Australia to Reduce Incoming Int. Passenger Capacity from July 2021

[RAM]

I thought they all flew first class, no exceptions. Have the aircraft been refitted with F for this charter?

AOC officials & hangers on fly F, not athletes, & their support teams (coaches, physios etc).

Many of the AOC are not coming back to Australia (yet).

In 1994 I was appalled to find out that the Australian Womens Hockey team had to pay their own airfares (cannot remember if they personally paid for their accomodation as well) to every competition they attended - this was happening despite them being World champions at the time. They got no money from either the AIS nor AOC for airfares etc, unlike the mens team. However the AOC had money for pearl necklaces for IOC officials or partners.

The men's team had all their fares paid & was nowhere near so successful.

I raised this issue when I was at a function with a certain bank's CEO & suggested it would be a marketing coup for 3/10ths of nothing to sponsor the team. He took it up. They even went so far as to make an offer of jobs (in branches) Australia-wide with unlimited paid time-off for when they were competing. At least 5 (that I knew of) joined the bank.

Shortly thereafter there were some adverts featuring some new bank employees.

The AOC delegates, officials & hangers on meanwhile continued to fly 1st class everywhere.

OT - the AIS used to pay dozens of athlete scholarships and ZERO consultants. Some years back now (post 2000 though) they stopped giving outscholarships and now spend more on consultants than they ever did on Athlete scholarships. One post 2000s Olympics the ratio of non-athletes (including coaches etc and AOC snouts) to athletes was just under 4 to each athlete competing, over 3 were AOC-related.

Do a search on the book "Lords of the Rings".
On the eve of the London 2012 Olympics . . . this must-read investigation of the secret world of the International Olympic Committee reveals how it became a refuge for crooks, spooks and fascists fleeing from discredited regimes.

More recently:

A consulting company working for the Tokyo Olympic bid committee paid about $370,000 to the son of then-influential IOC member Lamine Diack before and after the Japanese capital was picked in 2013 to host the 2020 Games, news agency Kyodo reported last year.

The payment is reported to be part of $2 million transferred by the bid committee to Black Tidings, a now shuttered consulting company based in Singapore.

Tsunekazu Takeda, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee at the time, acknowledged signing off on the $2 million payment and was indicted in 2019 by a French court on corruption charges. In 2019, the IOC disclosed assets in excess of $5 billion and a $74 million cash surplus in its financial accounts.

 

[milehighclub]

ABC just reported that the flight from NRT to DRW on QF had about 100 onboard with another flight due into BNE tomorrow.

 

[RAM]

ABC just reported that the flight from NRT to DRW on QF had about 100 onboard with another flight due into BNE tomorrow.

JAL missing out then. shame given how they have supported Australia for 15 months with regular flights while Q wouldn't lose the money.

 

[dajop]

JAL missing out then. shame given how they have supported Australia for 15 months with regular flights while Q wouldn't lose the money.

I think we all know repat flights are part of the overall support being provided to QF - financial and skill maintenance as well as "being seen to do something".

It would not take imagination or negotiation to organise with other carriers - eg. SQ could pop a 737 into DRW 3x week. and QR an A350 2xweek on a regular scheduled basis, and the government could block out seats for the repatriation of vulnerable Australians. Likewise the QF repatriation flight from DPS to DRW, surely it wouldn't have been too hard to organise a GA 737 charter and then crew wouldn't even have to get off the airplane, removes the need for QF crew to have to isolate after arriving back in Australia.

 

[Katie]

Anecdotes
I went to the Physio this morning, and asked how the Director was going who is one of the physios for the Aussie swimmers. My physio said the bloke was in Howard Springs, and I think many of the swimming team are there, based on media footage I saw of Ariarne Titmus's coach playing air guitar on his balcony in Howard Springs.

Susie O'Neill is in quarantine at a hotel in Brisbane (when I don't listen to podcasts, I listen to Nova radio station, and she's in their BNE morning chatterboxes). One of the other morning chatterboxes is David Lutteral, he was a stadium announcer and commentator for the Rugby in Tokyo, is at the Grand Chancellor in quarantine.

