Almost 100,000 Qantas passengers were stuck around the world for up to two days after the national carrier grounded its fleet on Saturday, the Herald Sun reported.

Hundreds of passengers still stuck in Los Angeles have been told to wait at the airport for what could be hours to try their luck on getting a seat back home to Australia, the ABC reported. One Australian said the airline had given him a list of flights leaving later today but was told there was no guarantee he'd get home to Queensland.

Some travellers were told the first guaranteed flight out of LA for them was not until on November 12.

Did Qantas go too far? Tell us below

Meanwhile passengers stuck in the US were being diverted to flights through Europe and the Middle East, adding at least a day to their return journey.

A Qantas spokeswoman last night said some passengers would not return home until late tomorrow, with the airline estimating it would take 48 hours to get all its passengers on rescheduled flights. However it estimates the backlog of domestic passengers will be cleared by early this afternoon.

Flight QF41 from Sydney to Jakarta was the first international service to leave at 3.41pm yesterday, while the first domestic flight, QF438, took off from Melbourne bound for Sydney at 3.58pm.

A Fair Work Australia tribunal hearing at 2am yesterday ordered Qantas and unions terminate all industrial action, forcing the airline back into the sky and ending the torment for frustrated passengers.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce apologised to customers.

"We very much regret the inconvenience and stress that has been caused by this action," Mr Joyce said.

"We will be doing all that we can to put things right."

He said the FWA ruling created certainty for passengers and for shareholders, who saw Qantas shares rally to $1.61 at yesterday's close up 4.4 per cent.

"I think my determination to make sure we didn't capitulate to the unions' demands, that we were building a stronger and better Qantas, was the right decision for Qantas," Mr Joyce said.

But a defiant Mr Joyce vowed to push ahead with his plan for expanding into Asia, the Courier-Mail reported.

He said Qantas could now get on with its plan to establish an Asian airline staffed by an Asian workforce.

"I'm absolutely confident that nothing that will come through the negotiations will restrict us in setting up an Asian carrier," he said.

Unions have campaigned rigorously against the move to Asia and are seeking assurances from Qantas that members' jobs will not be sent offshore and only Qantas pilots will fly Qantas planes.

But Mr Joyce claimed profits from the new premium airline and a "Jetstar Japan" would secure jobs in Australia.

"This will be great for all Australian jobs and for tourism in Australia," Mr Joyce said.

Qantas applied at 10.23am yesterday to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for permission to restart flights but had to answer several queries, delaying permission until 3.30pm.

There were cheers and applause from passengers when flights finally resumed late yesterday.

The first Qantas flight arrived in Melbourne at 5.35pm, with tired passengers relieved to be home.

Roxanne Walmsley, of Clarinda, said she was left stranded in Sydney after trying to return from a dream holiday in Brazil.

Ms Walmsley said she was "an emotional wreck" when at San Diego airport she heard about the grounding of the Qantas fleet.

Exhausted mum Ngaire Elwood could not wait to embrace her two boys as she touched down in Melbourne last night after a marathon trip from London spanning more than 48 hours.

Dr Elwood, from Mt Macedon, had been due to arrive at 6am yesterday from a conference in Rome, but was instead delayed 12 hours in Sydney waiting for a flight home.

She joined an influx of tired and relieved travellers who flooded Melbourne Airport's domestic arrivals terminal as QF443 from Sydney touched down.

Passengers praised the patience of Qantas staff while others took aim at Mr Joyce who said the airline would win back those customers.

"We will recover all market share of the corporate market and get it back where it needs to be for Qantas to continue to make profits on its domestic market," he said.

Refunds are available to passengers who had flights cancelled between Saturday and Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/australia/thousands-of-qantas-passengers-still-stranded/story-e6frfq89-1226182036118#ixzz1cRiJnEF8

By Amy Coopes | AFP

Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded around the world Sunday after Australian airline Qantas made a shock decision to ground its fleet indefinitely in a bid to end a bitter industrial dispute.

Stunned flyers who had been booked on Qantas queued up at airports around the world to find out when they might be able to fly, after the national carrier announced the extraordinary shutdown of all its flights.

"I am very surprised they are not flying," one French-speaking passenger said in Sydney after turning up for a flight to Noumea only to learn of the lockout of staff and grounding of the fleet announced late Saturday.

