I received my QF FF letter as well - I have added a few edits:
As you know, Qantas has responded to the dispersal of
volcanic ash from the Mt Puyehue Cordon Caulle volcano
in Chile by cancelling or rerouting a number of flights.
As a valued Frequent Flyer I want to let you know why we
have made these decisions when other carriers, including
Virgin and Air New Zealand,
and every other international carrier have continued to operate.
Qantas does not take the decision to cancel flights lightly.
No, we have another agenda
We understand that this causes significant disruptions for all our customers.
Too right being grounded for nothing is a real hassle We regret the inconvenience and we appreciate your patience. But safety is our first priority
That’s why we offshore maintenance, employ 200hr First Officers at Jetstar etc
We will never fly unless we are fully satisfied that it is safe to do so.
And right for us financially, we also want to soften up our restless staff.
Volcanic ash cloud poses a significant threat to aircraft.
But not 16,000 km the long way around the globe from the volcano It can enter an engine, turn into molten glass as a result of the high temperatures and potentially cause the engine to fail.
If you fly through ash a few hundred km from the volcano, not 16000km away.
Other risks include windscreens becoming opaque, contamination of cabin air and hydraulic systems and erosion of aircraft parts.
We’ll see if VB or others have any problems with erosion soon .
Our decision not to fly in the presence of volcanic ash is
based on assessments by our Critical Operational Event
Group, with advice from the Bureau of Meteorology and in
consultation with the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
in Darwin.
All bureaucratic ass coverers
Unlike the meteorological authorities in Europe,
Australia's VAAC does not have the ability to calculate
ash density so we are unable to access definitive
measurements.
You could consider you are 16000 km downwind instead. Our policy is not to fly into areas where the concentration of volcanic ash is unknown. Without certainty about the density of the ash, we do not consider it safe to fly.
The safest airline is one that never leaves the ground. Of course we won't mention Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, a larger eruption, one whose ash went around the globe three times, caused global red sunsets, global cooling, yet the only major airport that was shut was Manila - less than 150km away. No airliner crashed because of Pinatubo - a couple of aircraft sustained minor abrasion damage with 500km of the volcano.
Again, we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused by
these weather conditions.
Not really.
This partial shutdown of the network two weeks ahead of FWA authorising industrial action by pilots (first time in 45yrs)and engineers is very useful. We have lost a little money but not nearly as much as prolonged industrial action. After the ash we can go to our employees and the press and claim the airline is in crisis and any industrial action would be criminal and threaten the viability of the airline, grossly irresponsible, threatens jobs etc etc. The Govt will be on our side now as no Govt. MP has any shred of technical knowledge or idea of running a business. A second benefit is, that if the industrial action goes ahead all our ground staff are now refreshed on disruption procedures and giving out meaningless excuses to our passengers.