To be fair to Qantas (for once) The travelling public (of whom I am one occasionally) think it is really safe to have a pilot who has either spent countless hours in a Mirage or F18, or alternatively has spent countless hours landing a C210 on a claypan.
Now you may think my beliefs pathetic, but the reality is that us SLF's think that the reason QF is safe is that the pilots are the best in the world, as are the engineers, as are the cabin crew.
You f*&ckwits may not know it, but that is the reputation you had in the mid 1970's
The problem is that QF has been doing everything possible to destroy that image in favour of an image involving cheap busdrivers and an all powerful, alll seeing, Board.
I will now go out on a limb: The pronouncements of the Board regarding Qantas mainlines's status as a "legacy"airline, and their similar cost cutting initiatives are counterproductive, to the point where they will destroy shareholder value - to whit, the good name of Qantas.
To put it another way, on the worst flight I have ever had, which involved multiple thunderstorms and the aircraft in front exiting the runway, the most calming feature was an Australian voice saying "This is your Captain Speaking".
I respectfully suggest that the value of those five words spoken in an Aussie accent, is more than most of you can possibly know.