In Reply to: latest update on Airline(s) posted by dordor on Friday, 24. February 2006 at 09:47 Bali Time:
.. itself goodbye!
No doubt in my mind that five years from now, when Quaintairse is no more... financially, spiritually or even flying under anything remotely connected with its original name: Queensland and Northern Territory Airlines, and we're all stuck with high fares and flying in planes that MAY have been serviced with authentic parts, by certified and continually trained mechanics... Geoff Dixon of QANTAS will be traveling the world as a highly paid speaker revealing how he ‘saved the world' for QANTAS shareholders. Of course, he won't be speaking to the poor b*ggers whose travel industries he managed to impact because travelers won't want to travel on any planes serviced by his brilliantly outsourced systems, or, as he it too afraid to in Australia, will he be explaining to the 2500 employees of QANTAS why their commitment, jobs, families, hell- their ability to be able to afford to travel...was discarded.
But hey, this is Australia, where you can get away with anything. Illegal Japanese whaling, Wheat Board bribery of Saddam and friends, turn a blind eye when hundred drown trying to get to 'the Lucky Country', privatize every utility, allow Ansett airlines to be bastardized and the culprits get away with their sins. The list is almost endless.
The impact for the Bali travel industry is scary. Who risk flying there? Have you flown China Air? Why would QANTAS trust servicing to a country that can't service properly its own aircraft?
Would you fly Adam Air? Has Dixon checked their safety record lately?
From : From DNA India.com:
A plane carrying 145 passengers flew for hours without navigation and communications systems over Indonesia before making a safe emergency landing, reports said on Sunday.
The systems on the Boeing 737-300 of Indonesian regional airline Adam Air broke down 20 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta's international airport at 6:20 am on Saturday (2320 GMT Friday), the Kompass newspaper reported.
The pilot flew the plane, which also had seven crew, without knowing where he was going for about four hours over the main island of Java after discovering the problem. The pilot decided to make an emergency landing at 10:45 am after sighting a runway on the eastern island of Sumba which was only 1,800-metres (about 6000- feet) long, the daily said quoting aircraft crew.
Boeing 737-300s usually need at least 2,200 metres to land and takeoff. No-one onboard the plane, which had been bound for the South Sulawesi province capital of Makassar, was injured.
Passengers were not told of the problems during the flight, Kompass said, although many suspected something was wrong as the plane kept changing altitudes.
Why would QANTAS even talk with them? Maybe it's a good thing I'm no longer a shareholder! (Yes... like several million Australians, I once owned and airline. Got the T-shirt. Lost the reality!)