Virgin Australia Delays/Cancellations

[samas]

Considering the length of the delay, I am surprised that VA564 from the 31/7 hasn't made it on here.

Apparently still on the ground in PER

(VA) Virgin Australia 564 Flight Status

There were a few delays out of Perth on Friday 31st July...

I was on the delayed VA712 to Adelaide. Which was delayed from 0540 to 0700 departure apparently due to some sort of "engineering loading issue" As I was walking to the gate I heard an announcement that VA676 to Melbourne which was also delayed was awaiting a replacement aircraft. So perhaps that Sydney 564 flight delay was related to this first issue...

 

[Melburnian1]

Apparently VA is delaying flights to DPS this morning while JQ is also doing this but in addition the latter cancelled some flights last night:

Volcanic ash cloud again delays Jetstar and Virgin flights to and from Bali

I am not a meteorologist and know the likely reaction given the BA history when one says this, but given that it appears GA is (so far) operating normally (at least from MEL) to DPS today, is it possible that the Australian registered airlines are being a little too conservative in their cancellations?

Apart from their crews rostered to operate southbound flights not being on LOP, is there any technical reason why Australian airlines cannot fly to LOP instead which is further away from Mt Ruang and hence perhaps likely to be unaffected by volcanic ash? At least that would get northbound passengers into Indonesia, and who knows, conditions might clear such that even conservative Australian airlines could then fly the short hop from LOP to DPS. Or does the way the ash cloud spreads preclude this, at least in the opinion of Australian airlines?

 

[straitman]

I am not a meteorologist and know the likely reaction given the BA history when one says this, but given that it appears GA is (so far) operating normally (at least from MEL) to DPS today, is it possible that the Australian registered airlines are being a little too conservative in their cancellations?

My 40 + years of aviation experience would point to GA not being conserve enough rather than the other way around.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

This sort of thing disrupts a lot of people, but far better (IMHO) to have a disruption to holiday plans, than be dealing with many funerals. Conservative is the better approach I would think.

 

[Melburnian1]

It looks like CBR may have just reopened in the last couple of minutes, at least for arrivals. VA257, the 0700 from MEL is about to land and should be at the gate at about 0850. This is better than QF whose QF804 (the 0720 ex MEL) is now forecast to depart MEL at 0900.

A different approach between the two major airlines. VA must have been confident that the extra expense of being in a holding pattern was worthwhile. There have of course been occasions in the past where fog has taken longer to clear than expected and planes have had to return to their airport of origin, or divert to say SYD.

VA628 from SYD (ATR VH-FVY) is approaching CBR and should be about an hour late when arriving at the terminal at around 0905.

 

[Melburnian1]

Although CBR had briefly reopned, it appears to have again been closed, although VA632 from SYD is now approaching the airport while VA640 is some distance behind it. QF seemed to have been worse affected because it still has a couple of flights from MEL circling but VA managed to get its into CBR earlier.

 

[Melburnian1]

VA555, the 0935 from SYD to PER did not take off until 1127 and hence is not due in the latter until 1409, 84 minutes late. A330 VH-XFJ is operating the flight so at least the punters in J can relax in Australia's arguably best domestic aircraft seats.

 

[Melburnian1]

Relatively unusually for its doemstic flights, VA is already publicly displaying that tomorrow (Thursday 10 September 2015) VA879 from MEL to PER has been changed from an 0915 to a 1000 departure. There is no displayed incoming flight forming VA973 that I can see to account for the 45 minute 'delay.'

 

[Melburnian1]

The 1830 hours VA100 from MEL to CHC tonight (Thursday 10 September) did not depart until 2157, making for a less than stellar time of arrival in the South Kiwi Island.

It was due to VA101 arriving three hours and five minutes late from CHC in MEL at 2050 hours this evening.

 

[Melburnian1]

With today's (Thursday 17 September 2015) storms in Brisbane, VA1253, the 1945 hours to RK has been delayed until 2215 hours tonight.

