Pulled off Flight and still 15min to go:(

[medhead]

In terms of relying on the FIDs with VA, I only use them to check the arrivals status of the flight that is arriving at my departure gate. If that aircraft is delayed then I know my departure will be delayed. Otherwise, I'm at the gate 35 minutes before scheduled departure.

 

[AIRwin]

In terms of relying on the FIDs with VA, I only use them to check the arrivals status of the flight that is arriving at my departure gate. If that aircraft is delayed then I know my departure will be delayed. Otherwise, I'm at the gate 35 minutes before scheduled departure.

Speaking of which, I thought the website and mobile app used to have a search function by airport for all arrival/departure status at each gate so you can tell if an incoming aircraft is on time but this seems to have gone?

 

[medhead]

Speaking of which, I thought the website and mobile app used to have a search function by airport for all arrival/departure status at each gate so you can tell if an incoming aircraft is on time but this seems to have gone?

Good question. I'm not sure, I think I used mobile/website arrival/departure info sometime in the last 6 months. But might have been qantas.

 

[AIRwin]

Good question. I'm not sure, I think I used mobile/website arrival/departure info sometime in the last 6 months. But might have been qantas.

No more flight status on the new QF app either unless I've missed it somehow...

 

[moa999]

No more flight status on the new QF app either unless I've missed it somehow...

When you login to lounge WiFi, prompt to select flight

 

[AIRwin]

When you login to lounge WiFi, prompt to select flight

Thanks! I was referring to checking the flight status anywhere and not necessarily while waiting for my flight but I'll try it out the next time I'm at a lounge...

 

[medhead]

No more flight status on the new QF app either unless I've missed it somehow...

I use the old app, which is basically a mobile website.

 

[PineappleSkip]

HKIA has this and its brilliant - you can cool your heels in the lounge and wait for a boarding notification, it updates in real time through each boarding stage

How do you access that -- through the HKIA app?

Cheers skip

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Question....?

Who operates the various display boards in an airport - the airlines or the airport operator? If the former, there is not much excuse for the information being wrong or any updates being delayed.

If the latter, anything could happen, especially on boards displaying various airline's information. The airport operator just wants you out of the lounge or through security so you can use their shops no matter how long the flight is delayed. The latest tag saying 'wait' or 'gate opens XX-mins prior to departure' is to keep you captive near the shops for as long as possible.

In a lounge where only the VA flights are displayed, I assume that this is updated by VA operational staff so these boards should be accurate to a few minutes although I do note a reluctance to display delays expeditiously. I once left the lounge 30-mins before a flight showing an on-time departure (as is my normal practice) to find a 45-mins delay posted by the time I arrived at the gate some 5-mins later. Not happy.

There is a BAC operated FIDS board opposite gate 25 at BNE Domestic that is a constant souce of annoyance to all airlines who use gate 25 to board ie QF, QLink & JQ (not VA or TT). Of course pax simply assume that the airline controls these signs not the owner of the airport so wouldn't doubt the 'accuracy'.

It's not uncommon for this sign to say "boarding soon" when boarding is either well underway, closed or in some cases flight departed. What also compounds the problem is boarding calls are not audible beyond gate 25 (there is a sign to that effect however probably not observed by all) so even when boarding calls are made they are not heard. Pax departing from gate 25 often wander beyond this gate to the next food court or to look at the shops.

What does amaze me the amount of people who turn up to their boarding gate often still with their ipod headphones in their ears, claiming they haven't heard a boarding call! Just because they haven't heard a call doesn't mean one hasn't been made eg if they've been talking on their mobile, listening to music on their phone or wandered out of hearing range of that airlines PA address system. If you haven't heard a boarding call for your flight and it's past your boarding time, at least investigate the matter, never assume.

In the OP's case I don't think it's unreasonable to expect if he was at the gate at T-15 that he should still expect to board the flight.

Not sure if VA Lounge staff have access to the boarding application and are able to monitor the flight as pax go through the gate reader and the amount of pax left to board. That would at least save them having to call the gate to confirm the status of the flight. If lounge staff don't have access would it be something that could be arranged to better facilitate the customer boarding experience?

