Qantas Delays/Cancellations

[Melburnian1]

The QF website suggests that QF35 will be on blocks at the gate at 1950, not 1920.

The Qantas flight is arriving at T1, but the Jet Airways flight apparently departs from T3. This adds to the time it takes to board the next flight, and unless we are 'up the front' there is always a delay of a few minutes (sometimes 10) in deplaning.

Jet Airways has two daily flights between SIN and BOM so if your man or lady misses tonight's, I'd guess that they'll be on the 1030 hours departure on Wed 28 October.

Nothing is impossible: there may be many connecting passengers, or quite a few, particularly since QF not so many years ago used to have a nonstop flight to India. Please keep us posted.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The QF website suggests that QF35 will be on blocks at the gate at 1950, not 1920.

The Qantas flight is arriving at T1, but the Jet Airways flight apparently departs from T3. This adds to the time it takes to board the next flight, and unless we are 'up the front' there is always a delay of a few minutes (sometimes 10) in deplaning.

Jet Airways has two daily flights between SIN and BOM so if your man or lady misses tonight's, I'd guess that they'll be on the 1030 hours departure on Wed 28 October.

Nothing is impossible: there may be many connecting passengers, or quite a few, particularly since QF not so many years ago used to have a nonstop flight to India. Please keep us posted.

I would be trying all available options, not just 9W. having that information handy in advance might assist in the rebooking process.

 

[Melburnian1]

Good advice as usual MEL_Traveller, but the person is already on QF35. The only two other flights post the 9W flight to BOM tonight ex SIN are operated by AI and SQ and also depart not long after QF's revised (late) arrival time in SIN, and as always if a change was made through QF, that airline would need to authorise it (and luggage tags would have to be altered, a new ticket issued and so on.)

 

[cmon0005]

Godo advice as usual MEL_Traveller, but the person is already on QF35. The only two other flights post the 9W flight to BOM tonight ex SIN are operated by AI and SQ and also depart not long after QF's revised (late) arrival time in SIN, and as always if a change was made through QF, that airline would need to authorise it (and luggage tags would have to be altered, a new ticket issued and so on.)

I have access to their booking so will keep checking to see whether any rebooking happens whilst they are in the air.

 

[cmon0005]

So family member has been rebooked onto a 9W flight tomorrow out of SIN with some 15~hours wait time overnight in SIN.

Calling QF to try and rebook on another earlier MH flight.

 

[cmon0005]

So family member has been rebooked onto a 9W flight tomorrow out of SIN with some 15~hours wait time overnight in SIN.

Calling QF to try and rebook on another earlier MH flight.

So they won't book her onto MH because "her fare class won't allow" but its QF's fault for delay...

She is an elderly pax travelling by herself with no airport navigation skills, and is a nervous flyer. Not happy that my family will have to wait in Singapore for a long time.

 

[coriander]

QF93 Wednesday boarding delayed to 1020, "few things need looking at" according to announcement in QC.

 

[coriander]

QF93 Push back at 1107

 

[cmon0005]

So they won't book her onto MH because "her fare class won't allow" but its QF's fault for delay...

She is an elderly pax travelling by herself with no airport navigation skills, and is a nervous flyer. Not happy that my family will have to wait in Singapore for a long time.

An update, to QF's credit ( or maybe SATS?) handled the informing, transport, hotel in singapore pretty well and my relative is on her way home soon.
There were 16 pax in total that missed their 9W connection and had to be accommodated, based on the seatmap of the 9W flight in Y, shortly before departure, only about 70 of the 124 seats were occupied, so almost 22% of pax missed their connection based on that number, and they still didn't hold the flight for an extra time.
All is well that ends well.

 

[Turbo-g]

How timely that one post above mentioned fog in DXB. The Sunday 4 October 2015 QF2 departed LHR at 2149, 24" late, but was diverted to MCT in Oman where it arrived at 0754 before departing at 0917 - maybe a combination of fog and as one AFFer mentioned recently waiting for a path - to arrive DXB at 1044 (1744 AEDT.) And there it sits, supposedly due out 20 minutes ago at 1210 local time for an increasingly unlikely 0850 hours arrival in SYD on Tuesday 6 October.

At this stage - as always, subject to change - this A388 is forming the 1050 on Tuesday morning to LAX, QF11 ex SYD so there is a good chance that this will be late away if QF is unable to or chooses not to do a swap with one of the other two A388 morning arrivals on a Tuesday (ex DFW and LAX. bearing in mind that the SYD to DFW flight usually does not operate on Tuesdays. I assume that QF11 would be well frequented by AFF members, many of whom if choosing to fly QF might avoid the later B744 departure when the latter non-daily flight operates.

