Airline News
Airlines to charge for toilet use & ‘fines’ overweight passengers
From: News Australia (more at: NEWS.com.au) Posted May 21, 2009
Airline passengers could soon be slapped with charges to use the toilet as carriers ponder extreme revenue-
raising to counter flagging profits. The UK’s Ryanair last week announced its intention to eliminate check-in
desks and asked Boeing to design credit card-operated toilets. "Most people would go to the toilet before they
get on the plane, or they hold it until they land. You would only have to deal with the people who absolutely
have to go," Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said of the toilet fee. So how does Australia fare in this environment? Qantas
calculates excess luggage charges based on a zone system ranging from $12 per kilogram to $48. All Qantas domestic and international
bookings paid by credit or charge card will attract a fee ranging from $6.60 to $18, while bookings over the phone can cost anything from
$27.50 to $45. Over-the-phone cancellations with Qantas costs upto $100 for international flights. Mr Zinn says the most important thing is
for consumers to be aware of these charges and consider which airline has the best offer.
Qantas Outsourcing Continues - Fujitsu takes over user computers
From: IT Wire (more at: www.itwire.com) Posted May 10, 2009
Fujitsu has scored a seven year multi-million dollar contract to supply computing services to Qantas. Under the deal, Fujitsu will provide all
user facing services for Qantas’ domestic and international operations. The agreement sees Fujitsu take on Qantas’ entire desktop and
peripherals infrastructure, email, storage and collaboration requirements, service desk, on-site and remote support, both in Australia and
overseas.
Profit Warning - Earnings Forecast drops 80%
From: Asia Pulse Pty Ltd. (Posted: May, 6, 2009)
Qantas has slashed its profit target for the second time in five months after a sudden and severe collapse in international travel drove the
airline into the red for the first time since the deadly SARS outbreak. Just two months after the airline reaffirmed its target of a full-year profit
before tax of $500 million for 2008-09, chief executive Alan Joyce yesterday revealed conditions in the industry had since changed
dramatically. Qantas would now miss that forecast by up to 80 per cent, delivering a profit before tax of $100 million-$200 million as it
weathered conditions Mr Joyce said had not been forecastable.
$65 Million Museum of Qantas history is Planned
From: ABC News (more at: www.abc.net.au) Posted March 28, 2009
Qantas was formed in western Queensland almost 90 years ago, and the Qantas Outback Founders Museum
at Longreach has a mission to showcase the airline's history. The chairman of the museum's board, Warwick
Tainton, says the redevelopment could cost upto $65 million and it is hoped it will be completed in time for the
airline's centenary in 2020. "It's the 'Flying Kangaroo', the one stalwart in airline story in Australia is Qantas," he said.
Melbourne strike leaves hunders of paggengers stranded
From: The Herald Sun (more at www.HeraldSUn.com.au) Posted Feb. 26, 2009
Qantas baggage handlers walked off the job about 10.30am, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded
without their luggage. International and domestic flights were thrown into chaos as several airlines
struggled to find staff to take bags on and off planes. Traci Keys touched down from Darwin with a
seven-month-old baby to find the airport in chaos. "When I got off the plane there was luggage
everywhere," he said. The strike affected Qantas, United and Vietnam Airlines flights. A Qantas spokesman said the industrial action was
about pay and work conditions.
Moody's cuts Qantas credit rating & warns of more cuts
From: Sydney Morning Herald (more at: business.smh.com.au) Posted Feb. 21, 2009
Moody's Investors Service has cut the airline's long-term debt rating, citing high debt on Qantas's balance sheet and falling profits and
warned of further cuts. The Qantas share price fell to $1.68, its lowest level. Qantas's half-year profits recently showed its debt had blown
out by $1.5 billion in 2008. Qantas has still drawn criticism over its $500 million share raising last month "All it did was tank the share price,"
one investor said.
