Qantas problems
 

Hi everyone,

I'm doing my annual trip home next month and for the first time ever its on Qantas. With all their problems recently my partner is getting a bit nervous about flying with them. I see yet another of their 747's was grounded at heathrow today for a damaged rudder, and that their flight crews may strike over safety concerns.

I booked through expedia.

a) Do I have any grounds to ask for our carrier to be switched?
b) Are we worried about nothing?

Cheers

Re: Qantas problems
 

think you worrying about nothing

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I hope so as we are flying with them in Jan. Am looking at the recent 'problem' will actually make them safer as they will have had to inspect all their aircraft thoroughly.

Mark

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Yea hope its worrying about nothing.

SACA have said they will investigate QANTAS safety in the next few weeks. Will see what the outcome of that is. There have been 8 incidents now in last two weeks so although the media maybe exagerrate them its not what you want to hear when you are about to spend 50 hours on their planes!

Re: Qantas problems
 

big-matt, I understand your concerns, I would be worrying too especially as its such a long flight. I cant beleive that 8 incidents have happend all of a sudden! whats going on with them!! But if you think about it in a more positive light, Quantas is the ONLY airline in the world that has had no fatalities (except one man who died on the ground from a refuling incident!) Do you remember the scene in Rain Man when Dustin Hoffman wouldnt fly on any other airline because he would only trust Quantas as it was the only airline whith no fatalities? Well after 20 years its still hasnt had any major crashes and not one person has died as a result of a crash.

I would say to your self that even though these planes have had these problems, they all have still managed to land safeley and thats quite reasurring. So I think there is nothing to worry about. The chances of anything happening is so rare. Hope you enjoy your visit :)

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Worrying about nothing. Think about it. They inspected the plane at Heathrow, found a fault with the rudder and did not fly.

Sounds safe to me.

Re: Qantas problems
 

Thanks for the replies everyone - very reassuring.

Expedia have said to me that I cannot change carrier so will have to go qantas regardless. They also said most of their calls today have been people cancelling qantas flights!

Cheers again for the responses.

Re: Qantas problems
 

I think all the publicity Qantas have had recently is due to them wanting to take job's overseas. Every other Airline and business looks at the finicial side of things but it doesn't meant short cuts on the safety side.
The media jump on this and blow it out of proportion. When was the last disaster where an aircraft dropped out the skies? It does happen and thankfully not often. Faults do occur and every company do what they can to rectify this if this means grounding an aircraft surely this is a good thing.
Don't worry as they wouldn't want more bad publcity the planes will be fine enjoy your flight :thumbsup:

John

Re: Qantas problems
 

very true!

i have had delayed flights due to an inspection finding something that needed attention.

better that we know they are doing them and fixing things than not doing them and not fixing them.

i am a bit of a nervous traveller as it is. however! i would be more thinking that Qantas is stepping up even more so now.

by the time you take your flight, you will probably be on the safest plane in the world.

oh an another word of comfort. i used to work at sydney airport and was told more than once by engineers there, ' do not worry as we are so far away (aussie land) from the rest of the world airlines send their top of the fleet planes on these long distance flights' when my eyes popped at that ...hehee i was then told, think about it..if you had 2 cars ..one was newer and had air conditioning, cd player etc etc..and the other still ran well but was a little older which one would you take...;)

Re: Qantas problems
 

I've just flown back from Los Angeles with Air New Zealand and had a change of plane and 2 hour delay in Aukland thanks to the aircraft not being serviceable.

Couple of months back same thing with Singapore Air. I've actually been delayed more than a day with Emirates.

My point is that technical problems happen every day to every airline.

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CASA are indeed investigating QANTAS at the moment, but any adverse findings will probably never see the light of day in the public domain. The relationship between the two is very close, and many in the industry feel it is too close for CASA to really regulate and oversee QF effectively.

