Melbourne Tullamarine - third world airport with a third world airline (VN)

[2muchplastic]

I had my second ever experience of MEL airport on thursday this week, and to say that it was not a happy experience (in combination with a less than perfect airline) would be an understatement.

It was my second flight with VN, the first being the outbound leg from SYD-SGN, and this one being the return SGN-MEL.

We departed SGN 35 minutes late, no explanation given, and not even a reference to it when the captain annouced flight and arrival times. Not a good start, and I was starting to feel a little edgy that my just under 2 hour transit time to be able to make my BNE connection was starting to look a little tight.
Not to worry, thought I, it just means that I won't have time for a shower and breakfast in the lounge, even though I normally have plenty of time for that when transiting back through SYD in spite of the bus journey.

Normally in J class you're lucky enough to get the treasured express pass, so you can bypass the bigger queues, but not so on VN. I asked, but all I got was a slight smile of incomprehension (and I even pulled my bag apart to see if I had an old one in there). Now I WAS starting to feel nervous.
However, when landing at MEL (only 25 minutes late), it seems the pilot parked incorrectly as we waited 10 minutes for a tug to push us out into the taxiway again, and then park properly at the gate. More time lost.
Then the queues for immigration stretched back to and through the duty free shop. REALLY not good. As you got closer, you could see that the customs guys were really stretched and were working flat out, but the numbers of passengers was just too great.

After 30 minutes, I managed to finally get through immigration and head for the baggage carousels, imagining that my case (first time in a while that I've travelled with checked luggage) was going to be merrily whizzing around for me to pluck off the carousel and waltz though to the AQIS check. Not so. In fact another 30 minutes went by before it sparked up and started spitting out bags.
Now I know I'm stuffed. 15 minutes or so until my connection leaves, and I still have to run the AQIS mill, sprint up the travelator, find check in (my bag is borderline cabin baggage) and run and catch the flight if I'm allowed.
But no. Coming round to the other side of the carousel, I can now see that the airport staff have got the queue to get through to the AQIS check doubled up and down the baggage hall, and it takes another 20 minutes to get to the entrance to the queuing system, let alone to the check itself.
So that's it. Flight missed, and I ended up on a flight 2 hours later to BNE.

I was standing in the queue talking to one of the airport staffers, and she was telling me that 9 flights had landed in one hour, and that there was around 2500 people milling around the airport at once, and the aging airport was totally unable to cope.
Now to me, 9 flights in one hour does not seem like a particularly high volume, so I'm presuming that MEL does not handle anywhere near this kind of volume normally. People on here are usually quite complimentary about MEL, so did I just catch it on a bad day?:?: (My only other experience was departing to HKG on QF29, and a near midnight departure is probably not that indicative of how an airport is at peak times.)

So the moral of the story is never assume anything. Never assume that, even though you can normally waft through the express queues, that you can all the time.
But most of all, never, ever assume that you can get get off a plane and walk to another terminal 200 meters away in just under two hours

 

[thewinchester]

My only recent experience with MEL was a trip on Tiger last year, and that was pretty uneventful.

However, this story highlights how badly some of Australia's airline infrastructure has been allowed to decay and go without significant capital investment for prolonged periods. You would think by now that a country positioning itself as a destination for international visitors would have the terminal facilities to back up the intent.

Instead of their arrival in oz being a pleasant experience and setting good impressions for the rest of the trip, they suffer through the horror of airports such as MEL and my own home port of PER which are a literal disaster for passengers.

I sympathise, and live and hope for a day where the airport owners wake up to this face.

 

[Dave Noble]

My only recent experience with MEL was a trip on Tiger last year, and that was pretty uneventful.

However, this story highlights how badly some of Australia's airline infrastructure has been allowed to decay and go without significant capital investment for prolonged periods. You would think by now that a country positioning itself as a destination for international visitors would have the terminal facilities to back up the intent.

Instead of their arrival in oz being a pleasant experience and setting good impressions for the rest of the trip, they suffer through the horror of airports such as MEL and my own home port of PER which are a literal disaster for passengers.

I sympathise, and live and hope for a day where the airport owners wake up to this face.