"We have been told nothing. I just want to get home but I don't know how or when I can do this," she said as she stood near empty Qantas check-in desks.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the airline, which has been hit by a series of strikes, would lock out all employees involved inindustrial action from Monday evening without pay and ground flights from 0600 GMT Saturday.

The airline said pilots, engineers and baggage, ground and catering staff involved in the industrial action were essential to Qantas operations and their lockout made it necessary to take all planes out of service immediately.

Aircraft would remain grounded "as long as it takes to reach a conclusion on this," Joyce said, vowing not to bow to union demands for a pay increase and to abandon a plan to shift Qantas' operational focus to Asia.

"That would destroy Qantas in the long term. I'm actually taking the bold decision, an unbelievable decision, a very hard decision, to ground this airline," he said late Saturday.

Up to 80,000 passengers were stranded when 108 aircraft were grounded at 22 airports around the world as Qantas took the drastic step.

The move prompted immediate intervention by the Australian government, which took the rare step of asking the industrial umpire to terminate all industrial action because of the dangers posed to the national economy.

"I believe Australians want to see this sorted out," Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.

"Businesses want to see it sorted out. Passengers want to see it sorted out. I want to see this dispute sorted out. That's why we have approached Fair Work Australia."

In its submission to the labour relations tribunal, the government asked for the industrial action to be terminated or suspended for 90 days.

The tribunal's hearing ran into the early hours of Sunday morning, hearing submissions from both sides in the escalating dispute, but adjourned the hearing until 2:00pm (0300 GMT).

Qantas is urging Fair Work Australia to terminate all industrial action, but unions want the action suspended to give both sides a chance to resolve the conflict.

But Joyce said Sunday the airline would not put its planes back in the air unless the industrial arbiter terminated all industrial action, ending the strikes that he said were "slowly killing" the carrier.

"A suspension may not necessarily mean the airline gets back in the air. If it's a suspension, we cannot put the planes back in the air without having certainty," Joyce told Sky News.

If the regulator terminates action on both sides, planes could be back in the air late Sunday, Joyce said, ending the lockout that he said was a last resort aimed at limiting further damage to Qantas.

Unions have been protesting against pay and restructuring plans that would see 1,000 jobs axed and the establishment of two new airlines focused on Asia. Unions fear many jobs will be outsourced to Asia.

Three months of strikes have been costing Qantas Aus$15 million ($16 million) per week, with the total financial impact so far hitting Aus$68 million.

The grounding of the fleet came a day after a heated annual general meeting, with Joyce being accused of running the carrier into the ground while reaping massive personal rewards.

But Joyce on Sunday said the union's reaction to decisions taken at the meeting had been the catalyst that forced Qantas to take the drastic step of grounding flights.

One union leader had warned that protests could stretch until mid-2012 while ground staff leader Tony Sheldon threatened crippling 48-hour strikes.

"They weren't listening to the shareholders and then they talked about escalating the dispute. That was the threshold moment that changed everything, and it was only after the AGM we saw that."

He denied union claims that Qantas had been planning the shutdown for some time, saying all airlines have shutdown contingencies to cope with various crises.

Passengers were stranded at all Australian airports as well as in Qantas hubs such as Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Frankfurt and Los Angeles.

Source: 

http://news.yahoo.com/qantas-grounds-entire-fleet-amid-industrial-dispute-001625287.html

By ROD McGUIRK - Associated Press | AP

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Qantas Airways grounded its global fleet indefinitely Saturday in a lockout of workers whose strikes have disrupted airline operations for weeks, and the government said it would seek arbitration.

Flights in the air were continuing to their destinations. Booked passengers were being rescheduled at Qantas' expense, chief executive Alan Joyce said.

Bookings already collapsed after unions warned travelers to book with other airlines through the busy Christmas-New Year period, and Joyce told a news conference in Sydney the unions' actions have caused a crisis for Qantas.

"They are trashing our strategy and our brand," Joyce said. "They are deliberately destabilizing the company and there is no end in sight."

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would apply to an arbitration court to rule on the strike action and the airline's response.

"The government is extremely concerned about the future of Qantas, its work force but also the traveling public," Albanese told reporters.

All 108 aircraft in as many as 22 countries will be grounded until unions representing pilots, mechanics, baggage handlers and caterers reach agreements with Qantas over pay and conditions, Joyce said.