While it may not have had any fatalities in the past, that by itself does not make it a safe airline in the future. British Airways has not killed any passengers for a very long time (1976 was the last time in a mid-air collision) and I would rather fly on them ahead of QF any day. QANTAS should have had the 747 they crashed in Bangkok in 1999 scrapped but in wanting to keep their untarnished reputation for never writing off a jet aircraft intact, they paid more than it was worth to put it back in the air.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I can assure you that this is not true in my experience. Airline Operations departments have a list of aircraft types and they know which types are suitable for which routes in terms of range, payload etc. Aircraft routings are created to take into account maintenance and operational requirements, but nobody makes sure they put the better condition aircraft on the "Aussie" routes. Unless the aircraft is already carrying a specific defect, all of the same type are treated exactly the same regardless of if they are 2 months old, or 20 years old. Besides, how would anybody really know if one aircraft was better than another? You can have lots of problems with a brand new one, and yet one which is 15 years old could fly for weeks without any problems.

Absolutely correct. Unfortunately for QANTAS (and fortunately for Virgin Blue I guess) the press have decided to hit them hard. They have no more technical issues with their fleet than any other large airline. It's just the good old Aussie media having a go at the "big guy" because that is what they like to do best. They'll move on to some other company (probably Virgin or Jetstar!) soon enough.

As to the OP; Fly on QANTAS and be happy that you are going to get to your destination in one piece. The most dangerous thing on a long haul QF flight are the cabin crew :ohmy:

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Talking to a friend that is in the business, he tells me that QANTAS engineers are reporting every "little " thing they can find wrong with a plane, stuff they would normally sign off on' and get done during general mantenance.
This is due to pay and condition disputes they are having with Qantas, and the fact that a lot of maintenance is being done off shore, hence the sudden increase in shut downs, once reported an event has to be acted on.......;)mm

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There is a bit of a witch hunt with Qantas here at the moment.
All airlines have these sort of problems but you normally don't hear about them.
But at the moment if a cup of tea is spilt on the flight it's front page news.

Still would fly Qantas though, but thats due to the fact that the competition is better :)

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Well we are flying with Qantas next month (23rd) so great if everyone is cancelling their flights that means more room for me right??
Just think i may even get to sneak into Buisness class;)

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I think the Australian press are having a 'feeding frenzy' with Qantas at the moment and this is the result. I wouldn't worry too much.

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I wouldn’t fly with them – Not because of safety, but because they have terrible service and are a terrible airline.

As for safety, you’re worrying about nothing, They're as safe as most other airlines. They’ll get you from A to B but don’t expect anything special in-between.

Also, it’s a myth about Qantas being the only airline without fatalities; several airlines have never had a fatality. Also, Qantas can no longer claim they have never had a crash (QF1 in 1999).

Mikey

Re: Qantas problems
 

It's also a myth that QF have never had fatalities....they have had fatalities, just not in their jet engine fleet. They have certainly had major incidents, Bangkok as you mention & the recent explosion were very serious.

I'd have no issues flying with them from a safety point of view, just from a service point of view!

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[QUOTE=
While it may not have had any fatalities in the past, that by itself does not make it a safe airline in the future. British Airways has not killed any passengers for a very long time (1976 was the last time in a mid-air collision) and I would rather fly on them ahead of QF any day. QANTAS should have had the 747 they crashed in Bangkok in 1999 scrapped but in wanting to keep their untarnished reputation for never writing off a jet aircraft intact, they paid more than it was worth to put it back in the air.

[/QUOTE]

That is a good point, It may not make it a safe airline in the future. But that is just in the hands for fate really. No one will know. I am a nervous flyer and am comforted that even though Quants has had incidents like so many other airlines, there has been no fatalities on a commercial flight AND they are the world's second oldest continuously operating airline (behind KLM) and the oldest in the English speaking world. Is the 747 that crash landed in 1999 the same plane that landed in manila? WIth the big hole in it? the one that they patched up? I so, thats messed up!

Good to hear about BA being safe, am flying back home with them next year!

I agree with you Mikeyc, I also wouldnt fly lond haul with them because their service is awful. Much better to fly singapore air or cathay pacific for service. I read up on the crash and it is awful that the plane landed like that but a positive way tolook at it is that the pilot got everyone down safely. (but that may be just me trying to make myself feel less freaked out about flying!)

