The new route is shorter and will save as much as $100m (US) per year in fuel costs.  Since the international arm of Qantas has been running at a loss, the savings are critically important.  Though, with a loss of $253m (US) reported in August 2012, the fuel savings alone will not be enough to bring them back into the black.  (An order for 35 Boeing 787 Dreamliners was cancelled back in August in the name of cost-cutting, despite the promised fuel efficiency improvement of those aircraft.)

Singapore vs Dubai : Freedoms and human rights

Both countries have very specific views as to what is permissible and choose to regulate aspects of life that are unregulated in most Western countries.  The change in hub does not therefore represent a significant change for passengers stopping over during their journey:  No drugs, no medicines, no public display of affection, and keep your mouth shut.  But you can chew gum in Dubai, except on public transport where it will cost you a Dh 100 fine.

New alliance

The old alliance with British Airways has been abandoned in favour of a new deal with Emirates.  Emirates is owned by the government of Dubai and backed by the royal family, and is therefore in a position to offer “sweeteners” to Qantas. Qantas have also had to concede certain routes to Emirates: they will no longer fly to Frankfurt, for example.

As alliance partners, Qantas will align its sales, flight schedules and pricing with Emirates.  One gets the distinct impression that Qantas is the junior partner in the alliance as they appear to give away more than they gain.

No pork

For the stated reason of cultural sensitivity Qantas is abandoning its own social and culinary traditions by eliminating pork from all flights that fly to, from, or via Dubai.  (A similar arrangement is already in place for flights to Indonesia.)  No alcohol will be used in food preparation.

Qantas continue to serve alcohol on board, as indeed does Emirates.  (Precious few airlines, even those that pointedly serve only 100% halal food, are completely “dry”.)

While the Qantas food loaded at Dubai can be expected to be halal, food loaded at other places, while not containing pork, may not necessarily have been subjected to Islamic slaughter and passengers desiring halal meals should still specify this when booking.

Passengers flying between Europe and Australia who desire tasty bacon, eisbein, ribs or other delicious pork products should book with a different airline.

Australia has had some bad experiences in this regard.  Rabbits were introduced in 1788 and then again (yes, really!) in 1859.  Scientists misguidedly imported cane toads in 1935.  The country is still struggling with the destruction that the introduction of these pests is causing.  Biosecurity has become a major concern.

Nature itself is the enemy

Most natural products could fall foul of the rules.  In essence you need to declare all food, wood, animal and natural fibre products.  Our advice is to learn the rules, examine the database, leave the more troublesome items at home, and declare everything that could possibly fall within the regulations.

The government maintains a database of about 20,000 materials that have the potential to cause trouble.  (We have a very abbreviated overview of the list below, as well as a link to the official, online database.)  If you fail to declare them when you arrive you are almost certain to have them confiscated, and may in addition pay a fine that could exceed A$66,000.  You could even face a jail term if you give evidence of trying to smuggle such goods into the country.

Any food that you bring with you must be declared, even if you got it on the plane.  The authorities are likely to okay and return to you commercial foods that are packaged and unopened.  Things like biscuits and sweets are seldom a problem.

Granny’s home-made cake and preserves are more likely to be confiscated.

Some States in Australia do not even allow fresh fruit that is coming from elsewhere in the country, to protect against pests endemic in those areas.

Declare everything

If you have declared all the items in the Incoming Passenger Card that you will have to complete onboard before landing then you will be okay.  Even if the goods are not permitted and are confiscated, but you have declared them, you will not be liable for a fine.  The authorities are not unreasonable, just strict.

For items that are not in themselves illegal you will be given the choice of having them decontaminated if that is technically possible (for example by fumigation or gamma-ray irradiation), to store it for you during your stay in the country, to ship it out of the country or to have it destroyed.  You will have to bear the decontamination, storage or shipping costs.

Food, plant material or animal products that are not permitted can be dumped in the quarantine bins located in the airport terminal.

Baggage examination

On arrival sniffer dogs will give the baggage a going-over and X-ray imaging is used.  Your goods may also be examined by biosecurity officer from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).  The other official bodies involved in the process are the Customs and Border Protection Service, and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).

The officials have a good record of stopping contraband.  If caught you face a A$340 on-the-spot fine, to be settled immediately.  For more serious cases, which obviously involves more than the odd misplaced rusk or Snickers bar, you could face prosecution, which could result in being fined over A$66000.  In serious cases the law allows for up to 10 years imprisonment, which would result in a criminal record.

Large sums of cash must be declared

There are no limits to the amount of money that can be brought in or taken out, but if more than A$10,000 is involved then you are required to declare it and fill in forms.

It is part of Australia’s international commitment to the prevention of money-laundering.

Short list of Goods to Declare

The following list covers the main categories of goods that you must declare on entry to Australia.

Food

Airline food and snacks, commercially prepared, cooked and raw food and ingredients, dried fruit and vegetables, instant noodles and rice, packaged meals, herbs and spices, herbal and traditional medicines, remedies, tonics and herbal teas, snack foods.