Meanwhile the Sunday evening delayed QF9 did not depart DXB until 1107 on Monday 5 October with a 1630 hours arrival in LHR predicted, just under two and three quarter hours late, but normally in plenty of time to form the evening QF2 back to DXB and SYD.

UPDATE: QF2 (VH-OQB) departed DXB at 1244 (three hours and 29 minutes late) after an exact two hour stay.

FURTHER UPDATE: The QF2 apparently did not depart (or if it did, it taxiied back to the gate.) QF is now showing it as a 1340 hours DXB departure (2040 AEDT) for a 1000 arrival in SYD tomorrow morning, almost four hours late.

QF2 finally departed at 1331 and took off at 1401 for SYD. The QF website forecasts a 1020 hours Tuesday 6 October arrival in SYD.

I was on QF2 and sat in Muscat as described, eventually missing our connection to Perth with Mrs Turbo, eventually returning to PER on QF8420 (EK420) on 7th October, so an unplanned 2 day stop over in DXB.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So they won't book her onto MH because "her fare class won't allow" but its QF's fault for delay...

She is an elderly pax travelling by herself with no airport navigation skills, and is a nervous flyer. Not happy that my family will have to wait in Singapore for a long time.

Which is yet another reason why we need a compensation regime like EU261. $$ compensation and hotels and meals.

An update, to QF's credit ( or maybe SATS?) handled the informing, transport, hotel in singapore pretty well and my relative is on her way home soon.
There were 16 pax in total that missed their 9W connection and had to be accommodated, based on the seatmap of the 9W flight in Y, shortly before departure, only about 70 of the 124 seats were occupied, so almost 22% of pax missed their connection based on that number, and they still didn't hold the flight for an extra time.
All is well that ends well.

i guess it comes down to who has to pay for the delay in terms of the accommodation? I'm guessing QF? And QF probably wouldn't pay the many thousands of dollars 9W would be up for by holding a plane at the gate in SIN. The 9W plane might have been required for further flights from BOM, and pax connecting.

 

[cmon0005]

Which is yet another reason why we need a compensation regime like EU261. $$ compensation and hotels and meals.

On further conversation with my relative, they got a $20 food voucher for MEL airport when the QF35 delay happened, then hotel and transport in SIN and a $30SGD voucher for food at the hotel/airport.
Relative felt well supported by the staff and other passengers, needless to say QF will continue to get her business. She heard that directly booked 9W code customers didn't have a good time, they had different hotel and confusion on who has to deal with it.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

On further conversation with my relative, they got a $20 food voucher for MEL airport when the QF35 delay happened, then hotel and transport in SIN and a $30SGD voucher for food at the hotel/airport.
Relative felt well supported by the staff and other passengers, needless to say QF will continue to get her business. She heard that directly booked 9W code customers didn't have a good time, they had different hotel and confusion on who has to deal with it.

That's good to hear... but $1000 cash payment under an EU261 type arrangement would encourage airlines to minimise disruptions in the first place, and provide the passenger with a simple mechanism to get compensated for the inconvenience.

On a side note... I'd like to see if airline execs would be happy with a SGD30 meal allowance for a foreign country. The ATO appears to allow AUD45 for dinner 'away from home' while overseas - para 11 (Singapore is a group 5 country): https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/pdf/pbr/td2015-014.pdf

 

[Melburnian1]

MEL_Traveller, you make comments that surely many of us would support regarding the need for a compensation scheme.

cmon0005, great information. At which hotel in Singapore was your relative accommodated?

A330-operated QF129 from SYD to PVG departed on Wed 28 October at 1248, an hour and 58 minutes late. PVG arrival is expected at 2010, an hour and 40 behind time, delaying the departure of QF130 this evening back to Sydney, expected to be 85 minutes late at 2130 with arrival in SYD on Thursday 29 October at 1045, 60 minutes behind time.

 

[cmon0005]

cmon0005, great information. At which hotel in Singapore was your relative accommodated?

I think it was Orchard Hotel

 

[Melburnian1]

Goodness, cmon0005, Orchard Hotel in Singapore has a typical room rate on booking sites of A$250 - 300. Airlines would pay far less, but presumably still at least A$150 a night. Expensive.

