Useless airport "security" again

And they only became "concerned" when the light of publicity shone upon it



An 80-year-old grandmother has shown up Melbourne airport's multi-million dollar security-screening operation after carrying a 33cm screwdriver onto a plane on two recent flights.

Mrs Bond, who lives in Adelaide, first carried the prohibited item in her hand-luggage when she flew to Melbourne last month to spend time with her son after the death of her husband. The tool was not detected at Adelaide, even though the luggage went through an X-ray machine. She then passed security at Melbourne airport unnoticed a week later.

Son Geoff Bond said his mother didn't realise the screwdriver was in the pocket of her carry-on luggage until she returned. "She was quite shocked and very concerned about the breach," Mr Bond said. "She was careful when she packed because she thought security was a lot tougher, but now she thinks the whole thing is just ridiculous."

Mrs Bond said she was "very surprised" security screening did not detect the screwdriver. "I just can't understand how it got through; perhaps someone wasn't being vigilant. I certainly never, ever meant to take a screwdriver across to Melbourne. "I'm well aware things like that don't go in cabin luggage. I don't even put a nail file in my handbag before flying."

Her son said it seemed as if people were being rushed through the security check point because of long queues. He called on Qantas to review safety and security procedures. "I'm concerned by this. More than anything I'm frustrated about the system," he said.

Mr Bond said he had made a complaint to Qantas but "they didn't seem to care".

Qantas spokesman Simon Rushton, however, said the airline was very concerned about the lapse. "Qantas screens millions of passengers and their carry-on bags each year (and) we take any incident where a prohibited item is not detected by security screening extremely seriously," he said.

Mr Rushton said that Qantas was responsible for security screening only at Melbourne airport. "We will investigate these claims and also report them to the Office of Transport Security." But he added: "Qantas meets and, in many cases, exceeds, all government mandated aviation security requirements."

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Violinist fights Jetstar over broken instrument

The "f*ck you" airline again

Zoe Bloomfield, a violin player and teacher, is battling Jetstar for compensation over claims her $7000 violin was damaged after she was forced to put it in the cargo hold - at a cost of $80 - on a flight from Hobart to Sydney last month.

The violin, which she normally carried as hand luggage without any problems, arrived in Sydney sporting a 10-centimetre crack that she believes was caused by ''downward pressure from something falling on it''. The repair estimate is $2200 - the violin is not insured - and Jetstar has so far refused to pay.

Yesterday the airline said Ms Bloomfield, who plays with the Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra, could file a claim for compensation of up to $1600. But she may have to cancel a performance in Tasmania in three weeks' time. ''I'm afraid the crack will open up [if I play it],'' she said.

Each airline's cabin baggage policy differs slightly, but mid-sized instruments such as violins are often at the centre of disputes.

A spokesman for Jetstar, Simon Westaway, confirmed it was investigating Ms Bloomfield's case and acknowledged the ''high emotional and cost value'' of instruments. He said Jetstar was developing a new strap to enable violinists to carry their instruments on the seat beside them at their own expense.

Qantas, which owns Jetstar but has separate policies for the airlines, said it was increasing the cabin allowance for violins and violas from 115 centimetres to 130 centimetres. All larger instruments, such as cellos, require their own seat.

The chief executive of Live Performance Australia, Evelyn Richardson, said airlines should take a more equitable approach to cabin baggage ''when you see the number of businessmen who get on with large bags''.

A letter sent last month by Qantas to a member of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and obtained by the Herald, said the issue had flared up recently because of new cabin baggage directives.

The letter said: ''A lot of our crew show some discretion with violins/violas and allow it on, which we should, [but] some stick very rigidly to policy and request passengers buy a seat for it or check it in … not the ideal outcome for the customer.''

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Qantas flight to Manila returns to Sydney after landing gear issue

A QANTAS plane carrying 158 passengers to Manila turned back to Sydney after an indicator light came on, signalling a potential issue with its wet weather anti-skid landing gear.

A Qantas spokeswoman said the Boeing 767 had left Sydney at 11am (AEST) on Monday but returned at 4.15pm for safety reasons. "The flight was on its way to Manila and there was an indicator defect in the cockpit for the anti-skid indicator," the spokeswoman told AAP. "As there were thunderstorms forecast for Manila the decision was made to return the aircraft to Sydney."

Passengers were due to board a replacement flight to Manila at about 6pm.