"We are locking out until the unions withdraw their extreme claim and reach agreement with us," Joyce said, referring shutting staff out of their work stations.

"This is a crisis for Qantas. If the action continues as the unions have promised, we will have no choice but to close down Qantas part by part," he added.

Staff will not be required to show up at work and will not be paid starting Monday, Joyce said.

Joyce estimated the grounding will cost the airline $20 million a day. It already had been forced to reduce and reschedule flights for weeks because of a series of strikes and overtime work bans over staff concerns that their jobs are being moved overseas.

Steve Purvinas federal secretary of the mechanics' union, Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, described the grounding as "an extreme measure."

The recent strike action has most severely affected Qantas domestic flights.

In mid-October, Qantas grounded five jets and reduced domestic flights by almost 100 flights a week because aircraft mechanics had reduced the hours they were prepared to work.

Qantas infuriated unions in August when it said it would improve its loss-making overseas business by creating an Asia-based airline with its own name and brand.

The five-year restructure plan will cost 1,000 of Qantas' 35,000 jobs.

Source: 

http://news.yahoo.com/qantas-airways-grounds-global-fleet-due-strikes-090343558.html

Melbourne has been named the world's most livable city by the Economist Group, publishers of "The Economist" magazine.

Whether it's relaxing, dining, people watching or shopping, Melbourne seems to have it all in a colorful and artistic heritage environment.

So, tell us something we didn't already know.

In no particular order, here are 50 reasons we think Melbourne is the best place in the world to live. Or visit.

50. Invented its own dance move

The Melbourne Shuffle, also known as Rocking, is a rave and club dance-style that evolved in the 1980s and involves fast heel-and-toe action.

49. Back alleyways where it's safe to hang out

Melbourne is full of laneway secrets.

An organic development arising out of Melbourne’s planned, ultra-wide streets, its laneways are a hive of activity. From shopping on Degraves Street to dining on Hardware Lane, people-watching is covered.

More on CNNGo: Melbourne's 7 funkiest laneways

48. Streets have musical names

Something about Corporation Lane just didn’t have a ring to it. Didn’t sound so funky. That’s why the same laneway is now called ACDC Lane, where you can rock off Cherry Bar, which claims to be the nation’s rock and roll capital.

Cherry Bar, 103 Flinders Lane City, +61 (0)3 9639 8122 

47. Vinyl capital of the world

Chris Gill is among a band of Melbourne record sellers who are marginally broke but happy.

While the rest of the world goes digital, there are still about 50 vinyl record stores around Melbourne, staying alive in musical worship of everything from Bollywood funk and hip-hop and retro rock.

As well as the latest-pressed seven-inchers by local DJs, there are always bins of pre-loved and once-loved stuff.

That’s more stores and more records, per capita, than any other place in the world.

“None of us are making much money,” says Chris Gill, owner of Northside Records in Fitzroy. “But we’re happy.”

Northside Records, 236 Gertrude St., Fitzroy, +61 (0)3 9417 7557 

46. Free beer during haircuts

There are more than a few combination hairdresser/barber/tobacconists. At Doctor Follicles in Fitzroy, Richmond and St Kilda, you even get a free beer with your haircut. It’s the discerning man’s choice.

Dr. Follicles, 240 Gertrude St., Fitzroy, +61 (0)3 9416 3999 143; Swan St., Richmond, +61 (0)3 9421 1844; 188c Barkly St., St Kilda, +61 (0)3 9593 9200

45. Melbourne Arts Centre looks like the Eiffel Tower

Most cities have to look at a postcard to dream of tower romance, but Melbourne has its own 168-meter-high imitation, with a life of its own. At the base, performance halls are home to opera, symphony and the Melbourne Festival.

Melbourne Arts Centre, 100 St. Kilda Road, City, +61 (0)3 9281 8000   

More on CNNGo: Melbourne Festival Highlights 

44. An esplanade that’s worth a harbor

Australia’s unofficial poet laureate, folk singer Paul Kelly, sings, “I’ll give you all of Sydney Harbour, all that land and all that water, for that one sweet promenade.”  

