Qf8031

[Steve Crook]

Enjoyed the sight of a Qantas A380 taking off over my house at 8pm with lights blazing. It struck me that it was an unusual hour for one of their flights to be heading out and assumed it was a late departure. A check of the Sydney Airport website showed it was QF8031 due out at 8pm to SIN-LHR but with no check-in counter information. A check of the Qantas website showed that it was a scheduled service (although it had the departure as 6pm). That flight number does not appear again in the Qantas online timetable. Does anyone have any idea about the "one off" nature of this service?

[Laurent Sanhard]

Tuesdays qf32 flight due in syd tomorrow tue. Is running 24 hrs late . So qf8031 will probably pick up today's pax fro
m london. I guess

[Anthony J]

It was techincally QFA0031D from Sunday. Due to it departing after Monday's QFA0031 the 'D' was added for ATC purposes and the system flight number changed to 8031.

[Bernie P]

There was a story on Ch 7 news last night about it being delayed... First A380 got cancelled due to a maint issue, and then the second one went tech as well (according to news story!)... Disgruntled passenger complained about only being offered a glass of champagne, and then she ended up going with a different carrier...

QF statement read at the end of the story mentioned that it "will always put safety issues ahead of schedule", or words to that effect...

[Sarah C]

A 24 hour delay makes news? Apparently she was also crying during the story too - there are worst things happening in the world than being delayed for 24 hours!

If they are not 100% confident in the aircraft, they are not going to fly it.

Thanks for the information about the new flight number AJ.

[Dan Hammond]

News story on the delay

FRUSTRATED passengers have been stranded in Sydney for more than 26 hours following problems with two Qantas A380s.

Around 120 passengers on flight QF31 experienced the lengthy delay on the Sydney-Singapore-London service.

The flight was originally delayed for over five hours due to a hydraulics issue, a Qantas spokesperson said.

A replacement aircraft also experienced technical problems, forcing it to be returned to the terminal.

“The flight was originally delayed by just over 5 hours... a replacement aircraft was allocated," the Qantas spokesperson said.

"In the early stages of its take off roll just before 11pm, the flight crew received an engine control message which required a return to the terminal and a night stop."

The passengers were provided with overnight accommodation and meals and were booked on other flights late yeserday.
However frustrated passengers have told of their anger over the extensive delays.

“They don’t understand that time is precious,” one passenger told Channel Seven.

Passengers flying from London-Singapore-Sydney on flight QF32 will be delayed by approximately 22 hours as a result of the incident, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson has apologised for the delays.

“We regret any inconvenience this delay has caused but will always put operational safety before schedule.”

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,28318,26203305-5014090,00.html

[Stephen Brown]

Is that the stench of lemon in the air???

[Charlie Carter]

“They don’t understand that time is precious,” one passenger told Channel Seven.

I love the ignorance of passengers. They don't understand that their precious time would come to an end if it wasn't for safety precautions like this!

[Steve Crook]

Thanks for the info and media referrals everyone. I too lose patience with people who can't see beyond their immediate personal needs and take in the fact that the airline is actually behaving in the most professional and considerate manner that it can by putting safety first. I was seeing friends off to Cairns on Qantas the other day. Passengers were boarded then a short time later deplaned with a 2 hour delay due to technical reasons. Almost everyone was very understanding except for one fellow who was having a grand conversation with himself and muttering all sorts of curses at Qantas. I felt like asking if he preferred them to take the 2 hours on the ground to rectify the situation or wait till they were at 35,000 feet and have the few minutes between then and the plane hitting the ground to fix it. As it was they did leave 2 hours later after the airline sourced a different plane. In the meantime there were regular updates on the terminal PA system and each passenger had $15 to get a bite to eat - I call that great service to the flying public.

[D Chan]

I love the ignorance of passengers. They don't understand that their precious time would come to an end if it wasn't for safety precautions like this!

It depends on the customer's circumstances e.g. if they urgently need to visit dying relatives etc. but I would say in 399 out of 400 pax at the end of the day they will ultimately realise their lives are more precious than a day or 2.