The spokeswoman said she couldn't say if this type of incident had happened before. "Our engineers will have a look at the aircraft and determine if there is a problem with the aircraft," she said. "At this stage we don't know if it's just an indicator light defect or not."

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Qantas jet makes emergency landing after engine explodes

The faults are getting worse. They are going to kill a lot of people soon



A QANTAS plane carrying 212 passengers made an emergency landing yesterday after an engine exploded shortly after it took off from San Francisco.

The four-engine Boeing 747, which departed from San Francisco International Airport for Sydney at about 11.10pm local time on Monday (4pm Tuesday AEST), was in the air for 45 minutes and at 30,000ft when there was an explosion in the No. 4 engine.

Passengers reportedly heard a loud bang and said the plane shook. One man said there were flames coming out of the engine. Photos showed a gaping hole in the engine on the right side of the aircraft. The pilot dumped fuel over the Pacific Ocean and returned to San Francisco at approximately 12.45am local time, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

There was no fire, according to Qantas spokesman Simon Rushton, KTVU reports, but he said a surge in the engine may have caused what appeared to be flames. None of the plane’s passengers were injured, and authorities were investigating the explosion.

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Cracks in the landing gear of five Qantas planes

How come this was not picked up during maintenance inspections? Or are there no inspections any more?

SOME flights between Sydney and Canberra have been cancelled after Qantas grounded five Bombardier Q400 aircraft due to landing gear problems.

The aircraft, operated by the carrier's regional arm QantasLink, were removed from service today following advice from the manufacturer, the airline said. An overseas Q400 operator had experienced a similar problem, prompting Qantas to investigate the fleet, it said.

Cracks were discovered in a major component of a landing gear fitting in five of its 21 Bombardiers, with the remaining 16 unaffected and to remain in service.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the issue was not an immediate safety concern, but needed to be rectified before the aircraft could be returned to service.

A resolution is not expected until the end of next week, forcing the cancellation of up to seven QantasLink Sydney-Canberra flights each day over that period. Affected customers will be contacted and put on the next available flights, Qantas said. Supplementary flights will also be operating and larger aircraft will be used wherever possible to minimise inconvenience, it said.

"Our approach to this issue, which requires the replacement of a main landing gear fitting component, is consistent with Qantas' proactive, conservative and safety-first approach to every part of its operations," Mr Joyce said. [BULLDUST!]

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Qantas profit falls, dividend scrapped

The way they treat their passengers and cut corners on maintenance, it's no wonder

QANTAS Airways has posted a 4.3 per cent fall in annual net profit to $112 million but says conditions are improving. Net profit at Qantas (qan.ASX:Quote,News) for the year to June 30 is down from $117 million in the previous corresponding period.

Underlying pre-tax profit for the year was $377 million, within its guidance of between $300 million and $400 million. That compares to an underlying pre-tax profit of $100 million in the previous corresponding period.

No final dividend will be paid, and the resumption of dividend payments will depend on trading results, market conditions and the level of capital expenditure commitments, Qantas said.

Chief executive Alan Joyce said if present conditions continue, the airline's first half underlying pre-tax profit for 2010/11 may be "materially stronger" than the first half of 2009/10. However, changes in fuel prices, currency exchange rates and general trading conditions could rapidly impact earnings, he warned.

"It is therefore not possible to provide a more specific forecast at this time given the volatility and uncertainty of the aviation market," Mr Joyce said.

Qantas expects to increase its capacity in the first half of 2010/11 by 9.6 per cent compared to the previous corresponding period as conditions improve, he said. "International demand and yield across the business and leisure sectors continue to improve and domestic business demand is also strengthening," Mr Joyce said.

"The domestic leisure market continues to be highly competitive. "However we expect this too will improve in the first half of the year." All business segments were profitable in the year to June, Mr Joyce said.

Qantas earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were $67 million, up from $4 million in the previous corresponding period. Jetstar's EBIT was $131 million, up from $107 million in the previous corresponding period.

Qantas Frequent Flyer EBIT was $328 million, up from $226 million in the previous corresponding period.

Qantas Freight EBIT was $42 million, up from $7 million in the previous corresponding period.

The Jetset Travelworld Group EBIT was $14 million, down from $16 million in the previous corresponding period.

Passenger yields were down 7.2 per cent on the previous year, due to initiatives aimed at stimulating demand, but they were improving off their lows and business travel was recovering, Qantas said.