Qantas in crisis: sells $500 million shares - price drops another 19%
From: The Australian (more at: www.theaustralian.news.com.au) Posted: Feb 7, 2009
Qantas said it had placed about 270.3 million shares at $1.85 each. JPMorgan transport analyst Matt Crowe
said: “We are not convinced this equity raising was justified. It is likely to impose significant costs on Qantas
investors,” Mr Crowe said. Shares in Qantas resumed trading today 19% lower [down over 70% in 12 months]
Qantas in Crisis: profit falls 66% - debt rise to $6.4 billion
From: International Herald Tribune (more at: www.iht.com) Posted: Feb 5, 2009
Qantas first-half profit fell 66 percent, it will cut its fiscal year 2010 capacity growth to 2 percent from 10% planned earlier. Its net debt at the
end of December was 6.46 billion dollars, up 38 percent from the end of June. Standard & Poor's said Qantas's credit rating would remain
negative.
Collapsing Qantas will try to raise new share capital
From: Sydney Morning Herald (more at: business.smh.com.au) Posted: Feb. 4, 2009
Qantas is planning to raise up to $500 million in equity to buffer itself from the worst aviation downturn in 20 years. Qantas placed its shares
in a trading halt, "pending a material announcement in relation to capital management initiatives". The airline and its advisers, UBS and
Macquarie, were tight-lipped before the Qantas board meeting last night. After being caught off-guard the share price query was prompted
by an unexplained slump of 16%, to $2.29, on Monday. The raising would be the first big test of the airline's new chief executive, Alan Joyce.
Investors have already seen Qantas shares drop by more than 50% in the past year. Qantas is rumoured to be about to replace its
domestic operations in New Zealand with its low-cost subsidiary.
Twelve injured passengers sue after Qantas plane nose-dive
From: Aviation Record (more at: aviation record.com) Posted: Jan 24, 2009
Australian law firm Slater & Gordon says it is investigating the potential claims of 12 passengers who suffered injuries when a Qantas flight
from Singapore to Perth last month suddenly plunged hundreds of metres. The passengers have contacted the law firm’s Perth, Adelaide
and Melbourne offices, the company said. Slater & Gordon personal injury specialist Barrie Woollacott says the passengers have suffered
a range of injuries from the flight, ranging from lacerations and soft tissue damage to spinal injurie“Some injuries are very serious and will
cause lifelong problems for the victims,” he said. “For the more serious injuries it is appropriate to wait until the condition stabilises before
beginning a legal claim. We hope that the matters can be resolved quickly and without protracted legal action so that passengers can leave
this frightening incident behind them.”
Satyam Fraud puts Qantas IT outsourcing at risk
From: Yahoo News (more at: in.news.yahoo.com) Posted: Jan 9th, 2009
Qantas, which has an information technology contract with India's Satyam Computer Services, today said it had five years remaining on a
seven-year contract under which Satyam provides IT application maintenance and support for the company. Qantas said it was monitoring
the situation and would continue to do so on a daily basis until the situation was resolved. The chairman of Satyam Computer Services,
India's 4th-biggest software services exporter, resigned on Wednesday, saying the company's profits had been inflated by $1 billion over
recent years, sending Satyam shares plunging more than 70 percent.
Qantas Merger with British Airways Fails,1,500 employees are fired
From: CNN (more at: www.CNN.com) Posted: Jan 5, 2009
British Airways and Qantas announced Thursday they have failed to reach agreement on a potential
merger. The airlines announced earlier this month they were holding talks on a merger. But Thursday,
they said the "detailed discussions" were off. "The airlines have not been able to come to an
agreement over the key terms of the merger at this time," the airlines said in separate statements
.BA and Qantas have for years cooperated on the "Kangaroo Route" between Australia and Europe.
That deal includes sharing revenues on UK-Australia routes. Qantas also announced it was slashing its work force by 1,500 people
worldwide, abandoning plans to hire 1,200 more.
Another mid-air Qantas scare causes joint Federal Investigation.
From: C News (more at www.abc.net.au) Posted Jan 5, 2009
An inquiry into an incident involving a Qantas airliner over Western Australia's north-west a week ago will be combined with an investigation
into an earlier incident in the same area.In the latest incident on December 27, an Airbus A330 was forced to return to Perth after its
autopilot suddenly disconnected, 500 kilometres north-west of Perth. Last October 70 passengers were injured - some of them seriously -
when a similar aircraft suddenly lost altitude during a flight from Singapore to Perth.The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says,
because of their similarities, the two incidents will be the subject of a joint investigation.
