Qantas Delays/Cancellations

[milehighclub]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

milehighclub, when a delay such as this occurs (and it may not have been known as to its full extent until 1430 today given the change made on the website) do QF (and other airlines) change the meals that were loaded with an instruction to the catering centre to prepare new meals given that passengers are now boarding at dinner time, not before lunch, or is this impractical (or too costly and as a side issue, wasteful) with five and a half hours to have changes made?

Or would the prepared meals simply be returned by Q Catering to the chillers or however they are stored at the catering centre and again loaded onto the truck at say 1830 or whatever suitable time for a 2000 amended time departure

I am talking about any flight where it is long enough to make a significant delay alter the meal periods during which passengers are in the air. The long haul flights are among these.

Well in the case of today lunch would be exactly the same as dinner anyway. If you look at the QF17 menu which departs in the evening it's the same as the QF11 which departs at mid morning. But say it wasn't, you could not cater a new flight within 5 hours for an international flight. The carts would simply have been removed and held in chillers, although the chillers on board also keep it below the required temperature and in the situation of a lengthy delay caterers have a temperature gun to make sure that the food is chilled, so they may not have been removed at all.

Other airlines would operate in a similar way I would imagine.

 

[rayray]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

QF401 Sydney to Melbourne, turned back today due to suspected fuel leak. Sitting on plane at the gate while they figure out what to do. Started offloading people who don't want to go to Melbourne anymore.

 

[Melburnian1]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Wedensday 13 May's QF10 departed LHR 79 minutes late at 1449, arriving DXB an hour and 27 minutes late at 0052. It then spent more time than the schedule allows in DXB, departing 126 minutes late at 0331 this morning (14 May.) QF expects it to arrive MEL 75 minutes late at 2210 tonight, ensuring that QF9 tonight will be at least an hour late departing MEL, although once again the QF website does not 'admit' this yet.

Wednesday 13's night QF9 from MEL to DXB and LHR departed MEL 42 minutes late.

QF401 referred to above has been cancelled, as has QF416 in the opposite direction, the 0830 from MEL to SYD. There may be other cancellations later in the day as a result of this inoperable plane.

 

[defurax]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

QF10 is now scheduled to land in MEL at 2245. I'm on QF9 tonight and it is still showing a 2255 departure...
I have a 3 hour connection at LHR, but seems unlikely I will make it.

 

[Melburnian1]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

defurax, what is the absolute minimum time (assuming a relatively fast passage through immigration) that you believe you need to transfer flights (including terminals, presumably) at LHR? Which airline are you connecting to?

Should QF10 arrive in MEL at 2245, don't expect departure of QF9 tonight (14 May) much before 0045 - an hour and 50 minutes late.

 

[Brettmcg]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

A new crew has been called out as the original crew were going to run out of hours

A mate of mine is on a reserve roster currently. Got a phone call around 1630 yesterday telling him he had 20 mins to pack, get in a cab and pax to SYD to operate the delayed QF11 (usually they have to give 90 mins notice). A handful of CSMs or CSSs operating out of category.

Apparently QF were so short of crew there were some urgent appeals made on Facebook and other social media. Were also contacting crew on annual leave and offering cash incentives, similar to those which were reported on in a recent article in the Fin Review.

Led to believe the original crew were on the aircraft for up to seven hours before they eventually ran out of hours.

 

[Melburnian1]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Brettmcg, understandable, because like all transport operators QF cannot have an infinite supply of staff on standby. It would require organisation on the part of your friend to be ready in 20 minutes - what if he was at the supermarket and expected to be given the usual 90 minutes' notice? (I thought with most airlines it was two hours, but obviously not.) Good on him for being so efficient.

 

[defurax]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

defurax, what is the absolute minimum time (assuming a relatively fast passage through immigration) that you believe you need to transfer flights (including terminals, presumably) at LHR? Which airline are you connecting to?

I'm connecting from T3 to a BA flight departing T5 at 1700, luckily there is another BA flight at 20:00, so I won't have to spend a night at LHR if I miss my connection.

 

[Brettmcg]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Brettmcg, understandable, because like all transport operators QF cannot have an infinite supply of staff on standby. It would require organisation on the part of your friend to be ready in 20 minutes - what if he was at the supermarket and expected to be given the usual 90 minutes' notice? (I thought with most airlines it was two hours, but obviously not.) Good on him for being so efficient.

Crew know the days on which they can be called, and anyone on a reserve roster will usually have a bag more or less packed and ready to go. He was lucky that he was at home - ruined our dinner plans though

 

[Melburnian1]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Wednesday 13 May 2015's QF64 departed JNB at 1948, 98 minutes late and is not arriving in SYD until 1550 today, an hour and 50 minutes late. As this B744 is forming QF17 to LAX that is timetabled ex SYD at 1740, the pressure will be on QF to match the one hour 43 minute B744 turnaround that it achieved recently for QF27 to SCL.

These absolute minimum turnarounds are solely due to QF having more than the expected number of unserviceable long haul aircraft at present (both planned and unplanned maintenance.) It is not the normal roster, as from memory normally QF64 forms QF21 to NRT ex SYD with a layover in the Harbour City of about seven hours if on time arriving.

 

[lycidas1]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Does anyone know the reason for the delay of QF11 yesterday (Wednesday)? Hoping that doesn't happen to me on Saturday!

 

[Brettmcg]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Does anyone know the reason for the delay of QF11 yesterday (Wednesday)? Hoping that doesn't happen to me on Saturday!

I believe it was an issue with the aircraft's hydraulic systems.

