This often happened to me with Qantas - I'd say 80% of the time I booked a 737-400, turn up to the gate and an -800 is sitting there! and the same with 767's - day before it gets switched to a 738!!
I don't actually get hit by changes all that much now I think about it.
What I do dislike is the uncertainty you get with an EK 77W - you expect a certain configuration with particular seats or IFE and get something totally different. You don't tend to find out if there's a change until right before checkin either.
QF makes the most unforgiveable changes though... LAX-SYD on a 744 when you expect an A380 is not cool.
am according to theqantassource.com a 747 - 400 runs on QF12 2-3 times per month. Its seems like this would be largely to cater for maintenance issues and the fact that they still have Nancy Bird Walton out of action. Did the seat map and description of your flight suggest an A380?
You are right that QF12 is meant to be daily to LAX on the A380, and its not like the A380 is appearing on QF107/108.....Does anyone else think the maintenance/fleet overstretched issue is the cause?
Yeah, I've just had a look and it appears that it's happening quite often at the moment. The Qantas timetable shows that a 747 is flying the route every second day for the next week.
I flew last week, the trip was booked in mid-December and showed an A380 when it was booked. I selected my seat and never thought about it again until I arrived at the airport and my boarding pass came out with something different. I'd have flown via DFW and selected a seat in F if I'd known I was going to be stuck in an angled seat for 15 hours (I was connecting from ORD).
Must be shortages, since it's scheduled and pretty regular...
Good question, drtownsmiller! As a frequent flyer, I have noticed that when an airline changes their plane, they don't notify you and sometimes that can wreck hearts if you paid extra for a better seat.
I have asked some people and they say that they change mostly due to:
Grounded or un-operational aircraft (my experience shows that this happens with Qantas a lot)
Low demand (A few A330s were replaced in the introduction of the new Coast-to-Coast service due to low demand, and new routes usually have this
Previous or near-future cancellation (if a larger plane was cancelled earlier, and there wasn't that many people on the next one, some airlines choose this option.
Qantas did this when the whole fleet was cancelled. The only route operational was Sydney-Canberra and the one I took was supposed to operate a B737-400 but it changed to an A330-300 due to the big demand or it could be another airline like Virgin or Jetstar covering for another airline's grounded fleet.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on
How often is your advertised plane changed?
drtownsmiller
drtownsmiller
Member since 06 Mar 2012
Total posts 1
How often is your advertised plane changed? Which airline is the worst offender?
joelaustin
joelaustin
Member since 06 Mar 2012
Total posts 1
This often happened to me with Qantas - I'd say 80% of the time I booked a 737-400, turn up to the gate and an -800 is sitting there! and the same with 767's - day before it gets switched to a 738!!
am
am
Member since 15 Apr 2011
Total posts 216
I don't actually get hit by changes all that much now I think about it.
What I do dislike is the uncertainty you get with an EK 77W - you expect a certain configuration with particular seats or IFE and get something totally different. You don't tend to find out if there's a change until right before checkin either.
QF makes the most unforgiveable changes though... LAX-SYD on a 744 when you expect an A380 is not cool.
DrTGanguly
DrTGanguly
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 20 Nov 2011
Total posts 107
am according to theqantassource.com a 747 - 400 runs on QF12 2-3 times per month. Its seems like this would be largely to cater for maintenance issues and the fact that they still have Nancy Bird Walton out of action. Did the seat map and description of your flight suggest an A380?
You are right that QF12 is meant to be daily to LAX on the A380, and its not like the A380 is appearing on QF107/108.....Does anyone else think the maintenance/fleet overstretched issue is the cause?
am
am
Member since 15 Apr 2011
Total posts 216
Yeah, I've just had a look and it appears that it's happening quite often at the moment. The Qantas timetable shows that a 747 is flying the route every second day for the next week.
I flew last week, the trip was booked in mid-December and showed an A380 when it was booked. I selected my seat and never thought about it again until I arrived at the airport and my boarding pass came out with something different. I'd have flown via DFW and selected a seat in F if I'd known I was going to be stuck in an angled seat for 15 hours (I was connecting from ORD).
Must be shortages, since it's scheduled and pretty regular...
aero-seat
aero-seat
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 23 May 2012
Total posts 178
Good question, drtownsmiller! As a frequent flyer, I have noticed that when an airline changes their plane, they don't notify you and sometimes that can wreck hearts if you paid extra for a better seat.
I have asked some people and they say that they change mostly due to:
Qantas did this when the whole fleet was cancelled. The only route operational was Sydney-Canberra and the one I took was supposed to operate a B737-400 but it changed to an A330-300 due to the big demand or it could be another airline like Virgin or Jetstar covering for another airline's grounded fleet.