Virgin Australia Delays/Cancellations

[AviatorInsight]

Enjoy the challenges. (Better you than incompetent me).

AviatorInsight, one thing we haven't discussed for a while but continuing to be the case is how almost consistently, domestic airline punctuality for all operators is better between SYD and BNE/OOL/MCY as a group rather than SYD and MEL/AVV.

It's not super stunning northwards, but often terrible southwards.

MEL on its own is busier than BNE but with the latter's lack of infrastructure one might expect the reverse re timekeeping to be true. Bad that the world's second busiest domestic airline route has so much late running (plus cancellations, some of which may be due to stagnant passenger numbers and hence poorly patronised flights are on occasion combined, especially when there's a timetabled 15 minute or half hourly frequency).

I absolutely agree. I was to operate 2 MEL sectors the 0630 from Sydney and the following day the 0645. Both of these flights were cancelled. This is extremely frustrating for me as it is for the general public, I’d much rather be up the front.

I don’t actually know anyone in Operations (yet) to pose the question of how or why these particular sectors get cancelled. Ultimately this would mean that excess aircraft are then able to be rerouted as required as spares in those ports? I’m not sure. I will eventually find out and will make sure I post it here. From my observations it’s always the MEL sectors that get the cancellations in the morning and always the ones at the :30min or :15min intervals. I haven’t seen an hourly departure cancelled for any reason other than an unserviceability with the aircraft itself and/or crewing issues.

 

[Melburnian1]

...I don’t actually know anyone in Operations (yet) to pose the question of how or why these particular sectors get cancelled. Ultimately this would mean that excess aircraft are then able to be rerouted as required as spares in those ports? I’m not sure. I will eventually find out and will make sure I post it here. From my observations it’s always the MEL sectors that get the cancellations in the morning and always the ones at the :30min or :15min intervals. I haven’t seen an hourly departure cancelled for any reason other than an unserviceability with the aircraft itself and/or crewing issues.

Aviator, no consolation, but your competitor(s) also do it. However none of the companies ever overtly say 'hey, we're cancelling flight xx_ because insufficient travellers had booked.' Too "commercial."

The reluctance to cancel hourly frequencies is rational. For passengers to have to wait two hours during the middle of a weekday, or at an even great span of hours on Saturdays, might lead to an outpouring of criticism on social media.

SYD - MEL must have one of the highest flight cancellation rates in the world: for some airlines in the last few months, it's been six per cent. It isn't just bad weather causing this, that's for sure, although that plays a part as your travellers may experience tomorrow.

Surface modes are not directly comparable but suburban railways (more complex to operate than underground or elevated true metros, as latter may be automated and/or have platform screen doors to increase safety and aid timekeeping) are typically expected to cancel fewer than two per cent of all trips, and often come in much lower averaged over a month.

 

[Melburnian1]

The LAX to SYD VA2 arrival on Tuesday 4 June has B773ER VH-VPD and should be at its destination gate 58 minutes tardy at 0828 hours.

VH-YFX may be on a 'ferry' (empty) flight as this B738 took off from SYD at 0803 hours. Mooted CNS arrival is 1056 hours.

VA917, the 0800 hours SYD - BNE has been cancelled, as has VA925, the 0900 hours on the same route. VA511 (0910 hours SYD- OOL) is also not running, while later in teh day, VA947, the 1400 hours SYD - BNE has also received the boot, making at least three cancellations on Australia's second busiest domestic air route.

VA1153, the afternoon 1355 hours SYD - TMW is also cancelled.

VA817 from MEL up to SYD, the 0745 hours, took off at 0852 so delayed arrival for VH-VUA should be 1004 hours, 54 late.

As BOM predicted and AviatorInsight remarked above, the weather in Sydney - while needing the rain for the dams - is atrocious so Aviator's prediction of much disruption is already coming true quite early in the day.

