The problem is compounded in Australia because of the age of the fleet.
If your tax system encourages you to keep an aircraft for say Ten years, then flog it, why would you do more than the bare minimum maintenance, and why would you care where it gets done?
What Qantas may be setting itself up for is an Ansett MkII style demise because its fleet is older and hence may have age related issues.
The day may come when the travelling public and CASA realise that QF has lost control of its maintenance system and can no longer guarantee that its aircraft comply with maintenance and overhaul directions.
That is what killed Ansett. If you read the ATSB report between the lines, you will understand that the B767 cracking AD non compliance was just the tip of the iceberg. Ansett's system of maintenance was so broken that it could not prove to the regulator that
any of its aircraft were being maintained correctly.
I don't think QF is there just yet, but a few cuts in the engineering planning area, a little bit of creative paperwork by outsourcing operators and voila! You wake up one morning and your AOC is pulled.
To put it another way, has the Qantas Board in its risk management strategy, considered what happens when a Chinese whistle blower emerges from an MRO Qantas relies on and provides credible evidence of widespread systematic fraud - perhaps in relation to non genuine spare parts for example?
God knows that Westerners have succumbed to such temptations before. The temptation in China must be absolutely overwhelming. For example, can you imagine the nightmare that would ensue if counterfeit aviation fasteners were discovered in China??
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