Virgin regularly cancelling flights?

[antycbr]

But QF does - 717 and Q400.

And via Alliance - E190s.

QF operates all of these at NTL

 

[jakeseven7]

There is definitely a pattern emerging…. Once again VA2 are junking Tassie flights too grrrr. My aunt and uncle coming to Xmas just got done even though I warned them not to book with VA2 in Tassie given VA1 were not reliable there either…. Sigh.

I get that on MEL / SYD if you get bumped by VA2 by an hour it’s probably not going to ruin your universe but when they move you by 7/8 hours it’s highly irritating.

They are fighting for a refund and have re-booked on Qantas.

 

[jakeseven7]

ABC news radio just did a story on Virgin cancelling many flights so it’s made it’s way to mainstream media. People are complaining of waiting 2.5 hours on phone to try and rearrange.

They did manage to get a VA2 spokesperson on to comment - but they just said cancelling due to ‘operational reasons’ and alternate services are being provided.

Some passengers reported being rebooked on Qantas (to Darwin) which is very interesting and good service from VA2 if they can’t get the planes in the air.

 

[jakeseven7]

Here is a related online story:

——-

Virgin Australia flight cancellations ahead of Christmas complicate plans for travellers​

Darwin resident Harriet Murphy had booked a seat on the Christmas Eve red-eye flight to make it home to Melbourne to see family.

But just days before she was scheduled to fly, she was told her direct flight had been cancelled. ​

A spokesperson for Virgin Australia apologised for the cancellations and said they were working to make sure Christmas travel plans are not disrupted.

Virgin Australia cancels multiple Darwin flights days out from Christmas

Virgin Australia apologises after cancelling a small number of flights from Darwin, while customers scramble to re-organise holidays plans just days out from Christmas.

www.abc.net.au

 

[antycbr]

Here is a related online story:

——-

Virgin Australia flight cancellations ahead of Christmas complicate plans for travellers​

Darwin resident Harriet Murphy had booked a seat on the Christmas Eve red-eye flight to make it home to Melbourne to see family.

But just days before she was scheduled to fly, she was told her direct flight had been cancelled. ​

A spokesperson for Virgin Australia apologised for the cancellations and said they were working to make sure Christmas travel plans are not disrupted.

Virgin Australia cancels multiple Darwin flights days out from Christmas

Virgin Australia apologises after cancelling a small number of flights from Darwin, while customers scramble to re-organise holidays plans just days out from Christmas.

www.abc.net.au

I wonder if we're starting to see the impact of crew isolation after exposure either when operating or more broadly in the community.

 

[jakeseven7]

I wonder if we're starting to see the impact of crew isolation after exposure either when operating or more broadly in the community.

Well 'operational reasons' covers everything from A-Z.... so quite possibly....

 

[UP4014]

I guess they were hoping for more patronage, perhaps schedule less flights and fill them before putting more on. They would be thinking we have your money so you'll end up flying us anyway.

 

[Must...Fly!]

I wonder if we're starting to see the impact of crew isolation after exposure either when operating or more broadly in the community.

I think likely a combination of factors including financial and crew related.

 

[Melburnian1]

A consequence of weak Commonwealth leadership and trigger happy state premiers closing borders at the drop of a hat. Infuriating but not entirely surprising.
Guess, VA are trying to make sense of the madness and reducing costs by consolidation. Mind you, they used to do that a lot pre Covid though too.

Due to Oz's Constitution, the PM is limited in what he can do.

Most Premiers have only been too happy to exploit this for perceived personal political gain. Adverse needless effects for a wide range of businesses and staff, including VA 2.0.

 

[jakeseven7]

A person in another thread with insight into VA2 frontline crew said they are having massive crewing issues which is contributing.

They cancelled 75% of their flights into Launceston the other day and big issues into the NT where the ABC reported they had to book some passengers onto QF (which is to be applauded in terms of CS, shows how much of a problem they have right now).

Out of MEL the other day there were dozens of cancellations. But QF and JQ only a couple.

Would be interesting to understand why they are being impacted more.

 

[jase05]

A person in another thread with insight into VA2 frontline crew said they are having massive crewing issues which is contributing.

They cancelled 75% of their flights into Launceston the other day and big issues into the NT where the ABC reported they had to book some passengers onto QF (which is to be applauded in terms of CS, shows how much of a problem they have right now).

Out of MEL yesterday there were dozens of cancellations. But QF and JQ only a couple.

Would be interesting to understand why they are being impacted more.

I would think some luck of which flights have infected passengers on board or staff interaction plus QF having a far bigger pool of staff. I think it’s only going to get worse if we keep this ridiculous isolate for 7 days garbage up. There is potentially a positive case on every flight so it’s only a matter of time before the whole lot comes crashing down if changes aren’t made. I wouldn’t mind seeing the actual data but when they announce exposure sites it seems to be a 50/50 split between VA and QF yet we all know QF run a lot more flights so would be interesting to know why more VA flights are being impacted

 

[jakeseven7]

More NT issues with replacement flights not until 2 days later…. And some 4 days because they have been cancelled twice…

Looks like these people were not able to negotiate being rebooked onto QF/JQ unlike some of the others.

