Virgin Blue Disruptions for travellers - 5th & 6th October,

[markis10]

DJ have announced the following disruptions for travellers this week (mainly Wednesday):

There will be some changes for Guests when checking in for travel on Wednesday 6 October.

They are as follows:

· Online and telephone reservations services will be unavailable from 9.00pm on Tuesday 5 October;

· Check in for domestic flights will open two hours before scheduled departure time; three hours for international flights;

· Web check, Kiosk check in and Check-mate in will close at 8pm AEST on Tuesday 5 October through to 5am on Thursday 7 October; and

· Web check in; Kiosk check in; Check-mate and The Lounge check in will be unavailable all day on Wednesday 6 October.

 

[thewinchester]

Hang on, an outage at DJ that's been scheduled - who would have thought

 

[Blackswan]

According to their website - they're "returning to their primary IT production system".

So they've been running on back-up systems for over a week? Wonder what contingency plans (if any) they had if these failed as well.

 

[pauly7]

This is turning into a bit of a sitcom

 

[samh004]

Seems crazy to think they’ve been running on a back-up for a week :shock:

 

[k_sheep]

Inside word is they've been relying on the DR system (disaster recovery) and are ready to roll back.

 

[kamchatsky]

If it has been on DR for this long, it means the primary system must have been very stuffed .... Maybe time for DJ to move to Amadeus?!

 

[medhead]

Thanks for the warning.

I have a DJ flight on Tuesday morning and I was freaking out a bit when I saw this thread. Doesn't like like it will bother me.

 

[RB]

This is a copy of the email that Mrs RB received tonight for her Wed flight to Syd



Dear Guest,

The Virgin Blue Group of Airlines recently experienced flight delays and cancellations due to an IT system failure at our external supplier. We have identified the underlying issue with our primary operating system and this has now been resolved.

Following extensive planning we are scheduling to transition back to our primary IT system, starting at 10pm on Tuesday, 5 October (AEST). We intend to resume operating on our primary system from the first flight on Thursday 7 October.

A flight you have booked is scheduled during this period and will operate as planned. There is no need to reconfirm your flight arrangements with us. In the event of any changes to your flight we will contact you.

There may be some unavoidable changes to the usual level of service we provide, including possible longer check-in wait times.

To ensure you are there with plenty of time to make your flight, please arrive at the airport 2 hours before your scheduled departure, when Check-in for your flight will open.

If you are not travelling with checked baggage you can skip the queue if you use our Web Check-in service online within 24 hours prior to departure. This service is available until 8pm Tuesday, 5 October (AEST).

Please be aware that our Guest Contact Centre agents will be unable to make any changes or cancellations to your booking from 9pm Tuesday, 5 October (AEST), until the system is fully operational.

For more information and latest updates please visit virginblue.com.au.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

The team at Virgin Blue

 

[straitman]

Hang on, an outage at DJ that's been scheduled - who would have thought

Cynic :!:

 

[Blackadder]

SMH report on the issue Virgin to shut down web check-ins

 

[oz_mark]

According to their website - they're "returning to their primary IT production system".

So they've been running on back-up systems for over a week? Wonder what contingency plans (if any) they had if these failed as well.

Seems crazy to think they’ve been running on a back-up for a week :shock:

If it has been on DR for this long, it means the primary system must have been very stuffed .... Maybe time for DJ to move to Amadeus?!

I was involved in a system that ran on the back up for six months! The primary was on standby though - there just wasn't a compelling need to go back to the primary unless the back-up failed. So, in reality the back-up became the primary.

Anyhow, if it does take a couple of hours to change environments, they they will need to have planned do this, and get all the various business approvals etc. for the outage. So, it does not seem unreasonable to have taken this long.

I would suspect that it has been operationally ready for a few days, and may have been ready to step in if the backup failed.

 

[Mal]

I was involved in a system that ran on the back up for six months! The primary was on standby though - there just wasn't a compelling need to go back to the primary unless the back-up failed. So, in reality the back-up became the primary.

Yep, I've seen the same too. Just because terms like "primary" and "secondary" are used, it doesn't mean that the secondary environment isn't up to the required task.

Also, as commented, the primary has probably been fixed and available for days in the case of issues being experienced. Actually, the tests involved could have been the cause of the minor issues experienced a few days ago with check-in.

 

[docjames]

Interesting to pick a weekday for the switch, you'd think going for the quietest day would be the way to go? Unless tue/wed is quieter than sat afternoon/evening?

 

[samh004]

Interesting to pick a weekday for the switch, you'd think going for the quietest day would be the way to go? Unless tue/wed is quieter than sat afternoon/evening?

Interestingly enough, on the news tonight it was revealed that the busiest time on Brisbane roads is Wednesday mornings. Haha. But I’m sure Virgin Blue know when they have the most pax travelling.

 

[markis10]

Interesting to pick a weekday for the switch, you'd think going for the quietest day would be the way to go? Unless tue/wed is quieter than sat afternoon/evening?

School holidays are probably keeping weekends busy.

 

[Mal]

Interesting to pick a weekday for the switch, you'd think going for the quietest day would be the way to go? Unless tue/wed is quieter than sat afternoon/evening?

Interestingly they seem to have sale fares on Tue/Wed often, so I suspect it is a quieter time... but then it may not be a quieter time (overall), but the types of passengers affected are less important to DJ's image.

I'm sure the dates and times have been carefully selected.