Airliners-India Flickr Group    FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  More Qantas chaos!          Airliners-India Forum Index -> International View previous topic :: View next topic   karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:15 pm    Post subject: More Qantas chaos! www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,24102796-5014090,00.html Qantas kicks economy passengers off flights By Hannah Davies July 31, 2008 12:01am A NEW computer check-in system is causing chaos for Qantas passengers, with economy class customers being kicked off flights to make way for business class frequent flyers. Dozens of travellers are being turned away at check-in desks across the country, following the launch of the new system on Saturday. The system limits seating for economy passengers to the rear of the plane - even if spare seats are available towards the front of the plane - giving priority to business class flyers. While it has been labelled "a nightmare" by Qantas employees, bosses said it was a "supreme" way to manage bookings. One staff member, who asked not to be named, said it had taken the check-in process back 10 years. "Basically, if you're not important enough for Qantas then you're either down the back of the plane or you're not on the plane," he said. "The system looks after the top-end flyers and everyone else has to take their chances." The system - trialled in Perth for three months before going live Australia-wide - has caused flight delays across the country this week as employees struggle to get to grips with it. Qantas said the new system integrated two previously separate computer systems that were used to manage flights, reservations, and customers. Staff say it is more complicated to use than the old system, and prevents them from allocating seats quickly, which slows down the boarding process. One passenger was furious after being turned away at the Qantas check-in at Brisbane airport on Tuesday and told to wait for a later flight. "It's ridiculous," he said. "When I complained, I was told I should have read my terms and conditions which state that Qantas promises only to get passengers to their destination on the same day. What a joke." But Qantas bosses denied the system was affecting customers. "Customers won't notice a difference at all," a spokesman said. The Australian Services Union said it was aware of problems. The system is the latest problem for Qantas in what has been a dire month. Last week a Melbourne-bound Qantas flight had to make an emergency landing after an explosion ripped a 3m hole near the plane's fuselage. The pilot brought the plane into Manila airport without instrument landing systems after the aircraft was damaged when a regulator blew off an oxygen bottle. The airline recently slashed 1500 jobs due to rising fuel prices, and said further job cuts could follow. Sounds very Air India *** _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:35 pm    Post subject: www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/07/29/Qantas_hits_PR_turbulence/UPI-34321217381675/ Qantas hits PR turbulence Published: July 29, 2008 at 9:34 PM SYDNEY, July 29 (UPI) -- A Qantas aircraft had mechanical problems on its way to Brisbane, marking the third incident the Australian airline has experienced in just over three days. The Boeing 737 flight from Sydney was towed from the runway after a hydraulics failure during a landing Sunday night landing, The (Melbourne) Courier-Mail reported Tuesday. The newspaper reported an engineering source said a "large pipe -- a kind of artery" failed on the plane's primary hydraulics system. A retired engineer blamed the accidents on too many "pencil inspections" being done on Qantas planes. "It involves someone ticking off a document to say something has been done when it has not," he said. *** www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24101353-661,00.html Technical issues ground Melbourne-Brisbane Qantas flight Patrick Horan July 30, 2008 02:21pm A QANTAS flight due to leave Melbourne for Brisbane this morning was cancelled due to a technical issue. Flight QF608 was due to take off at 8.05am but was cancelled due to "a technical issue that could not be immediately rectified" a Qantas spokeswoman confirmed. The return flight (QF617) from Brisbane to Melbourne was also cancelled. Qantas's spokeswoman said all passengers were accommodated on later flights. The aircraft is scheduled to resume services today. The cancellation comes after another aircraft ran into problems while landing at Brisbane - the third incident the airline has experienced in just over three days. One of the airline's jumbo jets made an emergency landing in Manila on Friday when part of the fuselage was blown away. On Monday night, a Melbourne-bound Qantas plane had to return to Adelaide because doors covering the nose wheel bay did not close properly after take-off. _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:25 pm    Post subject: www.smh.com.au/news/travel/qantas-passengers-in-toilet-turmoil/2008/07/31/1217097403722.html Qantas passengers in toilet turmoil July 31, 2008 - 3:20PM A Qantas customer was forced to urinate in a sick bag after the airline refused to let passengers out of their seats during an extended landing. Flight QF183 heading from Sydney to Queenstown, New Zealand, was diverted to Christchurch three hours into the journey due to bad weather. The plane had to circle around the airport before landing, with passengers forced to stay in