Thanks all, I had considered the aspect of winds and the best FlexTrack on the day, but wondered how many extra track miles that would make including the swing south to AKL and then back up to to BNE.
I see now today that FlightAware (
FlightAware > Live Flight Tracker > Qantas Airways Limited #16 > 28-Jan-2009 > KLAX-YBBN) is showing the flight as diverted and with a destination of AKL.