VH-OJR - 17/7/09 Air Pacific departure?

[Adam.S]

I believe today's Air Pacific flight# FJ910 was operated by Qantas B747 VH-OJR, departing Sydney approx 12:50pm.


Is this flight (Qantas code share QF391) often operated by Qantas or Air Pacific aircraft?

[Tim Bowrey]

An Air Pacific 737-800 DQ-FJH arrived at about 11:45am so I wonder where that has gone or whats happned to the Air Pacific 747's today?

[Tim Bowrey]

Just found out that the Fiji 738 was covering a massive delay on the FJ911 NAN-SYD flight which is due at 10:20pm tonight. The 738 used flight number FJ1911 from Nadi. No idea when the 744(FJ910) is due to depart because it says, Sydairport.com that it has been completed, the Qantas 744 OJR. Anyones guess then.

[Adam.S]

Yes then Tim, given that I'd say OJR is replacing the Air Pacific's 747 run as the flight was showing up on the radar with the flight number reading "QFAFJI" instead of just "QFA" or "FJI".

So is this afternoon flight normally operated by Qantas or Air Pacific?

[Tim Bowrey]

Air Pacific 747 does NAN-SYD-NAN every day.

[Adam.S]

So since today's flight was operated by a Qantas aircraft, which company would then provide staff for the flight?

[Nick W.]

you can assume it would be a wet lease as it's a different aircraft config, similar as to when Air Canada provided some B763 ops for QF a few years ago between SYD and AKL it was a full wet lease, even though QF have the same aircraft type. QF staff more than likely operated the flight if it was OJR.

[Adam.S]

QF staff more than likely operated the flight if it was OJR.

Thanks Nick I thought this may have been the case, although how did qantas manage to find enough FAs and flight crew at such short notice?
Do they have a 'stand-by' team?
...or has me and my low-IQ overlooked something here?:o

[Nick W.]

I don't know the exact terms from the QF side, but just speculating I'd say that the fact they found a 744 available would mean they knew this swap was coming and the usual bidding system for qantas would have been used as a normal flight. Just speculating though...

N

[Adam.S]

Interesting, thanks Nick.
Having a 747 available was also another element of the situation which crossed my mind.



Hi Adam,

I edited all your posts in this thread to remove your quotes referring to the entire previous post.
Please refrain from quoting whole posts in your replies.

Thank you - mod

[Tim Bowrey]

VH-OJR opperated FJ910 NAN-SYD covering for the FJ747 that didnt come so instead of NAN-SYD-NAN it was SYD-NAN-SYD which got the SYD-NAN pax away on time although delaying the NAN-SYD pax by aggessss!

Edit-
Using callsign of "Pacific 911" on decent now for RWY25. He explained it was a Qantas 747-400 to ATC too.

[Fred C]

VH-OJR was operated by QF Flight Crew and QF Cabin Crew. If you were QF you wouldn't lend your aircraft to just anyone to fly.:D

FJ aircraft was delayed due to a maint problem.

[Grahame Hutchison]

VH-OJR arrived in Sydney at 0603 operating QF2 and then departed again at 1257 for Fiji (ACARS not reprogrammed for the 910 flight number), returning at 2151 as QF911.

VH-OJR QF0002 17/07/2009 06:03 Qantas B747-438 London-Bangkok-Sydney
VH-OJR QF0002 17/07/2009 12:57 Qantas B747-438 London-Bangkok-Sydney
VH-OJR QF0911 17/07/2009 21:51 Qantas B747-438 Nadi-Sydney

This was the QF911 route back from Fiji.

http://www.16right.com/MessageBoard/FJ911.jpg

[Jack B]

Thanks Nick I thought this may have been the case, although how did qantas manage to find enough FAs and flight crew at such short notice?
Do they have a 'stand-by' team?
...or has me and my low-IQ overlooked something here?:o

I may be wrong, but I believe for Cabin Crew at least there are periods where they aren't rostered on to any flights, but are put "on call" ie they must be able to arrive at the airport to operate a flight within something like 2 hours notification

I believe being on call is one of the most stressful parts of bein an FA because it makes planning day to day life very difficult

[James Smith]

It would be stressful being "up in the air" not knowing whether you will be "up in the air" today!

