Qantas Delays/Cancellations

[Melburnian1]

Ansett, many thanks. In turn, this means a forecast 2215 hours arrival for QF10 tonight (Tuesday 8 September 2015) instead of 2055, which will then delay the returning QF9 from MEL until about midnight Tuesday or 0015 on Wednesday morning in its departure back to DXB and LHR.

However the QF website has yet to update the latter. One would think that this is all computer generated so 'it' should 'know' given that we humans can quickly work this out.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Short delay (so far) on QF 63 to JNB today - half an hour. We decided to overnight at the Intercontinental before flying to Cape Town, so no stress for us...

 

[Melburnian1]

The delayed QF10 has been further affected with a revised 0430 departure ex DXB (in about five minutes if all goes well) meaning arrival in MEL at a predicted 2340 hours, and consequent departure of tonight's QF9 delayed from 2255 hours on 8 September to around 0125 to 0145 hours on Wednesday 9 September. Nasty (especially if one lacks lounge access and has to wait in the general boarding area).

Strangely, Flying mermaid, QF63 on the QF website is showing as due to depart on time at 1050 - but you're in SYD and I'm not.

 

[Flying mermaid]

The delayed QF10 has been further affected with a revised 0430 departure ex DXB (in about five minutes if all goes well) meaning arrival in MEL at a predicted 2340 hours, and consequent departure of tonight's QF9 delayed from 2255 hours on 8 September to around 0125 to 0145 hours on Wednesday 9 September. Nasty (especially if one lacks lounge access and has to wait in the general boarding area).

Strangely, Flying mermaid, QF63 on the QF website is showing as due to depart on time at 1050 - but you're in SYD and I'm not.

Well we were supposed to board at 10:05 and I am still sitting in the lounge.....they announced a half hour delay some time ago.

Update -.still here and no call yet, so unless Qantas are miracle workers, even a half hour delay is looking optimistic

 

[Melburnian1]

The much delayed QF10 has just departed DXB at 0531 local time (1131 AEST) so it should be in MEL about 0030 on Wednesday morning, resulting in an even more significant delay for tonight's QF9 passengers who should not expect to depart much before 0230 hours on Wednesday - about three and a half hours late, unless QF breaks with normal practice and flies down a spare A388 (if it has one) from SYD to MEL this afternoon or early evening for QF9.

In turn, should the aircraft be turning around in MEL from QF10 to QF9 as usually occurs, this will mean a LHR arrival at around the 1700 hours mark on Wednesday 9 September, assuming nothing more goes awry, but the good news is that hopefully this will not delay Wednesday 9 September's QF2.

This was a DXB stop of five hours 49 minutes compared with what the schedule says is two hours and 10 minutes. At least the lounge lizards could have a decent shower and think of the poor old London QF manager who will be faced with yet another inevitably late QF9 arrival on Wednesday. Send the man a pen and monogrammed memoranda for his reply to the LHR's management's letter asking why QF flights are so often tardy.

While not a daily occurrence, the far too frequent delays with the QF1/2/9 and 10 rotations are most unfortunate for business and even some leisure travellers who want to be at least within the proverbial bull's roar of the timetable in arriving in LHR or elsewhere in Europe, SYD or MEL. Then there's the not insignificant matter of missed QF to EK connections in DXB, meaning a further unscheduled delay to some 'connectors.' All up, anyone who values getting there close to time on these routes would choose almost any other airline than QF. There's a wide choice: a few Asian or European ones (avoiding the unattractive Middle East) include BA, BI, CI, CX, CZ, JL, KE, MH, MU, OZ, PR, SQ and that's just for starters. Then there are airlines who do not fly their own metal to or from Oz such as LH, but on whom one can travel from Asia to Europe.

The Flying mermaid is doing that with her QF63 departing SYD 27 minutes late. Yesterday it left an hour late and was only 15 minutes late into JNB, but flying conditions are not necessarily identical on different days.

 

[Melburnian1]

Tuesday 8 September's QF9 has now been officially delayed from 2255 hours departing MEL to (on Wednesday 9 September) 0215 with QF suggesting arrival at LHR as 1600 hours, two hours and 10 minutes late. Once again this seems to be somewhat overoptimistic but perhaps QF can prove me wrong. A recent late departing QF9 gained a total of 42 minutes on the timetable: this forecast 1600 hours arrival asks for more than that.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF10 is now arriving at a suggested 0045 on Wednesday 9 September, almost four hours late so despite the QF website still stating that QF9 will depart at 0215 it is difficult to see it getting off blocks before 0230 based on observed QF A3888 turnarounds with (as jb747 says) no further identified factors that need mechanical or other specialist attention.

Like most of us (exception: shiftworkers) I do not ever dine at 0330 Australian time at home but do those flying on flights that are tardy like this one, or the nightly EK departure out of MEL due out at 0240 look forward to dining in the sky at a truly unusual hour? Many passengers will not have lounge access so they may (oddly) be hungry, hard as that is to imagine when one is at home and normally asleep at such an hour.

 

[jb747]

QF10 is now arriving at a suggested 0045 on Wednesday 9 September, almost four hours late so despite the QF website still stating that QF9 will depart at 0215 it is difficult to see it getting off blocks before 0230 based on observed QF A3888 turnarounds with (as jb747 says) no further identified factors that need mechanical or other specialist attention.

How about if you stop referencing me for comments like this. I may as well say that there'll be no sunrise tomorrow if the sun happens to blow up overnight.

 

[Melburnian1]

Thank you jb747.

Flightradar24.com - Live flight tracker! has revised its estimated arrival time for the badly delayed QF10 back to (i.e. earlier) 0021, so if true (although not as yet reflected on QF's website) that may mean a departure for QF9 ex MEL a little after 0200 on Wednesday morning.

