Consolidated "United SYD/MEL Flight Delays or Cancellations" Thread [2012]
Jun 22, 2012, 2:48 am
#31
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: IAD
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 292
About 300 upset passengers left in the terminal when I left, most were being told Monday or Tuesday were the earliest they could leave.
Jun 22, 2012, 4:53 am
#32
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Sydney, NSW Australia
Posts: 895
Yup, I was on that flight and now am stuck in LA for another day :/ Delayed for an hour and a half for aircraft servicing before they cut the whole thing. Thanks to an awesome phone agent I grabbed the last SFO-SYD seat for tomorrow, but lost my u/g in the process About 300 upset passengers left in the terminal when I left, most were being told Monday or Tuesday were the earliest they could leave.
About 300 upset passengers left in the terminal when I left, most were being told Monday or Tuesday were the earliest they could leave.
Jun 22, 2012, 12:48 pm
#33
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Carmel Valley(was Hawaii)
Programs: United 1K 2.7 MM
Posts: 1,174
My understanding is that the QF flight leaves LAX about the same time as the SFO flight so there would be no way to get from SFO to LAX in time to catch that flight on the same night. If the flight is cancelled, I think you have to go the next day. I don't know if any one else has a better strategy for flight cancellations.
Jun 22, 2012, 4:27 pm
#34
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Toronto YYZ UA-1K 1MM,QFgold
Programs: Royal Ambassador/ SPG Platinum 75/Marriott gold
Posts: 14,283
sounds like its time UA kept a spare plane around.
Jun 23, 2012, 4:11 pm
#36
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
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Posts: 8,179
My understanding is that the QF flight leaves LAX about the same time as the SFO flight so there would be no way to get from SFO to LAX in time to catch that flight on the same night. If the flight is cancelled, I think you have to go the next day. I don't know if any one else has a better strategy for flight cancellations.
The only real alternative to waiting ~24 hours is to try and get them to put you on a morning flight via HNL. The problem with doing this is that the HNL-SYD leg is with Hawaiian, not UA, so there's no guarantee they will do it even if seats are available - but if you can pull it off then you'll at least arrive in SYD on the same day as planned, even if it's ~12 hours late.
From LAX there are alternatives that leave after the UA flight (QF and Air Pacific spring to mind) but they generally aren't going to be late enough after the UA flights that rebooking onto them is an option unless the UA flights are canceled early.
Jun 24, 2012, 10:02 pm
#37
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Sydney, NSW Australia
Posts: 895
Spare aeroplane
In UAL's heyday when they had 44 747-400s I believe there was a 'spare' 747-400 based in SFO that could cover SFO and LAX departures if one went mechanical.
BA used to always have two Concordes ready to go to cover the flight out of LHR in case the scheduled one ever went mechanical at LHR.
In today's day and age the accountants rule everything.
BA used to always have two Concordes ready to go to cover the flight out of LHR in case the scheduled one ever went mechanical at LHR.
In today's day and age the accountants rule everything.
Jun 25, 2012, 12:06 am
#38
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: QF, VN, SQ, SPG, IHG PG
Posts: 453
If a SFO-SYD or LAX-SYD flight gets cancelled, does the MEL tag still operate? I know the SFO aircraft actually flies down to MEL, so what happens if there is a cancellation? Does UA still fly down to MEL anyways?
Would be nice to see MEL delinked from SYD one day, hopefully a SFO-MEL service link, can UA's 787's operate such a route?
Would be nice to see MEL delinked from SYD one day, hopefully a SFO-MEL service link, can UA's 787's operate such a route?
Jun 25, 2012, 2:04 am
#39
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: SFO, BDL
Programs: UA 1K, AA Plat, CX GR, Hilton Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 963
If a SFO-SYD or LAX-SYD flight gets cancelled, does the MEL tag still operate? I know the SFO aircraft actually flies down to MEL, so what happens if there is a cancellation? Does UA still fly down to MEL anyways?
Would be nice to see MEL delinked from SYD one day, hopefully a SFO-MEL service link, can UA's 787's operate such a route?
Would be nice to see MEL delinked from SYD one day, hopefully a SFO-MEL service link, can UA's 787's operate such a route?
Jun 25, 2012, 3:48 am
#40
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: West Yorkshire
Programs: UA Plat 2.2MM, AA nobody, IHG Gold, HH Silver
Posts: 276
The flight numbers suggest that - but it is often (not sure about always) the SFO flight that does the turnaround - at least in the sense that the plane flying back to SFO is that one (since that is the later departure).
Jun 25, 2012, 3:50 am
#41
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: West Yorkshire
Programs: UA Plat 2.2MM, AA nobody, IHG Gold, HH Silver
Posts: 276
There are plenty of Virgin and Qantas flights to put people on for the relatively small number that actually make the MEL connection. I've certainly seem them do that before now.
Jun 25, 2012, 4:24 am
#42
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: SFO, BDL
Programs: UA 1K, AA Plat, CX GR, Hilton Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 963
If I am reading your post correctly (and I very well may not be) as it pertains to my post and the post I replied to, you are saying that the planes go SFO-SYD-MEL-SYD-SFO and LAX-SYD-LAX? This is almost never the case since the two planes need to switch in SYD or else there would be no rotation of the LAX plane through the rest of the UA network.
Last edited by USFdonWill; Jun 25, 2012 at 4:33 am Reason: grammar
Jun 25, 2012, 4:41 am
#43
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: West Yorkshire
Programs: UA Plat 2.2MM, AA nobody, IHG Gold, HH Silver
Posts: 276
If I am reading your post correctly (and I very well may not be) as it pertains to my post and the post I replied to, you are saying that the planes go SFO-SYD-MEL-SYD-SFO and LAX-SYD-LAX? This is almost never the case since the two planes need to switch in SYD or else there would be no rotation of the LAX plane through the rest of the UA network.
Jun 26, 2012, 5:32 pm
#44
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: SMF
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP
Posts: 1,538
Yup, I was on that flight and now am stuck in LA for another day :/ Delayed for an hour and a half for aircraft servicing before they cut the whole thing. Thanks to an awesome phone agent I grabbed the last SFO-SYD seat for tomorrow, but lost my u/g in the process About 300 upset passengers left in the terminal when I left, most were being told Monday or Tuesday were the earliest they could leave.
About 300 upset passengers left in the terminal when I left, most were being told Monday or Tuesday were the earliest they could leave.Lurker
Jun 29, 2012, 11:12 pm
#45
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: SYD; Central Coast, NSW
Programs: UA, 1K 2MM
Posts: 947
Not quite - the bit I know is true every time I've been there is that it does MEL-SYD-SFO. You can watch it coming in from MEL from the ANZ lounge and parking at the SFO gate. It also used to be true in the past that it did SFO-SYD-MEL as well (I used to take it quite often and end up back in the same seat) but that may have changed with the lack of 747 rotations out of LAX.