[Adam.S]

Thanks for all replies.
I found this subject quite interesting.

cheers

[Ash W]

I believe being on call is one of the most stressful parts of bein an FA because it makes planning day to day life very difficult

No different to anyone else who is on call. That is why people get paided to be on call.

[Jack B]

I'm just saying it is significantly more stressful than rostered flying. Obviously it would be the same in any position where one is on call, but in this context I'm talking about Flight Attendants

[Ash W]

Why is it different to anyone that is one call or for that matter stressful?

[Daniel F]

Because in most other occupations being on call does not involve you leaving home for a couple of days if you do get called up.

[Jack B]

Why is it different to anyone that is one call or for that matter stressful?

a family friend is a QF FA and was going to "do her best" to attend my brothers 21st, however 3 or so hours before she was called in to fly SYD-PER-SIN-LHR-SIN-ADL-SYD. ( she's in LHR now )

thats roughly a week or possibly even more away at just a few hours notice, not a day/night shift

[Ash W]

I still cannot see how it is different or more "stressful" than anyone else that is on call, and as I said before people generally get appropriate money for the inconvience of not being able to plan their lives.

PS. I am speak from personal experiance, in my last job I was in a similar boat. I could be having breakfast in Canberra planning what to do with my day only to find myself on the next plane to Darwin, or Cairns or Perth etc where I could be spending the next week. Fortunatly it didn't happen all that often, maybe 4 times in 2 years, but it was all part of the job and being the person on call.

[Gerard M]

May be a stupid question, but as im not in the aviation industry or run an airline,because it was not originally a Qantas operated flight, who would pay (if thats the right word) for the operation of the aircraft and crew and cost of the flight? As in would Air pacific reimburse qantas or do those things not happen?

P.S. damn right people who are called out are well looked after. we get 4 hours pay for the callout even if its a 20 minute job and regardless of how much your paid im sure there is the same level of stress whether it be having to fly when not rostered or being called out to an accident in the middle of nowwhere with peoples lives at stake.

[Ash W]

P.S. damn right people who are called out are well looked after. we get 4 hours pay for the callout even if its a 20 minute job ;)

Plus how much to be on call? Where I used to work it was about $50 per day.

[Gerard M]

True but i don't think it was about the money what Jack was saying. After re-reading it it appears that being on call as a flight attendant is one of the most stressful parts of the job not that it is more stressful than any other job. But fair enough, like any job with high stress levels, you know what your signing up for when you apply for the job and just have to get over it even if it means leaving your cornflakes to go soggy on the table whilst you duck off to Nadi and back.

[Ash W]

Yeah I read it as stress coming from the unknown and not being able to plan your life. But two points on that.

First unless I am mistaken the only ones who get the call up are those who are rostered on call, so in planning your life you need to expect to be called. So if for example you have something important like a 21st you want to attended you ask not to be on call on that date.

Secondly there is the remuneration side of things, being on call you are either getting paid to do nothing or getting paided an allowance to be at the ready at short notice. Now I could understand someone complaining if there was an expectation they had to be at work with 2 hours notice and didn't get payed. Oh that sounds like my current job.....

[Adam.S]

I still cannot see how it is different or more "stressful" than anyone else that is on call, and as I said before people generally get appropriate money for the inconvience of not being able to plan their lives.

PS. I am speak from personal experiance, in my last job I was in a similar boat. I could be having breakfast in Canberra planning what to do with my day only to find myself on the next plane to Darwin, or Cairns or Perth etc where I could be spending the next week. Fortunatly it didn't happen all that often, maybe 4 times in 2 years, but it was all part of the job and being the person on call.

Ash I think what Jack was originally trying to say is that 'any' on-call job which could result in long-distance travel, would be more stressful (in many ways) compared to say, an on-call job which is based in your local area.


However ‘more stressful’ is just a relative term.
As you’ve said all staff who are on call should/do know what to expect.
So in saying that, it wouldn’t be all that (relatively) stressful for them.

[Jack B]

Correct. I am not saying being a Flight Attendant would me more stressful than other jobs, I am sure it would be just as if not more stressful being on call in other positions, but in this thread and context, I am talking about Qantas Flight Attendants

[Ash W]

As you’ve said all staff who are on call should/do know what to expect.
So in saying that, it wouldn’t be all that (relatively) stressful for them.

Exactly....