Qf802 Per To Mel 24 July

[Reggie]

Interesting events on QF802 today (July 24th).

On checking bags at baggage drop off in Perth, the lovely CSO tells me that my flight is on time. I say, that makes a change and ask if there are many delays, she smiles and says a few and tells me look at the screens on the way to the QP. Anyway my MEL flight was th only east flight running on time, the SYD flight was nearly 3 hours late.

Anyway we all start to board at 12.30 for a 1300 flight due to it being one of the 743's. At around 1255 the pilot tells us there has been some minor damage to the plane but all is okay, they just need some paper work signed off to take with them and we will be on our way, should be 20 mins and do not worry strong tail winds mena we will still arrive on time if not early. Anyway over the next 70mins we get severla updates from an ever more p!ssed of pilot telling us no one will answer his calls, then no one in Perth will sign the docs, so someone in Syd has to sign them, fax them over then take them to flight deck. In the end we end up pushing back at 1415 light one pax who was clostraphobic and deplaned and didnot reboard.

Now here's where I think I may have had a fellow AFF'er onboard, an FA comes up to the CSM and says a pax is concerned that he/she will miss their connection back to PER, and the CSM says whta:shock:. He is flying over to MEL and then coming straight back to PER, that makes no sense. I sat there thinking "status run". Match anyone here?

 

[simongr]

I am sure no-one would do that - I bet they had a very important meeting or really needed some Krispy Kremes

 

[Reggie]

I am sure no-one would do that - I bet they had a very important meeting or really needed some Krispy Kremes

Krispy Kremes maybe, but I got the feeling the pax did not have time for a meeting. I have heard of situations where (big) companies will actually fly staff from the US to AUS or reverse to enable them to send freight at a greatly reduced rate, however I dont think this would have applied on domestic routes.

 

[serfty]

Actually, such couriering of Vital documents is not that uncommon. I have no examples in recent years, but I knew of at least two businesses that often sent their employees across the continent on these missions.

Not surprisingly, such tasks were highly sort after.

 

[NM]

I like the Status Run theory . Now who is going to own up t it?

 

[toowongman]

Actually, such couriering of Vital documents is not that uncommon. I have no examples in recent years, but I knew of at least two businesses that often sent their employees across the continent on these missions.

Not surprisingly, such tasks were highly sort after.

That is true. I couriered a hard drive (120 gig) of data from Brisbane to Perth back in 2003. It was urgent, and quicker than using the net connection we had at the time.

 

[oz_mark]

That is true. I couriered a hard drive (120 gig) of data from Brisbane to Perth back in 2003. It was urgent, and quicker than using the net connection we had at the time.

Reminds me of what my lecturer once said. Never underestimate the bandwidth of a car full of computer tapes.

 

[StevePER]

Reminds me of what my lecturer once said. Never underestimate the bandwidth of a car full of computer tapes.

It was actually Andrew Tanenbaum, author of Computer Networks (probably).

 

[oz_mark]

It was actually Andrew Tanenbaum, author of Computer Networks (probably).

Probably correct, got the time I heard the phrase right, just got the actual source wrong.

That was definitely one of my text books.

 

[SeaWolf]

Now that's funny, I was on QF565 from SYD-PER on the 24th, and we got held up for about half an hour with the exact same problem. Pilot was telling us there were waiting on some paperwork that was needed before we could depart. Then told us again that another department needed to sign off on it, so we'd be a bit longer. And because of the strong head winds, we didn't make up any time at all, in fact we were delayed even longer I think.

 

[NM]

Reminds me of what my lecturer once said. Never underestimate the bandwidth of a car full of computer tapes.

However, the latency can be an problem. And if using a single car, then packet loss and redundancy are also a problem .

We regularly refer to the bandwidth of a Jiffy Bag .

 

[dubno]

That is true. I couriered a hard drive (120 gig) of data from Brisbane to Perth back in 2003. It was urgent, and quicker than using the net connection we had at the time.

I remember couriering an original Brancusi artwork from LHR to Stuttgart for my work years back. The ticket was 600 quid and I didn't even get to sit in CE! I just couldn't figure out how it was worth a discount y return LHR-SYD

If only I knew then what i knew now, I'd have got more than a day out of the office out of it.

Rich

 

[N860CR]

A few times recently I've flown to Dubbo or Orange to deliver papers where the regular mail service is slow. Hop off the flight, hand over the documents, get right back on the same plane to SYD. Always get an odd look from the FA...

 

[JohnK]

I know someone who is occassionally flown to all sorts of destinations to courier vital documents. Just recently, at very short notice, he was asked to go to Dubai and return after spending 8 hours over there.

It is a highly sought after position as the travel is always business class and he is paid hourly for all the time he is away, including time spent at the airport and in the air.

 

[littl_flier]

A colleague of mine when on secondment in London had a couriering job after some important 'documents' got lost in the post and needed to be signed by several board of directors of a NYSE listed company so it could be released. Over the next three days, this individual visited Prague, Barbados, New York and Athens to have the master signed off. Now that's a junket and a half but the client was more than happy to fly him first class.

Don't think there's many missions/junkets like that anymore.