Qantas: 2009 Profit will fall 65%; grounds 10 planes -massive layoffs planned
From: Reuters (more at: news.airwise.com) Posted Dec. 1, 2008
Qantas lowered its 2009 profit forecast and said it would further cut capacity due to shrinking demand. Analysts said Tuesday's profit
warning was unlikely to be the last for Qantas, as Australians, hit by a weak local currency, holiday closer to home and the global economy
deteriorates. "Investors will be cautious that there could be further bad news down the track," said Derek Sadubin, chief operating officer of
the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Sydney. "Everyone's going to be struggling to make money in the 2009 calendar year. The second
half of their (Qantas') current financial year is going to be very, very challenging." The International Air Transport Association said last week
that business and first-class travel dropped 8 percent in September from a year earlier, with Asia most affected. "We are in unpredictable
times and the international business market, in particular, has slowed," Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon, who is due to step down this
month, said in a statement. Qantas now expects its pre-tax profit to fall 65 percent to around AUD$500 million (USD$327 million) in the year
to June 2009. Despite a big drop in oil prices, Qantas said its fuel bill this year would still be AUD$750 million higher than last year, as it had
hedged 97 percent of its fuel at USD$106 a barrel, nearly double the current oil price. " Qantas said its latest capacity cuts, equivalent to
grounding 10 planes, would be met partly by not taking up planned leases of two A330-200 aircraft and by stopping all planned growth
within Australia for Qantas and its budget airline, Jetstar. It said it would cut costs by accelerating staff leave, rather than adding to plans to
cut 4 percent of its work force.
Qantas to dump Frequent flier program for short-term cash
From: Reuters (more at: www.reuters.com) Posted: Nov. 19, 2008
Qantas is in talks with private equity funds to sell a 40 percent stake in its Frequent Flyer unit for as much as
A$1.2 billion, The Australian Financial Review said on Thursday. Qantas is holding exploratory talks with
major private equity funds, including Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the newspaper said without citing any source.
Qantas shelved a proposal to spin off the Frequent Flyer loyalty scheme in September due to turbulent market conditions. Industry analysts
have previously valued the unit at anywhere between A$1 billion and A$3 billion. The scheme makes money by selling frequent-flyer points
to third parties . Many points are sold but never used, delivering windfall profits for the scheme.
Qantas sales drops for 3rd straight month - down another 2%
From: CA News (more at:www.ca.news.yahoo.com) Posted Nov. 10, 2008
Qantas revealed Monday that passenger numbers were declining, as the global financial crisis is set to impact on the "Flying Kangaroo".
Overall passenger numbers decreased by 0.2 percent in September 2008 over the previous year, according to the company's monthly
traffic statistics. The airline's revenue seat factor (RSF), which measures how many seats are filled across the airline's domestic and
international flights, fell 2.1 percentage points to 79.8 percent for the month, Qantas said. It was the third straight fall in RSF since the
financial year began in July. The airline has already slashed 1,500 jobs worldwide, cut growth and introduced other measures to combat the
challenging market conditions
First of serie of Lawsuits is filed over Qantas Accident - 44 Passengers injured
From: Channel 7 News (more at: au.news.yahoo.com ) Posted Nov. 7, 2008
Sam Samaratunga, 68, and his wife Rani, 62, say they were thrown around the cabin when their seatbelts broke apart and suffered serious
injuries during the flight from Singapore to Perth last month. Lawyer Roger Singh said the couple had resorted to legal action because
Qantas was trying to avoid paying their medical bills. The Samaratungas were travelling to their youngest son's wedding in Melbourne via
Perth on October 7 when the plane suddenly lost altitude and nose-dived. 44 of the 313 people on board required hospital treatment after
the Airbus A330 made an emergency landing at Learmonth Airbase in north-western Western Australia . The Samaratungas said they
believed they were going to die during the ordeal. "We decided to die together and embraced each other but fortunately luck came our way
and the plane come up and landed safely." Ms Samaratunga suffered the most serious injuries including spinal fractures, muscle tears and
head injuries in which she lost several teeth. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it believed the incident was caused by a fault in
the plane's computer systems.
