Neville,
Do the QantasLink figures include the National Jet Ops?? I cannot believe that the 146 are that reliable.
Yes the QF Link figures include the NJS 146s.
Might be time re-examine what you believe. NJS has its share of woes, but they do dispatch the 146 with a higher percent on-time than the mainline 737 'classics'.
And this at all the minimum staff ports like Gove, Paraburdoo, etc.
NJS has been running 146's as the 'head of the fleet' since 1991. Maybe knowing the aeroplane very well is the key here.
As for the article -- so some little hungover bogan had a bad day?
Ask, if you could, the fifteen people that smacked into the side of a hill at Lockhart River what a bad day in an aeroplane is really like.