Gold Alert - 21 June 3pm Update to Flight Disruptions on Domestic Flight Services

URGENT COMMUNICATION Update on Flight Disruptions due to  Volcanic Ash Cloud UPDATE : 3.00pm, 21 June 2011

The volcanic ash plume is expected to drift over South Eastern Australia today preventing the operation of regular scheduled services.   Qantas & Virgin Australia Group of Airlines has suspended all flights into and out of the following airports on Tuesday 21 June 2011: ·         Adelaide , Port Lincoln and Mildura cancelled for remainder of the day ·         Canberra from 12.00pm Qantas  and 1.00pm – Virgin    (AEST) ·         Sydney, Newcastle  flights will be cancelled from 3.00pm Qantas and 4.00pm Virgin (AEST) Virgin Australia have also cancelled Melbourne,  Hobart and Launceston flights from 4.00pm (AEST)  Qantas have made no mention of disruptions to Tasmanian services and are yet to advise if and from when Melbourne services will be cancelled except three Perth-Melbourne  flights have been cancelled (QF776, QF802, QF768) and one Melbourne-Perth flight (QF776) Jetstar have not updated with website since 10am but it’s safe to assume they will follow Qantas’ lead.   Rex advise flights to above mentioned cities suspended until further notice from 3pm today. Additionally – the following information is for Qantas International services International Services International services to and from Sydney are currently under review. - QF1 Sydney Bangkok to London departed  Sydney at 2.15pm today - QF5 Sydney Singapore to Frankfurt departed Sydney at 2.15pm today - QF31 Sydney Singapore to London  departed Sydney at 2.15pm today QF32 Singapore to Sydney has been diverted to Brisbane All New Zealand services are operating as scheduled, with the exception of flights departing Sydney after 3.00 pm QF88 Hong Kong to Sydney has been delayed by 24 hours. Johannesburg destined services will operate with a refuelling stop in Perth until further notice Buenos Aires services destined for Sydney may be subject to a refuelling stop in Papeete until further notice Goldman Travel Consultants are attending to  travellers who may will affected by today’s delays. We ask your patience while  we prioritise servicing of passengers booked to travel today . Goldman Travel Corporation will be waiving amendment fees for passengers disrupted due to the current ash crisis. More information can be obtained from the airlines’ websites. http://www.virginaustralia.com/MinorIncidentReport/index.htm  http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/disruptions/global/en  www.jetstar.com/au/en/travel-alerts

Gold Alert - Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide flight disruptions due to Ash Cloud 21 June 2011

ASH CLOUD CAUSES FURTHER DISRUPTIONS UPDATE : 09.30AM, 21 June 2011

Volcanic  ash from the eruption of Mt Puyehue Cordon Caulle volcano in Chile continues to cause flight disruptions to travel within Australia.   With traveller safety of utmost importance Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Tiger Airlines all report cancelled services.   All flights to and from Adelaide    All flights to and from Canberra will be cancelled from 12.00 pm. All domestic flights to and from Sydney will be cancelled from 3.00 pm. International services to and from Sydney  are currently under review. QF1 Sydney Bangkok London; QF5 Sydney Singapore Frankfurt and QF31 Sydney Singapore London will all depart from Sydney at 1415 today. It is possible that Melbourne may also be affected at some time today;  times are still to be confirmed. Johannesburg destined services will operate with a refuelling stop in Perth until further notice. Buenos Aires services destined for Sydney may be subject to a refuelling stop in Papeete until further notice. Goldman Travel Consultants are attending to over 200 travellers who may will affected by today’s delays. We ask your patience while  we prioritise servicing of passengers booked to travel today . Goldman Travel Corporation will be waiving amendment fees for passengers disrupted due to the current ash crisis. More information can be obtained from the airlines’ websites. http://www.virginaustralia.com/MinorIncidentReport/index.htm  http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/disruptions/global/en  www.jetstar.com/au/en/travel-alerts

The Ash Cloud returns - Update 20 June 11

URGENT COMMUNICATION Update on Flights due to Volcanic Ash Cloud UPDATE : 5pm, 20 June 2011

Qantas and Virgin Australia will suspend all services into and out of Adelaide and Mildura on Tuesday 21 June because of the return of a volcanic ash plume from Chilean volcano, Cordon Caulle. The latest advice from the Bureau of Meteorology and the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre necessitates the suspension of flights to the cities until further notice.  Both Qantas and Virgin Australia are endeavouring to contact affected Guests to discuss alternate travel options. They are also regularly updating information on their website and urge travellers to check via the below links for the latest information available. Goldman Travel consultants have contacted clients with bookings to/from Adelaide tomorrow and will continue to monitor the situation. Should you have any further queries please contact your Goldman Travel consultant. Jetstar - for the latest information click here  Qantas - for the latest information click here Virgin Australia - for the latest information click here

Message from Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO: Safety over schedule

As you know, Qantas has responded to the dispersal of volcanic ash from the Mt Puyehue Cordon Caulle volcano in Chile by cancelling or rerouting a number of flights.

As a valued Frequent Flyer I want to let you know why we have made these decisions when other carriers, including Virgin and Air New Zealand, have continued to operate.

Qantas does not take the decision to cancel flights lightly. We understand that this causes significant disruptions for all our customers. We regret the inconvenience and we appreciate your patience. But safety is our first priority and we will never fly unless we are fully satisfied that it is safe to do so.

Volcanic ash cloud poses a significant threat to aircraft. It can enter an engine, turn into molten glass as a result of the high temperatures and potentially cause the engine to fail. Other risks include windscreens becoming opaque, contamination of cabin air and hydraulic systems and erosion of aircraft parts.