Qantas JetStar stuck with Old planes - New deliveries delayed another 15 months
From: Bloomberg (more at www.bloomberg.com ) Posted Nov. 6, 2008
Jetstar Airways Pty, the budget unit of Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. expects further delays in getting the Boeing 787 planes it had
ordered. Jetstar will probably get its first plane in 2010 instead of a scheduled delivery for November 2009, CEO Bruce Buchanan said.
The delay of the 787, has forced Melbourne-based Jetstar to postpone the start of European and North America services, and focus on
regional expansion. The aircraft is already at least 15 months late because of parts shortages and problems with suppliers. Qantas has firm
orders for 65 787s, with options and purchase rights for another 50. The first 15 aircraft, with delivery originally scheduled to start from
August 2008, will be used by Jetstar on international routes. Jetstar also delayed selecting a Southeast Asia base, which it plans to use as a
hub to connect its 787 services to Europe, Buchanan said. As many as 28 airlines have gone out of business this year and a further 20 are
at a risk of failure, according to IATA.
Qantas A-380 makes costly debut in Los Angeles: Tickets upto $27,655
From: LA Times, Fox News & The Australian (more at: www.latimes.com & www.myfoxla.com) Posted Oct. 22, 2008
Qantas Flight 93 from Melbourne, Australia, landed at 7:26 a.m Monday with about 450
people aboard. A round-trip business-class ticket on the A380 fetched more than $18,000.
The double-deck plane also includes private suites which can be rented for a round-way
fare of $27,655. Qantas and other customers have been hit by a two-year delay in
deliveries due to problems in wiring the double-decker A380. Qantas also had to shelve
plans to offer live internet access on its A380 planes. Qantas will instead offer only a
limited selection of what it calls "cached internet content". A Qantas spokeswoman said the internet plans had been pared back due to
"logistical and regulatory issues" encountered by its connectivity provider, OnAir. Qantas has refused to give further details of what content
will be included - other than qantas.com - or how much the service would cost.
From: News Australia (more at: NEWS.com.au) Posted May 21, 2009
Airline passengers could soon be slapped with charges to use the toilet as carriers ponder extreme revenue-
raising to counter flagging profits. The UK’s Ryanair last week announced its intention to eliminate check-in
desks and asked Boeing to design credit card-operated toilets. "Most people would go to the toilet before they
get on the plane, or they hold it until they land. You would only have to deal with the people who absolutely
have to go," Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said of the toilet fee. So how does Australia fare in this environment? Qantas
calculates excess luggage charges based on a zone system ranging from $12 per kilogram to $48. All Qantas domestic and international
bookings paid by credit or charge card will attract a fee ranging from $6.60 to $18, while bookings over the phone can cost anything from
$27.50 to $45. Over-the-phone cancellations with Qantas costs upto $100 for international flights. Mr Zinn says the most important thing is
for consumers to be aware of these charges and consider which airline has the best offer.
Qantas Outsourcing Continues - Fujitsu takes over user computers
From: IT Wire (more at: www.itwire.com) Posted May 10, 2009
Fujitsu has scored a seven year multi-million dollar contract to supply computing services to Qantas. Under the deal, Fujitsu will provide all
user facing services for Qantas’ domestic and international operations. The agreement sees Fujitsu take on Qantas’ entire desktop and
peripherals infrastructure, email, storage and collaboration requirements, service desk, on-site and remote support, both in Australia and
overseas.
Profit Warning - Earnings Forecast drops 80%
From: Asia Pulse Pty Ltd. (Posted: May, 6, 2009)
Qantas has slashed its profit target for the second time in five months after a sudden and severe collapse in international travel drove the
airline into the red for the first time since the deadly SARS outbreak. Just two months after the airline reaffirmed its target of a full-year profit
before tax of $500 million for 2008-09, chief executive Alan Joyce yesterday revealed conditions in the industry had since changed
dramatically. Qantas would now miss that forecast by up to 80 per cent, delivering a profit before tax of $100 million-$200 million as it
weathered conditions Mr Joyce said had not been forecastable.