Bottom line is Flying is safest form of transport. Plane crashes are very rare, unlike car crashes that happen every day!

bcworld, they have had a fatality with a refuling incident on the ground and some in 1940 something in war planes but none in a commercial flight. and that is the positive point I was highlighting.

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What about Manchester then (cabin fire whilst on the ground)?

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Not sure, but the registration of the one that crashed in 1999 is VH-OJH. I don’t know the rego for the one that blew the hole..... I also wonder if it’s the same 747 that “turned off” earlier this year. Remember a flight from London about to land in Bangkok had all the power and engines just turn off while flying! lol

The worse Qantas flight to get on is the 747 that does the Sydney – Perth and Perth to Sydney route, every time I have gotten on that same aircraft (since 2003) it has been cancelled or delayed because of a broken engine, every time my Mum has gotten on it to come to Sydney it’s the same – she came over 3 weeks ago, it took 17 hours for her to get from Perth – Sydney, via Adelaide, lol. The engine on that plane broke, again!

Virgin Blue for domestic now and Asian or Middle East for International.

Mikey

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I think that airline was British Airtours - looks like BA paint job wise but not sure what the relationship is??

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Wholly owned by BA (at the time).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airtours
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British...urs_Flight_28M

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Qantas are just lucky that the “blow hole” incident didn’t turn out like the United Airlines over the pacific going from HNL – it ripped the whole side off and sucked a few passengers right into the engine (that’s why you should always sit behind the wings ;) lol)

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...c84/United.jpg

Mikey

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I think the outcome will remain the same though.

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And I'm sure it's better to be minced by the engine then to fall into the sea :blink:

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Yea, but given the option i'd prefer to skip the bit of being sucked into the enginge and cut up into little bits. lol

Mikey

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Oh I dunno?

I think becoming part of a vapour trail is a much quicker route to the afterlife than hitting the sea at 120 mph+ (if you happen not pass out due to hypoxia)?

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The Manila incident was OJK. I believe it was OJM that lost electrical power. It didn't have "all the power and engines turn off"!

The QF service SYD-PER is operated by elderly 747-300s (when they are not broken) which are getting long in the tooth and have suffered a bit over the years. Poor things.....

Wholly owned, yes, but most definately not operated by B.A.

That's what a cargo door letting go will do. Frankly I'd rather take my chances in a comfy Business or First class seat than sit in Economy incase the door comes off! :D

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lol poor big matt, he came on here to reassured but instead he will read about bodies being sucked into engines and becoming little pieces! (Mikey! :frown:)

I also wonder if it’s the same 747 that “turned off” earlier this year. Remember a flight from London about to land in Bangkok had all the power and engines just turn off while flying! lol

Wasnt that the BA flight coming into heathrow? Where the pilot was labeled a hero? I agree with waht u say about flying asian and middle eastern, much better service. Cant beleive that about the sydney perth flight. Thats a joke!

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The BA happened a few weeks after (same problem though). Yea 17 hours Perth to Sydney was a nightmare for my mum, the most annoying part was that she was only coming for the weekend! lol

And surprise surprise, the same aircraft back was delayed by 4 hours due to, you guess it...... a problem with the engine! They usually use that aircraft on the red eye from Perth to Sydney and on the 19:20 Sydney to Perth.

Mikey

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lol thats shocking. I only remember hearing about the BA one. Must ave got the most publicity in UK. Cant belive a flight from one part of Australia to another can take 17 hours! i dont care how big the country is! Tis crazy!

Why do u think virgin blue is better than jetstar? Am thinking of booking a flight with one of them from Adelaide to Cairns.

Re: Qantas problems
 

I have been going SYD-PER with Virginblue

I flew SYD-PER and back on QANTAS's 747's four weeks ago. It was certainly rather old.

Tomorrow, I have decided to go with Virginblue's 737...not as much leg room as the 747 but I think more chance of it being on time etc.

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Yes, definitely. I've often found Jetstar staff to be afflicted with the same grumpiness & rudeness as their QF colleagues.

I love the Live2Air IFE system on Virgin, generally keeps me occupied on any flight.