check in....Pass Immigration....Pass Security....Wait....Fly.....

.....Arrive overseas....Pass Immigration....Collect bags....Pass Customs....Freedom!

On a good day, these steps can be quick and painless, leaving you thinking "Wow, that was fast". And then there is that 1-trip-in-10 extended nightmare, taking hours through no fault of your own.

So here are some tips on how to try and make it as painless as possible.

Checking-in

Unfortunately there is no silver bullet for checking in for a long-haul flight. You've gotta do it! But, to make it easier, try some of the following:

1. Check-in online - most international airlines now allow you to check-in online and, if you are able to, make sure you use this facility! Checking in online allows you to choose your own seat and will save you time at the airport. If your airline doesn't have online check-in, and you don't have a seat allocated on your itinerary, give the airline a call before you fly and ask for the type of seat you want (aisle/window) so that it is allocated in advance.
2. Be early! - most check-in counters for international flights open 3 hours prior to departure. Unless you have the luck of being able to check in at the business class counter, getting to the airport 3 hours (or even a little more) in advance means you'll be the first checked in. Your check-in agent is less likely to be tired and stressed, so you'll get better service.
   
3. Don't ask for upgrades - sorry folks, it just doesn't work. Asking for an upgrade will only do one thing: piss off your check-in agent. A friend of ours in the airline business has these words of advice "Don't do it. It's annoying, greedy and won't impress anyone - especially the person responsible for choosing your seat on your flight".
4. Have bag tags on and make sure your bags aren't overweight - nothing sucks more than being told to repack your bag at the airport because you've got too much stuff. Your bags also need to be identified - so whack a bag-tag on them before you leave for the airport.

Security

Security at airports is taken very seriously. People joking about having bombs or being terrorists are promptly whisked away to windowless rooms to face hours of interrogation. Airports are not places for jokes or humour....especially ones made in poor taste.

On international flights you are no longer allowed to bring lots of liquids on board. Any liquid or gel (moisturiser, toothpaste, etc) must be in a 100ml container or smaller. All of your liquids/gels must then be put into a transparent bag (like a sandwich bag) that is no bigger than 10cm x 10cm (this is what they say - we've often carried slightly larger sandwich bags - say 20cm x 20cm - and it has been fine, but always best to stick to the rules).

Our tips for passing security:

1. Pack all your liquids/gels in a sandwich bag in advance and have them in your carry-on ready to show at security
2. Don't wear lots of jewellery, big belts or big shoes for your flight - you'll probably need to remove them all to be scanned at security
3. Don't joke around or make a fuss at security. The goal is just to get through as quickly as possible.
4. Take any laptop computers out of your hand baggage - it needs to be scanned separately at security

Immigration

Passing immigration is usually straight forward. You can't make queues any shorter, but there are a few things you can do to make it easier once you do get to the front of the line.

1. Before you go - make sure you have checked if you need a visa or what paperwork you might need with you in order to clear immigration. Sometimes countries will require proof of your return airfare or your accommodation in order for you to clear immigration.
2. Have copies of the relevant paperwork with you - make sure you've got copies of your flight itineraries and accommodation details on hand (i.e. in your carry-on luggage) so that you've got them with you at immigration.
3. Complete all the paperwork before you join the queue - fill out your arrival forms on the plane before you touch down, that will save any unnecessary waiting at immigration.
4. Don't joke, don't be too friendly, just answer the question - passing immigration isn't about being friendly and nice, there is no need to be overly chatty to your immigration officer - just answer their questions and keep it simple. Some years ago a friend of AIM Overseas got into trouble in the USA because she was overly talkative to the immigration officer and ended up saying something she shouldn't have. That's a long story, and we aren't making out that you should be worried about going through immigration (you shouldn't), just make sure you've got your paperwork in order and keep it simple.

Customs

Last stop after you've passed immigration and collected your bags in customs.

Usually customs requires you to complete a declaration about what items you are bringing into a country. For the average traveller this might involve declaring some food or alcohol, but not much else.

Before making your way to customs you should make sure that you have thrown away any food you may have taken from the plane, as well as any fresh fruit and vegetables, the vast majority of which are prohibited from being brought into foreign countries for quarantine purposes.

You must fill out a customs declaration and if in doubt, declare it!

Customs officials vary in their severity around the world - in some cases they issue on-the-spot fines for failing to declare restricted items, so we always declare anything we're not sure about.

In some countries (Australia included) they X-ray all incoming bags before you are allowed to walk out of the terminal, in others you can pick your bag off a carousel and basically walk through without answering any questions or declaration at all. Just be honest, declare anything you have that you're not sure about and you will always be fine.