I was having a cleanup on the weekend and came across the book,
The Longest Hop
Celebrating 50 Years of the QANTAS Kangaroo Route
1947 – 1997
After reading the above comments re, JQ, the 787 etc, I went back to find what I thought was interesting. Interesting in regards to what you guys and girls at QF have today as leaders, I think you might find interesting.
from page 42:
Growing from the professional skills of McMaster, Fysh and McGinness was an experience in aircraft evaluation and an ability to understand and take advantage of the huge changes emanating from aviation technology after World War II. In many ways this defined the airline: being able to assess rival aircraft's designs and choosing the equipment most closely matched to the needs of Qantas while delivering safety, reliability and the resulting commercial success. This era that began with the selection of the Constellation ran through the choice of Boeing jets in the 1950s and the 747 family in the early 1970s. It drove home to Qantas that aircraft evaluation and the correct choice, regardless of political and other pressures that were so often brought to bear, were the key to success.
It was no accident that this clutch of professional skills, bringing together airmanship, engineering and hard-nosed commercial instincts, was to yield three future senior executives of Qantas: Captain ‘Scotty’ Allan, a deputy chief executive, Captain Bert Ritchie, a chief executive and Ron Yates, the first Australian graduate engineer to join the airline after the war, who succeeded Ritchie. They headed a strong and aggressive management team which developed from the earlier succession of the founder, (Sir) Hudson Fysh, to the chairmanship and the emergence of C O (later Sir Cedric) Turner as managing director.