$65 Million Museum of Qantas history is Planned
From: ABC News (more at: www.abc.net.au) Posted March 28, 2009
Qantas was formed in western Queensland almost 90 years ago, and the Qantas Outback Founders Museum
at Longreach has a mission to showcase the airline's history. The chairman of the museum's board, Warwick
Tainton, says the redevelopment could cost upto $65 million and it is hoped it will be completed in time for the
airline's centenary in 2020. "It's the 'Flying Kangaroo', the one stalwart in airline story in Australia is Qantas," he said.
Melbourne strike leaves hunders of paggengers stranded
From: The Herald Sun (more at www.HeraldSUn.com.au) Posted Feb. 26, 2009
Qantas baggage handlers walked off the job about 10.30am, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded
without their luggage. International and domestic flights were thrown into chaos as several airlines
struggled to find staff to take bags on and off planes. Traci Keys touched down from Darwin with a
seven-month-old baby to find the airport in chaos. "When I got off the plane there was luggage
everywhere," he said. The strike affected Qantas, United and Vietnam Airlines flights. A Qantas spokesman said the industrial action was
about pay and work conditions.
Moody's cuts Qantas credit rating & warns of more cuts
From: Sydney Morning Herald (more at: business.smh.com.au) Posted Feb. 21, 2009
Moody's Investors Service has cut the airline's long-term debt rating, citing high debt on Qantas's balance sheet and falling profits and
warned of further cuts. The Qantas share price fell to $1.68, its lowest level. Qantas's half-year profits recently showed its debt had blown
out by $1.5 billion in 2008. Qantas has still drawn criticism over its $500 million share raising last month "All it did was tank the share price,"
one investor said.
Qantas in crisis: sells $500 million shares - price drops another 19%
From: The Australian (more at: www.theaustralian.news.com.au) Posted: Feb 7, 2009
Qantas said it had placed about 270.3 million shares at $1.85 each. JPMorgan transport analyst Matt Crowe
said: “We are not convinced this equity raising was justified. It is likely to impose significant costs on Qantas
investors,” Mr Crowe said. Shares in Qantas resumed trading today 19% lower [down over 70% in 12 months]
Qantas in Crisis: profit falls 66% - debt rise to $6.4 billion
From: International Herald Tribune (more at: www.iht.com) Posted: Feb 5, 2009
Qantas first-half profit fell 66 percent, it will cut its fiscal year 2010 capacity growth to 2 percent from 10% planned earlier. Its net debt at the
end of December was 6.46 billion dollars, up 38 percent from the end of June. Standard & Poor's said Qantas's credit rating would remain
negative.
Collapsing Qantas will try to raise new share capital
From: Sydney Morning Herald (more at: business.smh.com.au) Posted: Feb. 4, 2009
Qantas is planning to raise up to $500 million in equity to buffer itself from the worst aviation downturn in 20 years. Qantas placed its shares
in a trading halt, "pending a material announcement in relation to capital management initiatives". The airline and its advisers, UBS and
Macquarie, were tight-lipped before the Qantas board meeting last night. After being caught off-guard the share price query was prompted
by an unexplained slump of 16%, to $2.29, on Monday. The raising would be the first big test of the airline's new chief executive, Alan Joyce.
Investors have already seen Qantas shares drop by more than 50% in the past year. Qantas is rumoured to be about to replace its
domestic operations in New Zealand with its low-cost subsidiary.
Twelve injured passengers sue after Qantas plane nose-dive
From: Aviation Record (more at: aviation record.com) Posted: Jan 24, 2009
Australian law firm Slater & Gordon says it is investigating the potential claims of 12 passengers who suffered injuries when a Qantas flight
from Singapore to Perth last month suddenly plunged hundreds of metres. The passengers have contacted the law firm’s Perth, Adelaide
and Melbourne offices, the company said. Slater & Gordon personal injury specialist Barrie Woollacott says the passengers have suffered
a range of injuries from the flight, ranging from lacerations and soft tissue damage to spinal injurie“Some injuries are very serious and will
cause lifelong problems for the victims,” he said. “For the more serious injuries it is appropriate to wait until the condition stabilises before
beginning a legal claim. We hope that the matters can be resolved quickly and without protracted legal action so that passengers can leave
this frightening incident behind them.”
