Booked flight yesterday for November. Text today saying flight is rescheduled...

[Warks]

I'm a regular (not as regular now though) on VA1519/1520 SYD-TSV. The last several times I've had the flight 'rescheduled' meaning they cancel the direct flight and put me on SYD-BNE-TSV which takes at least two hours longer. VA seems to be treating this flight as Tiger would, cancelling when it's not full enough. Still cancelling the flight as soon as I booked it is a new low.

On making my booking yesterday I didn't even get an email confirmation. Usually flight changes arrive via email too but only text this time. The email usually says "click here to acknowledge the changes". The text just says "call this number"...

I'm pretty stuck either way, Jetstar is the only other one to fly direct.

 

[Bagpuss]

IStill cancelling the flight as soon as I booked it is a new low.

It's probably been in the booking system for 330 days prior to scheduled departure. It's a pure coincidence.

It's due to the downturn.

 

[eastwest101]

On making my booking yesterday I didn't even get an email confirmation. Usually flight changes arrive via email too but only text this time. The email usually says "click here to acknowledge the changes". The text just says "call this number"...

What date(s) did you try to book Warks?

 

[JohnK]

Airlines are constantly making schedule changes. In the past few weeks a September flight was rescheduled and just this week a December flight and a January flight were rescheduled.

Downturn is about right but someone forgot to tell the airlines. BNE-SYD for $200 is a joke when I checkin ~1 hour before flight and have seq #95. Airfares need to come down not go up.

 

[Bagpuss]

BNE-SYD for $200 is a joke when I checkin ~1 hour before flight and have seq #95. Airfares need to come down not go up.

Look at prices for regional WA flights.

 

[mannej]

Airlines are constantly making schedule changes. In the past few weeks a September flight was rescheduled and just this week a December flight and a January flight were rescheduled.

Downturn is about right but someone forgot to tell the airlines. BNE-SYD for $200 is a joke when I checkin ~1 hour before flight and have seq #95. Airfares need to come down not go up.

A bit of perspective is that ~$200 flight is still only about 25c/km, which all things considered is quite reasonable if you look at it from that perspective. As mentioned others (i.e regional WA) would love to have flights that cheap/km.

 

[JohnK]

A bit of perspective is that ~$200 flight is still only about 25c/km, which all things considered is quite reasonable if you look at it from that perspective. As mentioned others (i.e regional WA) would love to have flights that cheap/km.

Understood but that flight ~5 years ago was just on $100. So double in 5 years time and there is a downturn. Cutting services and 70% loads is not the solution. Once you lose customers they are very difficult to get back.

By the way I booked that flight back in December/January for $179 return.

 

[Happy Dude]

I'm a regular (not as regular now though) on VA1519/1520 SYD-TSV. The last several times I've had the flight 'rescheduled' meaning they cancel the direct flight and put me on SYD-BNE-TSV which takes at least two hours longer. VA seems to be treating this flight as Tiger would, cancelling when it's not full enough. Still cancelling the flight as soon as I booked it is a new low.

On making my booking yesterday I didn't even get an email confirmation. Usually flight changes arrive via email too but only text this time. The email usually says "click here to acknowledge the changes". The text just says "call this number"...

I'm pretty stuck either way, Jetstar is the only other one to fly direct.

I almost had a interesting situation under similar circumstances. I booked a QF reward CNS-WEI rtn for November. Then booked a VA CNS-CBR (via BNE) elevate fare to line up with the QF booking (1hr 50 min connect). Then two days later QF change the WEI-CNS to depart about 40mins earlier. No issues on this occasion, in fact it means 40 mins less waiting in Weipa and 40 mins more lounge in CNS, but if it were changed to a time departing WEI later that affected my ability to get to VA, I'd have been cranky. I just know that dealing with VA would have been a pain.

 

[Warks]

Sorry I've been busy and haven't been able to come back for more info.

So I eventually found the text telling me my flight had been cancelled was NOT the one I'd just booked but the one I was travelling on the next week. Same route etc. BUT I'd been informed of that months ago and had clicked the tab to agree to the new flight. It was just confusing as it didn't give the date or any details in the text.

What's strange is that the itinerary for the flight I was booking before I started this thread on 25 August has only just been emailed to me. Eleven days? Normally it comes within minutes. I recall QF used to take a couple of hours to come through.

Something weird is going on.

 

[Warks]

So I've got a SYD-TSV booking for November which I made a month or so back. Got yet another email last night saying there's been an "unavoidable change" and I have to go via BNE AGAIN which means I arrive FIVE hours later than originally scheduled. This sucks. VA shows zero commitment to this flight. They might as well drop it for good as at least then I can plan my flights accordingly. I only fly this about five times a year and four out of five flights have had this change. So how often does it happen?

 

[eastwest101]

So I've got a SYD-TSV booking for November which I made a month or so back. Got yet another email last night saying there's been an "unavoidable change" and I have to go via BNE AGAIN which means I arrive FIVE hours later than originally scheduled. This sucks. VA shows zero commitment to this flight. They might as well drop it for good as at least then I can plan my flights accordingly. I only fly this about five times a year and four out of five flights have had this change. So how often does it happen?

Which day of the week are you having this happen to you? Just interested as my TSV-SYD flights don't seem to be as affected as yours. Having said that with the change to daylight savings its difficult getting sensible connections in or out of SYD so that might explain why cancellations are so common. Remember VA are still running out of crew hours and available pilots and cabin crew for their B738 operations so any chance they can get to cancel a flight they will take it if the loads are light. Townsville economy is still in the toilet as well so any demand for seats would be at the SYD end...

 

[UP4014]

Or cancelling because an aircraft somewhere else on the network needs unscheduled maintenance. Inconvenience to you of two hours might be the trade off for not flying say Sydney to Darwin at all.

Comes with operating without a lot of redundancy.

Matt