their seats. One man, Richard Donald, said passengers had to wait for more than an hour without being able to move. "It was a smooth flight up and there was no reason to keep everyone waiting for so long, but the pilot kept the lights on and wouldn't let anyone get out of their seat," he said. The pilot circled the airport, he said. "And then, when we finally did touch down, there was a rush to the loos. The lines were about 10 to 15 long on either side. "There was a lady behind me screaming, 'I have to go to the toilet' and then I saw a man doing his business in one of the airline sick bags." A Qantas spokeswoman said the incident was being investigated. _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 11:37 pm    Post subject: www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24108622-5006786,00.html Bag labelled 'bomb' got past Qantas security checks Michael Wray | August 01, 2008 Bag had 'BOMB' written on it It made it through Qantas check-in and security, says union Qantas confirms event, but refuses to answer questions A LARGE bag with "BOMB" written across it passed through Qantas check-in and security screening for oversized luggage at Brisbane domestic airport yesterday, the Transport Workers Union said. Baggage handlers preparing to transfer the bag raised the alarm and stopped work for about 40 minutes as security staff and managers attempted to remove it. However, TWU national airline official Scott Connolly said the situation "deteriorated" when managers dragged the still unscreened bag towards a more populated area of the airport. "What happened today is far from ideal and if the device was actually a real bomb the way it was handled would have been a disaster," Mr Connolly said. It was the latest in a string of security scares at the airport reported by The Courier-Mail in which weapons - including guns and knives - have passed through security scanners without being detected. A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed a bag with "inappropriate language" caused an incident at the airport but refused to answer any questions. She read out a statement attributed to Qantas group general manager security Jeff Askew. "There was an incident today at the Brisbane domestic terminal with a bag with an inappropriate comment written on the side," she said. "After it was security screened it was deemed not to be a risk and the matter was referred to police." She refused to say if there were any delays and when asked how a bag marked "bomb" could get checked-in by staff said: "That's the extent of our comment, sorry." _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 12:10 pm    Post subject: www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/qantas-confirms-repeated-failure-of-dash-8s-hydraulic-system/1232330.aspx Qantas confirms repeated failure of Dash 8's hydraulic system BY PETER MARTIN 1/08/2008 12:00:00 AM Details have emerged of incidents on flights between Canberra and Sydney in which parts of the hydraulic system that control a plane's landing wheels failed. Qantas has confirmed a hydraulic pump failed on the 11.45am flight from Canberra to Sydney on Australia Day this year. The group general manager for regional services, Narendra Kumar, told The Canberra Times the plane's back-up power was activated and the aircraft landed in Sydney normally. The pump was replaced, but on the next flight of the Dash 8-400 from Sydney to Canberra the following morning air was detected in the hydraulic system. On its next flight to Sydney the Dash 8-400 still had air in its hydraulic system. That meant the landing gear doors did not close once again. A further attempt to remove the air on its arrival in Sydney was apparently successful. The Dash 8-400 made several more flights that day without incident, until the 5.20pm flight to Canberra on which the landing gear doors were slow to close. The aircraft was again inspected and cleared to resume service. It has operated since on the Canberra to Sydney route without incident. In March, the airline introduced a new routine inspection procedure for all Dash 8-400 hydraulic pumps and has since had no failures. _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 12:18 pm    Post subject: ABC says And in a further safety scare for Qantas, on Monday night it was revealed that a Perth-Sydney flight appeared to be low on fuel before the pilot realised reserve fuel pump switches were off. Qantas chief pilot Captain Chris Manning said the incident was taken "extremely seriously". _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top the_380 Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2327 Location: Mumbai, India Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 2:34 pm    Post subject: And all of a sudden QF is ompletely in the news Remember the same had happened to IT when its ATR made an emergeny landing while taking off (Soure: Zee TV) _________________ http://www.myspace.com/avsatsworld A Walt Disney and 20th Century Fox Audio Producer!!! Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:24 pm    Post subject: www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/human-rights-activist-fined-for-boozy-ruckus-on-flight/1232718.aspx Human rights activist fined for boozy ruckus on flight STEVE BUTCHER 1/08/2008 10:12:00 AM A MELBOURNE woman who was fined $1000 for offences on a Qantas flight said she was served 20 glasses of champagne and other alcohol after take-off. Bronwyn Streader had drunk the champagne, two glasses of red wine and a gin and tonic while on medication, her lawyer told Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday. Alex Lewenberg said Streader, 30, was a human rights and refugee activist in Japan, with a doctorate in Japanese culture. "When I fly Qantas economy I'm lucky to get three glasses of orange juice," Mr Lewenberg said, "but if you're blonde and good-looking you get 20 glasses of champagne." Streader pleaded guilty to charges of interfering with a crew member, smoking and not wearing a seatbelt during landing. The court heard she had boarded a Sydney-bound flight in Tokyo on March 28 and was seen drinking various types of alcohol. The prosecution said Streader was served about five alcoholic drinks in a five-hour period. About halfway through the flight she was told to stop smoking, but she lit another cigarette before her packet was confiscated. When a flight attendant later found evidence she had smoked in a toilet, the captain sent his co-pilot to deliver Streader a formal warning. "Krieger [the co-pilot] attempted to give [her] the warning but [she] refused to listen and instead reached out and grabbed a pen from the left pocket of Krieger's shirt," said the prosecution's summary tendered in court. "I'm going to sue you. I'm going to take all your names," she had said, and when Krieger reappeared she grabbed his identification on his shirt. During the aircraft's descent, Streader left her seat, refused to return to it and stood in the galley during landing, after which she was arrested. Mr Lewenberg said his client had been seriously assaulted in Tokyo, and on the flight she had been affected by a combination of alcohol and medication. In his sentencing remarks, the magistrate, Lance Martin, said Streader had been bitterly disappointed with the Japanese authorities' response to her assault. Mr Martin said although misbehaviour on aircraft could put lives at risk, he accepted that Streader, who flew from Japan for yesterday's hearing, was traumatised and had acted out of character. She was put on a 12-month bond, without a conviction, and ordered to pay $600 to the court fund and $400 in costs. _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:22 pm    Post subject: www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/08/02/1217097598327.html Qantas flight leak scare August 2, 2008 - 6:41PM A Qantas 767 has been forced to turn around and make an emergency landing at Sydney Airport due to a hydraulic leak, the airline says. The international flight bound for Manila took off at 1.46pm, according to the Qantas website, and landed back at Sydney Airport about 3pm after air traffic controllers gave the pilot priority clearance to land. A Qantas spokeswoman said Qantas flight QF19, a Boeing 767-300 with 200 passengers on board, "landed without incident after the captain became aware that the aircraft had a hydraulic leak''. "On inspection, engineers determined that fluid was coming from the spoiler actuator that was not evident before departure,'' the spokeswoman said. "There was no safety issue at any time.'' 'Plane was very low in the sky' One of the passengers on the flight, told smh.com.au the flight was "very low in the sky" after take off. _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 12:22 pm    Post subject: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hilgvTIw8mLgkGm-UBYZ6D-0sG5w Flight attendants ask Qantas to explain incidents 2 hours ago SYDNEY (AFP) — Qantas flight attendants want assurances from management that the Australian carrier's planes are safe after a third mid-air incident in two weeks, a union official said Sunday. Attendants are concerned about media reports about maintenance practices at Qantas and do not have the specialised knowledge to assess the incidents, said Steven Reed, president of the Flight Attendants Association of Australia. "We want some assurances from the company that these are isolated incidents," Reed said. "We need to meet with the company at a senior level to have these assurances." The latest trouble came on Saturday, when a Qantas Boeing 767 bound for Manila was forced to turn back to Sydney after developing a leak of hydraulic fluid while in the air. On July 25, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route to Melbourne from Hong Kong made an emergency landing in Manila after a blast believed to have been caused by an exploding oxygen cylinder ripped a large hole in its fuselage. Then last Monday, a Qantas 737-800 was forced to return to Adelaide after a landing gear door failed to retract. *** http://news.theage.com.au/national/qantas-cabin-crew-rule-out-strike-20080803-3p2s.html Qantas cabin crew rule out strike Qantas cabin crew have ruled out any industrial action over recent security scares, despite asking to meet company officials after another of the airline's jets was forced to make an emergency landing. The Manila-bound 767 began leaking hydraulic fluid from a critical steering unit on take-off from Sydney on Saturday and had to circle out over the ocean to dump fuel before returning to Sydney Airport. It's the third mid-air emergency for the carrier in eight days. Flight Attendants Association (FAA) president Steven Reed told Fairfax the latest incident was disturbing, and cabin crew had asked the company for a briefing. But the FAA's international division secretary Michael Mijatov says it was just a routine request. When asked whether there was any threat of industrial action following the briefing Mr Mijatov replied: "Absolutely not". "We simply wrote to