At first I thought these stories appearing were the result of selective perception but this is just ridiculous

Sounds like they're trying real hard to make up for lost time.

Quantas never crashed. Never crashed. Yeah, Definitely never crashed.

If my laptop battery is any indication of Quantas' situation, all these failures around the same time must mean that their warranty expired a couple weeks ago.

Wants a new mechanic

Last time I flew Qantas into Sydney it was on the "Spirit of Australia" (which is the one that blew out that compartment last week) and we hit the runway so hard it scared the flight crew.

Was my first big jet (747L) flight, and I didn't know it was not supposed to be like that until I saw the abject fear on the faces of the flight crew when we bounced twice.

If that pilot is still flying for them, no wonder the planes are falling apart.

Here at Quantas, we have a strong commitment to quality contorl.

Somewhere, Raymond Babbit is huddling in a corner.

Emergency declarations are common at every airline. Emergencies turning into crashes is not whats common... and none of these have been the case with Qantas. The one with the hole in the airplane was out of the ordinary, but other than that, all these other news stories are because the media is paying attention to them right now. This happens at every airline continuously. Planes have backup systems and pilots have a lot of training and almost every single time, these emergencies result in nothing more than a return to the airport and a delay for the passengers.


I fly for one of the larger regional airlines in the US. We have a plane declare an emergency, on average, once a day... every day. Its just that 99% of the time, it doesn't make the news... so when one does make the news, people get surprised and act like its an out of the ordinary occurrence.

INTERTRON: If my laptop battery is any indication of Quantas' situation, all these failures around the same time must mean that their warranty expired a couple weeks ago.

I LOL'd! I'd +1 you if I could.

Emergency declarations are common at every airline. Emergencies turning into crashes is not whats common... and none of these have been the case with Qantas. The one with the hole in the airplane was out of the ordinary, but other than that, all these other news stories are because the media is paying attention to them right now. This happens at every airline continuously. Planes have backup systems and pilots have a lot of training and almost every single time, these emergencies result in nothing more than a return to the airport and a delay for the passengers.


I fly for one of the larger regional airlines in the US. We have a plane declare an emergency, on average, once a day... every day. Its just that 99% of the time, it doesn't make the news... so when one does make the news, people get surprised and act like its an out of the ordinary occurrence.


But... are you getting a kick out of some of these replies?

INTERTRON: If my laptop battery is any indication of Quantas' situation, all these failures around the same time must mean that their warranty expired a couple weeks ago.

awesome. so much awesome.

This is what happens when koalas let koalas fly drunk.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Nope. Nope. definitely didn't have Sunday.
Definitely.

Erg.

Definitely, definitely didn't reload thread on time.

ChadManMn: But... are you getting a kick out of some of these replies?

Good point.

I actually declared an emergency on a flight I was flying on friday night... so I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

+1 to flyf15. These things happen all the time with all airlines, it just happens the media is paying attention to Qantas at the moment and blows it out of proportion.

Look at avherald.com to see all the similar incidents not reported just this weekend:

Tunisair B736 near Milano on Jul 31st 2008, sudden loss of pressurization
Vladivostok Air T204 near Krasnojarsk on Aug 3rd 2008, engine failure
Air China B738 at Beijing on Aug 2nd 2008, bird strike
Qantas B763 at Sydney on Aug 2nd 2008, hydraulics leak
TAM A319 at Curitiba on Aug 2nd 2008, lightning strike on runway
Red Wings T204 near Minsk on Aug 2nd 2008, engine vibration, in flight shut down
British Midland A321 near Faro on Aug 1st 2008, engine failure
Cathay Pacific B744 near Winnipeg on Aug 1st 2008, cargo fire alert
Delta B752 at Los Angeles on Aug 1st 2008, airplane "shakes"
Paramount E170 at Madurai on Jul 31st 2008, breathing difficulties

The review was announced after an incident involving a Manila-bound Boeing 767 that was seen leaking hydraulic fluid yesterday after take-off. The jetliner with 200 passengers aboard had to return to Sydney airport.

I had Saturday in the pool... i think that makes me the winner.

Assuming you're not taking the whole halfway around the world thing into account... gosh time zones mess with my head.

Small pool.

I came for the Rain Man references and was not disappointed.

/excellent driver

Maybe I won't go back home for a bit longer... No need to rush back to Auckland. Maybe ill stow away my own beer, cause Id rather be sober and die than drink vic bitter.

FTFA: A Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman says there's "no evidence to suggest" any problems with Qantas

Umm...I think three emergency landings in eight days would qualify as evidence which suggests a problem with Qantas.

GoRedSoxGo: FTFA: A Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman says there's "no evidence to suggest" any problems with Qantas

Umm...I think three emergency landings in eight days would qualify as evidence which suggests a problem with Qantas.

Okay, maybe not, after reading flyf15's post.

I am flying Qantas today! And tomorrow. And Wednesday.

*hopes for lack of crashes*

is a small hydraulic leak really grounds for an emergency landing? unless all those rudders and shiat are run off hydraulics..and then even so i wouldnt classify it as an emergency until there was nothin left to pump through those hoses. THEN you'd be farked. :P

Is either some bad maintenance or bad karma.