 

[Melburnian1]

VA is not having a good morning on Monday 21 September 2015 from MEL to SYD. VA807 (the 0630 hours) departed at 0758; VA811 (the 0700 departure) left at 0809. In the opposite direction, VA814, the 0745 hours from SYD was cancelled.

 

[mannej]

Looks like VA683 has been delayed 5+ hours today out of Melbourne, which has a number of Hawks players on it looking to get to PER a day early.

 

[Melburnian1]

mannej, do these football players typically travel with their wives or girlfriends or do they merely travel as a whole (or in this case part) team with spouses and girlfriends following later (or in a few cases not at all) for these important matches? (I assume that the wives or girlfriends would in many cases be football fans and have a keen interest in seeing a final, especially if they do not have very young children.)

 

[mannej]

To be honest Melburnian, you'd have to ask the players in question.

 

[Melburnian1]

mannej, I thought being a Perthite you might sometimes see (or even travel with) these footy players travelling and hence observe wives or girlfriends (plus children?) with them.

VA683 ended up being cancelled. It would be interesting to know if the next flight was full whether some other paying passengers were suddenly 'ejected' from that flight through some lame excuse with the real purpose being to accommodate what some might suggest were overrated sports players. Delays and cancellations are frustrating for all passengers, high profile or not.

 

[Melburnian1]

The following MEL to PER VA flight, VA693 also hardly covered itself in glory with a 54 minute late departure at 1904 hours and a forecasr arrival in the West at 2055 hours, 25 minutes behind the timetable.

 

[Melburnian1]

'The Age' spoke too soon as the flight as noted above was not just 'delayed', it was cancelled:

2015 AFL finals: Hawks face five-hour flight delay before Dockers game

 

[Melburnian1]

VA149 from AKL to MEL this morning (Saturday 26 September 2015) arrived at 1008, 88 minutes late. It did not form another international flight so no further flight to another nation was delayed.

VA65 from SYD to DPS is badly delayed to an amended departure time of 1545 in lieu of 1115. At least it is not a delay from 2315 to 0345, which for most passengers in terms of interupted sleep would be worse. There are no significant delays showing to inbound VA flights from overseas so perhaps this plane may simply have been declared unfit to operate the flight at the gate.

 

[Melburnian1]

VA960 from BNE to SYD should be departing at 1530 hours (10 minutes ago) if the timetable was adhered to but unfortunately is an expected three hours plus late on Sunday 27 September, not departing until 1848.

VA1671 from BNE to MOV (an unfortunate airport code in the circumstances, and doubly unfortunate given that the only 'mov(e)' some miners may have made lately is with the (sad) 'order of the Royal boot') has been delayed an hour in departing from 1545 to 1645 hours. Hampered by its relative lack of infrastructure at busier times, these are far from the only delays at BNE this afternoon.

UPDATE: The anticipated delay to VA1671 has now extended to a departure at 1810 hours.

VA962, the scheduled 1600 hours flight from BNE to SYD is expected to depart at 1720, 80 minutes late.

Inevitably these delays will not be the last for the day, so anyone waiting in SYD could expect some VA flights to be delayed as a result.

VA346 from BNE to MEL is suggested as departing at 1850 in lieu of the normal 1755 late afternoon departure.

VA appears to be worse affected than QF or JQ at this stage in these BNE-related delays. There is some rain over MCY and OOL but at this moment none over BNE, but the Bureau says there is a chance of a (tropical?) thunderstorm. (Apologies, I am down in bucolic, sunny Melbourne.)

 

[Melburnian1]

VA184 from NAN to MEL is timetabled to arrive at 2140 hours this evening (Monday 28 September) but is badly delayed and will not be at the gate until an estimated 0330 on Tuesday 29. That is about the worst time to arrive at an Oz capital city airport: sleep at perhaps 0530 if one lives in middle distance suburbs, no all-the-way public transport if one is looking to save money (it's a Monday night, not a Friday night) and worst of all (one has to feel sorry for any such individuals) imagine going to bed at 0530 knowing that at 0630 or 0700 one has to rise for work.

Hmmm.