Grounding 2 aircraft won't interupt the public it will just mess with their scheds. I'd rather ground 2 aircraft than hit my own pocket with o/t bans. Is anyone really concerned about DC winning a
pr battle? I can't see that happening.
Grounding 2 744 would result in in CANX flights eventually. The sched is so thin on the 744 fleet that within 1 week you would start to see effect
.e.g. Late departures due to awaiting the incoming A/C.. QF does not have spare aircraft sitting around so the sched is juggled and aircraft swapped constantly between flights to meet the demands. This works ok with known ground time. There is enough buffer built in to handle unscheduled engine changes etc but take 2 pieces out and the house of cards may not stand up should other non sched maintenance be required.
FOG