Qantas retiming / changes on the Tasman

[scon]

Have a family friend who travels regularly between AKL and SYD (once a week at the moment). Prefers to travel with QF but has noticed that the evening departure from SYD has gone (replaced with a JQ option), leaving only NZ108 as an option at that time.

Any ideas if this is a permanent change and if so why? Would have thought it was an ideal flight timing for business travelers?

Cheers

[BNEA320]

BNE/ZQN QF services are a joke. Once a week only 28JUN-27SEP & that's it for the year, while NZ/VA have up to 10 flights a week during winter.


NO JQ on BNE/ZQN ?


Why can't JQ compete with NZ/VA ?

[noip]

Qantas has not operated the Tasman for a few years ...

N

[27/09]

Qantas has not operated the Tasman for a few years ...

I wonder where all those 738's with a Kangaroo on the tail are going when they head west from NZAA.

[Waterboy128]

QF149 departs Sydney everyday for Auckland at 1835 and lands just before midnight. NZ108 leaves just behind. It's lucky mainline don't operate the Tasman as ofter now, or it would be another loss making area.

[nitpicker330]

Yes the Jetconnect ones painted to look like QF? Those ones:D

[Fruet Mich]

Scon

Qantas service QF149 still operates daily leaving Sydney at 1840 arriving at 2350 in Auckland. I'm not sure where your family friend is trying to book this flight? The Qantas online booking system is still taking bookings for this service.

Jetconnect operate the service with Kiwi crew. From what I've heard, they do a very good job with attentive enthusiastic young crew, hence why your family friends must like flying this service.

JQ operate a service to Auckland that departs 10min earlier than the Qantas service.

:ok:

[V-Jet]

Yes (once again) these 'QF' ones:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=68f_JdPmvlM

Except, it ISNT about wages. You sell an Iconic Australian company as Australian and it demonstrably isn't.

Why not just fly BA, Thai or ANZ if you want the genuine experience, instead of a dodgy Australian con job that doesn't know what it wants to be?

[Fruet Mich]

Hehe, I love that vid! Classic!

I guess Scon's family friends prefer to travel QF, not BA, Thai or ANZ hence his concern about this service.

Yes it is very sad Jetconnect is now an integral part of the Qantas group, but by all accounts, they do a very good job and I've heard they have the highest net promoter scores in Qantas for customer service. Jetconnect are continually audited by Qantas and in fact our partner airlines to ensure the Qantas SOPs and high service standards of Qantas are strictly adhered to.

V-Jet, Qantas is being attacked on all fronts including getting anialated on the Tasman by Air New Zealand with staff being paid far less than staff in Australia. The only way we can compete as Qantas mainline is match this. Australia is a high labor cost economy. Until we can compete in all facets of doing business on the Tasman we need to support the Qantas brand name, not continually trash it with comments like "dodgy" or "con job". One day Qantas mainline will take this service back over, we'd like to do so with at least some customers that haven't been scared off by all the scaremongering from staff within the company!

Unfortunately this is now the world we live in. Virgin, Jetstar and Qantas all have NZ based staff flying the Tasman for one reason, to compete, or try to compete with Air New Zealand. Very sad but a reality with many Australian companies now investing in NZ.

The answer to Scon's question has been answered. Yes Qantas still operate the evening service from SYD-AKL, very safely and to the high standard required by Qantas. I hope your family friends continue to enjoy the great Qantas service.
:ok:

[V-Jet]

You are missing the point about what Qantas is.

And I hope you are right about Qantas taking anything over. The way it's going it will be lucky to keep a service between Bankstown and Mascot.

[scon]

Thanks for the replies. I see QF 149 does indeed still operate, but no services showing for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, according to the Qantas online timetable. Unfortunately over the last few weeks these have been the wanted days of travel.

In regards to the Qantas brand, the person in question here is a Platinum FF (Life Gold), and prefers Qantas over and above any other carrier across the Tasman, despite also being gold status on two other carriers that fly the Tasman. He is aware of the Jetconnect situation, but finds the crew, aircraft and operation great. In years gone by he would do everything possible to travel with QF, even if it involved transiting in Aus, but is finding it harder and harder to do these days. (he is a kiwi too!)

[Captain Fun]

Services cut on the days you mentioned could have something to do with the starting of daily seasonal services to Queenstown from Sydney? I think Jetconnect is adding these additional services on top of those currently operated by mainline.
(Just an educated guess though but the aircraft available to operate these flights needs to come from somewhere?)

