Qantas Group Reducing services by effectively grounding 18 Aircraft due to Coronavirus

[Mr H]

Was your ticket a rewards ticket or paid with cash? I'm hoping to do something similar but not sure if the fact I booked a rewards ticket will go against me.

Reward ticket. I think they have been having difficult conversations with people so if you can propose a solution they will be all ears. They have the power to make an empty seat into a reward class seat so not a problem if there's no award availability on your proposed new flight. But obviously this won;t work for a full flight.

 

[DC3]

... Overall I am very happy with the change. It costs me an extra day's leave and an overnight in SIN - but on the positive side, I get to see the QF F Lounge in SYD and to try its daytime catering (QF35 would only have had breakfast lounge food); I get a day in Singapore; and I get to sample the domestic QF business class product which I have never done before.

Good that it worked out for you. Some Call Centres can be very hit and miss.

And, monitor the eticket reissue, if you have not received it already, although less of a problem with QF filights.

 

[Mr H]

Good that it worked out for you. Some Call Centres can be very hit and miss.

And, monitor the eticket reissue, if you have not received it already, although less of a problem with QF filights.

Yes, e-ticket was done while I was on the phone, checked online and now had the email confirmation. The wait time was awful but the service was flawless, helped because I knew what I wanted and proposed specific flights as the solution.

 

[craiglm]

So Qantas group announces "JQ11/12 (Gold Coast-Narita) – frequency reduced".
I can't find anywhere which flights on which days are being cancelled.
Anyone seen any specific days/dates?

I've checked the Jetstar website and JQ11 is still available to book everyday of March and April.
Pretty poor if they are still letting people book flights that they know they are going to cancel.

 

[whereiskym]

I have had three of my domestic flights cancelled for June in the last couple of days.

 

[MickyS]

After seeing this news, I checked our booked flights from HK to SYD (QF128) in early May and saw our flight was cancelled and we've been rebooked on the next flight (QF118).

As yet, we have not received any email notification about the change.

They were reward seats (8E/8F) and I see they have given us almost the same seats on the rebooked flight (7E/7F), which is good.

However, this gets us to Sydney over 3 hours later, which means we won't make our next flight to Coffs Harbour. I'd booked these flights separately because there were no reward bookings available from HK to Coffs, only to Sydney.

I've just sent Qantas a message via the app about the issue, asking them to rebook our domestic flight as well (there are two later flights to Coffs that day). Will wait to see if they'll do that, even though it wasn't one booking. Should hope so!

We actually fly CX from Amsterdam to Hong Kong first (also a reward seat booking), with 2 nights in HK before the next leg to Australia on QF. Will have to wait and see if that CX flight doesn't change or isn't cancelled. If the corona situation gets out of hand, we may not want to fly via HK/Asia at all. I booked all this back in August last year, when there were the protests but we thought that would have been resolved by May. We can only await the developments and make decisions closer to the date, I guess.

 

[Melburnian1]

Thankfully no actual ground staff member (check in etc) is casual. But from what I'm hearing a lot are already struggling with approx 24hrs a week. Especially when their pay (depending how long they have been there for) ranges from $23-$28hr.

OT: but that is half the JQ ramp staff claim, they want minimum 30hrs a week. And they are on a lot less than these QF staff.

In terms of total employment in Australia, the number of affected staff at one airline is negligible.

But the inability (especially if staff have children) to 'survive' on such a meagre number of hours at relatively low hourly rates will mean mortgage or car payments fall behind, spending drops on eating out (the latter already occurring in the wider economy) and/or abandonment of private health insurance.

One would have to do the maths and benefit limitations would apply, but staff in such a reduced hours situation are probably not a lot better off than an individual on a disability benefit, except that the staff concerned may see an increase in hours available should the virus situation resolve.

Another reason why it's better if superannuation was abolished and individuals had the extra $ in their pockets each fortnight. But that's getting OT as well...

 

[Spongbob]

Another reason why it's better if superannuation was abolished and individuals had the extra $ in their pockets each fortnight.

I doubt this view is shared by anyone who is nearing retirement age.

 

[amaroo]

I doubt this view is shared by anyone who is nearing retirement age.

Fair chunk of ABN / self employed probably don't even know what it is.

 

[moa999]

I doubt this view is shared by anyone who is nearing retirement age.

Or the future taxpayers.
Super is in effect forced savings

 

[Melburnian1]

Or the future taxpayers.
Super is in effect forced savings

Many have the skills to use the money better than the returns available from superannuation funds with all their fees. And even if they don't, using that money today in some form can deliver a better 'quality of life' whether in reducing mortgage payments, enabling a smaller mortgage to be taken out, kids' education paid for at non-government schools and so on.

No other nation has copied our super system - for good reason.

 

[Melburnian1]

From where will QFd obtain the B789 to be used on QF35/36, the 1210 hours MEL - SIN daily and its return redeye?

Does this mean fewer domestic flights will have a B789?

 

[justinbrett]

From where will QFd obtain the B789 to be used on QF35/36, the 1210 hours MEL - SIN daily and its return redeye?

Does this mean fewer domestic flights will have a B789?

Or a US route gets upgraded to A380

 

[dajop]

No other nation has copied our super system - for good reason.

Not strictly in exact details. Some other countries have compulsory savings schemes. In Singapore as employees both ourselves and our employer are required to contribute to Central Providence Fund (for citizens and permanent residents). Although it is capped, and provides for greater % of savings at lower income levels than higher levels.

Central Provident Fund - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Mandatory Provident Fund - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Employees Provident Fund (Malaysia) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[drron]

I doubt this view is shared by anyone who is nearing retirement age.

Those on low incomes do not have nearly enough to live on and a lot say they would rather get the cash when earned.
The super will be spent quickly on retirement.
Those on higher incomes often have too much already in their super fund so don't really mind if it was paid out as extra salary.

Fair chunk of ABN / self employed probably don't even know what it is.

Yes what is the retirement age?

 

[justinbrett]

This thread is getting very off topic...

 

[MrJetset]

QF35 equipment swap seems to occur after 29 March.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF35 equipment swap seems to occur after 29 March.

Great, but from where does the aircraft come? In other words, what routes (or what were to be say potential domestic routes) lose out?

 

[Melburnian1]

Or a US route gets upgraded to A380

Possible, but NZ for instance has return SYD - LAX fares starting at A$900 so maybe demand is down a little on routes to USA despite Joyce's QFi protestations denying that. An A388 is twice the number of seats of a B789 so there'd need to be a major rise in demand for what you're suggesting to occur.

 

[justinbrett]

Possible, but NZ for instance has return SYD - LAX fares starting at A$900 so maybe demand is down a little on routes to USA despite Joyce's QFi protestations denying that. An A388 is twice the number of seats of a B789 so there'd need to be a major rise in demand for what you're suggesting to occur.

Aussies love to travel. If they don’t want to go to/via Asia they may want to go to/via the US.

I just booked SYD-LHR via Rio outbound and HNL inbound. Motivated by price (7K all in business) and DSC, but also relieved to know I don’t have to worry about SIN or Asia in case the situation continues to get worse.