Qf32 vh-oej @ yscb 15/11

[Matt_L]

Adam,
sure you have a valid point there, but as many have said before Canberra isnt a third world city. It just seems irrespective of the fact that buses weren't ordered the situation was handled poorly.
Something better should and could of been done to handle this situation as no doubt a great deal of these passengers will be not flying the Kangaroo again and either will some friends through word of mouth.

[Nigel C]

It would have been smarter to bus all pax to Sydney as soon as the plane landed, or at least as soon as it became apparent that the delay would exceed the three hours driving time to Sydney.

Let's work this out...

How long does it take by bus from Canberra to Sydney Airport? 3 hours?

How long does it take to fly from Canberra to Sydney? 45 mins perhaps?

So they'd wait out the 2 1/4 hours and then decide to get the pax off the plane and bus them. How much longer would it take to process them through Customs/Quarantine (the article says there was 1 Customs officer for the 300 pax), then organise trucks for the transport of the baggage and as Adam has said, get multiple buses? (OMG, I'm actually agreeing with Adam!)
I don't believe they would have been much better off.

A Qantas spokeswoman said: "Canberra's not set up to service a 747 - they don't normally land there; it's not an international airport."

I bet there are a few at Canberra Airport who might have something to say about this!

[Grahame Hutchison]

Stuff ups happen for what ever reason and sometimes there are no great solutions. An ATC curfew clearance and some Canberra ground support could definitely have made things more comfortable, but this was not to be.

I just happened to be at Heathrow when the BA B777 ditched on the grass. I was scheduled to come home via Bangkok, then Tokyo and finally Singapore, overall it took me 56 hours to get home. Put it down to experience.

[damien b]

Originally Posted by Philip Argy

It would have been smarter to bus all pax to Sydney as soon as the plane landed, or at least as soon as it became apparent that the delay would exceed the three hours driving time to Sydney.

Maybe smarter but from all reports Qantas tried to get the curfrew lifted to no avail and by 11pm i am guessing not many bus companies in Canberra or Sydney are open for business, or able to get enough buses for a 747-400 passenger load in a short amount of time.

[Grant Smith]

Philip / Matthew,

Hindsight is always 20/20...

[Matt_L]

Thats all good and well and I agree with all your comments above.
It was by no means QF fault that they diverted and not getting the curfew approval.
But I still think theyre should have been a more concerted effort to accomodate these passengers- if you all just have a read of the article and sure it's probably sensationalist but at the end of the day the facts are facts-rations etc its not like qf couldnt get catering to bring food/drinks down to the aircraft.

[Philip Argy]

Originally Posted by Adam P.

Ever tried organising multiple buses at short notice?

It ain't easy!

As you can see from the photos, Adam, they DID organise a fleet of Murrays buses - my comment related to where the buses went (Canberra rather than Sydney).

I'm not trying to be overly critical. Objectively the thing was not brilliantly handled and there ought to be contingency plans for this kind of event - it's not so remote as to be unexpected and the adverse consequences warrant a bit of forethought being put into planning for such things.

According to a recent risk management magazine Qantas practises state of the art 'iceberg risk' management. Perhaps they need a bit more practise. As a shareholder I want the company to do better next time! The reputational and goodwill damage in my view is more expensive than the preventative planning is likely to cost.

[Adam P.]

I'll clarify.

Fleet of long-distance buses?

Friday was NOT a fun evening for anyone associated with operations at Sydney Airport to be at work, I can tell you that much.

[Nigel C]

And I'll clarify that further...

The buses were brought in the following morning, not at stupid-o'clock in the middle of the night.

[Andrew McLaughlin]

Originally Posted by Philip Argy

I'm not trying to be overly critical.

Man, I'd hate to see it if you WERE trying to be overly critical!!!

Why not wait until there's more to know about what happened before expressing your opinions based solely on a report in the SMH and a few pics taken by a spotter at CBR?!?!?!