Qantas A380 Slat Delamination

[Melburnian1]

During the afternoon of Wednesday 10 December, 'The Australian' and 'The Age' have finally run a story (online) about A388 VH-OQC's loss of a wing slat (see above).

'The Age' story makes no mention of the actress who broke the story. 'The Australian' mentions her. A possible explanation is the story originally appeared in 'Herald Sun' that like 'The Oz' is a News Ltd publication.

Both carry former Oz Ambassador to the USA Joe Hockey's reaction about QF12 being cancelled on 7 December as 'You must be kidding'. (Mr Hockey was apparently accommodated on another flight, details unknown).

 

[arrow]

During the afternoon of Wednesday 10 December, 'The Australian' and 'The Age' have finally run a story (online) about A388 VH-OQC's loss of a wing slat (see above).

'The Age' story makes no mention of the actress who broke the story. 'The Australian' mentions her. A possible explanation is the story originally appeared in 'Herald Sun' that like 'The Oz' is a News Ltd publication.

Both carry former Oz Ambassador to the USA Joe Hockey's reaction about QF12 being cancelled on 7 December as 'You must be kidding'. (Mr Hockey was apparently accommodated on another flight, details unknown).

I like the fact that Hockey’s message mentions a special VIP Service team that are working to rebook him as he’s probably CL (unlike the rest of us which were left stranded)

 

[Jacques Vert]

I like the fact that Hockey’s message mentions a special VIP Service team that are working to rebook him as he’s probably CL (unlike the rest of us which were left stranded)

and still not happy

 

[moa999]

unlike the rest of us which were left stranded

What was your delay?

Seemingly @Spamam got onto AA to BNE then down to SYD, but suffered further delays in the AA flight.

S

Post in thread 'Qantas Delays/Cancellations'

Tuesday at 4:12 PM

Aa42 was delayed a couple of hours due to a faulty hold heater. Landed at 845 and the 9am bne to syd flight was in the app and boarding. Qantas put me on the 1255 and got in at 330. Points upgrades maintained from LAX to SYD despite everything. Could have been a lot worse but I’ve lost a day. Now for SYD traffic.

• Spamam

• 
• 

 

[Berlin]

Who the heck is Lynn Gilmartin? What is she known for- obscure toothpaste ads?

 

[RSD]

Who the heck is Lynn Gilmartin? What is she known for- obscure toothpaste ads?

I'm the same as you - I've got no idea what she is known for either - she must be important...

 

[RSD]

Just strange that the flap delamination occured on the 4th flight (1st pax one) after the long rest. The electrical gremlins probably less surprising - difficult to test a full passenger load.

Wonder if it was inspected during the return to service checks.

I wonder if years of Abu Dhabi harsh sunshine had anything to do with it?

 

[jase05]

Who the heck is Lynn Gilmartin? What is she known for- obscure toothpaste ads?

Those familiar with the World Poker Tour would know her and indeed that’s the only reason I know of her and no idea what other TV shows or movies ahead has appeared in

 

[DEZ]

QANTAS IS STILL WORLD SAFEST AIRLINE, NO PEOPLE WERE INJURED ,NO EMERGENCY OUT LANDING. SO WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT .
PERSONALLY I GET ON ANY QANTAS AIRCRAFT BECAUSE THE ARE PROFESSIONAL PILOT , FIRST OFFICER , EXCELLENT CABIN CREW 100% BEHIND QANTAS. NUMBER ONE WORLD WIDE.

 

[RooFlyer]

Welcome to AFF @DEZ The fuss, I think is because this isn't the sort of thing that usually happens on aircraft; and there hasn't been too much fuss being made, really.

 

[seadan]

Hey all, I was the one who was on the flight and posted over on FT. Interestingly, I was on the right side of the plane and had no idea the wing slat delaminated until I saw the articles.

I decided to share a few pictures below. You can see the power is off on the right side of business class, and in one of the photos the emergency lighting is on. The picture of the lower rear lavs doesn't really show the extent of it, but you can see a towel on the ground and do not use sticker on the door. I took a walk down to stretch my legs and it was super squishy and wet all back there. The FAs did indicate it was just water, thankfully, and nothing unsanitary, though I imagine it's still a mess to clean up.

All in all, the staff was quite professional and did the best they could under the circumstances. Many commented to me this was the worst they experienced in a long time, and they were pretty embarrassed about it.

Despite the spokesperson comments about passengers being compensated proactively, all I received when I landed was a generic email from Sarah Burkitt apologizing for the inoperable IFE, but no compensation included. I finally reached out to customer service yesterday and had to file a case, after which they realized it was a "known issue" and then offered comp of 30k points or $300AUD voucher (I think it was 10k/$100AUD for Y pax) - but it seems like this is just for the IFE issues and doesn't really reflect the extent of issues some passengers (like myself) experienced with the power outage at the seat. As a non-regular QF flyer, neither are particularly useful to me, but seems like they aren't open to a partial refund (especially since it was booked as an AS mileage award).

As someone not so familiar with ACL - is this considered a violation of the fit for purpose rule and does that provide for any stronger remedies?

Anyway, certainly a first in my years of flying!