What's going on with Qantas?

[MikeG]

Maybe they are getting in the last hurrah of cancellations and delays before regulation occurs.

A civilised flight Friday night CBR-SYD-AKL turned into the redeye from hell CBR-MEL-AKL, holed up in the lounge from 1800-midnight
and the return AKL-BNE-CBR had the BNE-CBR leg delayed twice so I got them to put me on AKL-SYD and I made my own way to CBR

I didn't get a lot of sleep in Economy on the redeye flight, which was delayed from 1145 to 0045

QANTAS, the new Jetstar.

M

 

[encryptededdy]

The first part is likely from cancellations/delays due to Sydney Airport being on single-runway ops Friday night.

 

[Nitro6333]

QF 96 on the 11/11 the latest offender. Left pax sleeping in the terminal I do believe

 

[MikeG]

The first part is likely from cancellations/delays due to Sydney Airport being on single-runway ops Friday night.

I understand things like this happen but when passengers find out a big change like that without an explanation.
It’s just plain rude. I was in the lounge in Canberra and the door bodies didn’t seem to know what was going on.

Oh and while I’m on gripes, I used three business lounges on my travels and ALL had sticky floors in the loos. Seriously? Maybe it says more about business travellers than business lounges… hehe

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Maybe they are getting in the last hurrah of cancellations and delays before regulation occurs.

Keep dreaming!

A civilised flight Friday night CBR-SYD-AKL turned into the redeye from hell CBR-MEL-AKL, holed up in the lounge from 1800-midnight
and the return AKL-BNE-CBR had the BNE-CBR leg delayed twice so I got them to put me on AKL-SYD and I made my own way to CBR

In a similar boat as you yesterday. My flight down to ADL was delayed repeatedly so I ended up having to sling it in the Qantas Economy lounge for Platinums (formerly J lounge) whose food consisted of meh

I didn't get a lot of sleep in Economy on the redeye flight, which was delayed from 1145 to 0045

QANTAS, the new Jetstar.

There are some of us here who would see QF becoming more like JQ as an improvement. After all, JétStar is the luxury arm of Qantas

I understand things like this happen but when passengers find out a big change like that without an explanation.

That’s also something I notice too at the QF lounges. They do a good job announcing when one of their flights is boarding but stay silent when it comes to delays. Contrast that with ANA where they’ll announce a delay and tell you the reason (e.g. ATC congestion in HkG)

Some will point to the app and QF even sending you a text but often those messages appear last minute just as scheduled boarding is about to commence. And again they don’t tell you why the flight is being delayed, which I would argue is vital in making a rebooking decision.

Oh and while I’m on gripes, I used three business lounges on my travels and ALL had sticky floors in the loos. Seriously? Maybe it says more about business travellers than business lounges… hehe

I’m of the opinion that Qantas should switch their toilets to Exeloo. At least then it’ll be taken better care of than the current set up. And don’t get me started with the showers at SYD!

 

[mviy]

In the app I only get the message that boarding has commenced after I have already boarded.

 

[RooFlyer]

For delays and cancellations, I recommend getting the Flighty app (IOS only). Fantastic for getting advice of delays etc (always before the monitors in lounges etc). It tracks your inbound flight automatically. Gives alternative flights, and lots, lots more. Live flight progress, actual flight path (as lodged by pilots pre flight) and timings to gate etc. Recent update gives you live weather radar in the USA and radar forecast(??) elsewhere.

I have a subscription, and its the best (most useful) travel app out there. Syncs with TripIt if you use that.

Flighty app

Does anyone use the Flighty app? Is it worth the $79/year subscription fee? It looks like it would do a pretty good job of tracking your flights, including notifying you of delays before the airline does. I also like the feature where it saves a history of your past flights, including the...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[MikeG]

For delays and cancellations, I recommend getting the Flighty app (IOS only). Fantastic for getting advice of delays etc (always before the monitors in lounges etc). It tracks your inbound flight automatically. Gives alternative flights, and lots, lots more. Live flight progress, actual flight path (as lodged by pilots pre flight) and timings to gate etc. Recent update gives you live weather radar in the USA and radar forecast(??) elsewhere.