I would look around at other places before criticising MEl and SYD international too much. SYD ( and it would seem MEL ) have peak periods where it can take time to get processed. Try and avoid the rush times and they are v nice airports; even peak I would rather arrive into SYD than have to deal with the 2 hour queues that can occur in US airports

I do my best to avoid arriving early am into Oz ( if only because I loathe night flights ) and find Australian ports decent

I cannot see what horror MEL airport is; it is clean and seems pretty well maintained

Dave

 

[straitman]

I would look around at other places before criticising MEl and SYD international too much. SYD ( and it would seem MEL ) have peak periods where it can take time to get processed. Try and avoid the rush times and they are v nice airports; even peak I would rather arrive into SYD than have to deal with the 2 hour queues that can occur in US airports

I do my best to avoid arriving early am into Oz ( if only because I loathe night flights ) and find Australian ports decent

I cannot see what horror MEL airport is; it is clean and seems pretty well maintained

Dave

2muchplastic & thewinchester,

The regulars here will know that there are many occasions when I don't agree with Dave Noble. On this occasion I totally agree with his comments.

2muchplastic the saga started when you booked and traveled with low grade and non communicative airline that you chose. This was not the specifically the fault of MEL airport.

This situation can and does occur at many airports around the world. I've arrived in Boston at 2130 on a domestic flight (757) and it's taken over 90 minutes and we were the only aircraft arrival. Try LAX when several 747's arrive at similar times. It really is nothing to shout home about.

thewinchester, remember that MEL airport is currently in the throws of some major work. I agree with your concept of old and tired infrastructure but at least something is actually being done in Melbourne to address the issue.

 

[dajop]

Sounds pretty bad. My commiserations.

MEL usually copes with a couple of planes at once that is all, and can deal with planes every 10 mins or so but ... if planes run late it can be an absolute disaster.

VN normally gets in just before the US flights - so if it is late it will hit QF 26 & QF 94 (usually both 747's curiously timed both to arrive at 9:40) and NZ flight (usually 777)... with consequences. Then there are the two chinese (China Southern& Air China) flights just before VN which (along with the VN flight) seem to undergo more intense AQIS screening for a range of reasons, and no wonder it was a zoo ...

I wonder also if QF do VN baggage handling, or that is done by Menzies? If VN was late, you would find that QF26 and QF94 are unloaded first then NZ and probably VN last. I was unlucky enough to arrive once on an NZ flight that got in seven minutes before a QF 747 .... we had to wait 30 minutes (from reaching carousel) for first bag from our A320 whilst baggage was unloaded from the 747 first (that's my theory anyway ... and certainly the QF bags came out before ours). And they were the only two planes in the place. I didn't blame the airport, it was pretty obvious what was happening ...

 

[MrHyde]

Sorry to hear about your experience at MEL. I travel to and from MEL International pretty much weekly, sometimes more and most of the time, it is pretty quick. If you have an Australian passport, those automatic kiosks are brilliant. Even when the manned booths are full with huge lines, you will find those kiosks empty. They even have those kiosks near the arrival areas now and no one uses them... easy to get a ticket and then just walk out through the cameras.

The AQIS area is a hit or miss. I've noticed when they are busy, there is no such thing as an Express line and you still have to line up. The line usually moves quickly enough and since I don't have much baggage on me, I usually just go straight through. On occassions where I have had to go through the Red channel, then I'm stuck there for atleast an hour.

 

[thewinchester]

The regulars here will know that there are many occasions when I don't agree with Dave Noble. On this occasion I totally agree with his comments.

And no disrespect for it either either, nothing like some healthy debate and discussion on any issue.

MEL airport is currently in the throws of some major work. I agree with your concept of old and tired infrastructure but at least something is actually being done in Melbourne to address the issue.

Totally aware of that. My point is the length of time its taken for these kind of works to have been started, its too often that our public infrastructure gets near breaking point before the owners/maintainers finally say its time to do something which just prolongs the frustrations and pain even longer as they spend years getting it done.

All power to the airports and other owners of public transport infrastructure who are doing something about the problems, but how a bit more forward planning and thinking so that:

a) when these problems happen in future, facilities are designed and planned in such a way that future upgrades and improvements can be done with the least amount of disruption, and
b) not allowing your infrastructure to again reach breaking point and the key drivers for fixing it are the bad press, media attention and customer perception not doing anything will bring.

Sorry, topics of public infrastructure get me really annoyed. One does wonder at times if the the airport privatisation that took place over 11 years ago has actually delivered on the then government's aims of achieving higher efficiency and better administration from the private sector. Has it not left us with a corporate quasi-monopoly that knows it can do nothing and continue to draw a profit for as long as it likes knowing that consumers have virtually no other options available to them.