These cancellations will have a compounding or ripple effect. Sometimes the aircraft would be well able to undertake a later in the day trip but due to earlier cancellations or delays, one imagines crew could easily be out of position.

jb747 recently said (in a very funny, but apt remark) that for those in airline operations centres it was all a 'video game.' That may be true but I'd not enjoy working in such a stressful environment on a day like today, though probably better than as he remarked having to cop (occasional?) abuse from passengers
at airports being delayed.

 

[Melburnian1]

Continuing with Tuesday 4 June 2019, VA633, the 0815 hours CBR short flight to SYD (ATR72 VH-FVQ) took off at 0849 with claimed arrival to be 0945, half an hour tardy.

B738 VH-YIB on VA555, the 0935 hours SYD across to PER did not take off until 1052 so arrival will be at 1315 hours, half an hour late.

 

[jch]

Had two colleagues flying OOL-SYD this morning , the one on the first flight of the morning was cancelled, and bumped to the third. The one on the second flight arrived a few hours earlier after half hour on the tarmac.

 

[Melburnian1]

Had two colleagues flying OOL-SYD this morning , the one on the first flight of the morning was cancelled, and bumped to the third. The one on the second flight arrived a few hours earlier after half hour on the tarmac.

VA515 is an example of a (northbound) SYD - OOL delay with B738 VH-VUA on this 1010 hours timetabled morning flight not airborne until 1141 hours. Arrival should be at 1248 hours, 78 late.

The 1200 'high noon' VA841 from MEL to SYD was airborne at 1257, so arrival for VH-YFL looks to be 1304, 39 late. Southbound, the identically timed departure did not take off from SYD until 1322. VH-VUZ as VA838 will not arrive until 1441 hours, 66 late.

VA482 (MCY down to SYD, VH-VFU) took off at 1224 hours, 49 minutes after scheduled pushback, so arrival is 1348, 38 late.

The 1600 hours SYD down to MEL, V858 is yet another cancellation. This hasn't just affected VA.

 

[Melburnian1]

4 June (Tuesday) still has a small number of hours to go as VA436, the 1815 hours SYD - ADL airborne at 1943 (B738 VH-VUA) is set to arrive at 2103 hours, 68 late.

Another flight on the same route and in the same direction, VA444, the 2015 hours, was up up and away at 2111 tonight with B738 VH-VUK. Arrival is forecast for 2233, 38 late.

VA1226 (1920 hours BNE down to CBR with B737 - not '738' - VH-VBZ) took off at 2023, so expected arrival is 2156 hours mid evening, 46 late.

 

[Melburnian1]

VA628, the Wednesday 5 June 2019 scheduled 0705 hours SYD - CBR (ATR72 VH-FVP) took off at 0753 hours so arrival is half an hour late at 0835.

 

[Melburnian1]

VA581 (Wednesday 5 June, the 1855 hours from CBR across to ADL with B738 VH-VOK) did not become airborne until 2101, so arrival is suggested as 2207 hours, 112 minutes behind schedule but fortunately not breaching curfew. The plane must be substituting for a failed colleague as it arrived in CBR only five late at 2015 hours this evening on VA289 ex MEL.

A failed culprit may - I stress 'may' - be VH-YFE that arrived, as luck would have it, also five minutes late (at 1820 hours) on VA580 ex ADL. as this aircraft doesn't seem to have been active since then. Logically it would have been rostered to run VA581 back to ADL.

As an aside, it's most helpful how VA allows sites like FR24 access to the next day's (and often beyond) rotations. One can already see YFE's flights from 0720 tomorrow morning until a 2045 hours SYD - HBA on Friday evening.

Naturally the rosters are not cemented, as upsets like a failed aircraft or bad weather change everything, but it's most interesting to see in advance which aircraft is supposed to be where.

Not that they have to, but other airlines like QF usually don't provide advance detail as the monitoring sites only seem to "know" which aircraft is on what flight once either pushback or the takeoff roll has occurred. Transponders may be switched on earlier but as jb747 once commented, apparently buildings can adversely affect signal transmission at least as far as these specialist websites are concerned.