Seeing these flights come back, I have been thinking about how the returning athletes, media, etc, have taken a huge chunk out of the inbound traveller/returning Aussies capacity. :/

 

[dajop]

Seeing these flights come back, I have been thinking about how the returning athletes, media, etc, have taken a huge chunk out of the inbound traveller/returning Aussies capacity. :/

They are over and above the caps put in place, so did not take away any capacity. Of course though the caps were halved in advance of the Olympics ... make of that what you will.

 

[Jacques Vert]

They are over and above the caps put in place, so did not take away any capacity. Of course though the caps were halved in advance of the Olympics ... make of that what you will.

Smoke and mirrors....

 

[RAM]

I did not think the Howard Springs capacity had been halved or did I miss that?

They are over and above the caps put in place, so did not take away any capacity. Of course though the caps were halved in advance of the Olympics ... make of that what you will.

Supposed to not reduce the caps BUT reduces the space available in Howard Springs = reduction in repatriation flights.

A little worse still as Howard Springs is divided (security fences) into neighbourhoods of fixed capacity (IIRC = 200, can anyone confirm?).

So the flight early last week of a little over 80 from Tokyo took out 200 capacity (if correct neighbourhood size). Haven't heard of any Tokyo flight being close to 200 capacity though. So capacity taken away from repatriation = Tokyo flights x 200.

That's a bigger impact.

 

[Flashback]

Quarantine hotel rules face legal challenge - BBC News

Travellers affected by the UK's quarantine hotel policy want a judicial review of the rules.

www.bbc.co.uk

Interesting one to watch, although I don't expect much to come of it nor Australia to take any notice.

 

[Seat0B]

This quote from the above BBC article resonates with me about AustralIan hotel quarantine too. Especially given the way that overseas arrivals who may or may not have COVID are treated compared to domestic examples of people who definitely have COVID being allowed to home quarantine or going to a medical facility at taxpayer expense.

”PGMBM managing partner Tom Goodhead said: "Mandatory hotel quarantine is a fundamental breach of human rights. It has led to the false imprisonment of people who are fully vaccinated and have tested negative. Prisoners are entitled to more liberty than those forced to quarantine in hotels."

 

[dajop]

”PGMBM managing partner Tom Goodhead said: "Mandatory hotel quarantine is a fundamental breach of human rights. It has led to the false imprisonment of people who are fully vaccinated and have tested negative. Prisoners are entitled to more liberty than those forced to quarantine in hotels."

Whilst I agree with the sentiment that it is completely unfair that domestic COVID patients are allowed to do home quarantine (particularly in states where there are 400 cases a day), whilst foreign arrivals who are vaccinated and test negative multiple times need to stay in HQ for full 14 days, I'm not sureI agree with the idea that "Prisoners are entitled to more liberty". Physical liberty, yes, but mental liberty I expect not.

I've never been in prison, but are prisoners entitled to order in uber eats whenever they want? Can they speak to people on the outside at any time of day or night? Free to watch TV, browse the internet, shower, listen to music etc whenever they want? Order room service? Order coles or woolies deliveries?

 

[Seat0B]

Whilst I agree with the sentiment that it is completely unfair that domestic COVID patients are allowed to do home quarantine (particularly in states where there are 400 cases a day), whilst foreign arrivals who are vaccinated and test negative multiple times need to stay in HQ for full 14 days, I'm not sureI agree with the idea that "Prisoners are entitled to more liberty". Physical liberty, yes, but mental liberty I expect not.

I've never been in prison, but are prisoners entitled to order in uber eats whenever they want? Can they speak to people on the outside at any time of day or night? Free to watch TV, browse the internet, shower, listen to music etc whenever they want? Order room service? Order coles or woolies deliveries?

But prisoners have broken the rules of society, which is why they are imprisoned. Australian citizens returning home have not broken the rules of society. And even if they have COVID, they are treated on a much less favourable basis than onshore Australians Who also have COVID. If they don’t have COVID and are vaccinated, then the disparity is even worse.

