Qantas Delays/Cancellations

[Melburnian1]

Continuing with the largely single runway only operations at SYD-related 5 November 2016 delays, QF524, the 1200 'high noon' SYD - BNE (B738 VH-XZP) did not take off until 1351 so it is more than an hour late.

Airport spin doctors tend to downplay delays if the media calls, and unthinking journalists then merely repeat the spin without taking the time to research the delays to see if what the airport (or airlines) say is truthful.

 

[milehighclub]

FA now suggests that QF8 (VH-OQK) 4/11/16 service from DFW has been cancelled after an on-time arrival as QF7.
The seatmaps provided by EF suggests a full F,J,W cabin with a normal looking patronage in Y (ie numerous middle seats empty for payload restriction reasons).

An unusual occurence. It would be impossible to transfer some of these passengers into LAX tonight to connect to the usual ex LAX transpacific services.


View attachment 83534

It hasn't been cancelled. It is still scheduled to operate directly to BNE.

 

[Melburnian1]

On Saturday 5 November, QF127, the 1115 hours SYD - HKG (B744 VH-OEB) is only just commencing its taxiing at around 1425 so expect it to be well over two hours late into the Asian major city. The wind-related delays from largely just use of runway 25 are continuing, although as Quickstatus noted above a few flights have used a north-south runway.

Earlier, QF129, the 1055 SYD - PVG departed 61 minutes late at 1156; arrival is expected to be 80 minutes down at 1950 this evening mainland Chinese time. As QF130 tonight is scheduled to depart at 20-06 hours, it will be at least 50 minutes late in pulling away from the major Chinese commercial centre.

QF19 (1225 hours SYD - MNL, A333 VH-QPA) took off at 1434 with arrival predicted at 1919, 104 minutes tardy. QF20 is due to commence its return trip at 1900 but tonight it should depart at about 2025, provided no untoward problems are detected.

 

[Quickstatus]

It hasn't been cancelled. It is still scheduled to operate directly to BNE.

Ok thanks

FR24 has just published QF8 for 4/11/16 Its currently sitting outside the D gates. Other sources suggest a 3 hour delay

 

[Melburnian1]

...QF8...Other sources suggest a 3 hour delay

The Friday 4 November QF8 departed DFW at 2231 instead of 2055. BNE arrival on Sunday 6 November is forecast at 0500 and departure at 0710. If the latter is correct, this means a SYD arrival at around the 0940 hours mark which contrasts with the 0605 timetabled at terminal time, so this would be 215 minutes late. It is not clear to me why the plane needs to spend so long in BNE: sometimes these fuel loading stops are just an hour or so.

Longhaul QF7 on Saturday 5 November 2016 (1400 hours SYD - DFW, A388 VH-OQG) took off at 1516 hours so arrival same day should be at a suggested 1405, 35 minutes late.

 

[milehighclub]

It is not clear to me why the plane needs to spend so long in BNE: sometimes these fuel loading stops are just an hour or so.

It was scheduled for 6am, so it's not that they have planned 2 hours to refuel, it's just that it is arriving an hour earlier than planned. It may loose time on route if the winds are as strong as predicted. The QF8 that landed today left an hour earlier at 2136 but didn't land until 0538.

Either way it won't leave till 7am because the crew that diverted there today are now having rest in BNE and will take over from the flight tomorrow and continue to operate it down to Sydney.

 

[Himeno]

It hasn't been cancelled. It is still scheduled to operate directly to BNE.

Many systems often say a flight is cancelled when it is merely delayed overnight or planned to go to another port then it normally would.

 

[Melburnian1]

I omitted above that on Saturday 5 November with the wind-related runway delays, QF11 departed from SYD 102 minutes late at 1542. It should arrive SFO at 1035, 65 late.

 

[Melburnian1]

In further on Saturday 5 November, QF28 from SCL (B744 VH-OJU) should arrive in SYD 35 minutes late at 1820.

