Qantas not giving you a refund? Do what I did

“I wasn’t allocated the extra legroom seats I paid for and a month later Qantas had still not refunded me the cost.”

Communal bathing is finally taking off in Australia

Japan, Hungary, Turkey – all these countries love public baths. Australia is finally getting in on the act.

• by Julietta Jameson

‘New Concorde’ breaks sound barrier on first supersonic test flight

A prototype of a passenger jet meant to succeed Concorde has broken Mach 1 (1235km/h) in a series of runs early on Wednesday.

• by Christopher Jasper

Qantas takes off with new ‘paradise express’ route

Australians can hop on this flight from Brisbane to experience a pristine and relatively undiscovered Pacific island getaway.

• by Matt Shea

We booked early and cheaply, then our motel did the unthinkable

Our motel doubled our room rate and asked us to pay an extra night only two months out from the Parkes Elvis Festival. Is this legal?

Entry to the US gets easier (for some)

Entry to the USA is about to get easier – for a select group of Australians – but there’s already a scheme for smoother entry not many know about.

• by Michael Gebicki

The great Melbourne, Sydney hotel boom enters stylish new era

Australia’s two biggest cities are finally addressing a shortage in visitor beds, with serious design credentials to boot.

• by Julietta Jameson

Australia’s most epic train journey just got longer

The itinerary of the 4352-kilometre Indian Pacific, which includes the longest straight stretch of railway track on Earth, has been extended from 65 hours to 90 hours.

• by Anthony Dennis

This city is about to give Dubai a real run for its dirhams

Abu Dhabi is at last set to compete with its glitzier neighbour Dubai, with its incredible new cultural district finally near completion.

• by Anthony Dennis

Even our flight’s captain got sick of waiting for luggage

“After hours of delay, the captain had to make the call to depart, indicating that one third of the flight’s bags had not been loaded.”