All That Is Good About Qantas

From beginning to end this is a fascinating event: An unprecedented explosive failure which nearly crippled not just the flagship of the Qantas fleet, but the flagship of commercial aviation, in the Airbus A380.

A highly trained and experience flightcrew of no fewer than five pilots – famously with a check captain checking a check captain who in turn was checking the aircraft captain – who were able to methodically troubleshoot their way out of trouble.

A well-drilled cabin crew who were able to keep a sense of calm in the cabin, even after the aircraft had landed safely again in Singapore but was stuck on the runway gushing fuel.

The fact that the incident took place in close proximity to Singapore, with its world-class airport and support services.

And then there was the cost and complexity of the repair work (as detailed from p20 of this issue), which saw the removal and replacement of a section of the port wing’s forward spar, by all reports an incredible sight.

It is interesting to muse on the role luck played in the incident, how unlucky was QF32 to suffer an unprecedented engine failure, and on the flip side how lucky the passengers were to be in the care of such experienced, welltrained flight and cabin crew.

But that wasn’t really luck.

The professionalism of the Qantas flight and cabin crew is the result of assessment procedures, training programs and a corporate culture developed over generations. So their success in bringing Nancy-Bird home was no accident, and is a reflection on the many things right with Qantas.

So to the QF32 crew, well done. To Alan Joyce and Qantas management in making the gutsy call at the time of the QF32 incident to ground the A380 fleet, well done. And to the Qantas engineering team who oversaw the nursing of Nancy-Bird back to health in her Singapore ‘hospital bed’, well done.

There are plenty of Qantas issues at the moment that generate controversy (such as the future of Qantas’s engineering facilities, which was due to be announced as AA went to press), so it’s good to reflect on some of the positives the Qantas brand and culture represents.

The Future Of Publishing?

You may have seen our magazine ads or the news on our website or Facebook page already, but I am really pleased to confirm that Australian Aviation is now being published for the Apple iPad.

The Australian Aviation app features all the in-depth stories, editorials and news items from the magazine in an easy-to-read, user-friendly format optimised for the iPad, augmented by video and extra pictorial content.

Each monthly issue of the magazine will be available through the app, with publication planned to coincide with the on-sale date of the print magazine.

If you are an existing subscriber to Australian Aviation, rest assured we are working to provide you with free access to the app in their near future. iPad app subscriptions currently cannot be linked to print magazine subscriptions but we’re working on that now.

You can appreciate there is a somewhat involved software integration task to get three different systems to talk to each other, but we are currently working that through.

Individual issues of Australian Aviation can currently be downloaded on the iPad for only A$5. 49 each, while oneyear iPad-only subscriptions are available for A$49. 99. To download to your iPad, search for ‘Australian Aviation’ in the Apple App Store.

(A footnote for Android tablet users – at this point it is probably some months at least before we can offer a fullyfeatured Android app. Android tablet market penetration is still very low, making the business case for an Android app unviable for the time being. )

Thanks Andrew

May 4 was the last day at Phantom Media for Andrew McLaughlin, our long-serving Australian Aviation deputy editor and more recently editor of our sister-magazine Australian Defence Business Review.

As I write this Andrew is on “gardening leave”, but he has a couple of exciting opportunities ahead of him, for which we wish him well.

On behalf of the team at Phantom Media I would like to wish Andrew all the best and thank him for his hundreds of great stories, his knowledge and his enthusiasm.

Andrew, it’s been great working with you.