Satyam Fraud puts Qantas IT outsourcing at risk
From: Yahoo News (more at: in.news.yahoo.com) Posted: Jan 9th, 2009
Qantas, which has an information technology contract with India's Satyam Computer Services, today said it had five years remaining on a
seven-year contract under which Satyam provides IT application maintenance and support for the company. Qantas said it was monitoring
the situation and would continue to do so on a daily basis until the situation was resolved. The chairman of Satyam Computer Services,
India's 4th-biggest software services exporter, resigned on Wednesday, saying the company's profits had been inflated by $1 billion over
recent years, sending Satyam shares plunging more than 70 percent.
Qantas Merger with British Airways Fails,1,500 employees are fired
From: CNN (more at: www.CNN.com) Posted: Jan 5, 2009
British Airways and Qantas announced Thursday they have failed to reach agreement on a potential
merger. The airlines announced earlier this month they were holding talks on a merger. But Thursday,
they said the "detailed discussions" were off. "The airlines have not been able to come to an
agreement over the key terms of the merger at this time," the airlines said in separate statements
.BA and Qantas have for years cooperated on the "Kangaroo Route" between Australia and Europe.
That deal includes sharing revenues on UK-Australia routes. Qantas also announced it was slashing its work force by 1,500 people
worldwide, abandoning plans to hire 1,200 more.
Another mid-air Qantas scare causes joint Federal Investigation.
From: C News (more at www.abc.net.au) Posted Jan 5, 2009
An inquiry into an incident involving a Qantas airliner over Western Australia's north-west a week ago will be combined with an investigation
into an earlier incident in the same area.In the latest incident on December 27, an Airbus A330 was forced to return to Perth after its
autopilot suddenly disconnected, 500 kilometres north-west of Perth. Last October 70 passengers were injured - some of them seriously -
when a similar aircraft suddenly lost altitude during a flight from Singapore to Perth.The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says,
because of their similarities, the two incidents will be the subject of a joint investigation.
Qantas: 2009 Profit will fall 65%; grounds 10 planes -massive layoffs planned
From: Reuters (more at: news.airwise.com) Posted Dec. 1, 2008
Qantas lowered its 2009 profit forecast and said it would further cut capacity due to shrinking demand. Analysts said Tuesday's profit
warning was unlikely to be the last for Qantas, as Australians, hit by a weak local currency, holiday closer to home and the global economy
deteriorates. "Investors will be cautious that there could be further bad news down the track," said Derek Sadubin, chief operating officer of
the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Sydney. "Everyone's going to be struggling to make money in the 2009 calendar year. The second
half of their (Qantas') current financial year is going to be very, very challenging." The International Air Transport Association said last week
that business and first-class travel dropped 8 percent in September from a year earlier, with Asia most affected. "We are in unpredictable
times and the international business market, in particular, has slowed," Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon, who is due to step down this
month, said in a statement. Qantas now expects its pre-tax profit to fall 65 percent to around AUD$500 million (USD$327 million) in the year
to June 2009. Despite a big drop in oil prices, Qantas said its fuel bill this year would still be AUD$750 million higher than last year, as it had
hedged 97 percent of its fuel at USD$106 a barrel, nearly double the current oil price. " Qantas said its latest capacity cuts, equivalent to
grounding 10 planes, would be met partly by not taking up planned leases of two A330-200 aircraft and by stopping all planned growth
within Australia for Qantas and its budget airline, Jetstar. It said it would cut costs by accelerating staff leave, rather than adding to plans to
cut 4 percent of its work force.
Qantas to dump Frequent flier program for short-term cash
From: Reuters (more at: www.reuters.com) Posted: Nov. 19, 2008
Qantas is in talks with private equity funds to sell a 40 percent stake in its Frequent Flyer unit for as much as
A$1.2 billion, The Australian Financial Review said on Thursday. Qantas is holding exploratory talks with
major private equity funds, including Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the newspaper said without citing any source.
