Qantas Delays/Cancellations

[holrs514]

Hi, travelled on qf94 leaving lax on time 10.15 and could have left at 10 with the new York plane running late. Many people missed the flight and lots of space particularly down back where everyone bad 3 or 4 seats each with 2 empty centre seats of 4.

Made good time to Melbourne and the airport turned a 6.30 arrival into 7.00 as they were not prepared.

 

[flychrisfly]

Depends if QF15 is used for transcon. There are 2 747s at LAX on Mon, Tue and Wed. QF95 from MEL on Mon and Wed and QF11 on Tue.

According to Google, QF95 is scheduled to arrive at 9am into LAX where QF11 LAX-JFK is due to depart at 8:20am though I'm sure this varies across the seasons. However, it does allow for an on-time departure of QF16 LAX-BNE if the JFK-LAX 747 is running late though another flight may be delayed.

 

[Melburnian1]

On Tuesday 16 August QF11 departed LAX 63 minutes late at 0923 hours, arriving at JFK at 1717, 37 minutes behind time. This returning B744 then departed New York at 1856, 46 minutes tardy, arriving LAX at 2154, 28 late, showing how unpunctuality can gradually be pared back due to excess time being included in schedules.

However QF12, the 2230 hours from LAX to SYD (a B744 on Tuesdays) did not then depart until 0044 on Wednesday 17 August with Thursday 18 SYD arrival suggested as 0745, 75 minutes late. In contrast, the BNE-bound B744 and MEL-bound A388 were able to depart either close to time or early.

 

[Quickstatus]

Made good time to Melbourne and the airport turned a 6.30 arrival into 7.00 as they were not prepared.

Further to my earlier post about airport rather than airline issues as a root cause of some delays. To what extent do airlines control/supply aspects of ground services?

Is difficult enough for an airline (as these threads can attest) to be able to consistently ensure on-time departures and arrivals so its important to understand from "coalface reports" that at times it is outside of the purview of the airline to be able to influence the performance of non company actors.

Examples include (and please add to this)

Weather causing diversions, increased traffic on ground or in the air, slower ground speed,
Passengers who are unruly causing offloading, sick causing diversions, slow to arrive at gate causing offloading of checked luggage
Ground service delivery failure
Curfew restrictions


Any others outside airline control?

 

[Melburnian1]

Further to my earlier post about airport rather than airline issues as a root cause of some delays. To what extent do airlines control/supply aspects of ground services?

Quickstatus, a few years ago (during August!) I was bussed from the ground floor of MEL (international) as my aircraft (bound for SIN if I recall) was not allocated a gate as there had been some fog and so some departures had been delayed. This was before the most recent extensions that added extra gates.

Since A380s cannot use every gate at airports, that may be a key reason why holrs514 was allegedly delayed. Isn't gate 9 at MEL a normal one for QF A388s to use?

I reckon the short answer to your question is that QF does not own the international terminal hence like all airlines it can be at the mercy of the airport management, but the latter have an incentive to try to be efficient because if not, the airport may be the subject of social media complaints (and perhaps correspondence from airlines seeking reductions in charges.) That said, if aircraft fail to depart on time and the airport has no more suitable gates on offer, it may be unfair to blame the airport (or in some cases the airline). Complicated!

 

[Melburnian1]

Any others outside airline control?

Thankfully, relatively uncommon, but some idiot or dangerous individual not proceeding through security into airside and hence a terminal having to be evacuated is another possibility.

Severe weather causing an airport roof or ceiling to leak or collapse. I was at Melbourne Airport on Christmas Day 2011 when there was an extremely heavy sudden storm. The international check in area had leaks in at least two places with water collecting on the floor.

 

[Melburnian1]

On Wednesday 17 August, QF20 (2005 hours MNL - SYD) departed at 2030 but arrival on Thursday 18 will be delayed by an expected half an hour until 0640.