Our decision not to fly in the presence of volcanic ash is based on assessments by our Critical Operational Event Group, with advice from the Bureau of Meteorology and in consultation with the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) in Darwin.

Unlike the meteorological authorities in Europe, Australia's VAAC does not have the ability to calculate ash density so we are unable to access definitive measurements. Our policy is not to fly into areas where the concentration of volcanic ash is unknown. Without certainty about the density of the ash, we do not consider it safe to fly.

Again, we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused by these weather conditions.

We will continue to resume services to affected ports as soon as it is operationally appropriate to do so. You can find the latest flight updates on our Flight Status page.

Our Chief Pilot Captain Peter Wilson and Head of Integrated Operations Centre Alan Milne are expert members of the Qantas Critical Operational Event Group. You can watch a video of Peter and Alan discussing the rationale behind the Qantas decision to cancel or reroute some flights on Qantas' YouTube channel.

Alan Joyce

Qantas Chief Executive Officer

Volcanic Ash update 17 June 11

URGENT COMMUNICATION Update on Flights due to Volcanic Ash Cloud UPDATE : 12pm, 17 June 2011

Qantas - for the latest information click here All Qantas domestic services will operate as scheduled on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 June. Flights to and from Auckland and Queenstown in New Zealand resumed at 6am (EST) this morning. A small number of flights are unable to operate as there is no aircraft in position. Flights to and from Wellington will resume today at 12pm (local time). Christchurch services remain closed at this time, however these are under review. Johannesburg services continue to operate as scheduled. The Wednesday 15th June flight to/from Buenos Aires which was postponed until today has been cancelled. Flights to and from Buenos Aires on Saturday 18 June remain under review. All other international flights tomorrow will continue to operate as normal. Virgin Australia - for the latest information click here Virgin Australia has now resumed regular services to all domestic Australian airports. The following New Zealand services have been cancelled for today: DJ 67- Wellington to Brisbane at 7am DJ 71- Christchurch to Sydney at 6am DJ 74- Brisbane to Dunedin at 10am DJ 75- Dunedin to Brisbane at 4.20pm If you are booked on a flight travelling in and out of New Zealand, we recommend that you continue to check the Virgin Australia website, as updates will be provided as information comes to hand. Jetstar - for the latest information click here All domestic services will operate as per schedule. Domestic and Trans-Tasman services in and out of Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown will operate from 12pm local time today.  Christchurch Trans-Tasman and Domestic services remain cancelled until 6pm local time, however Jetstar anticipates resuming all services to and from Christchurch this evening. Should you have any further queries please contact your Goldman Travel consultant.

Gold Alert - Flight Disruptions to New Zealand Flight Services continue

URGENT COMMUNICATION  Update on Flight Disruptions due to  Volcanic Ash Cloud UPDATE : 10.00am, 16 June 2011

The Volcanic Ash plume continues to drift over New Zealand at an altitude which prevents regular scheduled services The following information has been provided by our major local carriers: New Zealand Services Qantas  – Flights to/from  New Zealand cancelled Thursday 16 June Jetstar – Flights  to/from and within  New Zealand  remain cancelled until midday Thursday 16 June at least  Virgin Blue – Flights to/from New Zealand are cancelled for Thursday 16 June  Domestic Services Jetstar – flights to all cities have been resumed Virgin Australia - is expected to resume flights in and out of Perth Airport from 12.00pm AWST (2.00pm AEST) on Thursday 16 June.   Flights to other domestic ports are operating as normal. Qantas -  operating  to all cities, however a small number of flights are unable to operate as there is no aircraft in position, a result of previous disruptions across the network. The following flights have been cancelled: QF480 – Perth/Melbourne QF590 – Perth /Adelaide QF513 – Brisbane/Sydney QF650 – Perth/Brisbane QF642 – Perth/Sydney          QF912 – Perth/Karratha QF919 – Karratha/Perth Other destinations: Qantas -The 15 June flights to and from Buenos Aires have been postponed a further 24 hours to Friday 17 June The team at Goldman Travel Corporation appreciate your understanding and patience whilst we’ve strived to keep you abreast of this unavoidable event.     For further information please refer to the airline’s websites or contact your Goldman Travel consultant. http://www.virginaustralia.com/MinorIncidentReport/index.htm http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/disruptions/global/en www.jetstar.com/au/en/travel-alerts

Gold Alert - Volcanic Ash Cloud update - Perth flights cancelled

URGENT COMMUNICATION Update on Flight Disruptions due to  Volcanic Ash Cloud UPDATE : 2.00pm, 15 June 2011

The Volcanic Ash plume is expected to drift over Perth this afternoon at an altitude which will prevent aircraft from safely operating.  As a result,  Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia have suspended all flights into and out of Perth Airport from 12.30pm AWST on Wednesday 15 June 2011 until further notice. Goldman Travel consultants have identified all affected travellers and will continue to monitor the situation and provide you with updates. Qantas’ website  advises  the following operational information for today Flights in and out of Adelaide, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne will operate as scheduled. Qantas has put on additional services out of Adelaide to clear the backlog Flights to and from Perth have been cancelled from 1pm local time Flights to and from New Zealand have been cancelled Flights to and from Tasmania have been cancelled Flights to and from Johannesburg have been confirmed Flights to and from Buenos Aires (QF17, QF18) have been postponed by 24 hours. Virgin Australia advise flights to Tasmania, Adelaide and Melbourne are operating as normal and Perth flights are cancelled until further notice. Jetstar advise flights to Tasmania and Perth are suspended until further notice. More information can be obtained from the airlines’ websites. http://www.virginaustralia.com/MinorIncidentReport/index.htm http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/disruptions/global/en www.jetstar.com/au/en/travel-alerts