Retiming of QF3/QF4 flights SYD/HNL/SYD

[ozbeachbabe]

Just a heads up for people booked on QF3 & QF4 services next year SYD/HNL/SYD, particularly with domestic connections involved, to check your booking to see if you've been affected by these changes.

QF3 SYD/HNL now departs earlier 1810/0650 (was 1945/0825) double check you have sufficient connecting time in SYD as you may well need to bring forward your domestic flight into SYD.

QF4 HNL/SYD now departs later 1345/2015+1 (was 0945/1615) you may now have to overnight in SYD due to misconnection to your domestic flight.

I found out by getting an email from Award Wallet about the schedule changes on our Hawaii trip in March/April next year but as SO is the primary email contact I can't comment whether he's received notification directly from QF yet. I'm sure when I ask him he'll probably say something like "I think I remember getting an email about that."

 

[Ansett]

Received notification from QF Directly.

Still working on the impact as we are off on a cruise the day we land.

 

[Ansett]

OK Have checked and original flights were as follows

Depart

04 Jun 16 QF3 Sydney 1830, Honolulu 0815, 04 Jun 16

New outbound flight

QF3 Sydney to Honolulu

Departs​

22:25 (Sat)

Arrives​

12:10 (Sat)


Return

12 Jun 16 QF4 Honolulu 0945, Sydney 1615, 13 Jun 16


New time on return is

QF4 Honolulu to Sydney

Departs​

13:45 (Sun)

Arrives​

20:15 (Mon)


Not confident about meeting Melbourne connection which as you suggest would require an overnight in Sydney and early morning arrival back into Melbourne and peak hour traffic or have to take another day off of work which would be unpaid due to having already committed all annual leave days.

May have to consider changing to JQ Star Class Grrrrrrrrrrr

 

[ozbeachbabe]

What's time is the last SYD/MEL flight Ansett?

Why not overnight at SYD then take the early flight SYD/MEL the day after so you could still work that day?

 

[Ansett]

What's time is the last SYD/MEL flight Ansett?

Why not overnight at SYD then take the early flight SYD/MEL the day after so you could still work that day?

Hi Oz last flight

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: last-flight"]
[TH="class: location"]22:05SydneyDuration: 1h 35m[/TH]
[TH="class: location"]23:40MelbourneStops: 0[/TH]
[TH="class: flight-number"]QF497[/TH]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Not really ken in staying in SYD and getting up at silly o'clock would rather be home and get up at a reasonable hour for first day back at work.

In all probability we should catch that last flight. However I prefer to have more flexibility on that last leg and the previous timing seemed reasonable to me.


Not so concerned about the outgoing flight as long as there are no delays as we are off on a cruise that evening.

In addition talking with the rest of the group we are travelling with we are discussing taking an earlier flight and getting to SYD around 11.30 and enjoying lunch around Sydney harbour a nice walk and then followed by a nice evening meal in the F lounge for us all.

 

[eastwest101]

OK Have checked and original flights were as follows
May have to consider changing to JQ Star Class Grrrrrrrrrrr

I expect this is exactly what its all about - the current similar timings for the QF and JQ flights mean that a lot of passengers are choosing the QF flights - not surprising given the rubbish hard product on the JQ 787s, better hard product on the QF A330s and competition from HA running their A330 services, and the effect of the exchange rate changes making Hawaii a whole lot less attractive for Australian tourists. Decreasing demand possibly hits JQ pax numbers faster than QF pax as the JQ passengers are more tourist/discretionary spend vs higher income or even business/government related travel less susceptible to drops in consumer confidence.

By changing the QF flight times they can try to bump everyone off the QF flights onto the JQ flights to help out the JQ yields, this could be a sign that QF want to use the A330 somewhere else for another route, or leave it sitting on the ground. The less convenient flight times for non-SYD passengers mean more revenue directed to JQi rather than QFi. Another possibility is that the aircraft forming QF3 in SYD is often running late into SYD but it still doesn't explain the later departure times & more time on the ground in HNL.

 

[Mattg]

I can't understand why they would change to these new times! The QF4 schedule makes very little sense.

 

[texter]

I can't understand why they would change to these new times! The QF4 schedule makes very little sense.

Is it to allow people flying in from Maui and other islands to connect to the flight?

 

[JohnPhelan]

OK, before everyone gets too upset, note the timetable below. Some days are changing to the later times, other days are not. Also note that, at the moment, there are already different timings for QF3 depending on the day of the week - i.e. if you look at this week's schedule, two days of the week it departs now at 1945, but on two other days, at 2225.

 

[Mattg]

Is it to allow people flying in from Maui and other islands to connect to the flight?

Possibly, but I would have thought the current QF4 departure time was sufficiently late to allow for inter-island connections.

If QF were to make the flight later for this purpose, while simultaneously making domestic connections from SYD impossible, that would make little sense.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

... while simultaneously making domestic connections from SYD impossible, that would make little sense.

I had a quick look at that - doesn't seem to be too bad. There's a MEL flight leaving at 2205 as posted by Ansett, and also a flight to BNE (on JQ) at the same time. So at least for those ports it is still possible to connect. ADL and CBR would miss out, as would, presumably, regional NSW?

 

[Mattg]

I had a quick look at that - doesn't seem to be too bad. There's a MEL flight leaving at 2205 as posted by Ansett, and also a flight to BNE (on JQ) at the same time. So at least for those ports it is still possible to connect. ADL and CBR would miss out, as would, presumably, regional NSW?

In other words, the only QF flight you would be able to connect to is to Melbourne?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

In other words, the only QF flight you would be able to connect to is to Melbourne?

no doubt qantas would argue BNE on JQ is just the same

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I had a quick look at that - doesn't seem to be too bad. There's a MEL flight leaving at 2205 as posted by Ansett, and also a flight to BNE (on JQ) at the same time. So at least for those ports it is still possible to connect. ADL and CBR would miss out, as would, presumably, regional NSW?

There's a flight QF556 SYD/BNE 2145/2315 (daily except Sun) that is right on the 90 minute MCT so i would go for that over the JQ flight at 2205 for several reasons:

a) if booked on QF556 you can lodge your bag at the domestic transfer desk at T1 in SYD when you exit customs then take the transfer bus around to T3 whereas with JQ you would have to pay for the train and lug your suitcases around to T2 and check your bags in prior to the 30 minute cut off at 2135

b) if travelling on QF556 you can use the QP or JL at T3 whereas no lounge at T2

c) if travelling on QF556 you will get both boarding passes in HNL when checking in whereas I don't believe you would get the JQ boarding pass in HNL and would have to get it in SYD when you drop the bags off.

d) in the event of a misconnect it's easier for ground staff to transfer you to a QF flight the next day as having a JQ sector complicates matters

no doubt qantas would argue BNE on JQ is just the same

Same same, but different.