Qantas asking for a briefing after all the investigations are done - it's being portrayed that somehow we're demanding meetings," he told AAP. "If you were Qantas now you'd be seeing the FAA (as being) engaged in some sort of public attack on them and we're not. "Qantas is a safe airline, it remains a safe airline and all we're saying is obviously there was an incident which was serious and could have been much worse and ... you would expect us to want to sit down with them. *** www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24120966-601,00.html Watchdog to investigate Qantas *** www.smh.com.au/news/travel/the-damage-inside-qf30/2008/08/02/1217097606087.html The damage inside QF30 Matthew Benns and Heath Gilmore August 3, 2008 THESE pictures from Qantas Flight 30 show the devastation caused by an exploding oxygen bottle, which forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Manila. The valve and part of the bottle punched through the floor of the jet, hit the No.2 right door handle and narrowly missed a passenger. The pictures show how the bottle exploded and left a gaping hole in the side of the plane. They also reveal how the valve and part of the bottle careered through the plane, hitting the door handle with such force that it bent it and buckled the hinges. The explosion in the hold also cut electrical cables, which disabled landing instruments and the anti-skid system. Captain John Bartels landed the Boeing 747 alone because his co-pilot's controls were disabled by the blast. Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators returned to Australia yesterday as a survey of passengers was begun to see if they had received oxygen from the emergency drop-down masks. Information received by The Sun-Herald indicates that, when the passenger oxygen bottle exploded, there was no check valve and so the oxygen from the passenger bottles was lost. "The passengers were just breathing cabin air through the masks. If the plane had been higher than 29,000 feet [8839 metres], there almost certainly would have been fatalities in the time it took to get down to 10,000 feet," an aviation expert said. Some of the 346 passengers have complained about children "turning blue" and some masks failing to work in the 5½ minutes it took to drop to a safe altitude. It is also understood that the gauge used by crew members to check the pressure of the emergency oxygen supply was not working. The "allowable defect" meant the pressure needed to be checked before each leg of a journey. This year, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority issued an "airworthiness directive" to Qantas to check supports for the crew oxygen cylinders on some planes. Qantas confirmed it had done so on the three planes affected and replaced the supports. But there was no directive to check the passenger oxygen bottles, one of which exploded above the South China Sea on QF30. The airline has now checked oxygen bottles on its fleet. A Qantas spokeswoman said it had revealed "nothing beyond routine checks". It is understood that a flight to London was delayed when two oxygen pipes were found to be chafing. ATSB director Kerryn Macaulay confirmed that passengers were being surveyed to analyse their supply of emergency oxygen. She said it was hoped a preliminary incident report could be released within the next month. Investigators have recovered the valve but not the bottle. Ms Macaulay added: "They are missing some key pieces of evidence as well, which makes the job a little more challenging." CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said: "We are looking … to see if we need to do something else in regard to these bottles." The Qantas spokeswoman said: "It is not appropriate to comment while the ATSB investigation is going on." _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:40 pm    Post subject: www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10527085 Engine problems on Qantas flight into Auckland 5:20PM Thursday August 14, 2008 A Qantas Airways jumbo jet was tonight on its way to Los Angeles after it was grounded overnight in Auckland following an in-flight problem with one of its engines. "It took off just after 2pm," a spokeswoman for the airline said today. One of four engines on the Boeing 747-300 on a flight from Melbourne was unexepectedly "reduced to idle" speed - without a command from the pilots - as the plane approached Auckland Airport on Wednesday night, Qantas spokeswoman Holly Williams said. The pilot landed the aircraft with 219 passengers and 16 crew without further incident and a faulty fuel-flow regulator was replaced overnight . The incident occurred as Australia's airline safety body expanded an investigation of Qantas after the company announced it had temporarily pulled six Boeing 737-400 airplanes from service on Tuesday because of irregularities in maintenance records, AAP reported. In another incident on Wednesday, a Boeing 747 had to be taken out of service to replace a jackscrew crucial to the operation of the plane's tail, and the airline confirmed that urgent maintenance was needed. Another Qantas Boeing 747 was grounded temporarily in Melbourne on Wednesday because of a problem with a flap indicator in the cockpit. This week's problems are the latest in a spate of incidents for the airline since one of its planes made an emergency landing in Manila last month after an explosion tore a large hole in the fuselage. Nobody was hurt in that mid-air incident, which is thought to have been due to an