News that a flight route from regional NSW was the worst performing in October was no surprise to people who have to drive six hours when the unreliable service goes down.
The latest report from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) shows that 10 per cent of flights from Armidale to Sydney were canceled and 10.2 per cent were canceled on the return journey.
The airlines flying this route were Qantas and Rex, with as many as 16.3 percent of the latter’s flights canceled and 7.7 percent of QantasLink trips canceled.
The report also found that a flight route between Sydney and a holiday island in Queensland had the fewest number of flights arriving on time.
News that a flight route from regional NSW was the worst performing in October came as no surprise to people who have to drive six hours when the unreliable service goes down (stock image)
News that the flight route between Sydney and Armidale was one of the most unreliable came as no shock to Sandy Marshall, who recently had to leave her Armidale home at 2am to drive six hours to Sydney to make it to her cruise holiday to come.
“I got a text message the night before at 10 p.m. saying the flight had been canceled,” she told the station ABC about her mad struggle to get to Sydney on time.
She was told the cancellation was due to “mechanical issues,” but she’s heard that excuse before.
A Qantas spokesperson said: ‘Severe weather caused more delays and cancellations in October, with the weather affecting all but six days of the month’s flights.’
Ny Breaking Australia contacted Rex for comment but had not heard back by deadline.
Ms Marshall got back the frequent flyer points she used to buy tickets for the canceled flight, but is still furious about the airline’s apparent lack of care.
When she found out her flight had been cancelled, she asked if she could get a flight from Tamworth – 110km from Armidale – to Sydney instead.
But she was told there was nothing the airline could do.
What made it worse was that she also had to drive back from Sydney Airport after her holiday as it was too late to book a rental car, so she drove her own car.
This meant she also had to pay for parking in Sydney while she was away.
As many as 16.3 per cent of regional airline Rex’s flights between Armidale and Sydney were canceled in October. A Rex aircraft is shown
‘We also had to drive home because it was too late to arrange a rental car one way, so I had to sort out parking while we got there.
“I try not to direct my anger at people I know have no control over. But I was still angry,” Ms Marshall said.
“I was angry that they couldn’t do anything.”
The BITRE report found the Townsville-Cairns route had the highest on-time arrival rate, with a figure of 92.4 per cent.
The route also had the highest percentage of on-time departures at 92.4 percent.
The Hamilton Island-Sydney route had the lowest percentage of on-time arrivals, with only 46.9 percent of flights arriving on time.
The Cairns-Melbourne route had the lowest percentage of on-time flights at 40.4 percent.
Qantas was rated Australia’s least reliable domestic airline in October.
Not only did it underperform Virgin and regionally carried Rex this month, it also scored lower than its budget sister company Jetstar.
The report shows Qantas canceled 4.3 percent of its flights in October, more than Jetstar and Virgin Australia on 4.1 percent, while Rex canceled 2.3 percent of flights overall.
When flights were not canceled, about two-thirds of Qantas planes arrived or departed within 15 minutes of the expected time – well behind the other major and national airlines.
The BITRE report is yet another blow to the controversial airline.
Sandy Marshall had to leave her home in Armidale at 2am to drive six hours to Sydney to make it to her cruise holiday on time after her flight was canceled
Qantas was found to have illegally outsourced 1,683 ground crew jobs in 2020, in a decision upheld by the Supreme Court.
In August, recently departed Qantas CEO Alan Joyce was questioned at a Senate hearing, where it was found that the airline owed customers $370 million in flight credits and planned to cancel them in October.
Qantas later moved the closing date to the end of this year.
In September, Mr. Joyce, who oversaw the numerous scandals plaguing the airline, left the company with a golden handshake estimated to have been worth about $24 million.