I know once QF have done the initial boarding for a flight the gate agent calls the QP/JL & CL to advise them boarding has commenced so they can do the boarding PA within the lounges. Lounge staff can also monitor the boarding application in Altea for each flight and can see if any fail to board pax are J/WP/SG/QP as the pax status appears next to their name. Often the lounge will have already followed up & located these pax before the gate agent has had to call the lounge to ask them to do it.

 

[Bandicoot]

I never knew it was the airport that controlled the FIDS and not the airlines. Well now I know and I'm surprised I haven't missed a flight. Reminds me of one Sunday afternoon when some American airline plane blew a tyre on take off, and grated one of the Sydney runways upon return. There we all were, on board, strapped into our seats, at the gate for an hour, even longer, busting, dehydrating and then guffawing at the airport media release that domestic flights were not delayed. At least we had our smart phones and alerted the world to the truth of situation.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

I never knew it was the airport that controlled the FIDS and not the airlines. Well now I know and I'm surprised I haven't missed a flight. Reminds me of one Sunday afternoon when some American airline plane blew a tyre on take off, and grated one of the Sydney runways upon return. There we all were, on board, strapped into our seats, at the gate for an hour, even longer, busting, dehydrating and then guffawing at the airport media release that domestic flights were not delayed. At least we had our smart phones and alerted the world to the truth of situation.

As has been said it depends on the airport and depends on the airline. Notice at mel for example Qantas FIDS look totally different to those in virgin and intl terminal.

 

[RAM]

To get an 'official' answer I've PM'd the VA rep asking them who controls the boards in the terminals that Virgin use in Australia - both domestic and international as well as who has control over the displays in the VA Lounges.

Hopefully that will get us the definitive answer...

 

[Bandicoot]

Indeed. I have a book of personal horror stories related to dud info on FIDS all around the world. Penny has now dropped.

 

[bullerdude]

The T3 FIDS at Melbourne are run by Melb Airport and the T1 FIDS are run by Qantas (using the recently upgraded system with time to gate and other features etc.)

Even though VA don't run the FIDS I would bet they can certainly update them, probably using a combination of auto-updates from their systems and manual updates from the gate staff etc.

 

[Milboo]

I know the boards in the lounges can be behind so when I am in the lounge I have the VA website open and monitor my flight's status from there and make sure I am at the gate 20 mins before departure I.e I take personal responsibility for getting myself on the plane.

The website is, I'm told by VA staff, real time so is the most reliable source.

 

[stickshaker]

Yes,

Lesson learned.... Arrive at gate 30min early

 

[BVT]

Had the same issue several times with VA, always at SYD.

No boarding announcement in the Lounge, nor any calls for BVT to "get a move one"!

On the last occasion this happened, others were let on the flight after me. When queried, the response was a shrug of the shoulders and a "well, your offloaded now". To the extent relevant, I was on a full J paid fare.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Had the same issue several times with VA, always at SYD.

No boarding announcement in the Lounge, nor any calls for BVT to "get a move one"!

On the last occasion this happened, others were let on the flight after me. When queried, the response was a shrug of the shoulders and a "well, your offloaded now". To the extent relevant, I was on a full J paid fare.

How hard is it to onload you again?

How many minutes prior to departure was it when you were told you were off?

As long as there is sufficient time to do that without causing a delay I don't see why it's such a drama.

Did you have HLO? Wonder if the pax would boarded after you had bags checked or they might've been staff onloaded at the last minute.

 

[BVT]

How hard is it to onload you again? As long as there is sufficient time to do that without causing a delay I don't see why it's such a drama.

Did you have HLO? Wonder if the pax would boarded after you had bags checked or they might've been staff onloaded at the last minute.

Agreed.

HLO. And my seat was left empty - I had a friend on the same flight, who was trying to call me to let me know I was in "danger"! No call in the Lounge and no "final call" on the FIDS!

Luckily, for me there was one more flight to OOL that night.

The only bright spot was that I got to eat at the Movida cafe in the VA terminal.

 

[JohnK]

On the last occasion this happened, others were let on the flight after me. When queried, the response was a shrug of the shoulders and a "well, your offloaded now". To the extent relevant, I was on a full J paid fare.

That is really disappointing.

A few people haven't boarded and they start the offload process and you happened to be offloaded first. Surely they could have put you back onboard if the flight was not closed?