[Waterboy128]

V-jet the reality is that Qantas mainline have priced themselves off the Tasman. You can blame the company for this;) but at the end of the day when negotiations come around they happily took the pay rise and increase in conditions that ultimately had them removed. Fruet is right in saying Jetconnect are getting far higher customer satisfaction ratings on the routes and doing it cheaper. So as a manager why would you offer it back to the mainline crews? Jetconnect are the only part of the international business making a profit I believe too so maybe reserve the con job insults to the day the 787 pulls up in auckland for them to operate.

[reubee]

I'll put my money on maintenance considerations. The morning AKL-BNE-AKL is missing from those days as well.

So for a few weeks the Tue/Wed/Thu AKL-BNE-AKL-SYD-AKL is taken out so as to get some work done, and they haven't bothered to slot in a VH registered aircraft to cover the workload.

Reuben

[Wasavirgin]

Don't kid yourself Fruet Mich,

My father, who is a DAME here in australia (not the female kind), booked a Jitconnect flight back to Brisbane from AKL to avoid being on the same flight as my mother.

This is a man who knows the industry, and speaks to pilots on a regular basis. He's no idiot.

This is a man who refuses my offer of staff travel on Virgin, because he wants to fly QF. He pays retail for him, his wife and kids - ok so maybe he's an idiot... haha

He will NEVER be back - He described the flight attendants as 'clowns of the Virgin 2001 variety', too young with no people skills, who on a flight from AKL to BNE with 'at best minor turbulence', did not do a meal or drink service (not even a cold drink service).

This is not his first Jitconnect flight either - a well formed opinion.

He's just booked SQ for his next europe trip...

Just how much are QF losing as a result of the circus they're trying to run?

There are some excellent flighties at QF - but having worked as a casual flightie BNE based (yes, the dreaded casual! - I left rest assured), I can tell you the best crew that airline has is the old timers based in BNE, SYD, MEL and PER. It was always a pleasure to be called out on a duty with senior crew - they weren't lazy, they had fun with the passengers, and they had more than 'chicken or beef' in their vocab... I know many QF pilots or pax will disagree, but having made the jump from QF to Virgin - those older girls spoil you rotten in comparison...

[OneDotLow]

Jetconnect are the only part of the international business making a profit I believe too

Adding "I believe" to a statement doesnt remove the need for it to be factual. Jetconnect's books have already had their day in the sun and been found wanting.

[jsbmelb]

FWIW, as a regular QF Plat traveller across the Tasman, I find the Jetconnect crew provide consistently excellent service (in J or Y). Somewhat depressingly, it is hands down better than Australian A380 crews (having done J to both LAX and LHR in recent months) - and miles ahead of the 747 crews...

[Collando]

When I flew to LA recently on a Qantas A380 the service was great but imagine my surprise when I found out that the cabin crew that we're serving us actually work for Jet Connect and are based in Auckland. How is that allowed? Have management found a loophole that allows them to use foreign based labour on their flagship mainline routes, denying more Australians of jobs with the "National " Airline. What's next, Jetstar Asia hosties doing the Sydney / Dallas route?
The pilots didn't have it quite right with their Qantas pilots on Qantas aircraft. It should have been Qantas staff on Qantas aircraft, encompassing all crew.
Would really like someone to explain this one as I thought Jetconnect only operated across the Tasman, although admittedly it wasn't announced as a Jitconnect flight to LA

[waren9]

nz citizens enjoy the right to live/work in oz.

and vice versa

[Heathrow Harry]

"It should have been Qantas staff on Qantas aircraft, encompassing all crew."

fine if people are willing to pay for that - but they aren't - tehy take the cheapest ticket every time

[wheels_down]

Jetconnect crew do not operate to LAX. They also do not operate the A380.

Perhaps you heard wrong? Mabye they "used" to work for Jetconnect and now mainline or something like that.

[Ollie Onion]

Thats interesting since I know at least 10 cabin crew employed by Jetconnect in New Zealand (AKL) who's entire role is a pax flight to SYD then they crew the A380 to either LA or DUBAI before paxing back to AKL.

[The Big E]

I wonder where all those 738's with a Kangaroo on the tail are going when they head west from NZAA

They are flying to various ports on the West Island :D:ok: