Qantas Delays/Cancellations

[milehighclub]

But there may also be an issue with QFd internally, as notably the problem doesn't seem to occur so much with subsidiary JQd,

I out of curiosity took a look at VA. SYD says 9 flights, 2 that are cancelled. VA says 6 flights, 1 that was cancelled. MEL airport says 5 arrivals today.

I also took a look at tomorrow for SYD/MEL. SYD says 26 flights, all on time. QF says 16 as does MEL

 

[Melburnian1]

I out of curiosity took a look at VA. SYD says 9 flights, 2 that are cancelled. VA says 6 flights, 1 that was cancelled. MEL airport says 5 arrivals today.

I also took a look at tomorrow for SYD/MEL. SYD says 26 flights, all on time. QF says 16 as does MEL

This listing of flights that you suggest were cancelled before today clutters up the Sydney Airport website.

While it's good that one can view the day's flights (including cancellations) in multiple ways such as by airline, origin or destination airport, time and so on, it's still a jumble.

The Melbourne Airport website 'flight status' pages are annoying for a different reason. If a flight codeshares, it lists every one of these in a separate row, rather than just in a small font underneath the 'own metal' flight details. So it's full of extra compressible detail.

That old management principle of 'KISS' comes to mind.

 

[milehighclub]

This listing of flights that you suggest were cancelled before today clutters up the Sydney Airport website.

So I took a look this evening and SYD is now showing 16 flights tomorrow for SYD/MEL - the same as QF and MEL did earlier today.

Looking at flight to PER, SYD are saying there are 8 flights scheduled to PER, 7 are cancelled with 1 operating. QF says 1 and PER says there are no flights from QF tomorrow .

 

[Melburnian1]

On Sunday 7 February, B738 VH-VZT on QF703 (1430 hours from CNS down to MEL) was airborne at 1547 so expected arrival is 2002 hours, 77 minutes tardy. Although it arrived in MEL 15 early on QF676 at 1005 hours this morning (ex ADL), it was delayed on QF702, the 1135 hours MEL - CNS that did not take off until 1304, arriving at 1458 hours, 73 late.

 

[Melburnian1]

So I took a look this evening and SYD is now showing 16 flights tomorrow for SYD/MEL - the same as QF and MEL did earlier today.

Looking at flight to PER, SYD are saying there are 8 flights scheduled to PER, 7 are cancelled with 1 operating. QF says 1 and PER says there are no flights from QF tomorrow .

Perhaps SYD airport staff read your contributions mile (and skip mine)?

Very odd isn't it that the airports aren't in symmetry. Should we say it's the three hour time difference at work?

 

[Melburnian1]

With Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announcing at about 1300 hours on Friday 12 February 2021 that from midnight tonight there'd be a 'snap' five day lockdown across Victoria (and Melbourne) limiting travel to a five km radius (or one's nearest supermarket/fre4sh food retailer), it won't surprise that on Saturday the 13th, QFd has cancelled a number of flights ex MEL.

QF402 (0600 hours MEL - SYD) is the first casualty, with QF410 at 0700 hours, QF432 at 1000, QF444 at 1300, QF448 at 1400, QF454 at 1500 on the same route also some of the cancellations.

 

[Melburnian1]

Another Saturday 13 February 2021 cancellation is QF101, a proposed 0835 hours SYD - NAN. (I hear you, AFFer milehighclub, suggesting 'this was never scheduled' or 'it was cancelled a long time ago' but for these international flights, I am 'relying' if that's the operative word on the SYD airport website.)

QFi continues to refuse to operate international flights unless it is subsidised by the Commonwealth Government. Given it trades big time on its description as 'Australia's national airline' (despite being at least 34 per cent foreign owned, though possibly as much as 49 per cent), this is a cop out.

Competitors (including a far better airline) such as SQ have continued to operate many international flights to and from Australian major airports, even though with inbound passenger number restrictions it's highly doubtful these would be profitable. SQ would be carrying much freight and mail but historically this only accounts for a minority of revenue.