 

[Nigelinoz]

I don't mean to make light of the unfortunate experience the OP had but having gone through Heathrow terminal 5 in the midst of the fiasco which was it's opening I would class the Melbourne experience as a doddle.
I know that comparing Heathrow with Melbourne is probably ridiculous because of the vastly different amounts of passenger movements each day but it just shows that even when you have the most modern infrastructure things can go a**e up.

 

[wandering_fred]

Don't arrive into PER international just after midnight when QF , MH and EK are supposed to arrive half an hour apart..........

And even if they do the first luggage from the next flight is probably out before the last luggage from the first...........

Consider the airport schedule as well your schedule.....


Fred

 

[2muchplastic]

....2muchplastic the saga started when you booked and traveled with low grade and non communicative airline that you chose. This was not the specifically the fault of MEL airport......

It was only at ticket issuing stage that I knew I was actually on VN. I (or my department's travel booker) had unknowingly booked a QF codeshare.

35 minutes of the problem was down to the airline, along with my assumption that express passes were the norm, the rest of it WAS the airport.

 

[serfty]

I travel into MEL international 5-6 times per year; the only time I have hit such as the OP describes was when traveling on a 2 hour late aircraft from AKL landing after the "day" flights from Asia around 8pm - the day of the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony.

The queues were back of the Duty Free and even with an express pass, it took 75 minutes to get out.

If you have an OZ e-passport you can save heaps of time in that type of situation.

 

[Evan]

Express passes are only for airlines who participate, it probably cost the airline a few $$ each one the staffers collect, hence the QF logo on the pass.

Anyway i love MEL generally and yesterday morning i set a record... 17 minutes from arrival at gate (not off the plane) to the curb
And i was in row 47 of a full QF9.

17 minutes !!! even i was shocked at that time.

E

 

[2muchplastic]

......If you have an OZ e-passport you can save heaps of timer in the situation.

I wish I had such a luxury, unfortunately I'm still stuck with my old "maroon" pasport for now. I won't qualify for an AUS one for another year or two yet.

It's a bit of a shame that there's no Frequent Visitor card and channel scheme a la HKG that other nationalities could apply for.:idea:
I would have no objection to paying a small fee for such a card if it was going to save me half an hour here and there.

 

[thewinchester]

Express passes are only for airlines who participate, it probably cost the airline a few $$ each one the staffers collect, hence the QF logo on the pass.

Pardon my ignorance, I've never heard of these express passes before. What are they, which airports are they used at, and who do you have to kill to get them?

 

[Dave Noble]

Pardon my ignorance, I've never heard of these express passes before. What are they, which airports are they used at, and who do you have to kill to get them?

If travelling business class or 1st class on participating airlines, you should be given a departures express pass card at checkin in Australia and should get given an inbound one when on the way back. Some airlines that I know who participate are QF,BA and CX

QF also seems to give them to Platinum members, I don't know if they give them to gold / silver

If eligable, you should just be given one, no need to kill anyone

Dave

 

[Evan]

QF For sure they do not give them to silver (atleast in usual operation) and i dont think gold either, i think only Platinums usually get them.

I do find them useful when things are busy, if not then it makes no real difference, i am usually rather quick and efficient getting out of an airport or getting in for more lounge time

E

 

[pauly7]

If travelling business class or 1st class on participating airlines, you should be given a departures express pass card at checkin in Australia and should get given an inbound one when on the way back. Some airlines that I know who participate are QF,BA and CX

QF also seems to give them to Platinum members, I don't know if they give them to gold / silver

If eligable, you should just be given one, no need to kill anyone

Dave

BA? Really...? Grrr they must have *forgotten* to hand them out to our J cabin last time I flew them. Not unsuprising.

 

[straitman]

If travelling business class or 1st class on participating airlines, you should be given a departures express pass card at checkin in Australia and should get given an inbound one when on the way back. Some airlines that I know who participate are QF,BA and CX.
Dave

LA also provide them inbound and outbound on most occasions.

 

[MelUser]

My experience is that Melbourne airport is a horror arrival airport if 3 or more planes have landed at once.

The Express arrival lane is slower in my experience than the normal lanes if 2 qf jumbos have landed at the same time as everyone in business and first gets an express card. Also crew use the express arrival lane and they all seem to get priority.

 

[straitman]

My experience is that Melbourne airport is a horror arrival airport if 3 or more planes have landed at once.

The Express arrival lane is slower in my experience than the normal lanes if 2 qf jumbos have landed at the same time as everyone in business and first gets an express card. Also crew use the express arrival lane and they all seem to get priority.

My experience is that this applies to most airports :!: