Flights to Australia - reliability?

[Nemesis]

On 10/07/2021 at 07:52, bicek said:

I did a quick search and it looks like all the DFAT flights for July are now sold out. They were snapped up pretty quick then I guess. They've said uptake has been low on recent flights but that clearly isn't the case...?

The govt has claimed a low uptake because most of the Repat flights only give people a week or so in notice. Most people who are selling a house, giving notice at school/work and shippi8ng their goods need more than a week's notice to do this. Hence Repat flights have not been popular, compared to normal bookings made weeks or even months ahead.

[bicek]

44 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

The govt has claimed a low uptake because most of the Repat flights only give people a week or so in notice. Most people who are selling a house, giving notice at school/work and shippi8ng their goods need more than a week's notice to do this. Hence Repat flights have not been popular, compared to normal bookings made weeks or even months ahead.

I don't understand why they can't give more notice. It would help them to work out the demand for flights if they listed a few months in advance and then they could schedule more/less flights accordingly. 

If they announced their schedule for 3 months ahead I'd be booking my dfat flight now and cancelling my commercial flight booking. 

[Jon the Hat]

18 hours ago, bicek said:

I don't understand why they can't give more notice. It would help them to work out the demand for flights if they listed a few months in advance and then they could schedule more/less flights accordingly. 

If they announced their schedule for 3 months ahead I'd be booking my dfat flight now and cancelling my commercial flight booking. 

It feels deliberate, like they want to discourage people from travelling.

[Nemesis]

7 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

It feels deliberate, like they want to discourage people from travelling.

Of course thats what they want. Every traveller coming in costs them money in organising quarantine/transport/security etc etc. Every one that comes in and then tests positive costs in deep cleaning of hotel rooms/transport to hospital etc.

Less travellers the better as far as the government is concerned.

[Jon the Hat]

So today a DFAT email has gone out with London to Darwin repat flights:

Good morning,

You are receiving this email as you have registered with DFAT as wishing to return to Australia.

There are currently seats available on a facilitated commercial flight departing London on 1, 3, 11, 19, 21 and 29 August 2021.

If you are wishing to return to Australia you should seriously consider this opportunity.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If anyone is planning to fly this year - even if you have a commercial booking - I strongly suggest you register with DFAT.  Maintaining the demand is key to making sure the flight numbers in September to December are high enough.

[bicek]

Yes I had a look at availability. The later dates book up faster by looks of it. We would have considered booking one of these but our newborn doesn't have her passport yet! Eagerly awaiting it in the post. 

Are you going to try and get a Sept flight? We are hoping for late Sept or an October one. So anxious about missing the email though as the tickets disappear pretty fast. It is pot luck if you're checking your email at the right time. 

[Jon the Hat]

34 minutes ago, bicek said:

Yes I had a look at availability. The later dates book up faster by looks of it. We would have considered booking one of these but our newborn doesn't have her passport yet! Eagerly awaiting it in the post. 

Are you going to try and get a Sept flight? We are hoping for late Sept or an October one. So anxious about missing the email though as the tickets disappear pretty fast. It is pot luck if you're checking your email at the right time. 

Yes I will be booking a mid-September flight if I can get on - it is too much of a risk to rely on our Singapore Airlines booking now. 

[bicek]

29 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

Yes I will be booking a mid-September flight if I can get on - it is too much of a risk to rely on our Singapore Airlines booking now. 

Yep absolutely. I think it is only £60 to cancel with Singapore per person. Possibly per leg though, so maybe that's more like £500 for us (4 seats) to cancel but in the scheme of things I'd prefer the certainty of knowing the flight will go. The potential costs (financial, logistical, emotional) of not getting any flight around the time we need to go... It is not worth the gamble for us. 

[Jon the Hat]

1 minute ago, bicek said:

Yep absolutely. I think it is only £60 to cancel with Singapore per person. Possibly per leg though, so maybe that's more like £500 for us (4 seats) to cancel but in the scheme of things I'd prefer the certainty of knowing the flight will go. The potential costs (financial, logistical, emotional) of not getting any flight around the time we need to go... It is not worth the gamble for us. 

We'll take the SIA flight if it goes, DFAT is the backup plan.  

[bicek]

I think we're going to do the reverse if we can get a dfat flight! 

I wonder if they'll offer that many dates per month for the remainder of the year. Or if it is a one off to offer so many. Will see soon I guess. 

[psuwara]

We flew in on the last international Melbourne flight arriving on July 13th.

On this flight I counted 8 passengers in business class, the day before there were 12 seat reservations. Likely 4 people were not able to board due to PCR test results or other issues.

Economy blew me away, there were likely a maximum of 20 passengers. So even with no caps, these flight would be arriving with no passengers. No wonder the gulf states with their oil money who can afford no passengers.

I’ll have to write a story about the whole thing.

[Jon the Hat]

1 hour ago, bicek said:

I think we're going to do the reverse if we can get a dfat flight! 

I wonder if they'll offer that many dates per month for the remainder of the year. Or if it is a one off to offer so many. Will see soon I guess. 

They promised 20 additional flights so far, and 8 from London already.  If the demand is there they will probably continue I guess.

[Jon the Hat]

1 hour ago, bicek said:

I think we're going to do the reverse if we can get a dfat flight! 

I wonder if they'll offer that many dates per month for the remainder of the year. Or if it is a one off to offer so many. Will see soon I guess. 

My wife has had DVT in the past, so we prefer to stop in Singapore even for an hour or two.  An actual hotel with drinks and the 4 seats per person on the flight is quite appealing to be honest, rather than jammed in on a direct flight to Darwin.

[bicek]

46 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

My wife has had DVT in the past, so we prefer to stop in Singapore even for an hour or two.  An actual hotel with drinks and the 4 seats per person on the flight is quite appealing to be honest, rather than jammed in on a direct flight to Darwin.

Yeah it's not ideal. I don't get why there isn't any in flight entertainment either. They're really trying to put off people returning home aren't they...

Absolutely dreading the flight but will be grateful to get on it. 

Does anyone know if you get a refund if you can't board your dfat flight due to failed pcr? 

[Nemesis]

2 hours ago, psuwara said:

We flew in on the last international Melbourne flight arriving on July 13th.

On this flight I counted 8 passengers in business class, the day before there were 12 seat reservations. Likely 4 people were not able to board due to PCR test results or other issues.

Economy blew me away, there were likely a maximum of 20 passengers. So even with no caps, these flight would be arriving with no passengers. No wonder the gulf states with their oil money who can afford no passengers.

I’ll have to write a story about the whole thing.

What makes you think the flight would be empty even with no cap?

[Nemesis]

1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said:

My wife has had DVT in the past, so we prefer to stop in Singapore even for an hour or two.  An actual hotel with drinks and the 4 seats per person on the flight is quite appealing to be honest, rather than jammed in on a direct flight to Darwin.

Plus the fact that the later in the year we get, the hotter and steamier it will be in Darwin. Not something to look forward to.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Nemesis

[Jon the Hat]

1 hour ago, bicek said:

Yeah it's not ideal. I don't get why there isn't any in flight entertainment either. They're really trying to put off people returning home aren't they...

Absolutely dreading the flight but will be grateful to get on it. 

Does anyone know if you get a refund if you can't board your dfat flight due to failed pcr? 

Entertainment is as normal apparently, but food is two hot rolls and some snacks in between.  Take food for the kids seems to be the main advice.#

Yes you get a refund.

[fatal3rror]

We are flying business class with Etihad on the 19th of August. Booked just before the announcement of reducing incoming passengers but so far, the booking is still confirmed. 

From what I have read, it seems we should be ok but keeping our fingers and toes crossed...as there is only so long that I would like to stay with the in-laws! 

[Jon the Hat]

7 hours ago, fatal3rror said:

We are flying business class with Etihad on the 19th of August. Booked just before the announcement of reducing incoming passengers but so far, the booking is still confirmed. 

From what I have read, it seems we should be ok but keeping our fingers and toes crossed...as there is only so long that I would like to stay with the in-laws! 

Good luck!  Have you checked whether the flight code you are on is running now post cap reduction?  You can check either on the Etihad site or on flight radar or similar.

[psuwara]

10 hours ago, fatal3rror said:

We are flying business class with Etihad on the 19th of August. Booked just before the announcement of reducing incoming passengers but so far, the booking is still confirmed. 

From what I have read, it seems we should be ok but keeping our fingers and toes crossed...as there is only so long that I would like to stay with the in-laws! 

Use this site to see if the flight arrives on the days you have booked.

Flights are scheduled on a weekly basis. Each flight code is for the one flight a day, these flights happen on a weekly basis. The flights are generally schedule around 1-2 months ahead of time.

When we bought our two business class tickets, we bought the Choice (Delta) fare code originally. The flight was bought four months out from our flight date. This flight appeared and disappeared a number of time between April and July. In June however, I noticed the flight code for the flight was not arriving on the Wednesday for the entire route, so I knew 100% the flight would not happen.

Fortunately I was able to squeeze in a flight change from July 7th to July 12th using the same fare code. I was lucky I made the call when I did, because the week after there were no more flights at all with that fare code, and upgrading would cost another $4,000. So it would have been a double hit if we got cancelled by the cap change, since we would need to have moved the flight and paid a lot more. It was just pure luck for us Etihad kept the flight caps the same until the 14th since our Melbourne leg departed Abu Dhabi midnight 13th and arrived Melbourne evening of the 13th.

The basic gist of it is, nothing is ever guaranteed. But the odds increase as everything lines up for the departure and the flight is occurring on a regular basis.

To check your flight code, whether it is arriving, use this site : https://www.flightstats.com/v2

Good luck and safe travels!

[fatal3rror]

Thank you @Jon the Hat and @psuwara - I have been keeping an eye on the flights but not checking for the specific day of the week. Seems like the Thursday flight (same code) are still flying as scheduled. 

I understand nothing is guaranteed and are prepared for the worst case scenario - anything can happen within a month!

[psuwara]

16 hours ago, fatal3rror said:

Thank you @Jon the Hat and @psuwara - I have been keeping an eye on the flights but not checking for the specific day of the week. Seems like the Thursday flight (same code) are still flying as scheduled. 

I understand nothing is guaranteed and are prepared for the worst case scenario - anything can happen within a month!

It's all a game of probabilities and risks... You can increase your chances, but not a guarantee. Enjoy the adventure.

[Maussie]

We booked SIA flights ~£1600pp single, flying end of July. Managed to book DFAT flights ~£1200pp afterwards and arrived without issue yesterday. Cancelled the Singapore flights for a fee of £72pp.

The covid tests are included in the DFAT booking. New schedule was RT-PCR swabs 96h prior and RT-LAMP 24h prior to departure, all easily arranged. Info was emailed via Qantas and DFAT.

In flight entertainment was as normal. One hot meal and a few snacks/water provided - was adequate. Can take extra snacks on board as required, esp for kids as has been mentioned. Flight was full, maybe a dozen or so empty seats in total. 

Few hours delay on board the plane after landing to process then warmly welcomed at Howard Springs. Rooms are decent and can sit on the verandah as long as you keep your mask on. Can remove it for feeding. Internet is rural ~8/9MBs DL&UL. TV is fine. Fridge with freezer, and kettle in the room. 

Can't fault the process and booking through DFAT pretty much takes the possibility of the airline cancelling out of the equation. 

[Jon the Hat]

8 hours ago, Maussie said:

We booked SIA flights ~£1600pp single, flying end of July. Managed to book DFAT flights ~£1200pp afterwards and arrived without issue yesterday. Cancelled the Singapore flights for a fee of £72pp.

The covid tests are included in the DFAT booking. New schedule was RT-PCR swabs 96h prior and RT-LAMP 24h prior to departure, all easily arranged. Info was emailed via Qantas and DFAT.

In flight entertainment was as normal. One hot meal and a few snacks/water provided - was adequate. Can take extra snacks on board as required, esp for kids as has been mentioned. Flight was full, maybe a dozen or so empty seats in total. 

Few hours delay on board the plane after landing to process then warmly welcomed at Howard Springs. Rooms are decent and can sit on the verandah as long as you keep your mask on. Can remove it for feeding. Internet is rural ~8/9MBs DL&UL. TV is fine. Fridge with freezer, and kettle in the room. 

Can't fault the process and booking through DFAT pretty much takes the possibility of the airline cancelling out of the equation. 

Great news!  Also increases someone elses chances of getting on the SIA flight!

[Ken]

On 19/07/2021 at 22:16, psuwara said:

We flew in on the last international Melbourne flight arriving on July 13th.

On this flight I counted 8 passengers in business class, the day before there were 12 seat reservations. Likely 4 people were not able to board due to PCR test results or other issues.

Economy blew me away, there were likely a maximum of 20 passengers. So even with no caps, these flight would be arriving with no passengers. No wonder the gulf states with their oil money who can afford no passengers.

I’ll have to write a story about the whole thing.

What do you mean "with no caps"? There have been caps for almost 16 months now (all based on the tiny number of quarantine spaces available which is why airlines are only allowed to sell a ridiculously small number of seats per flight).

American Airlines have just cancelled all of their flights from the US to Australia because they are already operating in the US at pre-Covid load factors and most international routes (other than Australia) aren't far behind so they are going to use their aircraft where they are most needed.

Pre-Covid Australia had an average of 400,000 overseas arrivals per week. Allowing for two weeks of quarantine that would technically need 800,000 quarantine spaces. I think the actual number has been around 12,000 - but since the beginning of July they've halved it.