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Qantas domestic services have slipped below Jetstar for on-time performance, though remained above Virgin when combined with QantasLink.
Individually, Qantas saw an on-time departure rate of just 65.1 per cent in October according to BITRE data, compared to Jetstar at 66.4 per cent and Virgin at 68.9 per cent; however, QF designated services as a whole – which includes QantasLink – had on-time departures of 72.7 per cent.
Rex outdid both Qantas and Virgin for on-time departures, at 76.5 per cent, while domestic airlines as a whole saw a total on-time departure rate of 71.1 per cent, well below the 82.3 per cent long-term average.
Qantas individually also saw the worst cancellation rate at 4.3 per cent, with Jetstar and Virgin both at 4.1 per cent and Rex at 2.3 per cent; however, when combined with QantasLink, all QF designated services had a 3.9 per cent cancellation rate. Cancellations across all domestic airlines stood at 3.8 per cent, again significantly worse than the 2.2 per cent long-term average.
Qantas flights for the month were impacted by several factors including severe weather, lightning strikes on aircraft, a FIFO pilots’ strike on 4 October, and staffing issues at air traffic control. The Flying Kangaroo is planning for the holiday season, including improvements to scheduling resilience and having more crew on standby.
“We know how important it is for our customers to get away on time and we’re focused on making sure we deliver on the experience our customers expect,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
“Severe weather caused more delays and cancellations in October, with weather impacting flights on all but six days for the month.
“We remain the most on-time major airline, leading our main competitor for a 14th consecutive month.”