 

[dajop]

But prisoners have broken the rules of society, which is why they are imprisoned. Australian citizens returning home have not broken the rules of society. And even if they have COVID, they are treated on a much less favourable basis than onshore Australians Who also have COVID. If they don’t have COVID and are vaccinated, then the disparity is even worse.

I don't disagree with you last two sentences. I think the biggest unfair treatment though is not HQ per se, but the caps, and also not allowing a few more folk to leave the country for family reunions.

But it's simply false to compare the HQ situation to being in prison. I'd be shocked If the prison experience was anything like HQ. I'm happy enough to do HQ (generally speaking - I wouldn't if I was wanting to return to Sydney right now, what a joke), but would much prefer to be able to do it when I want to, not when I can randomly manage to get a flight into Australia.

 

[jakeseven7]

JAL missing out then. shame given how they have supported Australia for 15 months with regular flights while Q wouldn't lose the money.

Cry me a river, the Japanese government has been propping that up.

Australian government has has no interest in keeping international flights going and hence didn’t prop up QF or any international airlines flights apart from the token PR repat flights.

 

[aggie57]

But prisoners have broken the rules of society, which is why they are imprisoned. Australian citizens returning home have not broken the rules of society. And even if they have COVID, they are treated on a much less favourable basis than onshore Australians Who also have COVID. If they don’t have COVID and are vaccinated, then the disparity is even worse.

This 'just like prisoners' argument is one of those false arguments thrown out by the likes of Tucker Carlson looking for ratings and airtime. Quarantine is no more prison than spending 14 days in a camp ground in Albury is.

But yes, the inconsistencies between international arrivals and those exposed to COVID in the community are frustrating especially for those of us fully vaccinated. If the same rules applied to us if/when we arrive in Australia we'd be able to home quarantine now.

 

[PineappleSkip]

Quarantine is no more prison than spending 14 days in a camp ground in Albury is.

For a solo traveller, which is most these days, hotel quarantine is not just imprisonment, it is solitary confinement. Plenty of past HEAT training kept me sane, but the isolation still does things to your head, despite the creature comforts.

A camp ground is as apt an analogy as fairyland is.

 

[Seat0B]

I don't disagree with you last two sentences. I think the biggest unfair treatment though is not HQ per se, but the caps, and also not allowing a few more folk to leave the country for family reunions.

But it's simply false to compare the HQ situation to being in prison. I'd be shocked If the prison experience was anything like HQ. I'm happy enough to do HQ (generally speaking - I wouldn't if I was wanting to return to Sydney right now, what a joke), but would much prefer to be able to do it when I want to, not when I can randomly manage to get a flight into Australia.

PS the false imprisonment mentioned in the article is a legal term, not actually meaning putting someone in jail. It means intentionally and wrongfully confining someone, against their will. Sounds pretty much like HQ to me.

Findlaw Decommission Notice

Alliance to help corporate tax and legal departments respond to their compliance and regulatory challenges and ever-increasing need for operating efficiency

www.findlaw.com.au

 

[davidj]

eg. SQ could pop a 737 into DRW 3x week. and QR an A350 2xweek on a regular scheduled basis, and the government could block out seats for the repatriation of vulnerable Australians.

This is a great idea, although I suspect outbound loads being too light and could be the issue? Inbound traffic pricing would need to subsidise the lack of outbound loads. I don't see freight loads high on this sector unless they run wide-body and/or use DRW as a feeder/transit point for freight.

QFA could start with weekly LHR or FRA to DRW flights to get their international operations kick started again. It doesn't help anyone that equipment and personal remain un-utilised on the ground (and for nothing).

 

[Jacques Vert]

And apparently we are now able to significantly increase quarantine capacity to bring in many more people being evacuated from Afghanistan. While I have no problem bringing in the evacuees, I wonder why we couldn't have expanded quarantine capacity over the past year to bring back those stranded overseas.

 

[davidj]

And apparently we are now able to signnificantly increase quarantine capacity to bring in many more people being evacuated from Afghanistan.

Where there is a will, there is a way? Agree, would be good to do this for Aussies in need.