Wow John you fly on the 717 up to 4 times a month?!?! Congrats! As a passenger I presume? That certainly qualifies as an "expert" opinion these days. The a/c in question is operated, staffed and engineered by COBHAM. No one who touches that a/c is employed by QANTAS. the fact that it has a QF flight number means nothing. Ever heard of jetconnect?
Geez!
Cheers,
greaser.