Qantas is Australia's biggest and best known airline. It brands itself as “The Spirit of Australia” and its emblem is a kangaroo. It has survived a World War, countless prime ministers and many collapses of other airlines. However, in the past few weeks it has faced some difficult times and attracted attention for all the wrong reasons. Firstly there was an announcement of major job cuts in June, then there was a mid-air explosion that forced one of the Qantas Boeing 747s to make an emergency landing in the Philippines, and in the past few days news of more cost cutting measures to combat the rise of fuel prices.

The troubles started some two weeks ago when Qantas announced it will cut up up to 1500 jobs in order to remain competitive in the airline business. Rising fuel prices where blamed for such a move. Since 2000 jet fuel prices have nearly tripled, putting great amounts of pressure on world airlines. Even worse, in the last few days further cost cuts where announced. These would come in the form of aircraft weight scrutiny. Qantas has cut snacks from its repertoire in order to cut down on the weight of their aircraft, hence cutting the fuel usage and reducing the cost of flights. Other carriers have gone to great lengths to save money. Some have added fuel surcharges to their ticket price; some have started charging extra for luggage, meals and for telephone reservations.

Just when things couldn't get tougher, a major scare occurred on one of the Qantas flights from Hong Kong to Melbourne. One its way to Melbourne, a Qantas Boeing 747 jet was forced to make an emergency landing in the Philippines after an explosion that caused a huge hole in the body of the plane, close to its right wing. Passengers reported hearing a loud bang but no one really knew what was going on. Due to depressurization, the plane had to make a sudden 20 000 feet drop. The oxygen masks were deployed and people held to their seats not knowing what was happening. After an emergency landing in the capital of the Philippines, Manila, it was obvious from pictures coming in that something had created a huge hole in the body of the plane. It was concluded that the hole was caused by an exploding oxygen bottle. Suddenly, the media started questioning the safety standards of the airline. This accident prompted a sudden check of all oxygen bottles on Qantas Boeing 747 planes.

To top the week off, it was announced that the current Qantas Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Geoff Dixon will retire in November and that his replacement will be Alan Joyce, the current CEO of the Qantas discount carrier Jetstar.

With the hard times hitting most of the world’s airlines, it will be interesting to see where the industry (and Qantas in particular) is heading in the next few months. The world economy will play a major role in the decision making process of the aviation industry.

Marin Dikanovic

Melbourne, Australia

published on August 3, 2008