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QANTAS is VERY slippery over lost belongings of air passengers

And "slippery" is putting it politely

QANTAS staff routinely keep thousands of dollars' worth of cameras, mobile phones, computers and other valuables left on planes by passengers.

The Sunday Mail can reveal Qantas hold regular staff auctions to distribute the valuables. Qantas does not attempt to return lost items even though travellers sit in allocated seats and leave contact details with the airline.

Passengers are told to leave telephone messages describing the lost gear but are immediately told the items are unlikely to be recovered. Qantas says other passengers are likely to take any valuables left behind in seat pockets.

However, the airline conducts regular auctions where passenger valuables are up for grabs and insists other unclaimed items are given to charity.

Qantas, which generates $6.9 billion a year, said it donated hundreds of unclaimed valuables each month to the Salvation Army and Mission Australia in Sydney. But neither charity had received donated items from the airline for more than a year.

Mission Australia spokesman Paul Andrews said he received the last donation of lost property from Qantas two years ago. "We don't receive those donations any longer, but we did a few years back," he said.

The Salvation Army's area manager Geoff McCartney said his charity received items from Sydney International Airport, but nothing on a regular basis from Qantas. "Not as far as I know, we don't get anything from Qantas," he said. "I can't recall the last time one of my drivers picked something up from Qantas," he said. "But I did hear that Qantas might give their lost property to Mission Australia."

The practice emerged when The Sunday Mail requested information on how many passengers lost items.

Qantas said it was the responsibility of passengers to keep track of their personal items. The airline emphasised its charitable side, saying after four weeks unclaimed items were donated. "There is a set time we allow for passengers to claim their goods," head of corporate communication Olivia Wirth said.

"In Sydney we donate to the Salvation Army and Mission Australia. Each month the amount differs at each port – sometimes it's about 100 items, sometimes enough to fill a van."

When the Salvation Army and Mission Australia denied having recently received donated goods, Qantas said it had been donating the items to other charities.

The airline also confirmed that staff auctions of passengers' lost property occur at various times throughout the year. "Some of our airports conduct staff auctions one or two times per year for unclaimed items with the money raised being donated to a charity that has been set up for terminally ill Qantas staff that can no longer work, or other charitable causes," Ms Wirth said.

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Qantas jet suffers mid-air engine surge

More slapdash maintenance? The thing had mechanical problems even before it took off!

QANTAS passengers who were stranded in Hong Kong after their plane suffered an engine surge mid-flight were furious at the treatment they received from the airline. The Boeing 747-400 with 327 passengers on board was on its way to Sydney when it was forced to turn back to Hong Kong Airport about 40 minutes into the flight last night.

Passengers had already spent four hours sitting on the tarmac without food because of bad weather and mechanical problems before the plane was forced to turn around as it was still climbing. The pilot made an announcement saying he had had to slow the plane down and dump fuel after the engine surged at high speed.

After returning to Hong Kong Airport, one passenger fainted at the immigration desk.

Qantas paid for passengers to get cabs to hotels where they were put up overnight, but many were angry they had to pay for their own food and drinks.

While Qantas said they would be placed on another flight tonight, in Hong Kong passengers were being told it was not certain they would get on the flight. "We're more frustrated that we don't know what's going on and we have had no-one call us to tell us what's happening," Jane McGrath, from North Melbourne, said. "It's been us contacting Qantas staff. "It's been really quite disappointing the poor service we have received. "We haven't slept for about 36 hours."

Claire McKeown, from South Yarra, was also frustrated with the experience. "They're trying to make us pay for food in Hong Kong and we have had to chase up everything," she said. "It's been quite confusing. "We have been having to ring Qantas and the hotel staff to find out what's going on and things keep changing.

The plane was due to fly out at 9pm Hong Kong time and the passengers did not arrive at their hotel until around 5.30am.

Lauren Stevens, from Upwey in Melbourne, said most passengers had been good-natured about the incident. "I guess we'd rather them land the plane than risk flying with a dodgy engine," she said. "We haven't been fed though.

"The most irritating thing for me was when we were getting off the plane after five hours and they got on the PA and said 'you people up the back of the plane might be wondering what's taking so long - we're trying to identify our priority customers'.

"At 2.30am when you're starving and tired you don't need to hear that. "I think they probably could have worded it a little better."

A Qantas spokesman said QF128 experienced a number one engine surge on the climb out of Hong Kong but there was no safety issue at any time. "The captain responded appropriately and reduced the engine power to idle, (ie. he did not shut the engine down)," he said. "He advised passengers of the incident and performed a routine air turn-back."

