QF 439 Tonight SYD-MEL in 5 hours 20min.

[chrisb]

While reading Dave Hughes twitter feed https://twitter.com/#!/DHughesy I noticed this odd flight:

Dep SYD 14:00
Arr AVV 16:29
Dep AVV 17:27
Arr MEL 19:20

I gather this is weather related based on the BOM and these comments:

Just landed in Melbourne but have to wait 45 minutes to get a gate to get off.

Still on plane with lightning outside meaning no hope of disembarkation

This one is interesting, but i guess you don't want pax getting off and potentially leaving carryon behind:

Stuck on plane at Avalon after being diverted. They won't let John Hewson and me off even though we need to get to 7pm Project. Not happy!

 

[pshepvic]

Well I'm stuck on the tarmac at Tullamarine ... there are 10 aircraft in front, and we are number 3 in queue waiting for a gate at the Virgin terminal. Bloody Melbourne weather! It was sunny earlier in the week!

 

[oz_mark]

It was sunny earlier in the week!

It was sunny this morning!

 

[Greggsy]

It was sunny this morning!

It was probably sunny an hour ago.

 

[medhead]

Might even be sunny again in an hour*


* ignoring little things like the rotation of the earth.

 

[pshepvic]

And I'm still here ... 1 hour an 40 minutes since my last post!

 

[straitman]

And I'm still here ... 1 hour an 40 minutes since my last post!

But are you having fun yet :?:

 

[LiamR]

And I'm still here ... 1 hour an 40 minutes since my last post!

Omg are you still onboard? One of those days huh?

 

[BadgerBoi]

If only Wil Anderson had been trapped in the plane as well...

 

[pshepvic]

No fun at all - they wouldn't give us alcohol!

Flight DJ868:
Schedule departure 17:15
Dep Sydney 17:35
Arr Melbourne 19:25
Arr at the gate at Melbourne 21:35

Door to door from the office was 6 hours!

 

[Vinny]

From twitter

QPSmedia QPS Media Unit



Landed in #Melbourne @9:15. STILL sitting on the tarmac, waiting to disembark @11:07. Come on QANTAS! #enoughalready get us some stairs!


Then this..

QPSmedia QPS Media Unit



Apologies for the last tweet peeps - mix up in accounts.



A long day at the office it seems for many.

​

​

 

[somebol]

And I'm still here ... 1 hour an 40 minutes since my last post!

Are you on qf453?

we left syd at 5pm arrived at gate in mel at 9:40. I gave up on my connection to qf29 but luckily it got delayed too.

 

[LiamR]

From twitter

QPSmedia QPS Media Unit



Landed in #Melbourne @9:15. STILL sitting on the tarmac, waiting to disembark @11:07. Come on QANTAS! #enoughalready get us some stairs!

​

I saw that and laughed so much... Especially at the later tweet!!

QPSmedia QPS Media Unit



Apologies. Obviously that tweet was meant for a personal account. #stillonthetarmacbytheway


QPSmedia QPS Media Unit



Apologies for the last tweet peeps - mix up in accounts.

 

[serfty]

128 km Melbourne Radar Loop

Melbourne CBD has received over ¾ its average September rainfall between 3:30pm anf 8:30pm.

Latest Weather Observations for the Melbourne Area

[TABLE="class: tabledata obs_table"]
[TR="class: rowleftcolumn"]
[/TR]
[TR]
[/TR]
[TR]
[/TR]
[TR="class: rowleftcolumn"]
[TD]28/11:24pm[/TD]
[TD]13.3[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]11.6[/TD]
[TD]89[/TD]
[TD]0.9[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]995.8[/TD]
[TD]44.6[/TD]
[TD]13.1
08:42pm[/TD]
[TD]22.5
08:35am[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[Awesom Andy]

Only if FF points and SCs are calculated by time spent onboard...

 

[gwilli1]

It looks like the the weather has caused total chaos in Melb tonight . Just had a quick look at QF /JQ flights and they cancelled Melb>Syd 10xQF & 2xJQ Flights and Syd>Melb 6xQF & 3xJQ flights . That equals alot of stranded passengers especially in Melb . Those that got home were lucky despite taking 5 hours.

 

[jb747]

The chaos is added to by the fact that the government NEVER seems to allow any extension of hours at Sydney airport.

Secondly, one of the bigger issues, that seems to be ignored by most, is lightning. The ground crew will not attend an aircraft if there are lightning strikes nearby, so you won't be getting airstairs, in lieu of a bridge. Even if a bridge is available, it might not be possible to connect it (aircraft needs to be chocked, so crew out in the open again). And, in any case, the luggage won't be coming off.

Storms in the tropical areas seem to pass quickly, but last night in Melbourne it was a line of storms that looked to be a couple of hundred kms long, that was beautifully aligned so that all of them passed over Tulla.

 

[markis10]

The chaos is added to by the fact that the government NEVER seems to allow any extension of hours at Sydney airport..

The hours of the curfew are enshrined in law as unmovable posts, however dispensations are often provided for ops outside these hours on a regular basis.

 

[jb747]

The hours of the curfew are enshrined in law as unmovable posts, however dispensations are often provided for ops outside these hours on a regular basis.

Not that regular for the large players. It does require the minister to approve it though, and I wouldn't expect that to happen unless he personally was going to be inconvenienced. The refusal to allow dispensations for aircraft affected by poor weather on the east coast has been an ongoing issue for years.

 

[medhead]

SWMBO tells me a "heap" of aircraft few over in ADL this morning at about 4:30am.