What is QFs worst on-time performance?
 

While reading some other entries on FT, I came across a website link to www.flightstats.com My biggest travel frustration is usually with QF108 JFK-LAX-SYD. I wondered if it was just my bad luck that the few times a year I'm on it, things go awry.

Nope - I learnt that I'm no Jonah. The whole service QF108 is dismal. It scores "Very Poor" (one star out of five) with 37% on-time. And 52% cancelled, very late or excessively (ie worse than very late) late, for the overall service. For the LAX - SYD leg of the service it manages an even worse 0 stars....

Does anyone else know of a worse performing service? And begs the question - why doesn't QF change the published flight arrival time to something later (ie more realistic, and closer to actual time of the 63% of flights currently late) And also change the connection time arrangement in LAX for joining QF94 to MEL to something more appropriate...... I've missed that connection twice already this year..... :mad:

Flights into Lord Howe Island are regularly delayed (significantly) or cancelled... (Same can be said with the OzJet [Qantas codeshare] services from SYD/BNE to Norfolk Island)

(Just look at today's SYD-LDH service... it's been routed via Port Macquarie due to weather (wind) related reasons).

QantasLink's OTP rating for July was 78%

Stats can be skewed of course. Not that I'm excusing poor performance, but that flight has suffered some incidents (remember the fence?), and on some dates impacted by bad weather/other incidents at JFK.

Come on. Everyone who has flown JFK-LAX knows that the flight code is QF One-Oh-Late....when I checked in slightly late the check-in agent said that... ;)
As Kiwi Flyer said that sometimes it is not in Qantas' control that the flight is delayed but the statistics do not take that into consideration.

Too right - I was on "THE FLIGHT FROM HELL" (add Jaws-like music of your choice), 57 hours from JFK to MEL. Yes, that was snow-storm affected, and I discount such events from my thinking (well, somewhat, anyway. QF still screwed up most of the rest of that flight all by itself without needing any input by the weather)

But the stats I culled in the message above are for the last 2 months - across the northern summer.

I first heard this term in the LAX Flagship lounge in March when the agent advised me my flight back to SYD was delayed by 2½ hours! :eek:

Perhaps as the LAX/JFK flight is the appendage of the SYD/LAX flight would it have something to do with the plane being up in the air for such a long time?

What accommodations does QF make when 108 misconnects with 94? What class were you in?

I can report 100% success rate in QF One-oh-late being late (one event with a sample size of one). The QF SYD people must be getting very good at re-booking everyone from missed conections...

How are connections between QF 93 and 107 handled? Is that a problematic one too I presume? I have a mate that will be doing that combo shortly from MEL - LAX - JFK.

QF 93 7:30am arrival at LAX and an 8:50am departure on QF 107 -- seems a bit tight, IMHO, to (1) Clear US Immigrations & Customs, (2) re-check your luggage with the TSA onto JFK, (3) clear TSA security to enter T4.

I flew QF 25 in mid-July as I couldn't get a seat on QF 93. QF 25 arrived into LAX just after QF 93. We both pulled into the last gate at TBIT on the south side - there was construction at TBIT, it seemed they were adding onto the terminal. We were towed in to our gate at TBIT because of the tight squeeze. Next to us on the right was the inbound for QF 93, a 747-400ER which had also just arrived.

We deplaned into TBIT and went downstairs into the bowels of the terminal, walked a considerable distance and then took the T4 "cutoff" right turn for Qantas Arrivals which brought us over to the T4 Federal Inspection Station.

I recall seeing another QF aircraft at a gate in T4 (QF 11/12 perhaps? or 107 delayed to JFK given inbound equipment diversions -- see below)

On this particular day there was fog in both SYD and MEL and all inbound flights to MEL/SYD had diverted to BNE. QF 25's equipment was already in MEL so we departed on-time while QF93 was delayed several hours.

Despite our stopover at AKL we arrived at nearly the same time as QF 93 as we were both being processed at US Customs. Fortunately they opened another US Customs line for QF 25 pax which I slid though. We made it into the gate @ 10:55am and I was at my LAX hotel by 12:00 noon.

Cheers,

SDF_Traveler

I'd imagine it'll depend on what class your mate is travelling in. I did the QF107 all the way through to JFK in June in J. I was within the first 30 to clear customs, re-checking your luggage involves getting it off the belt, then walking all of 20 metres to put it into an x-ray machine before it goes off, hopefully to be seen again. From start to finish couldn't of been more than 20 mins from leaving the plane. If in Y, it will obviously take a little longer due to to the higher number of pax in front.

Getting back into the terminal was a nightmare, the economy line snaked all the way through the terminal and about 150metres outside of it.

The premium line at the other end of the terminal was about half the size with plenty of DYKWIA types slowing the process down.

I was in the lounge, showered and upto date on emails with 45mins to kill before boarding commenced for the LAX-JFK leg.

It's hard to be positive about such procedures but in all honesty it wasn't too bad. It's always going to seen a pain though after getting off a 14 hour flight when all you really want to do is have a shower and freshen up before the next sector.

For connection security, I would have booked the trip as MEL-SYD-JFK. There are many MEL-SYD fligths to get if your initial flight is delayed, but less options if you get to LAX too late for the 107 connection.

OT: I would book JFK-SYD-MEL on the return as well in order to avoid TBIT. (at least for the time being).

Indeed good advice. However, the benefits of arrival into MEL and not doing the INT->DOM transfer at Sydney Zoo may sway me back to JFK-LAX-MEL, abd visiting the LAX T4 FLounge if the connection is going to be long enough for a shower etc.

Remember that the TBIT lounges are being shutdown and moved off-site in October, with a bus ride from TBIT to the temporary lounge location (presumably requiring leaving the lounge an hour before departure time in order to make it to the gate).