Wirraway
29th Jul 2004, 04:59
Thurs "Courier Mail"
Turbulent take-off just 'bad luck'
By Renee Viellaris
July 29, 2004
JETSTAR has defended its 10-week flight history as "bad luck", but three of its incidents remain under investigation.
Bad luck ... new budget airliner Jetstar
On top of the scrutiny into its operations, some of Jetstar's customers' booking details, including credit card data, were this month accidentally posted on a website.
Jetstar's corporate relations spokesman Simon Westaway denied it had a patchy run since starting on May 25, but said it was enjoying unprecedented success.
"We are living in a goldfish bowl. People are interested in Jetstar," Mr Westaway said. "Some of it has just been bad luck."
That includes an emergency landing at Mackay on Monday after fumes filled the cabin, an alleged near-miss between one of its planes and a Qantas jet at Hamilton Island on July 17, and a ground handler damaging a cabin door prior to takeoff in Sydney on June 21, cancelling five flights.
All three remain under investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
Aviation expert Alan Terrell said Jetstar may have to undergo some damage control but if it continued to offer low-cost flights, passengers would forget about its past events.
Jetstar last week announced its 200,000 seat-sale on selected routes from $39.
Mr Terrell, a NSW University aviation lecturer and former Qantas general manager, said Jetstar would be successful, which intimidated many unions and those working in the industry.
"Not all would want it to be a success," Mr Terrell said.
He said he suspected customers' booking details posted on a website could have been done on purpose.
Jetstar, which paid its staff less and didn't offer them all the perks of other airlines, could become a bigger domestic carrier than Qantas, he said.
Eventually staff from Qantas could have to fill jobs at Jetstar.
Mr Terrell said he expected Jetstar to be a success because it was essentially the same operation as Qantas Link, which incorporated the now defunct Impulse airlines.
"It's the same crew, aeroplanes and people, just a different name."
He said Jetstar's real challenge would be the successful use of its new fleet of airbuses.
But the introduction of its first airbus also started turbulently.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority, which advised Jetstar to be flexible on its 30-minute turn around for safety reasons during the first months of operation, failed a Jetstar crew member on its ferry flight from France on June 21.
A CASA spokesman said investigators who travelled on the flight noticed some "shortcomings" in its operations.
"But it wasn't a big deal."
Mr Westaway also said the issue was minor, because Jetstar was able to upgrade its air operators certificate, necessary to fly the airbuses, on time.
He said despite the no-frills tag, Jetstar was achieving the highest safety standards and passengers were lapping up its great deals.
Jetstar was trading at a profit after two months of operation, and last week carried its 500,000th passenger.
The Courier-Mail
=========================================
Turbulent take-off just 'bad luck'
By Renee Viellaris
July 29, 2004
JETSTAR has defended its 10-week flight history as "bad luck", but three of its incidents remain under investigation.
Bad luck ... new budget airliner Jetstar
On top of the scrutiny into its operations, some of Jetstar's customers' booking details, including credit card data, were this month accidentally posted on a website.
Jetstar's corporate relations spokesman Simon Westaway denied it had a patchy run since starting on May 25, but said it was enjoying unprecedented success.
"We are living in a goldfish bowl. People are interested in Jetstar," Mr Westaway said. "Some of it has just been bad luck."
That includes an emergency landing at Mackay on Monday after fumes filled the cabin, an alleged near-miss between one of its planes and a Qantas jet at Hamilton Island on July 17, and a ground handler damaging a cabin door prior to takeoff in Sydney on June 21, cancelling five flights.
All three remain under investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
Aviation expert Alan Terrell said Jetstar may have to undergo some damage control but if it continued to offer low-cost flights, passengers would forget about its past events.
Jetstar last week announced its 200,000 seat-sale on selected routes from $39.
Mr Terrell, a NSW University aviation lecturer and former Qantas general manager, said Jetstar would be successful, which intimidated many unions and those working in the industry.
"Not all would want it to be a success," Mr Terrell said.
He said he suspected customers' booking details posted on a website could have been done on purpose.
Jetstar, which paid its staff less and didn't offer them all the perks of other airlines, could become a bigger domestic carrier than Qantas, he said.
Eventually staff from Qantas could have to fill jobs at Jetstar.
Mr Terrell said he expected Jetstar to be a success because it was essentially the same operation as Qantas Link, which incorporated the now defunct Impulse airlines.
"It's the same crew, aeroplanes and people, just a different name."
He said Jetstar's real challenge would be the successful use of its new fleet of airbuses.
But the introduction of its first airbus also started turbulently.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority, which advised Jetstar to be flexible on its 30-minute turn around for safety reasons during the first months of operation, failed a Jetstar crew member on its ferry flight from France on June 21.
A CASA spokesman said investigators who travelled on the flight noticed some "shortcomings" in its operations.
"But it wasn't a big deal."
Mr Westaway also said the issue was minor, because Jetstar was able to upgrade its air operators certificate, necessary to fly the airbuses, on time.
He said despite the no-frills tag, Jetstar was achieving the highest safety standards and passengers were lapping up its great deals.
Jetstar was trading at a profit after two months of operation, and last week carried its 500,000th passenger.
The Courier-Mail
=========================================