QF122, the afternoon 1525 hours from ZQN across to SYD (B738 ZK-ZQA) is arriving at 1810 hours, 150 minutes tardy.

The 1455 hours from BNE down to MEL, QF655, took off at 1546 with arrival likely at 1905, 50 minutes late. Aircraft is VH-VXG, another B738.

QF51 from BNE to SIN is often punctual but not today, with A333 VH-QPD having taken off at 1320 with a likely arrival time of 1857, 62 minutes late.

QF769, the MEL - PER 5 November 1305 hours departure was not in the sky until 1548 hours. A332 VH-EBF should arrive at around 1632, 142 minutes behind schedule. QF777, the same route and direction's tmetabled 1535 hours flight has not fared a lot better, with takeoff at a delayed 1707 meaning predicted arrival is 1758 hours, 78 minutes late for B738 VH-VYK: running the last two letters together might be the bated breath reaction for those who did not check the aircraft type and who hoped for a far more exquisite A332.

The B717 ZH-YQY on QF1560 (1645 hours late afternoon from ADL across to SYD) should arrive 37 minutes late at 1947.

 

[Melburnian1]

The Saturday 5 September winds affecting flights from SYD means that, depending on allowed turnarounds, some QFi flights back to SYD will inevitably be delayed tonight.

QF does not always reliably update its website for those many hours in advance but a sample of projected delays include:

QF19 (1900 hours MNL to SYD) expected to depart at 2030
QF82 (1915 hours SIN - SYD) expected to depart at 1945
QF98 (1930 hours HKG - BNE) expected to depart at 2105
QF36 (1945 hours SIN to MEL) expected to depart at 2010
QF128 (1950 hours HKG - SYD) expected to depart at 2150

 

[Quickstatus]

This evening after a very blowy Saturday. ATC has reopened RWY34 and RWY16 for simultaneous opposite direct parallel operations:

Arrivals into 34L (to the north).
Departures from RWY16 (to the south)
Departures from 34L on request
Interesting ATIS reports Curfew operates from 1145 UTC which corresponds to 2245 hrs Sydney Time??

 

[Melburnian1]

On Sunday 6 November, QF94 from LAX to MEL (A388 VH-OQJ) should arrive at about 0946 instead of 0800, meaning that QF93, the 1015 MEL - LAX will not get away until at the very least 1125 hours.

QF12 from LAX to SYD (A388 VH-OQE) is 80 minutes or so late and should be at the terminal gate at approximately 0850 hours. On FR24 it looks like these two are almost paralleling each other but the map projection understates how far they are apart.

 

[Quickstatus]

Melburnian1,

wonder if you can comment on the time reliability of QF9 in this thread started by a passenger who has been chamged to a 1:20 connection in DXB after arrining on QF9:

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....xb-ath-flight-replaced-79240.html#post1539185

 

[Melburnian1]

The connecting time allowed of 80 minutes is risky, because from memory the last time I changed planes at DXB (an airport I now avoid, as it's far preferable to travel with a carrier other than QF and transit via Asia), one has to go through security to board the second flight.

DXB and the other Middle Eastern airports routinely fail to make it into the top 10 of various lists put together of the world's top 10 airports and it shows.

There will almost certainly be a queue for security.

FlightStats awards QF9 between MEL and DXB 0.1 out of 5 - the worst possible rating - for punctuality and reliability.

The 'average delay' (presumably from the last 61 flights measured) is '38 minutes.' While 70 per cent of the flights have been 'on time' arriving in DXB, this means they could be up to 15 minutes late, and on top of that, it may take you 10 minutes to alight from the aircraft and more time to go through security.

11 of these most recent 61 flights have been 'excessively late', a term FlightStats does not appear to define but I assume it means 'at least an hour late.' In that case, you would miss the flight as I couldn't imagine there would be 10 or more connecting to ATH off QF9.

I'd do everything I could to rebook, and next time travel via Asia with another airline. There are many that are better than QF!