Dairy and egg products

Infant formula (must be accompanying a child), dairy products (fresh and powdered) including milk, cheese and non-dairy creamers, cheese must be commercially prepared and packaged and originate from countries free from foot and mouth disease, all whole, dried and powdered eggs, and egg products, such as mayonnaise, egg products including noodles and pasta that are not commercially manufactured.

Animal products

Meat, including fresh, dried, frozen, cooked, smoked, salted or preserved from all animal species, sausages, salami and sliced meats, fish and other seafood products, pet food including canned products and raw hide chews, rawhide articles and handicrafts including drums.

Seeds and nuts

Cereal grains, popping corn, raw nuts, pinecones, birdseed, unidentified seeds, some commercially packaged seeds, and ornaments including seeds.

Fresh fruit and vegetables

All fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables.

Plant material

Tea containing seeds, fruit skin (for example citrus and apple peel) and fruit pieces, remedies and medicines containing herbs, seeds, bark, fungi and dried plant material, fresh or dried flower arrangements and potpourri, dried herbs or leaves, handicrafts including wreaths and Christmas decorations containing seeds, raw nuts, corn, pinecones, grapevines, bark, moss, straw or other plant material, wooden items with bark or signs of insects present.

Live animals and animal products

All mammals, birds, birds eggs and nests, fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects, feathers, bones, horns, tusks, wool and animal hair, skins, hides and furs, stuffed animals and birds (taxidermy certificate required) some may be prohibited under endangered species laws), shells and coral (including jewellery and souvenirs), bee products including honey, beeswax and honeycomb, used animal equipment including veterinary equipment and medicines, shearing or meat trade tools, saddlery and tack and animal or bird cages.

Other items

Biological specimens including tissue culture, craft and hobby lines made from animal or plant material, used sporting and camping equipment including tents, footwear, hiking boots, golf equipment and bicycles (need to be checked to ensure they are clean and free from soil contamination), used freshwater watercraft or fishing equipment including rods and nets, waders, kayaks, paddles and life jackets.

In many cases items you declare will be returned to you after inspection.  If you have obtained an Import Permit prior to departure your goods may be allowed in, or they may be allowed in after suitable treatment.  Or, of course, you can dump them in the quarantine bins for disposal.

The official Import Conditions database

The Import Conditions (ICON) database lists some 20,000 foreign plant, animal, mineral and human commodities and the import conditions attached to each.  These are the conditions under which it will be possible to bring them into Australia.  Most times the condition is considerably more strict than merely carrying it with you in your luggage!

Link to Import Conditions Database – ICON – produced by AQIS

Image by Danpaluska, no rights reserved

These days the process of going through airport security raises the blood pressure considerably.  It is unpleasant and often humiliating.

The picture that comes to mind includes long queues, unpacking all your goods onto a conveyor belt, scrabbling in your pocket for the last metallic object capable of setting off the beeps on the machine, and taking off your belt.  One’s personal dignity may be affronted by humiliating body searches.

Even worse yet, if you merely have the “wrong appearance”, you may be singled out for special attention by the security personnel.

Being a little prepared can make all the difference between being inconvenienced or enraged.  Here’s how to make your passage through airport security more bearable.

Documents

Keep your passport and boarding pass on your person, preferably in a pocket.  It’s not a good idea to leave it in your bag that is being scanned, as thefts at security points are common.  Besides which, the protocol is that you should present these to the security officers as you enter the scanner.

Valuables

Keep a sharp eye on your valuables.  Lock money in your carry-on bag to be scanned.  (This means, of course, that you should prepare by having a lockable carry-on bag.)  If the authorities wish to inspect it more closely they will simply ask that you unlock it.  Do not insert your possessions into the machine until it is your turn to pass through the scanner – you want to be in the prime position to grab it as it comes out the other side.

Mobile phones and laptops

Know in which pocket of your bag your cellphone is, as it is often required that you take it out and send it through the scanner separately.  As a rule, laptops have to be taken out of their bags and put in a separate tray.  Not having to search for things will reduce your stress levels and keep you from being distracted.

Carry one bag

This may seem obvious, but how often does one see frazzled travellers with an entire hodge-podge of bags and other paraphernalia scattered over the security conveyer.  One bag means fewer possessions that you have to keep track of.

Secure your jewellery

For total peace of mind, we would suggest not wearing jewellery until after reaching your destination.  The simple reason being that all but the smallest of jewellery will set off the scanners, which may qualify you for a body search.  If you are going to wear it, take it off prior to getting in the queue and carry it in your closed hand.  The scanner will not pick it up as a false alarm, and since you are holding it, it will be harder to steal.

Shoes

Wear shoes that are easy to remove.  If you are travelling by air to the US and are not a citizen, you will definitely be required to take your shoes off.  This will be less stressful if you can slip them off or untie them easily.  In other countries you will only be required to take your shoes off if they set off the alarm.  If you wear sneakers then those countries that rely on metal detection will likely let you keep them on.