16 strikes me as a LOT of connecting passengers bound for BOM on 9W, but QF35 was at the Singapore gate (i.e. terminal) at 1948 last night so it would have taken half an hour or more to get everyone across to the other terminal - which is why 9W probably decided to allow the flight to depart, and as another AFF member said, that aircraft could be required on a further flight once it reached BOM.

QF1 this evening (Wed 28) departed SYD an hour and 57 minutes late at 1842, quite unusual as this flight (which until a few days ago departed at 1700 and was faster to LHR) has generally good timekeeping ex SYD. It is predicted to arrive in DXB at 0155, 65 minutes late. Given that QF has slowed the schedule since last weekend even accounting for the time change in Europe, the flight should pick up further time en route to LHR.

This extra time added to the QF MEL and SYD to LHR or vice versa flights means that the routes via DXB become even slower compared with key competitors such as the acclaimed SQ whose flights all operate via Asia. QF seems to be giving a message to prospective passengers 'if you want a quicker trip - and a more reliable one - use our competitors, not us.'

As AFF member Himeno pointed out, the time saving on some competitors via Asia can be significant. I'd add that tropical and temperate (albeit latter cold in winter) climate Asian cities alike are far more pleasant places to spend an overnight or three if you are not in a hurry, rather than the culturally dissimilar Middle Eastern desert.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF51 from BNE to SIN on Wed 28 October 2015 departed at 1403, 123 minutes late, with arrival in SIN slated for 2025, two and a half hours late. QF52 is estimated to be 45 minutes late departing SIN at 2135 local time with arrival in BNE half an hour late at 0715 on Thursday 29 October. I had thought that QF51 regularly forms QF36 to MEL in SIN. Perhaps tonight in the interests of 'least overall delay' the aircraft have been swapped, or did the roster recently change?

 

[jeza]

QF71 on Wed 28th departed PER about half an hour late as the Terminal was evacuated due to an "incident". Fun start to my holiday! They did make up time, arriving only 10mins late into SIN.

 

[Melburnian1]

Thursday 29 October's QF93 has been delayed from its usual 1020 departure from MEL for LAX to 1930 this evening, a delay of more than nine hours. QF expects same day arrival in LAX to be at 1535, exactly nine hours behind time, which should not (in theory) adversely affect QF94 today. While unlikely that every instance of late running has an identical cause or is linked, QF93 has hit a bad patch punctuality wise in the last few days, yet historically it has been quite reliable.

Wed 28 October's QF9 from MEL to DXB and LHR did not depart until 0052 on Thursday morning, 87 minutes late. It then landed in DXB at 0746, 76 minutes late and departed at 0926, 51 minutes late.

The new, slower timetable means that QF expects arrival in LHR to be on time at 1255. Slower timetables impose longer elapsed journey times on passengers and further weaken QF's offering in terms of the time it takes to travel from Australia to LHR or back via 'the desert' compared with some 'via Asia' competitors.

B744 flight QF96 has been delayed in LAX with departure expected at 0045 on Thursday 29 October - in about 20 minutes' time as I write - which is 70 minutes late. QF suggests that MEL arrival on Friday 30 will be at 1000 not 0900. QF12, an A388 operated flight departed LAX 72 minutes late at 2342 on Wednesday late evening and is expected in SYD on Friday 29 October at 0825, 55 minutes late. Both these delays ex LAX were probably due to the B744 on transcontinental QF12 departing JFK 122 minutes late at 2002 and arriving in LAX at 2238, 93 minutes late. Earlier on Wednesday this BNE-originating B744 had departed LAX an hour and 59 minutes late at 1019 as QF11, exactly maintaining the timetable to the minute in arriving at JFK at 1829. In the circumstances, to turn around a B744 in an hour and 33 minutes at JFK is a good performance.

With winter approaching in the good ol' USA, it will be interesting to see if this USA transcontinental (and associated transPacific) late running intensifies.

 

[Himeno]

Both these delays ex LAX were probably due to the B744 on transcontinental QF12 departing JFK 122 minutes late at 2002 and arriving in LAX at 2238, 93 minutes late. Earlier on Wednesday this BNE-originating B744 had departed LAX an hour and 59 minutes late at 1019 as QF11, exactly maintaining the timetable to the minute in arriving at JFK at 1829. In the circumstances, to turn around a B744 in an hour and 33 minutes at JFK is a good performance.

It was raining almost all day in New York yesterday. Ruined my plans for my last full day here this trip.