Airline passengers brace for expected turbulence

A new report confirms what most travellers already know about their chances of arriving at a destination on time.

There’s a sense of inevitability about flight cancellations and delays.

I used to love the sense of anticipation felt when arriving at an airport to catch a plane. The air would be fizzing with excitement as travellers checked in bags and said their goodbyes with tears and hugs. Like the final scene in the Christmas classic Love Actually, it was a visual feast of emotions. These days? Not so much. We seem to be so inured to air travel that getting on a plane is as humdrum as stepping aboard a train.

Our apathy has not been helped by the sense we can no longer rely on airlines to get us from A to B, especially on the domestic front. On a recent flight from Sydney to Townsville via Brisbane, my heart sank when I learned the first leg of my journey had been delayed and I’d likely miss my connection. Rather than feelings of panic or anger, I felt a sense of resignation and inevitability about the 5½ hours I would have to while away in BNE. It was a case of “here we go again”.

My reaction is hardly surprising given the data released this week by the Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. It found that in December, a whopping 5 per cent of flights across all domestic carriers were cancelled, no doubt throwing the holiday plans of thousands of passengers into disarray. Almost a third of flights took off later than scheduled and the same number arrived late. The worst performer was budget operator Bonza, which cancelled almost one in five flights and managed punctuality for just over half of them. Virgin Australia pulled the pin on 7.7 per cent of its services, while Qantas cancelled 2.7 per cent.

It doesn’t read as a great report card for our airlines, especially when compared with the same month in 2022. Back then, more than 70 per cent of flights arrived and departed on the dot, while only 3.4 per cent didn’t take off at all. I’d be giving Australia’s operators a C plus and “must try harder”. Severe weather, staff shortages, regulatory challenges and maintenance have all been cited as reasons for airlines’ poor performance. These excuses would be easier to swallow if the cost of tickets hadn’t soared (along with prices on all of life’s essentials).

On the return journey from Queensland, my flight miraculously left and landed on time. Was I delighted or impressed? No, more surprised and relieved. My companions weren’t so lucky. Their first flight was cancelled, but they were fortunate to secure seats on another departing four hours later. That was then delayed by a further two hours, and again by 30 minutes more. We’re often told to expect the unexpected while travelling. When it comes to flying, maybe we should expect the expected.