Qantas Delays/Cancellations

[Melburnian1]

On Saturday 8 August 2020, JQd cancelled its sole MEL - SYD flight (JQ510 at 1100 hours).

QF444 was the only QFd flight to operate on this usually number one route. It was the 1300 hours ex MEL that took off at 1411 with B738 VH-VZXm, arriving at 1529 hours, 64 minutes behind schedule. It had arrived MEL at 1156 hours, nine minutes ahead of schedule on QF435, so not sure why the delay.

QF773 was the only other QF 'own metal' flight out of MEL today, running as the 1400 hours to PER.

JQd operated one flight from MEL to HBA and another to ADL, while VA 2.0 and ZL did not operate any flights ex MEL, while neither of the latter two have any flights scheduled from MEL on Sunday 9 August either.

A year ago we'd have said this was extraordinary but it now seems run-of-the-mill.

 

[Melburnian1]

On Friday 14 August 2020 during the continuing pandemic, QFd is not operating any flights from MEL to BNE and only one to SYD. Yet these are normally (respectively) the third and most popular routes in Oz.

Its only flights from Melbourne are one to each of CBR, LST, MQL, PER and SYD.

JQ and VA among their limited flights are operating one from MEL to ADL and another to BNE.

No flights MEL - CNS but JQd has one to DRW.

QF459, the mid afternoon 1530 hours from SYD down to MEL has been cancelled. There are no (southbound) SYD to MEL QFd flights today, but two from SYD to BNK. Who would have thought in 2019 that come 2020 there'd be more flights to the airport serving Byron Bay than down to Melbourne?

Slim pickings.

 

[Melburnian1]

Monday 17 August 2020 has had QF2205, the 0825 hours SYD down to ABX (Q400 VH-QOW) not take off until 0934 hours, arriving in the Twin Cities at an estimated 1034,l 54 minutes late. There may have been fog in the Riverina this morning.

The return flight (QF2206), the 1010 hours is expected to depart at 1050, perhaps a little optimistic as most times these smaller aircraft spend about 20 minutes at the terminal. Yesterday and Saturday, this aircraft's only trips were a return SYD - CFS, but on Friday 14 it undertook two return flights SYD - BNK (the airport for popular Byron Bay).

 

[Melburnian1]

Later on 17 August, QF2015, the 1030 hours SYD - OAG departed at 1120 hours.

 

[Melburnian1]

Wednesday 19 August 2020 has seen QF1426, the late lunchtime 1335 hours CBR on the short hop to SYD cancelled.

 

[Melburnian1]

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce's comments yesterday about QFd operating about 20 per cent of its (pre-COVID-19 'normal') schedule was on an overall basis.

With lockdowns, some origins are hit far more badly than others.

Of the majors, MEL is the worst.

On Friday 21 August 2020, QFd is only operating 'own metal' aircraft from MEL to CBR, LST and MQL. All were turboprops.

Subsidiary JQd had only two flights: one each to DRW and HBA.

While under a Federal Government-brokered agreement (with approval from ACCC), airlines are able to 'pool resources' and hence avoid operating multiple vitrtually empty flights, this is one of not many occasions in QFd's last 50 years when it wouldn't have had MEL - BNE or MEL - SYD 'own metal' flights on a Friday.

Competitor VA 2.0 has one flight each from MEL to ADL, BNE, CBR, PER and SYD.

Sparser pickings than a Coffs Harbour blueberry bush in June.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF516 (Saturday 22 August, the 1235 hours lunchtime from SYD up to BNE) was off blocks at 1322 and up up and away at 1337 with B738 VH-XZI. Arrival was at 1452 hours, 47 minutes tardy.

 

[Melburnian1]

Sunday 23 August 2020 sees QFd operating just two turboprop flights from MEL - QF2283 to LST at 1150 hours and QF2158 to CBR at 1615 this afternoon.

There wouldn't have been too many Sundays during the past 20 years when QF did not have a single jet conveying passengers from Melbourne Airport.

Subsidiary JQd is by contrast exceptionally busy with a mammoth four flights scheduled - one each to ADL, HBA, SYD and TSV.

Competitor VA 2.0 has just a single flight - to BNE at 1700 hours, the last scheduled passenger domestic flight from MEL today.

Notably there are no MEL to CNS or PER flights, nothing to MQL (so go on V/Line that has a typical three-four rail-then change to road coach trips a day including one overnight), no flights to MCY or OOL and as expected nil to ASP, BME, BNK, CFS or DRW. Strange that there's a JQd flight to TSV but not CNS, although TSV has many defence personnel.

As has been the case for a few weeks, ZL is a non-starter on Saturdays or Sundays: no ABX or WGA flights, but one can still travel to Wodonga (though not Albury) on V/Line road coaches as trains, like ZL, were cancelled.

 

[Melburnian1]

QFd does not have any B738 or larger flights operating ex MEL on Friday 28 August 2020, unimaginable 12 months ago.

Its only flights are turboprops: QF2281 to LST at 0820 hours, QF2080 to MQL at lunchtime - 1210 hours - and lastly QF2158 to CBR at 1615 hours.

Subsidiary JQd has one jet flight each to ADL, BNE, DRW, HBA and SYD. Is this a conscious effort by QF to operate lower cost JQd flights given the inability of so many Australians to legally cross borders at present, rather than higher cost per seat kilometre QFd ones? Note the absence of any QF group flight to PER.

