Involving an Airbus A310, P2-ANA and Boeing 767-338ER, VH-OGK, 259 km south of Brisbane Aerodrome, New South Wales, on 4 September 1997

The sector 2E controller was given instructions by the flow controller for an Airbus aircraft enroute from Sydney to Brisbane to lose time to pass Coolangatta at time 0918 EST. The intention was for the aircraft speed to be reduced sufficiently to lose about 3 minutes. The aircraft was in the Point Lookout area when the instruction was passed to the sector controller. A short time later the flow controller noticed that the aircraft was on an easterly heading approximately 140 NM south of Brisbane. This was queried through the sector and the flow controller was advised that the aircraft was being vectored to meet the set course time. The easterly heading effectively gave the aircraft a tailwind of 120 kts. When the sector controller turned the aircraft inbound to Coolangatta, it had lost so much time that a following Boeing 767 aircraft that would have been processed without delay, required speed control then significant vectoring, to stay behind the preceding aircraft.