I find criticism of the QF fleet a bit funny at the moment. I work there and for years I have complained about their underinvestment in mainline aircraft but ironically right now it is probably the company’s saving grace.
If they had spent $5-10B on a new international fleet that is sitting grounded for 12-24 months then the balance sheet would be looking pretty ugly right now.
It used to frustrate me no end that with the 787 fleet they would drip-feed the firm orders on a year to year basis. However if we now had 35 firm orders on the books due over the next 3 years the accountants would be very worried and I’d be worried about my job.
With fuel prices through the floor the existing fleet is still competitive and the refurbished A330’s have the same product (love it or hate it) as the newest ‘Dreamliners’.
So while I’d love to be flying the latest and greatest fleet and have dozens of new aircraft arriving each year, in this new reality we find ourselves in it’s lucky that’s not the case. Not good management, more dumb luck.