Of the last 33 QF10 DXB - MEL flights observed at www.flightstats.com , the longest delay has been 154 minutes (i.e. two hours and 34 minutes late) so tonight's result will (for that limited time period) set a new 'record.' Statisticians call such a result an outlier, but unfortunately that does little to placate any travellers with late afternoon business appointments (say 1630 or 1700) in The City on the timetabled day of arrival.

 

[Flying mermaid]

The Flying mermaid is doing that with her QF63 departing SYD 27 minutes late. Yesterday it left an hour late and was only 15 minutes late into JNB, but flying conditions are not necessarily identical on different days.

We had headwinds, so didn't catch up, but 1/2 hour isn't really a problem. It wasn't Qantas' fault - apparently someone else was late leaving so the gate didn't free up on time.

 

[Melburnian1]

The much delayed QF10 Tuesday 8 September arrival in MEL arrived at 0036 this morning (Wednesday 9), while the return QF9 from MEL to DXB and LHR departed at 0220 (three hours and 25 minutes late), so that is a turnaround of an hour and 44 minutes, a minute slower than the fastest one at a terminating location that I have observed.

QF still suggests that the flight will be at DXB from 1000 to 1130 (the timetabled allowance is two hours and five minutes, so if achieved that alone is a 'saving' of 35 minutes) with arrival in LHR this afternoon local time at 1600 hours, two hours and 10 minutes late.

 

[Melburnian1]

Wednesday 9 September's QF35 from MEL to SIN departed two hours and 13 minutes late at 1358, meaning a forecast arrival at 1930, an hour and 35 minutes late. From memory this flight usually forms QF52 from SIN to BNE (timetabled out at 2050) so that explains why the 1955 hours flight, QF36 back to MEL remains showing as 'on time' for later this evening, as an A330 can be turned around in roughly 65 minutes.

 

[Melburnian1]

The Monday delayed QF9 arrived LHR at 1613 on Wednesday 9 September, two hours and 23 minutes behind time. In total, this delayed flight shaved 62 minutes from the MEL to LHR timetable and that was with a stop in DXB of 102 instead of the timetabled 125 minutes, so in running the saving was a net 39 minutes.

 

[Melburnian1]

While Wednesday 9 September's B744 operating QF18 from LAX to SYD has been delayed in its departure from 2355 hours until a forecast 0055 on Thursday 10 (about 15 minutes from now), this should only mean that it is 40 minutes late into SYD into the morning of Friday 11 September - 0820 is forecast in lieu of 0740. At this stage, that plane is forming QF27, the 1125 from SYD to SCL tomorrow morning so if the times are accurate, the Santiago bound flight should not be adversely affected.

 

[Melburnian1]

For once, not a delay or cancellation. Surely the new QF61 from BNE to NRT must be just about the most punctual QFi offering. According to FlightStats - Global Flight Tracker, Status Tracking and Airport Information , 28 of its last 30 flights have been on time - a very good record, although as a new flight, it does not have the depth of data that flights such as QF1, QF11, QF19 and QF93 to name a few have.

 

[rayray]

Flight QF163 (AKL-WLG) was cancelled on the 10 September due to a mechanical issue. AFAIK a broken pipe in the brake system. After boarding (at scheduled take off time) passengers were told of the problem. We were promised an update in 10 minutes.

30 minutes later we were told a replacement part was found and need 60 minutes to be fitted. However we needed to leave within 60 minutes to make the Wellington curfew.

60 minutes later we were told that another 60 minutes were needed. The plane would operate to Auckland then and continue to Wellington in the morning. Passengers also had to option of taking a direct flight tomorrow but only 36 seats were available.

20 minutes later we were told the flight wasn't going anywhere and was cancelled.

At that point we cancelled our trip (was only for one day). I assume passengers were somehow accommodated on other flights the next day. Hotel (with $50 room service credit) or 2 taxi vouchers were offered.

So my burning question really is - could Qantas, in Sydney no less, really not have found a replacement plane?

 

[Melburnian1]

The delayed QF18 shown three posts above ended up departring 53 minutes late from LAX but only arrving SYD three minutes late this morning.

A388 flight QF11 this morning (Friday 11 September 2015) is delayed in its departure from SYD from 0950 hours to a suggested 1045.

 

[Himeno]

For once, not a delay or cancellation. Surely the new QF61 from BNE to NRT must be just about the most punctual QFi offering. According to FlightStats - Global Flight Tracker, Status Tracking and Airport Information , 28 of its last 30 flights have been on time - a very good record, although as a new flight, it does not have the depth of data that flights such as QF1, QF11, QF19 and QF93 to name a few have.

There also hasn't been as many issues with the 330 fleet as there has been with the 380 and 747 fleets over the last 6 or so months.

 

[Melburnian1]

Himeno, fair point. The extra four weekly flights that QF has announced between SYD and HKG and the 'summer' extra weekly trip between SYD and MNL have presumably been factored into the fleet planning, so it will be interesting to see if this increased A330 flying places any extra pressure on availability or leads to more unscheduled breakdowns.

 

[mannej]

Himeno, fair point. The extra four weekly flights that QF has announced between SYD and HKG and the 'summer' extra weekly trip between SYD and MNL have presumably been factored into the fleet planning, so it will be interesting to see if this increased A330 flying places any extra pressure on availability or leads to more unscheduled breakdowns.

I would imagine that the 330 fleet would have a lot of extra flexibility compared to the 747 and 380 fleet. Don't forget that QF still have a number of 332's coming back from JQ, so the extra flights shouldn't be a surprise as such.