Qantaslink grounds 5 Q400's

[Mal]

About Qantas - Media Room - Media Releases

Qantas said today that five Bombardier Q400 aircraft operated by its regional airline QantasLink had been temporarily removed from service following an inspection by the airline of a main landing gear component.

Qantas Chief Executive Officer, Mr Alan Joyce, said the inspections, and subsequent action, were initiated by Qantas following incidents experienced by another Q400 operator overseas and after discussions with the manufacturer.

"Our approach to this issue, which requires the replacement of a main landing gear fitting component, is consistent with Qantas' proactive, conservative and safety-first approach to every part of its operations," Mr Joyce said.

"The issue is not an immediate flight safety concern, but does need to be rectified before each aircraft can return to service.

 

[Foreigner]

Hmm...I flew Q400 TMW-SYD this morning. Report suggests only some aircrafts are affected.

 

[Mal]

Hmm...I flew Q400 TMW-SYD this morning. Report suggests only some aircrafts are affected.

They have 21 (or maybe more) Q400s, so it's only a few affected. I suspect they might be the first five delivered, but am unsure. More news will unravel I'm sure.

 

[Groundfeeder]

Yes, I don't like the idea of them going down on one knee upon landing....

 

[Sprucegoose]

Yes, I don't like the idea of them going down on one knee upon landing....

YouTube - Dash 8-Q400 accident crash landing in Aalborg DK 9. Sep 2007

 

[Ewing]

There were a couple of cancelled DH4 flights on the board when I was in CBR flying to SYD yesterday morning - and when returning in the evening I noticed a few more cancelled flights in SYD (all going to CBR).

I also noticed a few flights with strange flight numbers like QF8400, QF8401, etc - so maybe they were substitutes.

Fortunately I was booked on a jet in both directions, and enjoyed my 6A on the 734 going up (with 6B,C,D,E,F empty) and 4F (with 4E empty) coming back on the 738

 

[Groundfeeder]

Fortunately I was booked on a jet in both directions, and enjoyed my 6A on the 734 going up (with 6B,C,D,E,F empty) and 4F (with 4E empty) coming back on the 738

Obviously election day is THE one best day to travel to/from CBR

 

[Ewing]

Obviously election day is THE one best day to travel to/from CBR

Definitely.

There were only about 5 other people in the J lounge, and at least 3 were travelling internationally as they had their passports and grey transfer wallets.

The flight to SYD itself was very lightly loaded, and there didn't appear to be many status pax as there were only a couple of pax sitting forward of the exits. Most pax appeared to be media (as expected)

 

[jamesatfish]

Flew a QF84xx flight SYD-CBR this morning. Had a call from Qantas on Saturday to tell me about 'a new flight number' - only when I looked online did I see it had changed from the Q400 to a 737.

Economy section was fairly full but most of the B and E seats had been left vacant. There were a few people in the J cabin but there was only Y service for the entire aircraft from what I could tell - though the J cabin did get the pre-flight water/juice option.

I did notice when I looked on Sunday that QF weren't selling seats on that flight.

 

[mikew]

Q400's Grounded

From nonews.com

SOME flights between Sydney and Canberra have been cancelled after Qantas grounded five Bombardier Q400 aircraft due to landing gear problems.
The aircraft, operated by the carrier's regional arm QantasLink, were removed from service today following advice from the manufacturer, the airline said.

An overseas Q400 operator had experienced a similar problem, prompting Qantas to investigate the fleet, it said.

Cracks were discovered in a major component of a landing gear fitting in five of its 21 Bombardiers, with the remaining 16 unaffected and to remain in service.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the issue was not an immediate safety concern, but needed to be rectified before the aircraft could be returned to service.

A resolution is not expected until the end of next week, forcing the cancellation of up to seven QantasLink Sydney-Canberra flights each day over that period.

Affected customers will be contacted and put on the next available flights, Qantas said.

Supplementary flights will also be operating and larger aircraft will be used wherever possible to minimise inconvenience, it said.

"Our approach to this issue, which requires the replacement of a main landing gear fitting component, is consistent with Qantas' proactive, conservative and safety-first approach to every part of its operations," Mr Joyce said.

 

[Stuser]

I think you might be right, and this would explain why the totally non-peak-hour jet leaving Canberra (to Sydney) the day before was absolutely chockers...!

Obviously election day is THE one best day to travel to/from CBR

 

[MatF]

Ahhh, so I wonder if this is why we had a DH8-300 this morning WGA-SYD, instead of the normal DH8-400?

It was a bit of a tight squeeze ... flight is normally fullish
Same flight number as normal though.

 

[Fifa]

Prime TV news (Canberra) just mentioned that 8 CBR-SYD flights were cancelled today.

 

[N860CR]

My Q400 flight for tomorrow has become a Fokker 100, so looks like Alliance have been called in.

 

[Groundfeeder]

There were a few people in the J cabin but there was only Y service for the entire aircraft

Ahhh, the old CBR-SYD Ansett days when full brekky was served and you generally kept eating whilst landing with the tray still on your lap

 

[jsoprano]

Does anyone know if QLD flights with the Q400 have been or will be affected as well?

I am booked on QF2312 TSV-CNS next Thursday, which still shows a Q400 as equipment, which is fine as I like the props. Wouldn't mind a Fokker from Alliance as a replacement, but would be disappointed with a QF 734 or 73H.

 

[markis10]

Does anyone know if QLD flights with the Q400 have been or will be affected as well?

I am booked on QF2312 TSV-CNS next Thursday, which still shows a Q400 as equipment, which is fine as I like the props. Wouldn't mind a Fokker from Alliance as a replacement, but would be disappointed with a QF 734 or 73H.

Yes they have but only ROK and MKY, the affected aircraft are VH-QOC, VH-QOE, VH-QOF, VH-QOI and VH-QOJ. The Queensland network has been most affected with Boeing 737-400s substituting to ROK and 717's to MKY.

 

[jsoprano]

Yes they have but only ROK and MKY, the affected aircraft are VH-QOC, VH-QOE, VH-QOF, VH-QOI and VH-QOJ. The Queensland network has been most affected with Boeing 737-400s substituting to ROK and 717's to MKY.

Okay, thanks markis10! Then let's wait and see.

 

[oz_mark]

Yes they have but only ROK and MKY, the affected aircraft are VH-QOC, VH-QOE, VH-QOF, VH-QOI and VH-QOJ. The Queensland network has been most affected with Boeing 737-400s substituting to ROK and 717's to MKY.

Alliance Airways are operating some ROK-BNE services on behalf of Sunstate Airlines.

 

[N860CR]

Yes they have but only ROK and MKY, the affected aircraft are VH-QOC, VH-QOE, VH-QOF, VH-QOI and VH-QOJ. The Queensland network has been most affected with Boeing 737-400s substituting to ROK and 717's to MKY.

Haven't had a 734 through ROK yet, plenty of F100's though.