“From St Kilda to Kings Cross” is an ode to the imported palm-lined bay in trendy St Kilda all-year round. What it lacks in beauty it makes up for with no surf, dirty water and the odd wino in the park -– but also a grungy beachside precinct that oozes character.

Almost calls for a walk along the bay to the Espy, where Kelly was a resident performer for years, to check the main hall or back room for some live acts from mod rock to hip-hop.

The Esplanade Hotel, 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda, +61 (0)3 9534 0211 

More on CNNGo: 5 legendary Aussie music venues

43. St Kilda is so cool that aliens have landed 

Hands up! We come in peace.

For real. And it doesn’t look like they’re leaving. Maybe they like the bayside coffee.

Thank Smik Studio on Acland Street, who got local artists onto making a UFO crash through his roof.

42. Pub grub on a film set

The Union Club Hotel is a regular set for the TV series, "Offspring," and many other shoots. The old-fashioned, round bar and lounges make it ideal.

It's also a good place for a pot and pub grub at Lazy Susan’s Kitchen, where you can score Fat Chris’ Breakfast Burger, served with the lot and chips ($18).

Union Club Hotel, 164 Gore St., Fitzroy, +61 (0)3 9417 2926 

41. Cafés serve LSD

Too much coffee is unhealthy -– that’s why it’s always good to have mind-altering alternatives.

A latte of soy and dandelion (commonly known as LSD) is a fairly good taste imitation and healthier option than the much-ingested bean. Pick it up for $3.50 at a range of cafés, including local haunt the Galleon Café, just off Acland Street in St Kilda.

By Matt Khoury and Luke Prendergast

Read more: 50 reasons Melbourne is the world's most livable city | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/sydney/visit/reasons-melbourne-liveable-257261#ixzz1byAhYYZI

Canberra, the capital city of Australia, means 'meeting place' in its aboriginal origin. Located in the northern part of the Australian Capital Territory, 300 km south-west of Sydney and 650 km north-east of Melbourne, Canberra was selected as the national capital after a tug of intense rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne. And Canberra was handpicked as it was a midpoint between the two cities – this explains the aboriginal meaning.

Canberra is the symbolic home of all Australians and the centre of political and administrative power in Australia. An ideal place for sailing, fishing, cricket, football and cycling, its climate is perfect for all these activities. An American architect Walter Burley Griffin designed the city with a multitude of gardens and parks.

The key attractions of the Canberra city are situated within the Parliamentary Triangle towards the north and south of Lake Burley Griffin.

The Australian War Memorial built to commemorate 102,000 Australian service men and women with the Hall of Memory features one of the world's largest mosaics, designed partly by war widows. The National Gallery situated on the south shore of the lake, has the best collection of art in the country ranging from the Aboriginal to the 20th century works.

The Opera House and Harbour Bridge are the images that first strike our mind as we think of Australia. Sydney, the centre of Australia’s travel and tourism activities, houses these two popular landmarks. With pleasant blue skies throughout the year, Sydney is the best place for cruises, outdoor adventures like wildlife and ecological tours.

The mellow sunshine cascading the beaches even in winters and the Blue Mountains make Sydney the most-opted of all places in Australia.

A meeting place of East and West, Sydney is rich in culture with diverse and beautiful people, arts, religion, languages, and traditions. Exploring Sydney Harbour, the most beautiful natural harbour in the world, and a busy one, gives one a feel for this city. On the southern side of Circular Quay, the hub of Sydney Harbour, is situated Australia’s pride, the Opera House.

On the northern part of the quay is The Rocks, which is the oldest part of Sydney. Another major highlight is Darling Harbour, the world's greatest waterfront destination, just a few minutes’ travel from central Sydney.

The Sydney Aquarium, one of the largest in the world, the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Chinese Garden, the IMAX cinema, and the Powerhouse Museum are a few of the other spots here. Built from the shell of an old power station constructed in 1899-1902, the Powerhouse Museum is a "must visit" for those with a voracious appetite for knowledge and information.

ONE of the first things I noticed on a short visit to Lord Howe Island was the crowds - there weren't any.

I suppose it's not surprising. The island, about 700km from Brisbane and Sydney, is only 11km long and 2.8km at its widest and has a permanent population of about 350 people and beds for only 400 guests.

The biggest crowd I saw in five days on the island was about 80 people at the legendary "fish fry" at Pinetrees Lodge on a Monday night.