 

[milehighclub]

Another Saturday 13 February 2021 cancellation is QF101, a proposed 0835 hours SYD - NAN. (I hear you, AFFer milehighclub, suggesting 'this was never scheduled' or 'it was cancelled a long time ago' but for these international flights, I am 'relying' if that's the operate word on the SYD airport website.)

You know it! Sydney Airport doesn't show the return on the arrivals page so the aircraft must be having a Fijian holiday. Needless to say it isn't showing on anything I have. QF101 last operated 10 months ago according to Flightaware.

 

[Melburnian1]

You know it! Sydney Airport doesn't show the return on the arrivals page so the aircraft must be having a Fijian holiday. Needless to say it isn't showing on anything I have. QF101 last operated 10 months ago according to Flightaware.

Odd isn't it. I wonder why SYD keeps listing it. You'd think the data feed would try to eliminate what you suggest, with your 'inside info', is misleading/false/extremely outdated information.

Yet the public information from this airport doesn't, for example, show other QFi flights that used to operate, such as daily or multiple weekly morning departures to BKK/HKG/MNL and numerous others. Some or all of these flights have also not operated for months. QF23 from SYD to BKK departing at 1050 during AEDT last operated on Friday 27 March 2020, while QF19 to MNL last ran on Friday 20 March at 1235 hours. This is so long ago that I've excised a number of QFi flight numbers from what passes for my memory, yet I used to be able to almost recite all the times and flight numbers.

Using FR24 and FlightAware is a good combination as the latter is handy for what you've used it for today. The former displays aircraft registrations and enables one to see what other flights each plane has operated for a few days back, even if we lack a subscription.

Perhaps, mile, through the appropriate channels, you could draw QF's programmers' attention to what you say is incorrect public information on the SYD website.

 

[milehighclub]

What is also weird is that yesterday it was showing and as cancelled, yet today the flight isn't there at all, not even as cancelled.

 

[Melburnian1]

On Sunday 14 February due to the allegedly five day Victorian lockdown with the five kilometre travel limit applicable in the majority of cases (not if you live further from say a supermarket), QFd is not alone in cancelling a large number of flights.

QF410 and QF432, the 0700 and 1000 hours MEL to SYD got the boot. At 1300 hours, QF444 on the same route will not operate. Nor will QF448 at 1400 or QF450 at 1500 hours mid afternoon. QF458 and QF470 at 1530 and 1700 hours ex MEL are also non-operable. So is QF474 at 1730.

By a quick count these eight MEL - SYD cancellations leave QFd with just six northbounds on this #1 route. On a Sunday two years ago in February I'm guessing there would have been around 30 flights, and at one stage many would have been A332s not just smaller B738s.

The 0705 hours MEL - ADL (QF673) was another casualty. The 1420 hours MEL - ADL, QF687, is another 'no show.' Much later, the 1735 hours (QF695) has been scrubbed as on the same route has QF697 at 1855 hours from MEL.

QF2051, the early morning 0815 hours MEL down across Bass Strait to DPO got the flick, as will its 10 hours later 1835 hours colleague QF2059. QF1543 at a scheduled 1435 hours to LST later in the day will not fly. QF1537, the mid evening 2120 hours MEL down to HBA was the final domestic flight of any operator from Melbourne today but it's also been flicked.

The 0940 hours MEL to holiday isle HTI, QF996, did not run.

QF1556 at 0955 hours to CBR was cancelled. A lot later, QF1566 at 1925 hours is also to stay grounded.

 

[milehighclub]

even though with inbound passenger number restrictions it's highly doubtful these would be profitable. SQ would be carrying much freight and mail but historically this only accounts for a minority of revenue.

I notice that SQ (along with Scoot and EK that I've seen) have converted their passenger flights to cargo only for the next few days into MEL. As I have always said, there is money in freight, and when you have more room because of less passenger bags, I suspect these flights are making money (they wouldn't fly them if they weren't, or at the very least these flights are cost neutral). Even before COVID QF used to fly an A332 to NZ all the time with no passengers (SYD-AKL-CHC).

