QANTAS and Olympic Athletes

[Joseph Saragozza.]

our athletes are due to come home on tuesday morining. dose anybody know what time they arrive at sydney and what aircraft they will be using?
in 2004 they used 2 747 one of them was Wunala Dreaming.
regos would be helpful.

thanks

joe.

[Jamie D]

ok im gonna have a shot in the dark here and say they will use wunala (because it is wunala) and VH-OEB as it is in the new livery, these are just guesses mind you but seem not too unrealistic....
Then again they may just use any plane that 1. isnt grounded for maintenance checks, 2 stuck in perth waiting on a new engine, 3. stuck in perth ****ing water out of the tanks, 4. overseas getting stapled back together or 5 stuck overseas with a massive hole in the side.
At this rate they might be sending the hawdon to pick them up, LOL.

[Josh F]

It will be an A330 and a 744.

Regos to come.

[Marty H]

Wont be Wunala shes busy on the MEL-LAX route.

[Joseph Saragozza.]

yes i too was hoping for WUNALA and VH-OEB.

how did you find out which aircraft i was gonna be josh?

[D Chan]

Hi - most likely it won't be OEJ. At the moment it looks like being a RR powered 744 and the newest a333.
As mentioned before it is going to be a 744 and a333 charter on top of the normal PEK-SYD serviced by the Airbus.

The A333 will be specially flown in from HKG after flying SYD-HKG (so it will do a HKG-PEK sector), while the 744 will be specially flown in from SYD. These two flights will have the special 4 digit flight number QF60xx.

The A333 will depart Beijing for Sydney some 40 minutes earlier than the 744. Not exactly sure if they will arrive at Sydney one after the other but 40 minutes is just about the difference when it comes to the 744 and the A333's slower cruise speed.

[Josh F]

I work in the industry.

[Alex Lui]

I can say it's not VH-OEB doing the Beijing run. It's heading back to Sydney as QF2 at present.

VH-OJH is operating QF6015 Sydney - Beijing.

VH-QPD I would assume going off what has been said (aircraft in Hong Kong flown up to Beijing) is doing the other charter.

Alex.

[Ryan N]

Heard on Seven News last night there would be 2 charters, with medal winners to be seated in business class.

[Daniel M]

Heard on Seven News last night there would be 2 charters, with medal winners to be seated in business class.

LOL! If thats for real, what an absolute disgrace!

[Justin L]

LOL! If thats for real, what an absolute disgrace!

Why? What's wrong with that? Someone has to sit in the J seats, and it may as well be the medal winners.

[Stuart Trevena]

Hi All,

Just an Update for you all.

1st Special Charter Departed Sydney this morning for Bejing.
QF6015 Departed at 06:30.

I assume this was the 744.
Anyone can confirm this and the Rego?

Also the Return Flight info is on the Sydney Airport Website.

QF6076 from Bejing Schedule to arrive at 06:40 26/8
QF6072 " " 07:00 26/8

Also noted on Sydney Airport website is another Flight QF6016 from Hong Kong which is scheduled to arrive at 18:50 26/8.

Does ayone know anything about that flight?? Is it an extra Charter or just a Delayed Service??

Stuart

[Montague S]

Why? What's wrong with that? Someone has to sit in the J seats, and it may as well be the medal winners.

perhaps its something to do with the divide? swimmers get exceptional funding where cycling, athletics and other sports are left floundering with very little funding.

[Ryan N]

From memory, at the Athens Olympics, the team captain and gold medal winners travelled in First Class, while silver and bronze medallists were in Business class.

[Alex Lui]

VH-OJH operated QF6015 to Beijing this morning.

VH-QPD is the likely candidate for the other charter as QF188 was cancelled this morning and last night. From what others have said, I assume this aircraft is going to fly Hong Kong - Beijing - Sydney.

Alex.

[Paul McFarlane]

perhaps its something to do with the divide? swimmers get exceptional funding where cycling, athletics and other sports are left floundering with very little funding.


46 medallists across 11 different sports.. Don't think they'll be thinking too much about the divide on this trip home..:)

[Montague S]

Lets try and stay on topic thanks -mod

[James K]

LOL! If thats for real, what an absolute disgrace!

Why the disgrace?

[D Chan]

VH-QPJ
BNE-HKG QF97
HKG-PEK QF6027
PEK-SYD QF6076 std 1650 sta 0640+1
Approx 11hr 50min

VH-OJH
SYD-PEK QF6015
PEK-SYD QF6052 std 1730 std 0700+1
Approx 11hr 30min

btw they will be on Channel 7's sunrise tomorrow morning

[Howie D]

I pity the business class traveller that sits next to Sally McLennan. Going from her post run press interviews they wont get a word in the entire flight.

[Josh F]

There are no commercial customers on the flights. They are charters carrying team members and officials. As with the last flight from Athens, that atmosphere is quite electric with plenty of on-board partying and celebrations (as experienced from the last one).

[Gerald A]

From Acars Reports

QF6076 VH-QPJ due 6:40am
QF6052 VH-OJH due 6:45am

[Bernie P]

Well, according to channel 7 that is! Both Baretta AND Kochie have said it now, at least 30 mins apart!

Damn media...

[Sarah C]

OJH is in the hangar. Interestingly OEB is at the Jetbase and is parked (not in a hangar).

[Alex Lui]

VH-OEB just got back from Bangkok as QF2, hence not parked in the hanger.

Alex.

[BradR]

Lots of celebrations on the planes but apparently lots of sleeping also.

Celebrations are limited as flights are dry. AOC doesn't want "half-cut" athletes stumbling down the steps in front of the media and the PM.

Brad

[Andrew P]

See QF announced today QF will be the official team carrier to/from 2012 Olympics in London.

