The totally off-topic thread

JohnK · May 13, 2012

GPH said:
Sitting at gate 46 DJ in BNE. Supposed to fly at 6.00 pm to SYD. For a connecting flight to HNL. Put on a 5.00 pm flight as the 6.00 pm flight was now delayed. Sat on the ground for an hour, now sitting at gate waiting for starboard engine to be repaired.

Not good news and I wasn't even around BNE airport until much later. Hope you made connection OK.

GPH said:
........I never seem to have any luck with DJ

We could swap! I never seem to have luck with flights in general and I commute.

Deleted member · May 13, 2012

JohnK said:
Not good news and I wasn't even around BNE airport until much later. Hope you made connection OK.

We could swap! I never seem to have luck with flights in general and I commute.

It didn't get any better. InSYD now. Missed connection after 3rd flight. Was delayed and then made to go in a holding pattern ( not DJ's fault) over Sydney. Next flight in 24 hours. So will basically miss first two days of 4 day conference.
So could have spent the day at office instead of cooling my heels in SYD

Doing the commute must be a pain

JohnK · May 13, 2012

GPH said:
Doing the commute must be a pain

It is a pain but you get used to it after a while.

It is a shame things did not work out for you.

Deleted member · May 13, 2012

JohnK said:
It is a pain but you get used to it after a while.

It is a shame things did not work out for you.

Ah well. What can you do?
Complaining won't change the outcome.

anat0l · May 14, 2012

GPH said:
Ah well. What can you do?
Complaining won't change the outcome.

What was your schedule (i.e. DJ to which flight)?

Unfortunate series of events - I'm guessing - has lead to your misconnect (rather than any airlines' fault). Hope you have insurance / re-accommodation plan.

Real shame that you're still going to miss about half the conference.

JohnK · May 14, 2012

GPH said:
Ah well. What can you do?
Complaining won't change the outcome.

Perhaps not but it may make you feel better.

Deleted member · May 14, 2012

anat0l said:
What was your schedule (i.e. DJ to which flight)?

Unfortunate series of events - I'm guessing - has lead to your misconnect (rather than any airlines' fault). Hope you have insurance / re-accommodation plan.

Real shame that you're still going to miss about half the conference.

We due to fly BNE - SYD at 6.00. With a 9.30 connection on HAL to HNL
But we received a call from the TA and were asked to go an extra hour early ( which we did) to avoid luggage problems. ( more about that later)
So we duly got there at 4.00 pm and were told that the in Line baggage arrangement had gone awry ( for the Delegates that went a day early) and luggage was sitting on the carousel instead of being handled forward.
So we would now leave on the DJ service at 5.00 to give us time time to collect bags in SYD and transfer to the HAL flight and bob's your uncle. ........like all good plans it then really started to go pear shape. We went straight to Gate for the 5.00 pm service boarded and sat down. Waited about 15 mins while then pushed back and then had an announcement that the starboard engine wasn't doing what it was supposed to do, so they were going to be towed back to the gate so an engineer cold come on board and see what was wrong, after 20 minutes it was decided we would de plane and wait. By the time this all happened the 6.00 pm flight which we were originally booked on was looking like a better option......but wait. It too was delayed .....after another 30 mins or so it was decided the flight was cancelled so only those with an international connection were transferred to another flight , but once boarded we discovered that this too would be delayed , anyway it transpired that once in the air a further delay ensued as ATC in SYD put us in a holding pattern for 40 mins. Naturally by the time we landed at 9.00 pm we were no chance to catch out intl connection.
So who is to blame?
1 the TA ( conference organiser) SAID they had paid an extra fee to have in line baggage. What they failed to de ( we discovered later) was advise the intl connection of this, more over booked the tickets as two flights instead of a single flight code share , apparently this would have meant the HAL flight would have waited ?
2. Virgin, broken plane.......safety first so no black mark here
3. SYD ATC. All 3 flights were delayed out of BNE , and again in the air , why. Various stories abound, heavy winds caused delay and congestion in SYD. And let's face it Sydney is about 10 years overdue for a second airport. So all,in all bad planning, bad luck and adverse weather all conspired to cause a problem. It wold have been a bigger help all round if more flights ( international ) departed from BNE , rather than having to go through SYD

Note. Please excuse me not using flight numbers here, I am still tired, doing this from the hotel bed ( Stamford plaza mascot) , feeling like rubbish after a rubbish day and looking at another 12 hours before we get on the plane .