 

[Melburnian1]

VA46 (B738 VH-YIH), the 2320 hours redeye on Wednesday 5 June from DPS down to BNE was in the sky at 0123 hours on Thursday 6, so arrival should be at about 0829 hours, 94 minutes behind the timetable.

The 0630 hours VA726 from OOL down to MEL was airborne at 0726, so VH-VOS is arriving at 0927, 32 late.

VA304 (VH-VUO, the early morning 0555 hours BNE - MEL) did not take off until 0731 so is even later, mooted arrival being 81 late at 0941 hours.

 

[Melburnian1]

VA1141, the Friday 7 June 2019's scheduled 1350 hours from SYD to BNK took off at 1439 for a claimed 1541 hours, 36 late arrival. Plane is B738 VH-YVD.

VH-VUF on VA947 (1400 hours afternoon SYD - BNE) should be at its arrival gate at 1600 hours, half an hour behind.

 

[Melburnian1]

Saturday 8 June 2019's 1320 hours TSV down to SYD (VA1520) was in the sky at 1624 with B738 VH-VUS). Arrival should be at 1837, 167 late.

 

[Melburnian1]

On Tuesday 11 June 2019, VA705 (1600 hours afternoon MEL - BNE, B738 VH-YFY) still had not taken off by 1750 so it will be at least 90 late into the Sunshine State capital. VA341, the 1700 hours on the same route (VH-VUW) was airborne at 1754 so is likely to be at least half an hour tardy arriving.

UPDATE: VA705 took off at 1755.

 

[Melburnian1]

VA466 (Thursday 11 June 2019, B738 VH-VUG, the mid afternoon 1535 hours SYD - PER airborne at 1715) should arrive at 2001 hours, 71 late.

 

[Melburnian1]

VA837, the 1100 hours MEL up to SYD on Friday 14 June was cancelled. So is the 1435 hours afternoon MEL - ADL, VA229 and VA871, the 1730 hours peak time MEL - SYD.

The lunchtime 1245 hours MEL up to CBR, VA269 is expected to depart mid afternoon at 1520 hours.

 

[Melburnian1]

Much later on 14 June 2019, VA867 (1700 hours MEL north to SYD that took off at 1756) has B738 VH-YVC with arrival likely at 1905, 40 late.

 

[Silvia]

Saturday 15th of June sees VA740 OOL-MEL (B738 VH-YIE) with a revised arrival at 17 07, 102 late.

Earlier today VA259 MEL-CBR (B738 VH-YFR) the 8 30 hours service diverted to SYD. This caused a further delay to the return leg VA262 CBR-MEL which arrived at 13 51, 146 min tardy.

VA43 BNE-DPS (B738 VH-YIV) was airborne at 11 08, with predicted arrival at 15 29, 44 late.

 

[Silvia]

Sunday 16th of June sees a delay on B738 VH-VUZ, flying as VA336 BNE-MEL which has a revised departure at 17 26. This will have a flow effect on VA1332 MEL-HBA, the 19 05 hours service now has a tentative departure at 20 23. Also the return leg, VA1337 HBA-MEL now shows a departure time at 22 13.

 

[Melburnian1]

Adding to Silvia's advice re the heavy rain around BNE that is causing substantial delays and in some cases diversions to OOL, on Sunday 16 June 2019, VA1265, the 1600 hours afternoon BNE up to EMD (F70 VH-NKQ) took off at 1702 hours with arrival suggested as 1819 hours, 49 late.

VA1118 from PPP to BNE (B738 VH-VUS), the 1525 hours took off a little ahead of time at 1534 with arrival at the normal 1655 not possible due to the extremely adverse BNE weather. This may occur at 1753, 58 late.

 

[Melburnian1]

Va38 from POM to BNE on Monday 17 June 2019 has F100 VH-UQC (QQ being the owner) and is the 1340 hours airborne at 1426 hours. Arrival is at 1731 hours, 41 minutes late.