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De-icing failure forces Qantas flight back

More sloppy maintenance?

A QANTAS airliner has been forced to turn back to Sydney after its de-icing equipment failed mid-air. Flight QF922 to Cairns was forced to turn around about 90 minutes into the flight, a Qantas spokeswoman said.

The plane's de-icing equipment failed, prompting the captain to turn the 737-800 around and land at Sydney Airport.

"We had a minor technical fault with one of our aircraft which affects the icing equipment,'' the spokeswoman said. "It was inadvisable to operate the aircraft in the icy conditions. "Under normal fine-weather conditions, it would not affect the operation of the aircraft.''

After landing, the affected passengers were transferred to another plane.

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A very weird decision. The plane would have been just about over Brisbane when the problem was noticed. Why did they not land immediately at Brisbane instead of risking the long flight back to Sydney? Very strange indeed. Brisbane is a busy and advanced modern airport. There was absolutely no reason to land anywhere else.

They actually flew INTO more icy conditions than they would have encountered if they had simply continued on their way. Brisbane is subtropical and Cairns is tropical. Sydney is neither. Only completely robotic bureaucratic decision-making can explain such dangerous actions. I hope we hear more of this

Jetstar pilot investigated over claims he was texting during landing

Pilots who endanger their passengers should be fired. No sign that Jetstar has done so

A PILOT for the no-frills airline Jetstar is being investigated over claims he was texting on his mobile phone during landing.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that air safety investigators are looking into an incident that took place on Jetstar flight from Darwin to Singapore on May 27.

The paper said that the A321-200, which was carrying 167 passengers, was forced to pull out of a landing at Changi Airport after the pilots were warned by the plane's onboard systems that the landing gear was not down.

The plane was said to be only 122 metres above the ground when the alarm was triggered. The plane landed safely the second time around.

The Herald reported that neither Jetstar or the Australian Transport Safety Bureau would comment on the allegations that one of the pilots was was using his phone just before landing.

Ian Sangston, the bureau's director, told the paper that the plane was "lower than they would have liked" when the landing was aborted.

This is not the first time Jetstar has been scrutinised over its landings.

Earlier this year the bureau reported that the pilots of a Jetstar plane came within 11 metres of the ground during an aborted landing at Melbourne airport.

Saftey investigators found that the near-miss was due to the pilots' failure to correctly perform a go-around procedure and confusion over cockpit alarms.

They also found that Jetstar did not report the incident properly and failed to test revised cockpit procedures before implementing them.

Flight JQ156 was travelling from Christchurch to Melbourne on July 21, 2007 with 138 passengers on board when the pilots were forced to abort landing during heavy fog.

The pilot in command of the Airbus A320 plane failed to move the thrust control lever into the correct position for ascent, which led to a series of alarms being triggered as the autopilot remained programmed to land.

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Jetstar, the low cost, don’t care airline

Here’s what happened. In February I booked interstate flights for a function in June. In mid-April my circumstances changed and I realised I wouldn’t be able to make the function, so I called Jetstar to see about cancelling the flights. Plenty of notice, I thought, and I’d be happy with a flight credit if they can’t do a refund.

Well, they can’t do anything. No flight credit, no refund, no care, no responsibility, nada, nix, nothing. They magnanimously suggested they could look into rescheduling my flight times, but only on the same route, and that would cost $40 per passenger per journey.

Then an interesting thing happened. Jetstar emailed me to say their circumstances had changed and they would have to change the departure time of my flight home. So, I rang them and asked if they would be paying me $40 per passenger for that. Do I need to tell you what they said?

As the great British comedian Peter Cook would have said, it’s no way to run an airline. The first thing that goes out the window here is the business’s commonsense, swiftly following by the customer’s dignity.

As for Jetstar, well, all I can do is use the power we all have as consumers: I will never fly with them again, and I will advise the same of anyone who wants to listen.

More HERE

QANTAS leaves your luggage out in the rain

My husband and I returned from a recent wedding in Queensland. Our flight with QantasLink from Gladstone to Brisbane was very good. We spent about an hour at Brisbane Airport watching the torrential rain outside before our flight to Sydney with Qantas, another pleasant experience.