exploding oxygen bottle. *** Qantas has also announced that it will not be sending its 737s overseas for maintenance. It has also grounded 6 737s as there are issues relating to the paperwork on to their maintenance. _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 3:37 pm    Post subject: Update A panel piece was found missing on a Qantas 744 bound for London after it made its scheduled halt at Singapore. The flight had departed from Sydney. The piece is believed to have fallen into the sea. A 767-300ER operating a 5-hr. Sydney-Perth flight was diverted to Adelaide because staff in Sydney had overlooked emptying the toilets. Four of the seven onboard failed within 1 hr. of departure. _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top rutvij Member Joined: 22 Feb 2007 Posts: 559 Location: Mumbai Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 6:58 pm    Post subject: BS. Qantas is proving to be crappy even against AI & its A310s. _________________ Signing out for some time Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:37 pm    Post subject: What is happening at Qantas? www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/31/2351263.htm?section=justin Qantas passengers furious after latest incident Posted 6 hours 38 minutes ago August 31, 2008 A passenger onboard a Qantas plane that was diverted this afternoon says many people still have not been put onto other flights as promised by the airline. Andrew Negline was aboard the 747 from Singapore to London when it was diverted to Frankfurt due to engine troubles. A Qantas spokeswoman says there was no safety issue and the engine was shut down, as is standard procedure, and the plane landed without incident. Mr Negline says many passengers were woken by the loud noise before being told that the flight would be diverted and alternative flights would be provided by different carriers. But Mr Negline says he has been waiting for over three hours with others for the new flight. "Absolute debacle, we arrived at 7:30 we've been in queues since 7:30 this morning, we've been waiting for people to front and centre, we've just been told that some official from Qantas is coming down to help us," he said. "Having already been told we had tickets secured it looks like those tickets no longer exist so we're waiting to get our final destination tickets." _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 1:10 pm    Post subject: www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/01/asia/AS-Australia-Qantas-Safety-Review.php Qantas review finds problems with maintenance The Associated PressPublished: September 1, 2008 SYDNEY, Australia: Australia's aviation agency on Monday ordered Qantas Airways to improve its maintenance system following a review prompted by a series of safety problems that have plagued the airline in recent months. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority said it found deficiencies and "signs of emerging problems" in the way Qantas manages and delivers maintenance to its planes. "The review found maintenance performance within Qantas is showing some adverse trends and is now below the airline's own benchmarks," the authority's deputy chief executive officer of operations, Mick Quinn, said in a statement. "By taking action now future safety problems will be avoided." A Qantas spokesman said the airline would comment on the results of the review later Monday. Last week, air safety investigators confirmed that an exploding oxygen cylinder ripped a gaping hole in a Qantas jet's fuselage mid-flight in July, forcing it to make an emergency landing in the Philippines. Since that incident, the airline has experienced a series of problems, including a loss of hydraulic fuel that led to an emergency landing, landing gear failure and detached panels, all of which prompted the aviation authority's review. But Quinn said the review had not found any links between those incidents, calling them "unrelated events." "There has been no increase in the rate of incidents and over more than a year the number of monthly air safety incident reports was about the same," he said. The aviation authority said it planned to conduct two additional "intensive audits" of Qantas. The first audit would involve a physical examination and a check of maintenance documentation for one of each major aircraft type in the Qantas fleet — a 747-400, 737-400 and 767-300. The second audit will examine the effectiveness of Qantas maintenance systems in managing and implementing airworthiness directives. The aviation authority's spokesman could not be immediately contacted for further comment. On July 25, a Boeing 747-400 aircraft, carrying 365 people, was flying over the South China Sea when an explosion blew a hole in the fuselage 79 inches (2 meters) wide and 60 inches high (1.52 meters). The plane — en route from London to Melbourne, Australia — rapidly descended thousands of feet (meters) and flew to Manila, 295 miles (475 kilometers) away. No one was injured in the incident, but questions were raised about the much-lauded safety of Qantas, which has never lost a jet aircraft because of an accident. _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top HAWK21M Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5122 Location: Mumbai, INDIA Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:06 pm    Post subject: Any idea on what Mx by qantas is done by the Airline & what is outsourced & to whom? regds MEL... _________________ Think of the Brighter side !!! Back to top sri_bom Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 600 Location: Singapore Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 9:49 am    Post subject: Some more issues on the 767-300: Qantas flights cancelled over fumes in cabin Posted Fri Sep 5, 2008 2:20pm AEST Qantas says three flights between Melbourne and Sydney have been cancelled today after fumes were detected in the cabin of a flight this morning. Passengers on the 767 leaving Melbourne were made to disembark when they smelled fumes before take-off, and the plane has now been taken out of service while engineers examine it. It was to be used for three flights between Melbourne and Sydney but a spokesman says all passengers have been placed on other flights. