Qantas flights in trouble: Senior pilot exposes the 'chaos' causing delays
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As passengers grow increasingly frustrated over unexpected flight delays and cancellations, a veteran Qantas pilot has spoken out about the 'chaos' that goes on behind the scenes.
Speaking to the ABC under the alias Tom, the pilot said that when he started flying again after the pandemic, he quickly realised that things had changed.
A senior Qantas pilot opened up about what it's really like to fly for the troubled airline. Credit: Julian Andrews. (Stock photo)
'There is no one to talk to, and when you go to work, you are basically on your own. It's like we're running a virtual airline,' he said. 'In my three decades with Qantas, I've never seen anything like it.'
He cited an instance from earlier this year when he boarded an international flight and discovered that the load sheet was still being finalised and there was no drinking water available on board.
The load sheet has information about the weight and balance of the plane, which lets the pilot know how the plane is loaded and where the weight is distributed.
Tom informed the passengers after they had boarded that they were awaiting a final piece of paperwork and would then depart.
Time went on, but the load sheet remained missing. He also tried to talk to an employee who was supposed to answer pilots' questions by radio, but no one answered.
Then, out of the blue, he got a phone call from an engineer who informed him that another 15 containers had just arrived at the location with bags ready to be loaded.
After that, he was informed that the water delivery team had depleted their supply of drinkable water and were unable to provide Tom with an ETA (estimated time of arrival) for when more water would be available.
All of the passengers had settled into their seats and were waiting for the plane to lift off the ground.
Tom recently expressed his thoughts to the ABC, saying that the situation 'feels like a rudderless ship at the moment.'
'Keeping to departure times has always been sacred in the airline industry. In the past, we would be kept informed – you will be 10 minutes late, 15 minutes late, etc. Now you must pursue the information yourself, and they may, or may not, know the answer.'
In June, Qantas had the highest number of domestic flight cancellations. Credit: Richard Walker. (Stock photo)
Recently, there have also been several incidents involving airline 'stuff-ups,' the most prominent of which involves lost baggage.
However, a young family may have been the victims of the most unfortunate incident to date.
After discovering that their daughter, who was 13 months old at the time, had been rebooked onto a different flight from them during the middle of their family vacation, Stephanie and Andrew Braham were left 'seething' at Qantas.
The couple reported that they were forced to wait on hold for a total of twenty hours to get the problem resolved while they were travelling through Europe with their young daughter.
Because their flight back to Australia was cancelled, the Brahams had to be rebooked onto a different flight. This meant that they had to travel on a different day.
However, they were utterly shocked when they found out their daughter was scheduled to fly on a different aircraft.
'We spent 20 hours 47 minutes and 13 seconds on the phone to Qantas over a 24-hour period and over 55 separate phone calls before they finally agreed to book us on new flights home.'
'They said they hadn't done anything wrong because they did book her a ticket. Initially, they denied any liability,' Ms Braham told the Today Show.
'That's Qantas.'
The family's flights were delayed by a total of 12 days, which resulted in them being required to pay for an additional two weeks' worth of lodging in Rome.
According to the airline's press release, the incident was caused by a 'back-end administrative error.' The airline apologised to the Braham family and promised to reimburse them for any additional accommodation they had to pay for.
What are your thoughts, folks? Have you had any disappointing experiences with Qantas? Share them with us in the comments!
Speaking to the ABC under the alias Tom, the pilot said that when he started flying again after the pandemic, he quickly realised that things had changed.
A senior Qantas pilot opened up about what it's really like to fly for the troubled airline. Credit: Julian Andrews. (Stock photo)
'There is no one to talk to, and when you go to work, you are basically on your own. It's like we're running a virtual airline,' he said. 'In my three decades with Qantas, I've never seen anything like it.'
He cited an instance from earlier this year when he boarded an international flight and discovered that the load sheet was still being finalised and there was no drinking water available on board.
The load sheet has information about the weight and balance of the plane, which lets the pilot know how the plane is loaded and where the weight is distributed.
Tom informed the passengers after they had boarded that they were awaiting a final piece of paperwork and would then depart.
Time went on, but the load sheet remained missing. He also tried to talk to an employee who was supposed to answer pilots' questions by radio, but no one answered.
Then, out of the blue, he got a phone call from an engineer who informed him that another 15 containers had just arrived at the location with bags ready to be loaded.
After that, he was informed that the water delivery team had depleted their supply of drinkable water and were unable to provide Tom with an ETA (estimated time of arrival) for when more water would be available.
All of the passengers had settled into their seats and were waiting for the plane to lift off the ground.
Tom recently expressed his thoughts to the ABC, saying that the situation 'feels like a rudderless ship at the moment.'
'Keeping to departure times has always been sacred in the airline industry. In the past, we would be kept informed – you will be 10 minutes late, 15 minutes late, etc. Now you must pursue the information yourself, and they may, or may not, know the answer.'
In June, Qantas had the highest number of domestic flight cancellations. Credit: Richard Walker. (Stock photo)
Recently, there have also been several incidents involving airline 'stuff-ups,' the most prominent of which involves lost baggage.
However, a young family may have been the victims of the most unfortunate incident to date.
After discovering that their daughter, who was 13 months old at the time, had been rebooked onto a different flight from them during the middle of their family vacation, Stephanie and Andrew Braham were left 'seething' at Qantas.
The couple reported that they were forced to wait on hold for a total of twenty hours to get the problem resolved while they were travelling through Europe with their young daughter.
Because their flight back to Australia was cancelled, the Brahams had to be rebooked onto a different flight. This meant that they had to travel on a different day.
However, they were utterly shocked when they found out their daughter was scheduled to fly on a different aircraft.
'We spent 20 hours 47 minutes and 13 seconds on the phone to Qantas over a 24-hour period and over 55 separate phone calls before they finally agreed to book us on new flights home.'
'They said they hadn't done anything wrong because they did book her a ticket. Initially, they denied any liability,' Ms Braham told the Today Show.
'That's Qantas.'
The family's flights were delayed by a total of 12 days, which resulted in them being required to pay for an additional two weeks' worth of lodging in Rome.
According to the airline's press release, the incident was caused by a 'back-end administrative error.' The airline apologised to the Braham family and promised to reimburse them for any additional accommodation they had to pay for.
What are your thoughts, folks? Have you had any disappointing experiences with Qantas? Share them with us in the comments!
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they we’re great look like cross your fingers and hope for the best 