 

[Melburnian1]

Thursday 18 August is predicted to see QF648, the scheduled 0520 hours redeye arrival from PER instead pulling into the MEL gate at 0610, 50 minutes tardy.

 

[katiebell]

rabbits5, thank you: nothing beats an on-the-spot reporter. QF5 stopped in HNL from 0149 to 0255 hours with arrival in LAX suggested as 1047 instead of 0900. Other passengers are mostly accepting and understanding (since it could be you or me) but nonetheless some travellers are time sensitive and reliant on making another connection by air or surface modes.

While they might be small when compared with the number of flights operated, these medical diversions in theory may become more frequent as the median age of (in this case) Australians (who might a lot of the time comprise half or more of those on board a QFi flight) increases.

One wonders if it will get to the stage where airlines (subject to competitive pressures) may eventually require some sort of medical clearance for passengers above a certain age. The additional cost of the created attendant bureaucracy might not be worth it if airlines did a full analysis though.That said, any of us irrespective of age can have a stroke or coronary. Does the likelihood of either increase rapidly above a certain age?

The inability to get travel insurance for most medical conditions and fos pax over certain ages (or at a maasive increase in cost) effectively stops many pax flying, especially to the USA.

 

[Melburnian1]

Thursday 18 August sees QF403, the 0645 hours SYD - MEL cancelled: low bookings? QF488, the 0845 hours MEL - SYD is also cancelled to balance things.

 

[jb747]

Hi, travelled on qf94 leaving lax on time 10.15 and could have left at 10 with the new York plane running late.

I very much doubt that the aircraft could have left 15 minutes early. To many other factors, that you can't see, have to come together to make that happen.

 

[Melburnian1]

I very much doubt that the aircraft could have left 15 minutes early. To many other factors, that you can't see, have to come together to make that happen.

If holrs514 was discussing the Tuesday night (16 August) QF94 ex LAX, the QF website suggests that it pushed back at 2210, five minutes early.

One of the biggest annoyances, including for staff who are doing their best to get planes away on time, must be passengers who insist on boarding at the absolute last minute due to their own sense of self-importance. If they're running from a connecting flight or a genuinely slow immigration experience where they had tried to be prudent with the time allowed to get through, a different matter. And then there's the ones who as AFF member JohnPhelan famously said are or were 'at the bar!'

Many of us may rush onto trains, buses, trams and ferries at the last second but it's not as easy or quick for the airline staff...so a little bit of passenger punctuality might be helpful.

 

[Melburnian1]

On Thursday 18 August, QF2214 (1645 hours ABX up to SYD, Q400 VH-QOE) was airborne at 1730 and hence should arrive at roughly 1828, 33 minutes behind schedule.

 

[Cossie]

QF413, Sydney to Auckland was delayed this morning by over 30 minutes due to baggage handler staff issues, into Auckland at 15:30

 

[Melburnian1]

You may mean 'QF143', Cossie, as many of the 400 series are MEL - SYD or v.v. flight numbers.

QF2006, the mid afternoon 1525 hours 18 August SYD - TMW was in the sky at a very late 1804 early this evening. Aircraft is Q200 VH-TQX (which has not ever featured in these threads if I recall); arrival is predicted at 1839, 124 minutes tardy. This is one of those unpunctual results that statisticians term 'outliers': not typical, since it would be far more likely that this flight operated punctually or close to it.

B717 VH-YQT on the 1700 hours CBR - SYD was airborne at 1809; arrival of this flight QF1520 should be 75 minutes behind schedule at 1910 tonight.

 

[Melburnian1]

The Wednesday 17 August 2230 hours QF12 from LAX did not depart until 0008 hours today (Thursday 18) - 98 minutes behind the schedule - so should arrive on Friday 19 at 0755, 85 late.

QF94 to MEL departed LAX at 2236, only 21 minutes late but on Friday is predicted to arrive at 0745, 45 minutes tardy. Perhaps it took a long time to taxi and hold for its takeoff roll. The BNE-bound B744, QF16 is more or less punctual but the second evening flight to MEL ex LAX, the B744-operated QF96, is not, having departed at 0058 hours on Wednesday super early morning, 83 minutes late, with arrival on Friday expected to be 0915, 75 late, so a pretty similar performance to its colleague (A388 aircraft though) in QF94.