 

[Melburnian1]

The Sunday 6 November 2016 QF63 (B744 VH-OEB) should depart at 1135.

QF's website has it departing at 1209 but as at 1235, it was still taxiing although FR24 has it positioned at or extremely close to its terminal gate in SYD. Either way, it will be late: QF estimates an arrival time at 1700, 25 late.

 

[Flyerqf]

The Sunday 6 November 2016 QF63 (B744 VH-OEB) should depart at 1135.

QF's website has it departing at 1209 but as at 1235, it was still taxiing although FR24 has it positioned at or extremely close to its terminal gate in SYD. Either way, it will be late: QF estimates an arrival time at 1700, 25 late.

Departed 5.35pm some 6 hrs late.

 

[suze2000]

Departed 5.35pm some 6 hrs late.

I feel for the people who spent six hours in the terminal and then got on such a long flight. In economy. Urgh.

 

[katiebell]

Thank you YSSY for a great on-the-spot report. To add in the exact detail, QF1 on Friday 4 November departed from DXB at 0714 instead of 0240, arriving at LHR at 1104 instead of 0650 hours. It then turned around with QF10 departing from LHR 58 minutes late at 1253 - a turnaround of an hour and 49 minutes, which is close to the best I have seen for QF A388s of about an hour and 38 - with DXB arrival at 2333, 33 minutes tardy. In about 20 minutes as I write, it should be departing from DXB at a claimed 0115 hours, 10 minutes late.

With rushed turnarounds it must be challenging to properly clean an aircraft, especially in hard to reach areas such as the bottoms of seat pockets in window or middle seats in Y. Some passengers might find tissues, food particles and so on lying around, or tray table surfaces not properly wiped. This is a 'first world problem', but coughroaches love such environments if they can ever manage to get inside aircraft..

Even with the scheduled TATs the planes are normally rather dirty. Tray tables in Y on QFd often have bits of food on them, no doubt a result of the soggy carboard boxes. The meal trays once used would have protected the table top from most food spillages.

On QFi it is standard to find crumbs and other rubbish in the bins under the windows on the upper deck. I have found used tissues in the seat pocket in F etc etc.

Qantas do not make cleaning a priority even without delays. This is a concern from a health and safety perspective, even more so on long haul over areas where diversions for gastro would be a long way away. (there was a BA flight, IIRC, where something in the F menu, aspic?, was off and several pax were seriously ill, my source said at least one died. Although that was many years ago food hygiene and general hygeine remain really important in the confined space of an aircraft and should not be compromised

 

[Melburnian1]

Monday 7 November sees QF2354, the 0600 BNE - ROK that should arrive at 0715 (Q400 VH-QOV) in a holding pattern north of The Caves with arrival likely at 0754 or so: fog? VA1231, the 0550 hours BNE - ROK is doing the same.

The 1115 hours from SYD to SIN, QF81, is instead on 7 November predicted to depart at 1305 this afternoon. This is due to the Sunday 6 November QF130 (timetabled 2005 hours PVG down to SYD) departing at 2216 with Monday 7 arrival suggested as 1145 hours, two hours late.

It is windy in MEL with gusts of up to 57kmh at the airport, but it does not appear to be resulting in any out of the ordinary delays.

 

[Melburnian1]

Departed 5.35pm some 6 hrs late.

The Sunday 6 November QF63 arrived at JNB at 2235 which was exactly six hours behind schedule. QF64 then departed the South African major centre at 0050 on Monday 7 (compared with the timetabled 1850 hours on Sunday 6) with SYD arrival on Monday 7 predicted at 2100 this evening, five hours and 25 minutes later than the timetable showing 1535 hours.

QF495 (0615 hours from SYD down to MEL) was cancelled on Monday 7 November.

The 1125 hours late morning flight from MEL up to CBR, Qf2130 has been delayed until an expected 1215 in its pushback.