New Qantas route - PER to JNB QF65/QF66

[jrfsp]

Only 2 weeks till it starts......

 

[ZRFF]

Only 2 weeks till it starts......

Nope, the flights have now disappeared totally from the Qantas website

 

[levelnine]

Withdrawn from sale.

@Mattg it would be interesting to get some comment from Qantas as to why they cancelled/postponed this route.

 

[BD1959]

Hmm, hopefully someone with EF access can confirm if they've been zero'd out.

Can confirm that EF has QF65 zeroed out for at least the first two weeks of November.

Regards,

BD

 

[levelnine]

Can confirm that EF has QF65 zeroed out for at least the first two weeks of November.

I do not see it for sale at any period on qantas.com. It appears to me that the route has been canned.

 

[maia200]

I tried to book on Saturday but there were no flights from Perth to JNB and return was JNB-SYD-PER.

 

[justinbrett]

WA about to close its border again?

 

[Rabs97]

Flights still active in the timetables section of the QF website

 

[Rabs97]

With the shortage of 787's and problems with A380 thus putting more pressure on the 787 fleet, it would not surprise me if this flight goes the same way as SYD-SFO...

The announcement of SYD-SFO flights being pushed back from Oct 30 to March 27 was made about 8 weeks before the first planned restart date, not 11 days.

Again clearly announced at the time why and when they were being pushed back to.

Not over a week to cancel the route is strange, crews are rostered the operate those flights, aircraft assigned to operate them. You would know far further out than 11 days if crewing or aircraft availability issues were apparent.

And the lack of communication (for 3 days now) is also strange, but it shows they probably haven’t come to a decision on when they’ll have enough availability for the flights to start.

 

[Mattg]

Again clearly announced at the time why and when they were being pushed back to.

Where was the clear announcement from Qantas about the SYD-SFO flights being pushed back?

 

[Rabs97]

Where was the clear announcement from Qantas about the SYD-SFO flights being pushed back?

Not so much an announcement (but reported in the media), my point more being that was pushed back due either crew or aircraft issues on Sep 5 for a planned Oct 30 restart. Unusual they let the PER JNB route go to within two weeks of start and then remove flights but not say anything for 3 days.

They’ve been wanting to start this route for years, as soon as SAA pulled out, they were on the cusp of announcing it several times this year and did announce it as soon as the CEO came to WA. With a monopoly and (I’d assume) high demand I can’t see it being pulled for lack of interest?

Perhaps no additional flights for booking is just until they’ve figured out accurately when they can find the crews to operate it? A crewing issue is probably more the likely cause than an aircraft availability issue, given they’d know when the further 787 and 380 arrivals are happening months in advance.

 

[jakeseven7]

Not so much an announcement (but reported in the media), my point more being that was pushed back due either crew or aircraft issues on Sep 5 for a planned Oct 30 restart.

There are about 5 A330's in the queue to come back online apparently, still. Plus the delayed delivery of the new 787s. Plus the A380's being refurbished.

And staffing still a big challenge.

Wonder if it is a mix of both.

 

[jrfsp]

There are about 5 A330's in the queue to come back online apparently, still. Plus the delayed delivery of the new 787s. Plus the A380's being refurbished.

And staffing still a big challenge.

Wonder if it is a mix of both.

Indeed, and there are "only" 8 long A330-200s which are fully utilized with 1 in MNL for maintenance (not sure if scheduled or not). Not sure how they were planning this route? Perhaps they had hoped to have more A380s/787s in service.

 

[Rabs97]

Looks like it’s an issue with customs/bio security procedures at Perth T3. Maybe a lack of ABF staff?:

Qantas Forced To Suspend Selling Perth-Jo'Burg Flight - Airline Ratings

Qantas has been forced to suspend selling its new Perth to Johannesburg and the Perth to Jakarta flight

www.airlineratings.com

However, as the article states, they still expect the PER JNB route to start on time next week.

Maybe they can’t legally sell tickets until they have confirmation the ABF will be able to provide CIQ at T3?

Good news is this seems to be just a temporary delay.

 

[TheInsider]

There are about 5 A330's in the queue to come back online apparently, still. Plus the delayed delivery of the new 787s. Plus the A380's being refurbished.

Which A330's haven't been seen for a while?

 

[AFF Editor]

We got in touch with Qantas about this, and they also told us that it's just a temporary pause on ticket sales.

Qantas Pauses Perth-Johannesburg Ticket Sales

Update (25 October): Due to issues with Border Force and customs processing inbound passengers at Terminal 3 of Perth Airport, Qantas has cancelled its

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Daver6]

Looks like it’s an issue with customs/bio security procedures at Perth T3. Maybe a lack of ABF staff?:

Qantas Forced To Suspend Selling Perth-Jo'Burg Flight - Airline Ratings

Qantas has been forced to suspend selling its new Perth to Johannesburg and the Perth to Jakarta flight

www.airlineratings.com

However, as the article states, they still expect the PER JNB route to start on time next week.

Maybe they can’t legally sell tickets until they have confirmation the ABF will be able to provide CIQ at T3?

Good news is this seems to be just a temporary delay.

I wonder what the actual issue is?

 

[Rabs97]

We got in touch with Qantas about this, and they also told us that it's just a temporary pause on ticket sales.

Qantas Pauses Perth-Johannesburg Ticket Sales

Update (25 October): Due to issues with Border Force and customs processing inbound passengers at Terminal 3 of Perth Airport, Qantas has cancelled its

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Interesting how a dispute over CIQ for a route which starts in less than two weeks would cause ticket sales to be suspended for flights 6 months in advance, if QF had every intention of starting the route on time. Why not just suspend the first few weeks if you weren’t sure the CIQ requirements would be there on time?

 

[jrfsp]

Are there e gate immigration desks at T3?

 

[theoracle30]

Are there e gate immigration desks at T3?

From memory, nope. It was manual processing on the way in. I think outbound had e-Gates.