QF93 will therefore be delayed from its 0915 hours timetabled pushback in Melbourne on Friday 19 August.

 

[Cossie]

You may mean 'QF143', Cossie, as many of the 400 series are MEL - SYD or v.v. flight numbers.

QF2006, the mid afternoon 1525 hours 18 August SYD - TMW was in the sky at a very late 1804 early this evening. Aircraft is Q200 VH-TQX (which has not ever featured in these threads if I recall); arrival is predicted at 1839, 124 minutes tardy. This is one of those unpunctual results that statisticians term 'outliers': not typical, since it would be far more likely that this flight operated punctually or close to it.

B717 VH-YQT on the 1700 hours CBR - SYD was airborne at 1809; arrival of this flight QF1520 should be 75 minutes behind schedule at 1910 tonight.

Yes, you are correct, I hit enter before proff reading Or maybe too many glasses of red.............. Hmmmmm, Pinot!

 

[Melburnian1]

QF83 on Friday 19 August, the 1015 SYD - HKG departed at 1040 and is expected 35 minutes tardy into the Asian centre at 1815 this evening.

QF93, the 0915 hours MEL to LAX had been forecast to depart at 1030 (owing to the delayed arrival of QF94 ex LAX) but managed to get away at 1025, 70 minutes late, with arrival forecast for 0710 hours, 35 late.

A few hundred kilometres to the south, the 1145 hours MEL - SIN (QF35) pushed back 56 minutes behind time with arrival expected at 1839, 44 late.

QF7, the 1300 hours SYD - DFW long sector is expected to depart an hour behind schedule with arrival estimated at 1415 same day, 40 minutes behind time.

There is another QF6009 empty ('ferry') working scheduled tonight at 1810 hours from SYD for an 0020 hours arrival in MNL on Saturday 20 August - normally this is an A388 going up there for scheduled maintenance. A good time to do it as it is not school holidays.

UPDATE: QF7's departure delay was longer than predicted - until 1450. Suggested arrival has become 1445, 70 minutes late.

QF6009 departed SYD six minutes early at 1804 for a suggested Saturday 20 August 0005 arrival in MNL: A388 VH-OQI is the plane going up for maintenance. Let's hope that there are not any unexpected failures of the A388s in the next few days, as with VH-OQI inoperable, the fleet is in full utilisation mode if I am not mistaken.

 

[docjames]

Today's 1900 MEL-SYD CANCELLED, pax accommodated on later flights.

 

[Melburnian1]

Adding to the delays in MEL on a quite wet Friday 19 August 2016, QF29, the 1020 hours MEL - HKG (B744 VH-OEG) did not take off until 1419 so arrival should be at roughly 2052 instead of 1800, a deficit of 172 minutes.

This B733 was late because it was on the Wednesday evening 17 August scheduled 2335 second flight of the night to MEL that instead departed at 0058 hours on Thursday 18, arriving in MEL at 0929 hours, 89 minutes late, today (Friday.) Why it pushed back from MEL about three and a half hours late this afternoon is a question that some intrepid AFF QF user may wish to fill us in on.

QF30 is (possibly a little optimistically) shown on the QF website tonight as departing at 2215, 105 minutes later than the timetable says, with Saturday 20 arrival in MEL at a projected 0915 hours, 75 minutes behind time.

Increased aircraft utilisation in theory is great for shareholders but can cause delays to passengers. QF CEO AJ can boast all he likes about QF's B744s not being 'old' but at almost 14 years old (birthday was 20 December 2002), this aircraft VH-OEG is hardly 'young.' That said, some technically qualified aviators appear to prefer these Boeing 'Queen of the Skies' to the A388s. As with all transport equipment (air or surface), good maintenance is the key.