I have a subscription, and its the best (most useful) travel app out there. Syncs with TripIt if you use that.

Flighty app

Does anyone use the Flighty app? Is it worth the $79/year subscription fee? It looks like it would do a pretty good job of tracking your flights, including notifying you of delays before the airline does. I also like the feature where it saves a history of your past flights, including the...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

I use Tripit Pro, and this usually gives me alerts before Qantas announces it. Lounge staff gave me a quizzical look when I asked them about the rerouting when it probably hadn't been announced to them yet.

 

[elanshin]

Interesting, first time I've gotten this SMS at the start of the day.

We may have more passengers on your upcoming flight (flight) than seats available. This can happen for a number of reasons including a reduction in available seats and operational changes. To confirm a seat on an alternative flight click this link: https:/.

We're sorry for the inconvenience.

If there are insufficient seats on your original flight and not enough passengers change their flight, there's a chance you may be required to move to the next available flight on arrival at the airport. T&Cs apply.

 

[CMA222]

Interesting, first time I've gotten this SMS at the start of the day.

So in other words:
We are currently in the process of cancelling / consolidating our usual share of today's flights and rather then have everyone complain at the airport (particularly in the QF lounges) when we cancel the flights after you have checked in, we are giving you a heads up that you are going to be disrupted.

 

[elanshin]

So in other words:
We are currently in the process of cancelling / consolidating our usual share of today's flights and rather then have everyone complain at the airport (particularly in the QF lounges) when we cancel the flights after you have checked in, we are giving you a heads up that you are going to be disrupted.

Well given this is the last MEL > SYD flight for the day, the next available flight is tomorrow morning.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

One must wonder how QF prioritizes who to "bump" for an oversold flight. Presumably status does play a factor in such a determination (i.e. Platinums aren't gonna get the boot), although I suspect there may be other factors at play too. For instance, if they would have to pay EU261/APPR compensation to the passenger in question, chances are they'll keep them on that flight rather than having to forgo 600 Euros/$1000 CAD in compensation.

So in other words:
We are currently in the process of cancelling / consolidating our usual share of today's flights and rather then have everyone complain at the airport (particularly in the QF lounges) when we cancel the flights after you have checked in, we are giving you a heads up that you are going to be disrupted.

It's a nice gesture but it also puts travellers in an uncomfortable situation. What if the alternatives offered don't work or if there simply are no other alternatives available (i.e. last flight or the day or the odd route that QF operates maybe once or twice a day). Would QF pay for your hotel and meals in such an instance? What about just putting you on a flight of one of their competitors that is operating the route? This is precisely why we need to have regulations like EU261 to keep the airlines honest. Right now, the airlines can make commercial decisions that best suit them but aren't in the interest of passengers, hiding behind the bundle of rights excuse.

-RooFlyer88

 

[RooFlyer]

A nice way to encourage passengers who really need to be on their flight or time to change their flight to something earlier and pay for it as a voluntary change.

 

[encryptededdy]

A nice way to encourage passengers who really need to be on their flight or time to change their flight to something earlier and pay for it as a voluntary change.

If you follow the link in the SMS, the change is free.

 

[elanshin]

Yeh basically it gives you a link to move forward to any available earlier flight. I didn't use the link itself but just moved myself forward on the app (same choices).

Good thing I did as the original flight ended up cancelled thanks to Sydney's weather. It would be pretty coughty for some people as all the flights in the evening were pretty full, so they would've had to be moved to tomorrow.

incidentally QF927 landing in SYD at 23:40? (It's already halfway across). Seems quite late.

Edit: Thabks SYD airport for the wrong carousel number. My luggage appeared in 4 despite the 3 on the arrival board.