 

[geordieladinoz]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Should QF10 arrive in MEL at 2245, don't expect departure of QF9 tonight (14 May) much before 0045 - an hour and 50 minutes late.

QF1 was 165 minutes late leaving SYD today so both QF1 and QF9 will be LHR bound a couple of hours late today. I'm sure the LHR QF contingent is over the moon again.

 

[Melburnian1]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Yes, QF expects Thursday 14 May's QF1 ex SYD to be 100 minutes late into LHR at 0835 local time on Friday. Time will tell if it can knock 65 minutes off the schedule: quite possible, depending on what occurs approaching, in and departing the third class SIN copy called DXB.

The QF memo writer whose efforts were featured in 'The Age' and 'SMH' must again be excited - not - at the prospect of more contact with LHR management, keen to see improved punctuality at their very busy outfit.

Brettmcg, what was the reason for tonight's QF1 delay?

With QF10 having just pulled up in MEL tonight at about 2242 (107 minutes late), QF still forecasts that the delayed QF9 back to DXB and LHR will depart at 0015, 80 minutes late. I suggest this is fiction, but am happy to be proven wrong. An hour and 33 minutes to reverse an A388 would be pretty darn quick. My guess is departure at 0045, so we'll see how inaccurate I am.

 

[Brettmcg]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

yes, qf expects thursday 14 may's qf1 ex syd to be 100 minutes late into lhr at 0835 local time on friday. Time will tell if it can knock 65 minutes off the schedule: Quite possible, depending on what occurs approaching, in and departing the third class sin copy called dxb.

The qf memo writer whose efforts were featured in 'the age' and 'smh' must again be excited - not - at the prospect of more contact with lhr management, keen to see improved punctuality at their very busy outfit.

Brettmcg, what was the reason for tonight's qf1 delay?

doqf1/14may
* operational flight info * qf 1 -1 th 14may
city info hour (local)

syd estimated time of departure 1830
lhr delayed due mech 0218z
estimated arrival 15may 0920
syd left the gate 1829
took off 1844
estimated time of arrival 0230 dxb
dxb estimated time of departure 0355
aircraft landed 0217
arrived 0225
left the gate 0356
took off 0420
estimated time of arrival 0820 lhr

 

[daturtle]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Sounds like some trouble with SYD-CAN flights today, the 1155 QF1477 has just been cancelled according to the announcement here in the lounge.

 

[Brettmcg]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Sounds like some trouble with SYD-CAN flights today, the 1155 QF1477 has just been cancelled according to the announcement here in the lounge.

QF1477 is SYD-CBR not CAN. QF don't fly on their own metal to Guangzhou.

 

[Melburnian1]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

Brettmcg, post 1255 interesting and great. The QF website now says that yesterday's QF1 will arrive in LHR today at 0830, not 0820, so it will now be 95 minutes late.

Today's QF93 departed MEL two hours and 20 minutes late at 1210, with expected arrival in LAX an hour and a half late at 0840 on 15 May.

 

[Melburnian1]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

While Thursday 14 May's QF18 from JFK to LAX only departed 'The Big Apple' 16 minutes late at 1901, arriving LAX 33 minutes late at 2213, the same number onward flight to SYD was not so fortunate, departing LAX 68 minutes late at 0103 today (Friday 15 May), with QF forecasting a 50 minute late arrival in SYD tomorrow morning at 0830. While gate allocations can change at short notice, at this stage it this B744 may be running QF11 (as a substitute for an unavailable A388 given the current shortage due to the hangar incident among other factors) and thus it is most unlikely to depart on time at 0950 on Saturday 16 May. Once again, the QF website fails to yet acknowledge this, although flights can often depart SYD late and still be on time into LAX if the departure delay is relatively minor.

By now QF staff must have the 'delay' PA announcements down pat for these long haul flights given the unfortunately common delays. As a percentage of QF's long haul flights (regarding flights that terminate or originate in Asia as 'medium haul', although HKG, PVG, NRT and BKK to or from Oz's east coast are examples that could either be classified as 'long' or 'medium' haul since they are mostly above eight hours), delayed flights are quite likely now to be among the highest of any airline operating out of Australia, although for smaller airlines competing such as CI, a few such delays rapidly skew the percentage. The fairly frequent aircraft substitution that many will regard as a downgrading (especially if a traveller was salivating at the prospect of being on board an Airbus A380 for his or her first time) cannot be good for QF's image. Safety is a given: next to that, passengers expect punctual 'as advertised' operation of flights including an A380 if that was what they were informed when they booked.

There is no word yet from any AFF contributor on when the A388 being repaired in SYD as a result of the 'hangar slip up' (or more correctly 'slip down', since gravity applies) incident will return to carrying passengers. The texts that QF is sending to AFFers indicating that their A388 flights will be replaced by a B744 give clues but are not sent many weeks in advance.

 

[Flyerqf]

Re: General Qantas Delays/Cancellations/etc. Discussion

While Thursday 14 May's QF18 from JFK to LAX only departed 'The Big Apple' 16 minutes late at 1901, arriving LAX 33 minutes late at 2213, the same number onward flight to SYD was not so fortunate, departing LAX 68 minutes late at 0103 today (Friday 15 May), with QF forecasting a 50 minute late arrival in SYD tomorrow morning at 0830. While gate allocations can change at short notice, at this stage it this B744 may be running QF11 (as a substitute for an unavailable A388 given the current shortage due to the hangar incident among other factors) and thus it is most unlikely to depart on time at 0950 on Saturday 16 May.

QF11 is operated by an A380 tomorrow.