 

[Melburnian1]

I notice that SQ (along with Scoot and EK that I've seen) have converted their passenger flights to cargo only for the next few days into MEL. As I have always said, there is money in freight, and when you have more room because of less passenger bags, I suspect these flights are making money (they wouldn't fly them if they weren't, or at the very least these flights are cost neutral). Even before COVID QF used to fly an A332 to NZ all the time with no passengers (SYD-AKL-CHC).

mile, you may be correct as I was more thinking 'historically'. To make a redundant statement, COVID-19 is different.

One company I know of that transports much fresh, time sensitive and cooled produce by air internationally and suggests that (for airlines that operate freighter aircraft, but no reason it's not also true for SQ and QFi freight flights using passenger aircraft) freight rates have risen between 4x normal and in an isolated case >10x normal during the virus.

It didn't specify which routes (but it freights produce to mainland China and South Korea plus elsewhere in Asia). It wouldn't freight much inbound to Oz.

It may use those QFi freight flights to PVG ex SYD for all I know.

Victoria's Premier has paused/put a ban on inbound internal passenger flights to MEL so EK, TR and SQ have presumably converted flights to freight-only inbound out of necessity.

 

[Melburnian1]

On Saturday 27 February 2021, if I counted correctly, QFd is only operating 21 'own metal' flights ex MEL.

The final scheduled flight from MEL to SYD departs at 1500 hours. Flights to SYD depart MEL at 0700, 0800, 0900, 1000, 1100 then just 1300 and 1500 hours. Saturday afternoons/evenings are usually low demand for all manner of interstate transport but Victorians are supposed to be celebrating new found 'freedoms' (or so the spin from the state government suggests).

 

[Melburnian1]

Thursday 4 March 2021 finds QFd cancelling QF482, the unusually timed 1840 hours MEL - SYD.

QFd, VAd and now ZL seem to like MEL - SYD or reverse departures 'on the hour or half hour' rather than at say 1805, 1810, 1820 etc., probably because they believe such easy to remember times sell better. On top of that, if the competition has such clockface departures, there's a view 'we should too.'

But it's difficult for say a QFd, a VAd and a ZL bound for SYD to all push back on the stroke of say 0600 hours, and impossible for them to all take off say at 0610 or 0612 to be 'on time to the minute.'

JQd tends to not have departures on this normally #1 patronised domestic route on the hour or half hour, at least not to the degree of the other three.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF462, the 1600 hours MEL - SYD on Friday 5 March has been cancelled. This leaves QFd with 17 MEL - SYD flights today, down from maybe 35 - 38 two years ago before COVID-19. There was no 0600, 0615, 0630 or 0645 hours departures this morning, and the last QFd flight on the route northbound tonight is at 1900 hours, whereas two years ago there would have been flights (at least) at 1930, 2000 and 2100. An AFFer commented that one of the ways for airlines to cost cut is to reduce or abolish overnight stays by crews domestically where that is practical, and also if there's no crew base in location X, this will also affect flights.

1900 is early, as it means anyone in Melbourne's southern/eastern suburbs would have to leave home to (if in a car/Uber/taxi) battle the Friday peak hour traffic to arrive at the airport by 1800 if parking, or slightly later if in a hire car. Similarly no CBD drinks until say 1900 for a 2100 hours flight back up to Sydney. Restrictive.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF448, the 1400 hours MEL - SYD on Saturday 6 March 2020 is another to get the boot. Subsidiary JQd's last flight from MEL to SYD today was the 1520 hours, leaving only QFd departures at 1700 and 1900 hours to complete the day. Slim pickings even for a traditionally low demand Saturday afternoon on Australia's normally number one route.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF2083, the Sunday 7 March MQL - MEL (Q300 VH-SBG) was timetabled to depart at 1800 hours, but did not take off until 1844 so arrival has become 1951 hours, 36 minutes late.

 

[Melburnian1]

A 1010 hours midmorning SYD across to AKL, QF143, was cancelled on Wednesday 10 March 2021. While the NZ-Oz one way 'travel bubble' has reopened given the snap lockdown in Auckland has finished, this may have come too late for this flight.

 

[Silvia]

Current storm around Sydney is creating a Friday evening chaos.
Plenty of delays and diversions, like QF580 PER-SYD (A333 VH-QPC) which diverted to MEL.