Cancelled Again!

[serfty]

This may be "Tin Hat" stuff but it has happened to me too regularly this year. I have worked out one way how Qantas are reducing costs - by not flying to schedule.

For the fourth of five times this year, my flight on the Golden triangle has been cancelled on the day or the day before.

This time heading to SYD from MEL to connect with QF1, I receive a text at 9:25pm that my noon flight was cancelled and putting me on a later flight at 2pm giving me just 10 minutes more than MCT to make my connection.

Diving into expert flyer, i could also see the 8am flight was also cancelled leaving a sea of J0/Y0 around those times, especially after 10am.

Now, this severly limited my options as 100 minutes before departure is simply not enough time to comfortably get from T3 to airside T1 at SYD. I tried calling one of those special numbers getting strait through (!) but they were unable/unwilling to help.

So off to Tullamarine really early, getting there before 8am. At the premium service desk in the checkin area I was proactively offerred rebooking onto a stress relieving morning flight without fuss. (I suspect flow forwarding is in action today.)

 

[LondonAussie]

This has become one of my biggest anxieties and regrets with an upcoming MEL to SYD to connect onto a separate booking with QR (which they have also recently changed the schedule to depart earlier reducing the buffer).

Hearing that they refused to move you to an earlier flight when calling is making me even more nervous.

Now debating if I should just pay the fare difference and change fee to go much earlier, although it would end up being a $500+ economy flight!!

 

[docjames]

SYD-MEL cancellations are seemingly the most frequent cancelled these days (haven’t seen actual data, just lived experience) - most of my friends and work colleagues avoid booking “off-hour” flights as these seem to be the ones more often cancelled (not that applies in your case but presumably low bookings).

I think they have not enough staff to run schedule and with the flight frequency, they can cancel various SYD-MEL (and to a lesser extent SYD-BNE and BNE-MEL) and complete the pax journey without any compensation etc. Which of course is the most cost effective.

They also seem more proactive on (more frequently allowing) flow forward at the moment - combination of weather and also I suspect again, staffing (if later flights clear out they can cancel). But no doubt “it’s the weather”. It’s also easier now it’s automated within the app (which credit where it’s due is easy to look at alternatives and choose one).

 

[motlking]

This is concerning, we have a MEL-SYD-HNL flight (2 adults, 1 toddler) on a Friday with only 90 min transit. Will try to go earlier to request an earlier flight but not sure how much earlier we'll need to go. Qantas at the moment don't let you make seat selections to see what seats are available?

Our original MEL-SYD flight is 5:45pm - Hoping if we get there before 2pm that they could put us on one of the flights between 3:30-5pm

 

[justinbrett]

Important to remember in your situation when a connecting flight is cancelled - you can choose ANY flight the same day, not just the one they initially offer. I think you can even select a different routing if you want.

I had the exact same thing occur earlier in the year connecting to QF9 from SYD, they offered a later flight (cutting my Flounge time from 3 to 2 hours). I rebooked to an earlier flight to give me 4 hours instead.

This is concerning, we have a MEL-SYD-HNL flight (2 adults, 1 toddler) on a Friday with only 90 min transit. Will try to go earlier to request an earlier flight but not sure how much earlier we'll need to go. Qantas at the moment don't let you make seat selections to see what seats are available?

Our original MEL-SYD flight is 5:45pm - Hoping if we get there before 2pm that they could put us on one of the flights between 3:30-5pm

For future reference, use the multi city tool to book the MEL-SYD leg and you can chose any flight that day. The fare is the same.

I never go less than 3 hours for SYD.

 

[motlking]

Wish we knew that earlier! Now have to stress about getting there earlier in hopes of getting an earlier flight.

 

[MrJetset]

This is precisely why, even on one ticket, I changed a 2.5 transit from QF J to EK F in BNE to 6 hours and just booked a dayroom at the Pullman.

 

[SeatBackForward]

I suspect flow forwarding is in action today

For the life of me I can't understand why airlines just don't do this regardless.. Have empty seat, have passenger happy to go on it, then just do it. One happy customer, reduced chances of one unhappy customer, and as a bonus, their original seat might go to another happy customer.

 

[justinbrett]

For the life of me I can't understand why airlines just don't do this regardless.. Have empty seat, have passenger happy to go on it, then just do it. One happy customer, reduced chances of one unhappy customer, and as a bonus, their original seat might go to another happy customer.

For a connecting flight, agree. But for point to point - if they did this, nobody would buy flexible tickets.

 

[adenda]

Don't they do it regardless?
In my experience every time I've enquired - at the airport - if there's space, check-in/service desk staff have been happy to do it. And with no connecting flight to catch
Even remember checking in to a JQ flight via a kiosk and being offered the option to jump on an earlier flight.

 

[Brissy1]

For future reference, use the multi city tool to book the MEL-SYD leg and you can chose any flight that day. The fare is the same.