However, on retrieving our bags from the carousel in Sydney we noticed the outside of each was quite damp. When unpacking at home that night, I found all the contents wet, including our wedding clothes. (Imagine if this had happened on the forward journey!) Every item in my bag had suffered some sort of water damage ranging from damp to saturated.

It seems obvious that our bags had been left uncovered, exposed to the rain on the tarmac somewhere at Brisbane Airport.

I emailed Qantas for an explanation and, to its credit, a customer service representative phoned me a few days later, apologising for our inconvenience but without any real explanation of why it happened and future measures to prevent a recurrence. She sent us a voucher for dinner at a restaurant by way of recompense but I would rather have heard that they are now covering their luggage trolleys at all times.

Lynne Hutton, April 2

I read the letter about waterlogged luggage (Traveller, April 2) with a wry smile. Five years ago my wife and I had a similar experience flying from Port Macquarie to Sydney and then Hong Kong.

Arriving at our hotel in Hong Kong we began to unpack our bags to find that everything saturated. For three days our hotel room looked like a laundry with clothes drying everywhere. I complained to Qantas and received two $100 travel vouchers. It appears that nothing has changed in five years. Don't fly with them on rainy days!

Roger Pearman, April 17, 2010

Contrition! How rare! Loss of customers now clearly a worry for the incompetents running Qantas

Qantas boss apologises to frequent flyers for Easter delays. No word of what he is doing to prevent further problems, however

QANTAS Airways chief executive Alan Joyce has written to frequent flyers saying sorry for flight cancellations due to what he says were mechanical issues and not safety problems.

Mr Joyce says that despite some "sensational coverage recently, safety was never an issue" in recent incidents that plagued the national flag carrier, including over the Easter holiday. "I want to apologise if you were affected personally by the disruptions," Mr Joyce said in the letter, which reached the inboxes of the airline's frequent flyer members today.

"I know that Easter is a special opportunity to unite family and friends, and I sincerely regret any frustration and anxiety you may have experienced due to the delays."

Qantas spokesman Simon Rushton said it was the first time Mr Joyce had written directly to frequent flyers since he was appointed chief executive in November 2008. The airline has experienced major disruptions for various reasons in the past two weeks.

A Boeing 747 bound for Singapore and Frankfurt was forced to return to Sydney - but not before dumping fuel at sea - on March 30 due to an engine problem. The next day, an Airbus A380 flying in from London via Singapore blew out two tyres upon landing at Sydney airport, leaving the 244 passengers stranded on board for about two hours on the tarmac. It was later identified as a braking problem. And a Qantas flight headed for Los Angeles had to return to Melbourne Airport on April 5 after pilots noticed cracks in the cockpit window.

Mr Joyce said these events "did not represent safety threats", although he did not refer specifically to any particular incident. "I also want to give you my personal assurance that you can continue to fly Qantas with confidence," Mr Joyce said. "We always respond conservatively to any mechanical or performance issue, and we always put safety before schedule.

"We hate disappointing our customers and we do all we can to rectify matters when things go wrong."

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More gross stupidity from QANTAS

Reminiscent of the way Mrs Sendyk was treated. Under media pressure they eventually crawled out from underneath their rock and did something about the Sendyk case. Presumably the same will happen here

It was the first time Brisbane songstress Emma Dean had to surrender her violin on a plane and the forced act and subsequent damage has sparked a dispute with Qantas.

The Q Song finalist and rising star in Australia's music scene said she was boarding a plane to Canberra last week when Qantas staff ordered her to hand over her instrument. "Never in 10 years of performing have I been banned from carrying my violin on a plane," Ms Dean, 26, said.

"They didn't give me bubble-wrap or another case to put it in, but just said I had to put it down below with the other luggage or I wasn't getting aboard." Reluctantly, Ms Dean handed over "Eliott", the instrument she has used for 14 years.

By the time the plane touched down, three large cracks had pierced the violin's core and Ms Dean has demanded Qantas make amends. "They must have thrown it from a distance to crack it like that and now they need to pay for what's been done," she said.

Ms Dean, who has worked with Kate Miller-Heidke, said another passenger lent her a pillow which she tried to wrap around the violin case. She said she had heard similar stories from others.

Ms Dean said she had sent complaints to Qantas and had been told to wait at least 25 days for a response.

A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline was investigating the incident. "Customer care and service is of utmost importance to us and we look forward to resolving this situation," the spokeswoman said. [Doesn't that bullsh*t make you sick? Why can't they admit straight out that the incident should never have happened?]

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