To stop being poached by V Australia, I think.

Banjo

[Marty H]

See QF announced today QF will be the official team carrier to/from 2012 Olympics in London.

To stop being poached by V Australia, I think.

Banjo

I think that would be more to stop say SQ/EK and the like getting the deal.

[Andrew P]

I think that would be more to stop say SQ/EK and the like getting the deal.

do you really think the Austrian Olympic team would fly on a foreign airline.

image the howls etc. that would arise from the popular press, and requests that Government funding be stopped etc etc

Banjo

[Marty H]

do you really think the Austrian Olympic team would fly on a foreign airline.

image the howls etc. that would arise from the popular press, and requests that Government funding be stopped etc etc

Banjo


Australian Cricket team fly with Emirates.

[Grant Smith]

Australian Cricket team fly with Emirates.

The Australian Cricket team are also sponsored by Emirates...

[Graham B]

Originally Posted by Andrew P
do you really think the Austrian Olympic team would fly on a foreign airline.

image the howls etc. that would arise from the popular press, and requests that Government funding be stopped etc etc


Dont think most Aussies would give a toss who the AUSTRIAN olympic team flew with

Benjo

[Philip Argy]

do you really think the Austrian Olympic team would fly on a foreign airline.

image the howls etc. that would arise from the popular press, and requests that Government funding be stopped etc etc

Banjo

I would expect the Austrian team to fly on a foreign airline, Andrew, but I would expect the Australian team to fly on an Australian airline!
;)

[Michael Rychter]

I was surprised how scruffy the 747 looked.

Imagine your wedding day and the hire car turned up unwashed.

Poor effort Qantas!

[Andrew P]

Dont think most Aussies would give a toss who the AUSTRIAN olympic team flew with

Banjo

Australians no, but the gutter press (aka Daily Telegraph) yes, and politicians follow what happens in the gutter press

Banjo

[Montague S]

The Australian Cricket team are also sponsored by Emirates...

half the world's sporting events and teams are sponsored by Emirates. ;)

[Rhys Xanthis]

Well it is the whole olympic team (ie 500+ people), whereas the cricket team is all of...maybe...30? 40?

Plus most of the destinations the cricketers go to aren't served by QF so a charter is uneconomical, but EK flies to loads of destinations, esp. Sth Africa, India.

[Nigel C]

Australians no, but the gutter press (aka Daily Telegraph) yes, and politicians follow what happens in the gutter press

Banjo

I'm still trying to work out why they, or indeed anyone, would give a toss as to who the Austrians fly with.

:confused:

[Graham B]

Guess we will just have to speak LAUDA (oops another typo )

Benjo

[Joseph Saragozza.]

dose anybody have any images of the aircraft at/in the hanger.
i had a glimpse this morning on tv before i went to school and it only had the 744 VH-OJH 'Darwin' in there.

joseph.

[Andrew McLaughlin]

dose anybody have any images of the aircraft at/in the hanger.
i had a glimpse this morning on tv before i went to school and it only had the 744 VH-OJH 'Darwin' in there.

joseph.

I'm sure it'll be all over Seven News tonight at 6.00 and probably Today Tonight (shudder) after that as well.

[Joseph Saragozza.]

i had a look but it had nothing on the A330
it would of been a shame as all the athletes on the 744 got all the attention. lol:p

[Nigel C]

dose anybody have any images of the aircraft at/in the hanger.
i had a glimpse this morning on tv before i went to school and it only had the 744 VH-OJH 'Darwin' in there.

joseph.

I dare say they'd be pushing it to have a B747, A330 and all of the media and athletes in there all at the same time without being super crowded and becoming dangerous.

[Joseph Saragozza.]

Originally Posted by Nigel C
I dare say they'd be pushing it to have a B747, A330 and all of the media and athletes in there all at the same time without being super crowded and becoming dangerous.

yeah i figured that. please correct me if i am wrong, but i would of thought the would have the two planes close to one another like the did in 2004.

[Marty H]

i had a look but it had nothing on the A330
it would of been a shame as all the athletes on the 744 got all the attention. lol:p

Koshie kept refering to the A330 as a A380:rolleyes:

[Grant Smith]

Plus most of the destinations the cricketers go to aren't served by QF so a charter is uneconomical, but EK flies to loads of destinations, esp. Sth Africa, India.

Rhys,

You best go and check out the QF website and check the destinations they fly to...

Last time I checked - QF flew to cricket playing nations such as South Africa, India, NZ & England. And the rest of the nations they play against are potentially served by other Oneworld partners with the exceptions of probably Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Bangledesh.

[Rhys Xanthis]

True, but my point was that the amount of destinations served by EK in those countries is larger than QF.

[BradR]

The official international airline of the Australian Cricket Team before Emirates was....Cathay Pacific:eek:

Of course it is all about money but it did lead to some weird routings for tours of the West Indies which typically commenced with a flight to Hong Kong, then New York before the team joined a US airline for the flight to Jamaica etc. The other routing was to London with Cathay then Air Jamaica.

Brad

[Arthur T]

I was surprised how scruffy the 747 looked.

Imagine your wedding day and the hire car turned up unwashed.

Poor effort Qantas!

Yeah, looks not good to carry our VIP guests - Olympic Medalists. :mad:
Anyway, I think would it be the last time to use 747 to carry Olympic Athletes? :D
(Use A380 Next Time! :p)

In addition of chartering 1x744 and 1x333 for the Athletes, would there be chartered QF 763s, 738s even DH4s for our non-Sydney Athletes (eg. Stephanie Rice from Qld, Cate Campbell from Vic) back home, or just give them J Class tickets back?

(If they are not chartering aircrafts anymore, we may have a chance to have Stephanie Rice to sit next to you! :D)

No Quarantine!!?? :eek: