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Old 2nd November 2009, 03:59 PM
Adam.S Adam.S is offline
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Default Delayed QF440 - 2/11/09

Hi to all,
I had family on today's QF440, Melbourne to Sydney flight.
Apparently as halfway through boarding, passengers were asked deplane the aircraft (B734 - VH-TJY).
Some, if not all passengers from this flight were then asked to bored the next Qantas flight to Sydney, QF442 (B763).

Just curious, can I ask if it is known what happened to the original QF440 flight. Was the aircraft declared U/S?
It was suggested there was an issue with the airconditioning?

Cheers.


**update**
QF440 departed MEL approx 90mins behind schedule.
Still, any known reason for the delay would be appreciated.

Last edited by Adam.S; 2nd November 2009 at 06:40 PM.
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Old 2nd November 2009, 11:09 PM
Adam.S Adam.S is offline
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As it turned out for my travelling family, yesterday's flight(s) turned out to be quite an event from what I've been told:

Departing Melbourne they were bound for Sydney on QF440 for the domestic leg, then connecting with JQ3 to HNL in Sydney.

At the gate in Melbourne checked luggage can be seen being loaded onto flight QF440 (14:30 departure) as passengers start to boarded the aircraft aswell.
Approx half the passengers have boarded when they are then asked by staff to leave the aircraft.
From there they were apparently given the option to join the next scheduled flight to Sydney, QF442 (15:00 departure) while staff look over the aircraft operating QF440.

My family board flight QF442 and arrive in Sydney with just their hand luggage, as their checked baggage was already loaded in the original aircraft (flight QF440) and stayed in Melbourne.

Arriving in Sydney they find out that their bags, and flight QF440, have eventually departed Melbourne 90mins late and will arrive in Sydney at a time after check-in has closed for their international leg on JQ3.

After some frantic discussion with both Jetstar and Qantas staff at Sydney Airport (who were both seemingly unaware of the delayed flights from Melbourne) they are told they can check in and fly out to Hawaii this evening without their luggage, however there was no guarantee their bags would arrive in Hawaii within the next 48 hours.

My family couldn't afford to be away from their luggage for that long, so they took up the airline's overnight accommodation offer, which thankfully included late checkout to correspond with their new flight's late-afternoon departure the next day.
That was the latest update I heard from them after being reunited with their bags which were delivered to the hotel.



Just a few questions I would like to ask:
*Is it not illegal to have checked luggage on a flight without the owner of that luggage being onboard the same flight? I thought this was standard airline policy introduced after Lockerbie?

*Now arriving in 24hours late they have forfeited 1 night's accommodation in Hawaii. Generally speaking, is there a chance their travel insurance could compensate for this lost night of accommodation - approx $100AU ?

*Why wasn't JQ3 held in Sydney until the connecting passengers from Melbourne arrived?
Not sure how many (at least 7 confirmed) passengers missed their JQ3 connection, however I assume the cost of putting these passengers up in a hotel would be less then what Jetstar would have faced in fines for a late departure from Sydney?

*Apparently the check in staff were unaware that there were 2 delayed flights from Melbourne. I doubt this would be the reason though.
What is the procedure when check-in staff make the "final call" for late passengers? Can't they look up their computer to see if these 'late' passengers are booked on a connecting (and possibly delayed) codeshare flight?


Not complaining, just curious really.
Cheers.

Last edited by Adam.S; 2nd November 2009 at 11:47 PM.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 07:55 AM
Matt_L Matt_L is offline
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Adam,

I don't think there is a policy (that I know of) relating to having to fly on the same plane as your checked luggage is on. In 2004 flying from New York to Washington Delta screwed up our bags and they got put on the flight after us- and ended up waiting a while back for the bags to come through.

More recently I've heard of it happening on Qf MEL-SYD runs as well but being deliberately done to ensure the bags make it to destination- for example if the passenger is within the 30 min checkin time etc

7 pax unfortunately in this day and age isn't a valid reason to delay an aircraft for most airlines, but especially an LCC (as bad as it sounds). Putting them up in the hotel is probably a minimal cost considering they most likely have spare seats going out anyways on todays flight but missing their slot and the ongoing snowball from delays could be far more costly
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Old 3rd November 2009, 08:28 AM
Daniel F Daniel F is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam.S View Post
*Is it not illegal to have checked luggage on a flight without the owner of that luggage being onboard the same flight? I thought this was standard airline policy introduced after Lockerbie?
I think as long as the passengers and baggage were originally intended to be on the same flight it won't be a problem. In your family's case, it would have been impossible for them to have known prior to checking in their bags that they wouldn't be travelling on the same flight as their bags, so its not like they could have planted anything in the bags.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 09:03 AM
Krzysztof M Krzysztof M is offline
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The other day I did Sydney-Bangkok-Helsinki on Thai/Finnair only to hear at my destination that my bags were 'due to short stopover at BKK currently on their way to Frankfurt on a Lufthansa'.
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Old 3rd November 2009, 10:30 AM
Adam.S Adam.S is offline
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Thanks very much for your replies.

Quote:
I think as long as the passengers and baggage were originally intended to be on the same flight it won't be a problem. In your family's case, it would have been impossible for them to have known prior to checking in their bags that they wouldn't be travelling on the same flight as their bags, so its not like they could have planted anything in the bags.
Yes, I've since learned this is the policy. Which makes perfect sense really.
If a passenger checks in, yet fails to board (lateness, illness etc) then the bags will be taken off.

Quote:
7 pax unfortunately in this day and age isn't a valid reason to delay an aircraft for most airlines, but especially an LCC (as bad as it sounds). Putting them up in the hotel is probably a minimal cost considering they most likely have spare seats going out anyways on todays flight but missing their slot and the ongoing snowball from delays could be far more costly
7 passengers were the confirmed minimum who missed the connecting flight (they were off QF442, not sure if there were any more off QF440).
I agree though, 7 passengers is not all that large of a number. I guess having the aircraft on the ground at Sydney is costly, the fines for delays would be costsly, the follow-on effect for having delayed aircraft would be a factor too.
Thankfully they had originally booked a few days in Honolulu, before having further connecting flights into the US. So they were quite lucky in that sense, they just unfortunately cannot be refunded for their missed night's accommodation booking.

Quote:
The other day I did Sydney-Bangkok-Helsinki on Thai/Finnair only to hear at my destination that my bags were 'due to short stopover at BKK currently on their way to Frankfurt on a Lufthansa'.
Taking the scenic route. Hopefully the bags made it back to you in one peice.
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