Foot note. We decided independently of all of this to travel home in J ( I really hate whY) so checked out upgrade costs and it transpired it was a cheaper option to buy a full bundle in J with death star than pay HAL the upgrade cost, so coming home we will earn SC's , miles and use of lounge in HNL. ( we have no status with DJ ) so we burned the return ticket ( no refund here ) to return to SYD , and then QF to BNE. , the irony is that with all of my other planned travel this bumped me closer to plat with QF , so will do a JASA to MEL in June , not bad to go silver - plat in 12 months ( for me anyway).

markis10 · May 14, 2012

It will be interesting to hear your comparison of the two products HA new versus JQ?

Deleted member · May 14, 2012

Well that may have to wait. After sleeping on it. We are not going. I absolutely hated the 737 (DJ) last night. Cramped and tight, I am told a similar experience would be had in whY on HAL. There are other issues as well . So,heading home tomorrow (tuesday 15th ) night on QF 556. Can guest two into QP biz lounge

I flew HAL from Honolulu. to anchorage 20 years ago. Didn't enjoy that.

anat0l · May 14, 2012

GPH said:
Well that may have to wait. After sleeping on it. We are not going. I absolutely hated the 737 (DJ) last night. Cramped and tight, I am told a similar experience would be had in whY on HAL. There are other issues as well . So,heading home tomorrow (tuesday 15th ) night on QF 556. Can guest two into QP biz lounge

I flew HAL from Honolulu. to anchorage 20 years ago. Didn't enjoy that.

So you're abandoning attending your conference? Oh no! Travel insurance will probably not cover that - what a waste.

The DJ 737s are probably no more cramped than QF's; incidentally, it was proven and spruiked quite notably here that DJ's 737s have more pitch than QF's.

Deleted member · May 14, 2012

anat0l said:
So you're abandoning attending your conference? Oh no! Travel insurance will probably not cover that - what a waste.

The DJ 737s are probably no more cramped than QF's; incidentally, it was proven and spruiked quite notably here that DJ's 737s have more pitch than QF's.

Well travel insurance won't cover it I know. But the alternative was not an option, bear in mind we will have lost 50% of the conference by the time we arrived, we had no serious cancellation fee issues with additional costs and if things go my way will Lilly be out of pocket about $2k all up, so small price to pay.

As for the 737. Bear in mind my trip back to BNE tomorrow night is in J so being cramped isn't an issue.
I have pretty much decided that if I can't fly J or better ( at my age and stage) then I ain't going. As it was this was a compromise trip which I was not looking forward to.
While it was cramped and uncomfortable last night it was only (usually) a 1 and a bit hour flight. Which ended being 2 hours. Due to delays and holding pattern, I calculated that from home to hotel last night was about 10 hours, still feeling it now.

Anyway we are not unhappy or annoyed, in fact we are more relaxed and less stressed that we might have been had we gone.
So it's all well that ends well.

JohnK · May 14, 2012

Has anyone followed this story from the beginning?

Girls taken before being deported to Italy

I first read about it this morning and the court decision makes no sense to me. They are forcing the girls to return to an abusive father. Perhaps someone is lying.

penegal · May 14, 2012

Re: Mid Year AFF XMAS Drinks and Dinner - 30 June 2012, Hilton Surfers Paradise, QLD

Indeed, let me echo others in giving a big thank you to mutinalP for his enormous personal effort in organising this event. I know it is a big task, and I am very much looking forward to what will be a great weekend.

In other news, samh004 and I had lunch at the Hilton on Saturday to sample the hospitality. They didn't know who we were. Our meals were slow coming out of the kitchen (as we dined around 2-3pm) so without being prompted they offered us a complementary glass of wine each.

amaroo · May 14, 2012

JohnK said:
Has anyone followed this story from the beginning?

Girls taken before being deported to Italy

I first read about it this morning and the court decision makes no sense to me. They are forcing the girls to return to an abusive father. Perhaps someone is lying.

Yeah, local story up here & has been in the press for a few days. Seems the father has the law on his side.....horrible mess all round.

Wonder what the reaction would be if it was the father in the picture & not the mother?

samh004 · May 15, 2012