QF108 pax stranded at LAX for 24 hours with no hotel

[TheBOSman]

Any airline should offer the best outcome they can to avoid passengers going to social media to complain..............

If there were indeed no hotel rooms, you can't blame the airline for that.

Yeah, it really depends if there were hotel rooms and what the possible time frame for a fix would be. If they think it will be fixed within a short while, they aren't going to get rooms for people or even tell them that they are safe to be away from the immediate gate area.

I will note that when I flew VA J LAX-BNE, we took a 13 hour overnight delay. In fact, VA turned the first arrival of the day into our plane. They knew a bit in advance though that the plane had an issue, delays were posted 2-3 hours in advance of original departure time. They put everyone, including those in Y, up in a hotel for the evening. QF was sold out in premium cabins or I would have tried for that. I do thank VA for giving me a free extra stay towards SPG Platinum this year .

 

[VHOEJ]

Well thanks to fog, the delay passengers have been diverted to BNE.

 

[Brisbane Flyer]

Had to laugh, bit of AFF sensationalism on the title of the thread by the OP. If anyone has been delayed on Qantas' Australia bound flights know, alot of people will just crash on the floor because it takes hours for QF (or any airline) to organise rooms for everyone and its well into the evening/morning at the time of the delay.

A better title might have said there was another mechanical issue that delayed a flight, hardly newsworthy in today's day and age.

Cheers
BF

 

[dougieboy]

Well thanks to fog, the delay passengers have been diverted to BNE.

Those souls are now most likely tortured, feeling wretched and whom now have their own understanding for the phrase 'airline purgatory'.

 

[Hey_you78]

We certainly could have organised our own accommodation in LA but the problem was we were told the plane was leaving at 1.50am, then 2.30am, then 3.50am, then 7am, then 2pm. Couldn't leave as we couldn't get back in until 6.30am - no security to let you in. At 11am, we were taken to another gate and told they couldn't get a crew to fly until 11pm, but they could send us to a hotel for a few hours, which was handy. Had we been told at midnight when we landed at LAX, that we wouldn't fly until almost 24 hours later, would have found somewhere else to lay our heads wasn't the most pleasant experience but we got home eventually - I feel for the people with kids and the elderly and those who had to be somewhere on Friday morning.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

We certainly could have organised our own accommodation in LA but the problem was we were told the plane was leaving at 1.50am, then 2.30am, then 3.50am, then 7am, then 2pm. Couldn't leave as we couldn't get back in until 6.30am - no security to let you in. At 11am, we were taken to another gate and told they couldn't get a crew to fly until 11pm, but they could send us to a hotel for a few hours, which was handy. Had we been told at midnight when we landed at LAX, that we wouldn't fly until almost 24 hours later, would have found somewhere else to lay our heads wasn't the most pleasant experience but we got home eventually - I feel for the people with kids and the elderly and those who had to be somewhere on Friday morning.

Welcome to AFF and thanks for the first-hand account.

It is difficult when you have a rolling delay. I guess the analysis has to centre around the validity of rolling delays going forward, and how airlines should best handle those. At which point, for example, was it clear the crew would be out of hours. Was 11am the earliest this was known?

 

[Hey_you78]

Yeah it was around 11am that we were told they had tried to get staff but were unable to have the crew until 11pm. Prior to this, the issue was the part needed for the air conditioning system. They actually said at about 3.30am that if the part couldn't be sourced and fixed by 7am, then they would look at getting another plane organised for around that 7am time to fly out. It's hard to know what the best course of action would be - technical and mechanical problems are not my forte, however I guess we expect that when an airline tells you something is wrong, they should have a fair idea on the timeframe required to fix it or have a back up plan. Again, some things are just out of their control I guess. As I say, the lack of communication (ie, changed times continually) was more frustrating than the delay itself.
Cheers

 

[Himeno]

At which point, for example, was it clear the crew would be out of hours. Was 11am the earliest this was known?

They should know how long the crew would have when they reported for duty.
It would depend on what their alternate plans are for crew hours. They could have been planning to fly to HNL and have a new crew meet them there (dead heading on QF3 or JQ1).


I'm not sure how they could have expected to have a new aircraft to operate the flight at 7am when the next available QF aircraft would have only arrived at LAX around 0630 (QF15, QF107 and QF93). It would take at least 2 hours to turn them around.

 

[runawaytrain]

Welcome Hey_you18. I would find the lack of communication the most frustrating thing too.

 

[madrooster]

I'm not sure how they could have expected to have a new aircraft to operate the flight at 7am when the next available QF aircraft would have only arrived at LAX around 0630 (QF15, QF107 and QF93). It would take at least 2 hours to turn them around.

Even this wouldn't have been possible as they wouldn't have a set of crew. The only way this would've been possible would be to cancel the LAX-JFK-LAX tag that day and use that crew to fly QF108D. Even then I suspect using that crew intended for QF107 LAX-JFK wouldn't work as they possibly wouldn't have had enough rest time before a LAX-SYD.

 

[markis10]

Even this wouldn't have been possible as they wouldn't have a set of crew. The only way this would've been possible would be to cancel the LAX-JFK-LAX tag that day and use that crew to fly QF108D. Even then I suspect using that crew intended for QF107 LAX-JFK wouldn't work as they possibly wouldn't have had enough rest time before a LAX-SYD.

There is usually enough slack in the layovers to pull a crew for duty at short notice versus minimum break time.

 

[UP4014]

I like it how people think posting to Twitter will suddenly get a better outcome............the airline knows about the problem, it knows everyone is unhappy but posting to social media doesn't change the outcome

I'm sure if changes the speed at which some airlines fix problems. If the airline knows then it knows to fix the problem quick smart before it hits social media (twits and facebook of which I don't partake).

It may not change the outcome, but speeds it up.

Matt

 

[JohnK]

Im wondering what was the exact timeline because if I knew the flight was cancelled until tomorrow, damned if I was going to lie on the ground for 10hrs. Yes I would expect them to provide hotels but if that didn't happen, I would have spent $150 down the road at a hotel over spending the night on the floor.

Ugggh. I cant stand cheap cough people that take a holiday that costs thousands and then are too damned cheap to cough up $100 in an emergency. YES it would have been nice for QF to sort it out for them ASAP but sometimes you have to say screw it and figure it out for yourself to get some rest and a shower.

I know this type of situation is not quite the same and travel insurance may cover some of the costs if you don't have a high excess but I guess I am a cheap cough person because I will spend a night at the airport if the circumstances warrant it over paying for extortionate taxi fares each way and overpriced hotel room for a few hours of perceived rest.

I can bite my tongue and suffer quietly.

 

[Denali]

Nope. No way, no how would I stay at the airport if we were told the flight is now tomorrow (I understand rolling delays but at some point, this flight was canned with notice). My comfort and health is important. Even if I have to break out the emergency credit card, that's what it's there for.

I wonder how many of these people now declare their holiday ruined by the delay? Which could have been partly avoided by some rest and a hot shower.

Maybe set up a GoFundMe account while tweeting??

 

[DC3]

I had a laugh at those news clips, showing passengers lying on airport floors at LAX, knowing that they have up to a half/full day before their onward (delayed) flight, even if there was a wait to eventually be told how long the delay would be.

How disorganised can they be? Or is it a deliberate choice?

And especially at LAX, how many hotels are within minutes on a complimentary shuttle (50-100 maybe)? I wouldn't even try to guess how many hotel rooms are within 15 minutes of the airport, with some hotels having 500+ rooms each.

What a way to (end/start) the holiday.