Qantas shelved a proposal to spin off the Frequent Flyer loyalty scheme in September due to turbulent market conditions. Industry analysts
have previously valued the unit at anywhere between A$1 billion and A$3 billion. The scheme makes money by selling frequent-flyer points
to third parties . Many points are sold but never used, delivering windfall profits for the scheme.
Qantas sales drops for 3rd straight month - down another 2%
From: CA News (more at:www.ca.news.yahoo.com) Posted Nov. 10, 2008
Qantas revealed Monday that passenger numbers were declining, as the global financial crisis is set to impact on the "Flying Kangaroo".
Overall passenger numbers decreased by 0.2 percent in September 2008 over the previous year, according to the company's monthly
traffic statistics. The airline's revenue seat factor (RSF), which measures how many seats are filled across the airline's domestic and
international flights, fell 2.1 percentage points to 79.8 percent for the month, Qantas said. It was the third straight fall in RSF since the
financial year began in July. The airline has already slashed 1,500 jobs worldwide, cut growth and introduced other measures to combat the
challenging market conditions
First of serie of Lawsuits is filed over Qantas Accident - 44 Passengers injured
From: Channel 7 News (more at: au.news.yahoo.com ) Posted Nov. 7, 2008
Sam Samaratunga, 68, and his wife Rani, 62, say they were thrown around the cabin when their seatbelts broke apart and suffered serious
injuries during the flight from Singapore to Perth last month. Lawyer Roger Singh said the couple had resorted to legal action because
Qantas was trying to avoid paying their medical bills. The Samaratungas were travelling to their youngest son's wedding in Melbourne via
Perth on October 7 when the plane suddenly lost altitude and nose-dived. 44 of the 313 people on board required hospital treatment after
the Airbus A330 made an emergency landing at Learmonth Airbase in north-western Western Australia . The Samaratungas said they
believed they were going to die during the ordeal. "We decided to die together and embraced each other but fortunately luck came our way
and the plane come up and landed safely." Ms Samaratunga suffered the most serious injuries including spinal fractures, muscle tears and
head injuries in which she lost several teeth. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it believed the incident was caused by a fault in
the plane's computer systems.
Qantas JetStar stuck with Old planes - New deliveries delayed another 15 months
From: Bloomberg (more at www.bloomberg.com ) Posted Nov. 6, 2008
Jetstar Airways Pty, the budget unit of Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. expects further delays in getting the Boeing 787 planes it had
ordered. Jetstar will probably get its first plane in 2010 instead of a scheduled delivery for November 2009, CEO Bruce Buchanan said.
The delay of the 787, has forced Melbourne-based Jetstar to postpone the start of European and North America services, and focus on
regional expansion. The aircraft is already at least 15 months late because of parts shortages and problems with suppliers. Qantas has firm
orders for 65 787s, with options and purchase rights for another 50. The first 15 aircraft, with delivery originally scheduled to start from
August 2008, will be used by Jetstar on international routes. Jetstar also delayed selecting a Southeast Asia base, which it plans to use as a
hub to connect its 787 services to Europe, Buchanan said. As many as 28 airlines have gone out of business this year and a further 20 are
at a risk of failure, according to IATA.
Qantas A-380 makes costly debut in Los Angeles: Tickets upto $27,655
From: LA Times, Fox News & The Australian (more at: www.latimes.com & www.myfoxla.com) Posted Oct. 22, 2008
Qantas Flight 93 from Melbourne, Australia, landed at 7:26 a.m Monday with about 450
people aboard. A round-trip business-class ticket on the A380 fetched more than $18,000.
The double-deck plane also includes private suites which can be rented for a round-way
fare of $27,655. Qantas and other customers have been hit by a two-year delay in
deliveries due to problems in wiring the double-decker A380. Qantas also had to shelve
plans to offer live internet access on its A380 planes. Qantas will instead offer only a
limited selection of what it calls "cached internet content". A Qantas spokeswoman said the internet plans had been pared back due to
"logistical and regulatory issues" encountered by its connectivity provider, OnAir. Qantas has refused to give further details of what content
will be included - other than qantas.com - or how much the service would cost.
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| Not affilliated with Qantas airlines - in fact, they hate us |
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