Competitor VA 2.0 has one jet flight each to ADL, BNE, CBR, PER and SYD, so today VA has more seats to CBR than QF.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF2062, the 1850 hours early evening SYD up to BNK on Sunday 30 August 2020 has been cancelled.

QFd is operating, in total, 11 flights ex SYD tomorrow (including one to BNK that so far is running). Prior to coronavirus, at a guess there would have been about 25-30 flights from SYD to MEL alone on a typical Sunday.

 

[Melburnian1]

'New normal' is a two word phrase that I dislike as it almost always means 'something worse.'

Nonetheless, on Friday 4 September 2020 during coronavirus, from MEL, a single flight to each of CBR, LST and MQL (all turboprops, probably Q400s) are the only offerings today by parent QFd that also (as usual) has no international flights ex MEL (or anywhere else) that convey passengers today.

Who would have predicted 12 months ago that on what should normally be a busy Friday, QFd wouldn't have a single jet-operated flight from what was up until the pandemic Oz's second busiest domestic airport (and gradually gaining on SYD to bridge the small gap in passenger numbers).

 

[Melburnian1]

One I missed was QF773, the 0935 hours Monday 7 September 2020 MEL across to PER, operated by A333 VH-QPJ. It took off at 1003 hours (around 10 minutes late) but did not arrive until 1228 hours, 53 late. IIRC this was quite a windy day so these may have been against the aircraft.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF2148 had not operated since 16 September 2020 but on Monday 21, it again ran. This 0830 hours Q400 flight took off from MEL at 0926 so would have arrived CBR at about 1010-1015 hours, half an hour to 35 late.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF1554, the 2040 hours mid evening Thursday 24 September 2020 scheduled arrfival in BNE ex CBR was cancelled.

Owing to a turboprop failing in MKY, QF1721, the 2220 hours arrival from CNS to BNE has been altered to arrive at 2300 as it made an extra stop in Mackay to pick up some passengers. Thsi evening on 'The Australian website, 'Rob' posted this comment about QFd:

'How hopeless are Qantas!
I'm stuck in Mackay with an unserviceable plane - unable to get back to Brissy!
You would think with all the planes to choose from, Alan would use the ones that actually work!!!
or maybe think about spending a little coin to keep an engineer in Mackay if he persists in poorly maintained aircraft!!!'

 

[Melburnian1]

On Friday 2 October 2020, QF2708, a scheduled afternoon 1350 hours from BNE across to Miles (WLE) was cancelled.

There are many things I don't know: one can add that QFd operates scheduled flights to that location, which I have been through by train but not other means. Not much there, but IIRC there is a coal mine at Wandoan.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF1483, the Sunday 18 October 2020 scheduled latish afternoon 1640 hours SYD - CBR short hop has been cancelled. This was to be the only SYD - CBR flight of any operator on Sunday.

Today (Saturday 17) there is just one QFd flight from SYD down to CBR, the 0925 hours QF1431, and none by other airlines. IIRC, on some fairly recent Saturdays, CBR has not had any 'regular public transport' flights to or from any destination.

 

[Melburnian1]

On Tuesday 27 October 2020, QF1583, the 0920 hours morning from SYD to HBA was cancelled.

VA1532 just after lunch at 1355 hours was the only other scheduled passenger-carrying flight on this route in this direction today. It operated.

 

[Melburnian1]

QFd on Friday 30 October 2020 did not operate any flights southbound from SYD to MEL (although JQd and VAd each had one).

One can recall a year ago that on a Friday, QFd would typically have had 36-40 flights southbound on this extremely well patronised by worldwide standards domestic route.

 

[Melburnian1]

B738 VH-VXE on Saturday 31 October 2020's QF708 (0845 hours morning flight from BNE up to CNS) did not become airborne until 1014 hours, arriving 82 minutes late at 1222 hours. The return (QF713) arrived back in BNE at 1454 hours, 64 minutes late. Weather in Brisbane today has included large 13cm hailstones along with copious amounts of rain, still occurring at 1545 AEST. Tropicality!

 

[Melburnian1]

On Sunday 1 November 2020, the sole QF offering from MEL is QF1464 to CBR at 1555 hours this afternoon, a Q400 turboprop.

There are no QFd (or QFi) mainline jets departing MEL today. Not even it being All Saints' Day could alter this. It's a scenario one would be surprised if anyone worldwide predicted a year ago. JQd and VAd 2.0 each have one MEL - SYD northbound flight today but strangely QFd does not. VAd is the sole operator flying MEL - BNE today with just one flight. Yet these routes used to be #1 and #3 respectively in popularity, with MEL - SYD leading the field by a significant margin.

Many are either praying for open borders soon and/or believe, as Mr Joyce of Qantas correctly says, that these State border bans are ridiculous. One such ban helped get the Queensland Government reelected yesterday, but at huge cost to parts of the Australian economy including aviation.

One AFFer posted elsewhere that their flight from SYD to ASP recently (open border) only had 25 passengers. They asserted 'people are just not travelling at present'. That may be so, but it's difficult to imagine that there wouldn't be demand for say at least 30 MEL - SYD flights (total of all operators) each way on Sundays to Fridays. Perhaps I misjudge the level of community apprehension about the virus?