——

‘Disgraceful’: more Top End flight chaos for Virgin Australia passengers​

Travellers looking to get out of Darwin have vowed to never fly with Virgin Australia again after they were left scrambling to find alternative routes once their flights were cancelled with limited warning, mirroring issue reported last week.

Darwin resident Asier Iturrikastillo was due to fly out to Sydney on the red eye flight on Wednesday morning, but when he arrived at the airport he was told the flight was cancelled.

The Spanish national said he needed to be in Sydney in the morning for a meeting at the Spanish consulate to renew his passport.

He said there were about eight others who also arrived at the airport to board the same flight, and the earliest flight that staff could offer him was on Christmas Eve.

“I didn't get any message, notification, email or phone call,” Mr Iturrikastillo said.

“I went to the front desk (at the airport) and when I spoke to the manager, they couldn't even give me a reason why it was cancelled.

“I met a family who had their flight from a few days ago cancelled and were rescheduled to this flight, so they've had two flights in a row cancelled on them”

It is unclear how many flights to and from Darwin were cancelled on Wednesday, but a Virgin Australia spokesman said they apologised for the ongoing cancellations.

‘Disgraceful’: Top End flight chaos

Travellers looking to get out of Darwin have vowed to never fly with Virgin Australia again after they were left scrambling to find alternative routes once their flights were cancelled with limited warning.

www.news.com.au

 

[jase05]

From 7News

Thousands of travellers have been dealt a huge blow after Jetstar and Virgin Australia cancelled dozens of Christmas Eve flights across the country.

The airlines pulled as many as 35 flights from their domestic schedules on Thursday, with the popular Sydney to Melbourne route reportedly the most heavily-impacted.

Several other flights were cancelled on Christmas Eve, throwing plans into disarray.

Cancellations on Friday include at least seven Virgin Australia flights from Sydney to Melbourne and four flights from Sydney to Brisbane.

Another six Virgin flights from Sydney to the Gold Coast have been removed from Friday’s schedule.

Several other Virgin flights from Brisbane, Cairns and the Gold Coast to Sydney have been cancelled.

At least another 14 Jetstar and Qantas flights between Sydney and Melbourne have also been removed on Friday.

Ten Qantas and Jetstar flights between Sydney and Brisbane have been axed, while four flights between Sydney and the Gold Coast were cancelled.

The cancellations have resulted in frustrations for customers who have already had to deal with pre-departure testing requirements and border passes.

People travelling interstate to see loved ones or for holiday are required to get tested and receive a negative PCR result if they are going to Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

The requirement meant thousands of people queued up to get tested in Sydney and Melbourne, causing chaos at testing clinics.

Testing sites in both cities had significant wait times, with some forced to close or turn people away due to demand.

Jetstar and Virgin Australia have been contacted for comment.

 

[Carrots]

The Adelaide Rag (The Advertiser / Adelaidenow.com.au) has commentary (as you'd likely expect) that the cancellations for both are being caused by crew quarantine issues. One of the local VA pilots on the forum (AviatorInsight) mentioned yesterday he's in quarantine and as such he's now home for Christmas instead of working. Somewhat surprising to hear Qantas has yet to be effective.

 

[jase05]

Somewhat surprising to hear Qantas has yet to be effective.

See my post above.
QF and JQ also starting to tumble now.
Won’t be long before many more services cancelled unless a change in rules

 

[Saab34]

Virgin had Cabin Crew problems a few months ago. Not sure if that’s still an issue.

Why are flight crew in isolation? Double Vaxxed. Give me strength.

 

[Carrots]

See my post above.
QF and JQ also starting to tumble now.
Won’t be long before many more services cancelled unless a change in rules

I shouldn't have speed read it

 

[Must...Fly!]

Virgin had Cabin Crew problems a few months ago. Not sure if that’s still an issue.

Why are flight crew in isolation? Double Vaxxed. Give me strength.

Why indeed. They form part of a critical workforce.

As I've said a few times over the past week or two - it's a real shame we only just learned of COVID and had no time to plan for the inevitable disruption such heavy handed government restrictions would cause...such as a staff only priority PCR testing station at a large domestic airport

 

[Saab34]

How many of these cancellations are ‘combining’. It’s no secret that this week and last week was much softer than previously planned.

Cairns airport have come out accidentally quoted that the airlines came to them last week and advised they were cancelling and combining due to low sales.

 

[jakeseven7]

The Adelaide Rag (The Advertiser / Adelaidenow.com.au) has commentary (as you'd likely expect) that the cancellations for both are being caused by crew quarantine issues. One of the local VA pilots on the forum (AviatorInsight) mentioned yesterday he's in quarantine and as such he's now home for Christmas instead of working. Somewhat surprising to hear Qantas has yet to be effective.

VA2 seems to have been hit by far the hardest, another poster on here said it was because they had very light staff coverage to begin with so it’s come back to bite them. JQ are starting to be hit and then QF but QF does seem to be faring the best despite running more flights - the poster said it’s possibly because QF has a larger staff pool to draw from.