Wanted for questioning:



Overheard saying "I hate Qantas!".

flyf15: ChadManMn: But... are you getting a kick out of some of these replies?

Good point.

I actually declared an emergency on a flight I was flying on friday night... so I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

Awesome! -But in all seriousness, I appreciate your caution.

A few years ago, I was part of a team that developed the flight crew bidding system for NWA. As we were digging through their databases looking for the information we needed, we came across a column called "live landings". Not being airline people, our first thought was "live vs what???" lol.

As it turns out, that column indicated whether it was an autopilot landing or not. We were relieved to find that out.

No wonder my brother who works @ Boeing is being sent to Australia tomorrow. LOL

So reality is a decade behind the movies?

Shadow Blasko: Last time I flew Qantas into Sydney it was on the "Spirit of Australia" (which is the one that blew out that compartment last week)

While I suppose you could have been on the same plane, "Spirit of Australia" is Qantas' tagline, not the name of any particular aircraft.

My fiancee is flying back to the States tonight from Sydney via Air New Zealand, so I am getting a kick out of these replies...

ChadManMn: A few years ago, I was part of a team that developed the flight crew bidding system for NWA.

Hey Ren! Wuz up? Tell'em where you're from!

GoRedSoxGo: Okay, maybe not, after reading flyf15's post.

The airlines in arkan's post are either rustbucket Communist-era deathtraps ("Vladivostok Air"?! I'd sooner take my chances with SpaceX) or they're probably 100 times the size of Qantas (Delta, Cathay Pacific, Air China). I'd be more interested in emergencies-per-flight statistics than raw numbers.

I wondered if the repeat problems of Quantas had something to do with Manila.

Unless, of course, you understand that this happened on Saturday, and not Sunday....

There is no "u" in Qantas. Just sayin'.

/pet peeve

It's QANTAS not Quantas

stands for"Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services"

/sorry "pet peeve"

These emergencies may just be the latest selective reporting, but that's only because over the last 12 months "Qantas plane delayed by stupid number of hours" stories have lost their oomph.

I travel a lot for work, and my Sydney-based company has Qantas a their preferred airline supplier for local and overseas flights. I've done something like 22 domestic and 12 international legs since May 2007, and out of those 23 had something go wrong.

That's everything from a 45 minute delay while they vented the kerosene fumes from my plane non the taxiway after two Qantas planes pushed-back at the same time, through to planes being grounded due to failing last minute maintenance checks, to being dumped in LA airport at midnight after they missed a connection: Qantas had nobody on hand to direct passengers but still managed to lock everybody's baggage up for the night. Add to this a broken seat, a broken tray table, consistently failing entertainment systems... these guys are a mess.

My pet peeve is that Qantas don't believe in keeping people informed. If I'm in Adelaide for work and my morning flight home is going to be delayed by an hour, I'm fine. If my flight is going to be delayed by 4 hours, I can rebook on an evening flight, and go and work from the local office or catch up with clients. I've now worked out who in each airport has the information, and the first thing I do in a delay is go and sit in their office and give them crap until they let me know what's going on. I know they hate it, but until their corporate culture changes, there's not much else I can do.

I was listening to a interview with Devo this morning. They are out in Australia to play a few shows. Even they complained that all they seem to be seeing in the country is the inside of airports, thanks to Qantas' consistent 4 and 5 hour flight delays.

DangerLaef: It's QANTAS not Quantas

stands for"Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services"

/sorry "pet peeve"

Thanks, I never knew that.

But seeing it spelled that way still pisses me off. Looks wrong. Should be allowed in Scrabble.

QANTAS flight attendants are all old and used....

Unlike Virgin Blues, young, happy flight attendants....

One thing worst then QANTAS is Jetstar (which is done by the same company)
With Jetstar, if you are flying from Brisbane to Sydney and end up on the Lost Island without having delays you're having a good trip.

Supplenuts: One thing worst then QANTAS is Jetstar

For non-skips - Jetstar is the "budget airline" offshoot of Qantas. Which means its just as unreliable as Qantas, but with additional charges for things like food, headsets, checked baggage, drinks, air, smiles, seats, toilet paper etc etc etc. Also the seats are 6 inches closer together, meaning that its unfortable even for my 5'4" frame.

The "Qantas" brand remains for "full service" airline, meaning that any time your fly with them, they ensure that you feel like you've been fully serviced with an exploding oxygen tank.

Serves them right for not using the 'I hate Quantas' koala in the commercials anymore.

where's my Dustin Hoffman pic?

juicy: Wanted for questioning:



Overheard saying "I hate Qantas!".

All your planes are belong to Koala

flyf15: I actually declared an emergency on a flight I was flying on friday night... so I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

And I really, really hope you're not related to FlyNavy...;)

Man On Pink Corner: The airlines in arkan's post are either rustbucket Communist-era deathtraps ("Vladivostok Air"?! I'd sooner take my chances with SpaceX) or they're probably 100 times the size of Qantas (Delta, Cathay Pacific, Air China). I'd be more interested in emergencies-per-flight statistics than raw numbers.

Fleet sizes:

Delta: 452
Air China: 229
Qantas: 222
Cathay Pacific: 116

100 times the size? Please...

I agree the total value of incidents needs to be compared to the size of the airline, but Qantas is not exactly a tiny airline either.