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/05/2356628.htm Sri_Bom Back to top sammyk Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 1894 Location: Austin, TX Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:19 am    Post subject: Poor Qantas, every little thing is magnified now. Back to top HAWK21M Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5122 Location: Mumbai, INDIA Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:34 am    Post subject: sammyk wrote: Poor Qantas, every little thing is magnified now. I guess they are not having those regular party bashes in hotels for the Press regds MEL _________________ Think of the Brighter side !!! Back to top karatecatman Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 5233 Location: Chennai -- INDIA Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 11:23 pm    Post subject: Update Qantas continues to have its share of incidents. More 747s having panels falling off and smoke from the engines of 767s. The 737s and one 767 have had smoke in the cabin also. Passengers have been grounded and are furious. All in two weeks. Qantas must be really looking forward to te arrival of the A380 on Sept 19. And its also likely to order a new fleet of 777s with new improvements. called the 777-300ERX. Here's the latest now. Damaged wing grounds B747 Qantas flight Tuesday, September 09, 2008 A damaged wing on a Qantas Boeing 747-400 saw London-bound passengers spending a night waiting at Melbourne Airport for engineers to give the green light. Some 308 passengers were stranded when the flight was eventually cancelled last Thursday night, after Qantas personnel found that an access panel on the side of the aircraft was damaged before boarding. Flight QF29 to London via Hong Kong eventually took off the Friday morning after the components inside the wing were serviced by engineers. Qantas has expressed that while passengers are normally boarded overnight at a hotel when a flight was cancelled, it was not done in this instance because it was then believed that the problem could have been fixed quickly. Passengers are believed to have been given refreshments and pillows when it was discovered that they would be waiting for a long time. *** www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24320853-953,00.html Qantas flight diverted after strong headwinds, fuel shortfall By Peter Morley September 10, 2008 12:00am A TRANS-Pacific Qantas flight carrying 269 passengers had to divert to Auckland, New Zealand, after it ran short of fuel because of strong headwinds. An airline spokesman said the Boeing 747 made a precautionary stop which was not unusual at this time of the year. "There were unexpectedly strong headwinds and the QF108 flight spent an hour and 19 minutes on the ground before continuing Monday's trip from Los Angeles to Sydney," the spokesman said. "Last month the LA to Melbourne service had to divert four or five times because of headwinds that can be a bit more intense at this time of year." The diversion is the latest in a series of public relations setbacks for Qantas after a mid-air explosion forced one of its planes to make an emergency landing in Manila. That July episode was followed by reports of Qantas planes being forced to turn back during international flights and schedule-interrupting breakdowns within its domestic fleet. A subsequent Civil Aviation Safety Authority investigation found its maintenance procedures were defective and ordered further investigations of its Boeing 747, 767 and 737 fleet. Many of the defects have been blamed on the age of the Qantas fleet and the airline's move towards outsourcing maintenance work overseas and within Australia. In a survey to be released today, a union covering aircraft mechanical engineers found 83 per cent were concerned about safety because of outsourcing and pressure on staff. Sixty-seven per cent claimed outsourced work had to be redone to meet standards and 62 per cent were convinced the airline was cutting corners to save costs. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, which conducted the survey, has about 1000 members who maintain the Qantas fleet in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Avalon. It is preparing for award negotiations with Qantas which recently settled a pay dispute involving licensed aircraft engineers whose campaign had disrupted flights schedules. Union secretary Dave Oliver said maintenance of a highly skilled workforce in Australia would be a key issue in negotiations with Qantas. "According to this survey, 97 per cent of our members agree that the best way for Qantas to guarantee maintenance standards is to retain the work in-house in Australia," he said. _________________ एअर इंडिया AIR INDIA Fly DVD --- Desh VIDESH Desh Back to top