Who do you fly?

QantasA news report from Channel NewsAsia mentioned today that airline Qantas has suffered yet another drama with their fleet. 

The revered status Qantas has within the industry and it’s unblemished safety record seem to be a little threatened by it’s current string of failures.

  • Today, A330 shuts down engine and aborts flight due to oil warning light
  • Last week, two Qantas jumbos are damaged when they collided on the ground at a maintenance base
  • In October, a computer glitch caused a Qantas plane to do a 200-metre mid-air nosedive, injuring more than 70 people, with some suffering broken bones.
  • In August, a Qantas Boeing 747-300 from Melbourne was grounded in New Zealand after a engine shut down on approach to Auckland. 
  • In August, a hydraulic leak forced a Boeing 767 to return to Sydney for an emergency landing. 
  • In July, an Adelaide-Melbourne flight returned to Adelaide when a wheel bay door failed to close.
  • In July, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 made an emergency landing in Manila after a mid-air blast caused by an exploding oxygen bottle punched a hole in the fuselage.

The above is just a snapshot of issues suffered by the airline from July 2008 until now.

In the past 4 years I have rarely flown Qantas domestically and never for international travel, opting for Singapore Airlines/Star Alliance instead. Who do you fly?


 
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  • http://www.traceygrady.com Tracey Grady

    I flew Qantas return to Singapore in October, shortly after the mid-air mishap you mentioned in which 70 people were injured (which occurred on a flight between Singapore and Perth). I still felt confident flying with them, and everything went fine.

    I rarely fly Qantas domestic these days but that’s because Virgin Blue is cheaper, and Qantas has swapped to Jetstar for most of its Hobart services. My pick for domestic travel is Virgin Blue. For international, I still choose Qantas if it’s the best option, but there are several other carriers (Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Cathay, Royal Thai) which I’ll consider too, depending on where I’m going.

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