I had a good look at a Discovery Channel documentary on the A380 program yesterday. That is the biggest most complex civil aircraft ever produced.
Then there is the Boeing Dreamliner - composite fuselage and all.
I also remember the planning and introduction into service of the B767 by Ansett, in which exercise I was a very tiny cog.
I'm going to make a prediction here, based on what I read on this thread about the capabilities of QF management.
......And that is that, if Engineering and General Management keeps performing the way they are, the entry into service of those aircraft is going to be the worst nightmare ever seen in any airline.
I don't care how modern and super duper these new aircraft are. There are going to be new and unusual problems to deal with that will require innovative solutions and a huge effort by engineers to deal with. It always happens, no matter what the salesmen tell you.
However, by the time these aircraft arrive, I think QF will no longer have the technical and engineering ability to deal with even the most minor technical challenge, and will thus lose control of the technical agenda to Airbus, Boeing and whatever Asian MRO's QF has chosen to use. When that happens, Engineeering costs will increase suddenly and dramatically.
To put it another way, Qf should have invested large chunks of its supposed profits in modernising and increasing it's Engineering capability over the years. It does not appear to me that it has done this, in fact the reverse.
....And pretty soon it is going to bite QF, and unfortunately Australia, on the backside.
If you want to understand why, read up on the threads about the absolute shambles that has been the opening of Terminal Five at Heathrow. The description of this farce is littered with Ppruner comments from BA people to the effect that "We told them that (insert system or procedure) wouldn't work, but the managers simply ignored us".
I get the feeling that the same thing happens at Qantas....does it?