Clothes

A body search is compulsory in certain countries’ security and although uncomfortable, you can reduce your stress if you are wearing comfortable clothes.  Wearing bulky garments will likely result in a demand to remove some of them.  The more you are asked to do during a security check, the higher your stress level will be, and the more likely you are to be the recipient of special attention.  Special attention at security is not a good thing!

Wear trousers that have a draw-string top rather than a belt with a metal buckle.  Again, unless you are hand-picked for a body search, you will often not need to take your belt off.  As previously mentioned, fewer things to remove means fewer things to track, and if you do not need to take clothes off you are going to feel more comfortable.

Check customs regulations

We would strongly suggest that you check the customs regulations of the country you are visiting and in fact the regulations of your own country for re-entry.  Many food items are prohibited to be taken into Australia for example.  And trying to do so could result in a hefty fine.  Furthermore, if they find undeclared foodstuffs they are more likely to assume that you are carrying other illegal substances and you may be subjected to an even more rigorous search.

In many countries, it is illegal to bring in agricultural products such as cheese, animal products (meat and leather, etc.) and wood products in, due to the bugs that could be infesting them and the danger this poses for introducing foreign pests to the country.

When arriving in South Africa you may not bring in cashew nuts unless they have been through stringent treatment.  The problem for the unwary is that in neighbouring Mozambique they sell huge bags of cheap cashews to tourists going to South Africa.  These are confiscated at customs and destroyed.  So if you buy them, you are throwing your money away, unless you can eat really quickly.  (If you must know, we ate fast.)

There are restrictions on how much alcohol and tobacco can be carried.  Certain medications that are available over-the-counter in you home country may, somewhat to your shock, be illegal substances elsewhere.  In the USA codeine is not permitted in medications, despite it being common in Europe and elsewhere.  Codeine is banned completely in the United Arab Emirates.  It is best to find out ahead of time if your prescribed medication is permitted.  Even if it is, take a copy of the script with you, or an official letter from your doctor.

Remain calm

We ourselves can do a lot to develop and retain a sense of tranquillity:

• Arrive early at the airport.
• Keep a positive frame of mind – we forget the problems of security once we are back home and remember the good times.
• Check-in early, preferably online before you leave home (Our online check-in link page is here: Online check-in links)
• Go through security as soon as possible, well ahead of boarding time.
• Make normal eye contact with officials, but do not glare.
• Co-operate with the officials.  Maybe they ought not to enjoy their jobs so much, but they can give you a lot of extra trouble if you give them a hard time – they have a huge degree of leeway and discretion as to how awkward they can potentially make life for you.
• Be polite and friendly.
• Do not wear tee-shirts with rude slogans about the security officials.  Red rag / bull / go figure.

Passengers booking online pay £265,000 per day in unfair card transaction fees in the United Kingdom alone.  These fees are added by the airlines.

When you book a flight online, airlines do not accept cash as payment.  That makes some sense.  What happens next is a rip-off: For nearly every other method of payment some airlines add an additional fee, so that it is almost impossible to escape paying a higher price than was advertised.

The UK’s Office of Fair Trade (OFT) has been investigating credit card charges since 2006 and their findings have shown that these ‘drip pricing’ fees are exorbitant and unfair.

As Germany’s Federal Court of Justice found in May 2010 “By not accepting cash payments, Ryanair offered customers no opportunity to pay for flights without paying extra.”  At that time Ryanair accepted payment via relatively rare Visa Electron cards.  (Visa Electron cards are not issued at all in the US and Canada, Ireland and Australia.  In the UK bank only one major bank still issues the card at all now, and that is usually for low-end and children’s accounts.)

(Ryanair currently accepts payment by MasterCard Prepaid without penalties.  However this card is not cheap to use as there are fees for loading cash, transaction fees levied by the issuing bank, foreign exchange fees and even changes for disuse.  The fees vary between banks.)

It is not just the low-cost airlines that participate in this unfair practice, though one of them charges as much as £8 per booking.  British Airways charges £4.50 per online booking.  Troubled Thomas Cook charges as much as £50 in card fees for journeys to their most exotic destinations.

Hidden transaction fees are already banned in Europe for debit cards.  An EU Consumer Rights Directive has also been issued that will ban the practice outright for all cards from mid-2014.  Not content with waiting until then, the UK has announced that it is introducing legislation to ban it by the end of 2012.

The new regulations will still permit a small charge to cover the actual cost of accepting payment, which is likely to be at most 2% of a credit card transaction, or 20p for a debit card purchase.  At present the charges being levied are as much as 3 or 4%.

The really contentious point about card fees is not so much that one is charged them, but that you are often only informed at the end of the transaction, once you have completed a lot of purchaser information. WHAM!  Unexpected fees that completely alter the price of the flight.

Our advice is that you do a ‘test run’ online when you think that you have found the flight bargain that you were looking for.  It could be that after all fees have been taken into account, the second or third choice may actually be cheaper.