Oh what a pearl of information that is. Thank you.

 

[justinbrett]

Don't they do it regardless?
In my experience every time I've enquired - at the airport - if there's space, check-in/service desk staff have been happy to do it. And with no connecting flight to catch
Even remember checking in to a JQ flight via a kiosk and being offered the option to jump on an earlier flight.

No. They'll only do it when it suits them.

It was pretty standard to get moved forward on QF until about 10-15 years ago, that's all gone now, you have to buy a flex ticket. Or be in a position where the seat you have is worth more to them than the seat you want.

 

[sanne]

For many years we have always stayed at the airport the night before an international flight whether it’s a direct flight or connecting to the international flight.

Hence we’ve always used the multi search feature to book our flights whether with points or cash. ie mid day flight BNE - SYD, overnight at Ridges Hotel, and wander across to the International terminal in the morning for the SYD - JNB or Dallas or wherever else we’re going. Takes a lot of stress out and we just say our trip starts one day early.

 

[serfty]

In SYD now with four hours before boarding. Much more relaxed. (Having lounge access helps.)

I note the 6pm and 8pm MEL-SYD flight today have also been cancelled. (I never looked that 'far' earlier.)

 

[exceladdict]

In SYD now with four hours before boarding. Much more relaxed. (Having lounge access helps.)

I note the 6pm and 8pm MEL-SYD flight today have also been cancelled. (I never looked that 'far' earlier.)

Interesting, I was under the impression the 'on the hour' flights were the ones less likely to get cancelled in the past.

 

[p--and--t]

This may be "Tin Hat" stuff but it has happened to me too regularly this year. I have worked out one way how Qantas are reducing costs - by not flying to schedule.

For the fourth of five times this year, my flight on the Golden triangle has been cancelled on the day or the day before.

This time heading to SYD from MEL to connect with QF1, I receive a text at 9:25pm that my noon flight was cancelled and putting me on a later flight at 2pm giving me just 10 minutes more than MCT to make my connection.

Diving into expert flyer, i could also see the 8am flight was also cancelled leaving a sea of J0/Y0 around those times, especially after 10am.

Now, this severly limited my options as 100 minutes before departure is simply not enough time to comfortably get from T3 to airside T1 at SYD. I tried calling one of those special numbers getting strait through (!) but they were unable/unwilling to help.

So off to Tullamarine really early, getting there before 8am. At the premium service desk in the checkin area I was proactively offerred rebooking onto a stress relieving morning flight without fuss. (I suspect flow forwarding is in action today.)

Its not just QF.

My flight KUL-DOH was changed 5 times by QR in the space of a few weeks, forward a day, back 12 hours, forward, backward. was most concerning as had a connecting onward from from DOH which went from 3 hours to 27 hours. They then bumped me off to another airline code share to avoid having to pay for a transit hotel and ended up with 12 transit time.

Also MH cancelled my connecting flight SIN to KUL and rebooked me on a flight that left 10minutes after the scheduled arrival of QF flight from Brisbane - impossible connection. When I complained they shifted me forward 24 hours which meant I would have to pay for a hotel in SIN and lose my hotel booking in KUL when there was a perfectly good flight 6 hours away. Two more calls to get them to agree to nearest acceptable connection.

 

[serfty]

Interesting, I was under the impression the 'on the hour' flights were the ones less likely to get cancelled in the past.

FWIW, When I booked back in May, it was on the 11:30am service.

A month or two later this went from the schedule and they rebooked me on tbe Midday flight.

In late September I noticed the 11:30am was back on the schedule. This operated today.

 

[SeatBackForward]

For a connecting flight, agree. But for point to point - if they did this, nobody would buy flexible tickets.

Which actually says more about the way they run the business. They would prefer to earn the extra $$$ from flexible fares, and then take the risk that a bunch of people might have to be accommodated by a distruption.

If there was an empty un-sold seat on an earlier flight, why not offer it to a passenger who's arrived earlier, has no check in bags to offload and doesn't mind not getting their preferential seat? Some people value time as well.

 

[justinbrett]

Which actually says more about the way they run the business. They would prefer to earn the extra $$$ from flexible fares, and then take the risk that a bunch of people might have to be accommodated by a distruption.

If there was an empty un-sold seat on an earlier flight, why not offer it to a passenger who's arrived earlier, has no check in bags to offload and doesn't mind not getting their preferential seat? Some people value time as well.

Airlines make money from flexible and/or premium fares. Discount Y doesn't make them any money.

If they think there will be a disruption, that's when they start offering it.

 

[albatross710]

On my SYD DOM - INT transit on Monday I would say it was 20 minutes inc bus transit, immigration and security.

OK, I had APEC for immigration and security but I wasn't expecting it and I don't think it made much difference.

But every day is a different day at SYD