4000 Virgin passengers stranded in Melbourne

[Saab34]

Virgin not moving in MEL

Came back from Tulla few hours back and Virgin has lost all IT systems and nothing has moved since 3pm. The place is literally bursting at the seams.

First time ever seen piles of people walking down to the Tiger terminal to buy tickets! Not good for those trying to get onto the International Connections from Sydney tonight.

 

[DJ737]

Re: Virgin not moving in MEL

Hi there

Apparently it is a problem with Telstra.

They should have went with Internode. :mrgreen:

Hope you have lounge access, it could be a long wait, wherever anyone is, as the knock on takes effect. There is a lot of red ink on the MEL airport website listing DJ departures.

Cheers
DJ737

 

[mannej]

Re: Virgin not moving in MEL

Nothing on no news about it

Interestingly enough they have stuff about there being a QF strike contingency at Christmas time...

 

[gilby08]

Re: Virgin not moving in MEL

Here's the link, but still can't find any story from nonews...
Damaged cable causes chaos for Virgin Blue in Melbourne

 

[DJ737]

Re: Virgin not moving in MEL

Hi there

Just noticed on the DJ website, they are still offering a $95 fare to MEL-SYD tonight on the 21:15 flight.

Could be a bump to PE opportunity, if you are willing to fly tomorrow.

They must be trying to get as many of this arvo's pax away tonight as possible, so could be worth a try.

Cheers
DJ737

 

[gilby08]

Re: Virgin not moving in MEL

Just a FYI:

Only out of MEL

DJ1326 - HBA - CXLD
DJ233 - ADL - CXLD
DJ1372 - LST - CXLD
DJ861 - SYD - CXLD
DJ869 - SYD - CXLD
DJ239 - ADL- CXLD
DJ283 - CBR - CXLD
DJ347 - BNE - CXLD
DJ877 - SYD - CXLD
DJ885 - SYD - CXLD

Seems a bit odd for them to cancel so many flights for only going to manual check-in.. Could this possibly be a training issue with the CSO's???

And also with MEL-SYD flights avail tonight @ $95 could suggest some poor loads on the other flights maybe??!?!

/takes off tin foil hat :shock:

 

[Saab34]

Re: Virgin not moving in MEL

Well it is a Tuesday which is usually a bit quiet, and with all the extra competition, their probably is some lower loads on Tue/Wed on MEL-SYD.

 

[pauly7]

More than 4,000 passengers have been left stranded at Melbourne Airport after a computer breakdown forced the cancellation of 47 Virgin Blue flights and delayed dozens more.

A damaged cable under the airport brought down the airline's telecommunications service provider, crippling its passenger check-in process since lunchtime (AEDT) on Tuesday.

Passengers are being checked in and boarded manually, creating a massive delay and a huge backlog.

Telstra was working on the cable problem but there was no resolution in sight by 9pm (AEDT), Virgin Blue spokeswoman Amanda Bolger said.

Virgin passengers stranded in Melbourne



Hopefully not too many members affected - my boss was, luckily he found out early and got some of the last seats on Qantas.... QF were already very full due to the time of year but apparently threw some bigger aircraft on to cope.

 

[cmon0005]

I think the way they have handled it is quite pathetic...

for a major airline like Virgin blue not to have links with at least 2 different telecoms providers is a bit poor.

I feel sorry for the stranded passengers..

 

[cmon0005]

Look at all the cancellations!! :O
Flight Information - Search Flight Information - Melbourne Airport

 

[samh004]

for a major airline like Virgin blue not to have links with at least 2 different telecoms providers is a bit poor.

I know little about the industry, but would have assumed they’d have a second separate line as a backup too?!

I wonder who QF is with if they weren’t affected, as their lounge internet gives the impression it’s from Telstra. Also, I wonder if wifi in the lounges was down too, or is that a different cable?

 

[crazydave98]

Re: Virgin not moving in MEL

Just a FYI:

Only out of MEL

DJ1326 - HBA - CXLD
DJ233 - ADL - CXLD
DJ1372 - LST - CXLD
DJ861 - SYD - CXLD
DJ869 - SYD - CXLD
DJ239 - ADL- CXLD
DJ283 - CBR - CXLD
DJ347 - BNE - CXLD
DJ877 - SYD - CXLD
DJ885 - SYD - CXLD

Seems a bit odd for them to cancel so many flights for only going to manual check-in. Could this possibly be a training issue with the CSO's???

The issue was that because manual boarding processes are slower we had crews available duty hours expire - a nasty little knock-on effect. The original problem was with a Telstra fibre optic cable and the backup ISDN connection (Telstra again) did not kick in so we were at fully manual for an unacceptable length of time. Maybe we should send them a damages bill.

 

[harvyk]

I think the way they have handled it is quite pathetic...

for a major airline like Virgin blue not to have links with at least 2 different telecoms providers is a bit poor.

I feel sorry for the stranded passengers..

Not very common to use two different providers with one as a backup provider. Although I'm a little surprised that they haven't looked at getting a wireless provider to provide a link as well (faster and I would imagine cheaper than ISDN, and telstra do offer wireless services as I have used them once before to get an office up and running prior to the installation of a cable). If wireless goes down, you have the cable, if the cable goes down you have the wireless....

 

[serfty]

... Maybe we should send them a damages bill.

I thought that would have been a given ...

 

[gilby08]

Does anyone know when the systems came back up?

 

[Lonely Flyer]

for a major airline like Virgin blue not to have links with at least 2 different telecoms providers is a bit poor.

I would be surprised if many majors have such a redundant system.

 

[Lonely Flyer]

I thought that would have been a given ...

+1 from me

 

[Nigelinoz]

Virgin Blue chaos continues after breakdown | News.com.au

 

[UP4014]

I thought that would have been a given ...

I think it will be all care and no responsibility. However, when this happens there usually some sort of compensation as it's a very good bargining chip when the contract renewal comes around.

When I'm negotiating anything it's always good to have the upper hand with a supplier who has stuffed up somewhere along the way. While in the original deal you are unlikley to get performance guarantees you can insist the second time around - as they will be telling you it won't happen again and you can say "well I think you should agree to this then".

Fun times - unless you were a passenger last night.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Does anyone know when the systems came back up?

The news.com.au report I have linked to above says-

"Telstra rectified the problem at 10.30pm (AEDT) last night so we can access our systems and that's all back on track," Virgin Blue spokeswoman Amanda Bolger said.