* The Qantas USP back in the 1970’s was superlative pilots and cabin crew delivering premium quality Australian service in aircraft maintained by dedicated and highly skilled Australian engineers.[/QUOTE]
Slight thread drift but in the context of QF’s safety record and prior reputation for excellence and the manner in which the management class in QF now control change, it is amazing to see the scale of the change that is now accepted.
I’m reading a great book called Destination Disaster that analyses the accident and the lead up to the first jumbo crash in history (a DC10). Unsurprisingly a lot of the weaknesses in the accident chain have been repeated in accidents that follow including the Max.
In in the book there is an analysis of all airlines’ safety records and the Australian airlines of the time are impressive, but QANTAS stands out. It notes that Flight International’s investigation revealed that its impressive record was because its management team ‘is not prepared to narrow safety margins in the cause of economic expediency’.
Times have changed a bit since the 70s but seeing the implementation of the Sunrise idea and Joyce recently trading on the QF safety record really illustrates what’s has become of a great airline.