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A QANTAS plane was just 400 feet off the runway at Melbourne Airport when the pilot was forced to abort a landing this morning, because of congestion. The 747 jumbo from Los Angeles was carrying 300 passengers when it had to pull out of the landing at the last minute. The pilot was forced to circle the airport until the runway was cleared.

A QANTAS plane landed safely in Perth this morning after calling for assistance when a pilot became incapacitated. The airline confirmed that flight QF593 from Adelaide had issued a “pan" alert and asked to be met by an ambulance after one of the pilots suffered a health issue, The Australian reports. The Qantas 737-800 from Adelaide carrying 110 passengers left Adelaide about 6.50am (local time) and touched down in Perth at 7.30am. An emergency was declared by the co-pilot and air traffic control vectored the aircraft onto the longest runway 21/03, thewest.com.au reports. After touch down the aircraft came to...

Boeing's largest airline customer for the 787 said it is canceling orders for 15 Dreamliners and deferring another 15 deliveries by four years. Qantas Group, the parent of Qantas and discount carrier Jetstar, said Friday in Australia that the changes were driven by the economic climate, not this week's announcement of a design problem that will add weeks or months to the much-delayed plane's first flight. Qantas has 50 remaining Dreamliners on order, comprising 35 787-9s and 15 787-8s. "The latest delay is disappointing, but we do not expect it to impact the Qantas Group given these changes to our...

Passengers were thrown around the cabin of a Qantas flight after severe turbulence forced the plane to plummet mid-air, injuring seven. QF68 was flying over Borneo in Malaysia, about four hours after leaving Hong Kong, when it "encountered severe turbulence", Qantas said in a statement. The Airbus A330 touched down at Perth International Airport this morning, and shaken passengers disembarked from it. Six passengers and one crew member were injured and were treated by paramedics once the plane arrived. One man suffered a cut to his head during the incident, which is understood to have lasted between 10 to 20...

THE reason why an oxygen cylinder came to blow a hole in a Qantas jet carrying 365 passengers and crew to Melbourne is still unknown. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the cylinder, which penetrated the cabin and skin of the aircraft, causing a loss of cabin pressure, had never been found, so the exact reason for the malfunction could not be determined. There was no trace of any explosive residue that would point to a terrorist attack. The ATSB and aircraft manufacturer Boeing examined a number of cylinders from the same production batch. "To date, the investigation has not...

LOS ANGELES — Every time Qantas lands one of its giant Airbus A380s at Los Angeles International Airport, parts of the nation's fourth-busiest airport come to a halt. Service roads, taxiways and runways must be closed to airfield trucks, cars and other commercial aircraft as the world's largest passenger plane — with wings almost as long as a football field — arrives, departs and taxis with an official escort of operations vehicles. The plane is so immense that air traffic controllers give it priority so it doesn't have to wait for takeoff at the end of the southern runways in...

A MALFUNCTION has forced a Qantas jet to return to Perth, prompting concerns for the second time in three months that interference from a defence station in northwestern Australia may be to blame for a mid-air drama on the national carrier. Qantas flight 71 was on route to Singapore with 277 passengers about 8.30am last Saturday when it had to return to Perth after the jet's autopilot disconnected because of a problem with a unit that supplies key information to flight control computers. The Airbus A330-300 was 45 minutes into the journey and about 380 nautical miles south of the...

The abrupt dive of a Qantas A330-300 last week that injured scores of passengers wasn't caused by a passenger's electronic device, but by an internal breakdown in the Airbus's flight-control computer system, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said on Tuesday.

A passenger's laptop computer is being considered as a possible cause of the Qantas incident off Western Australia on Tuesday. The Airbus A330-300 was flying from Singapore to Perth when it suddenly plunged thousands of feet, leaving more than 50 people injured. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing at an air force base near Exmouth in WA. A computer malfunction involving the auto-pilot system is being blamed for the incident. 'There certainly was a period of time where the aircraft performed on its own accord as it pitched over nose forward,' said Julian Walsh from the Transport...

A Qantas Boeing 747 was forced to make an emergency landing at Manila Airport on Friday after a midair incident. CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau would be focusing on whether an onboard oxygen tank had exploded, ripping a hole in the plane's fuselage. -snip- He confirmed an oxygen cylinder was missing from the plane and this would be a key focus of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's(ATSB) investigation into what happened.

SYDNEY (AFP) — Air safety investigators said Sunday that an exploding oxygen cylinder may have been to blame for tearing a huge hole in an Australian Qantas jumbo jet in mid-air, nearly causing a disaster. Officials said an oxygen back-up cylinder is missing from the aircraft, and ordered the airline to inspect all such bottles on its fleet of Boeing 747s. The Qantas Boeing 747 was flying from Hong Kong to Melbourne on Friday when an explosive bang led to a sudden loss of air pressure in the cabin. The plane, which had originated in London and was carrying 365...

Plane hole 'not due to corrosion' Engineers have begun inspecting the damaged plane in Manila Qantas boss Geoff Dixon has denied corrosion caused a hole in the body of the plane that was forced to make an emergency landing in Manila.Safety engineers have begun examining the plane to establish the cause. More than 360 people were on board the flight when it was forced to land. They have since arrived back in Australia. Possible causes include corrosion or accidental external damage but Mr Dixon said preliminary checks showed corrosion was not the problem. The Qantas chief executive said he...

Safety concerns were raised as long ago as February about the Qantas aircraft that had to make an emergency landing after a 9ft hole opened up in its fuselage at 29,000 feet, it has emerged.

DEBRIS flew past passengers as air was sucked out of an ageing Melbourne-bound Qantas jumbo jet after a mid-air explosion ripped a gaping hole in its fuselage and plunged the plane into a 20,000ft emergency descent. Almost 350 mostly Australian travellers on QF30 from London heard an "almighty bang" yesterday morning and feared a mid-air collision as a rush of wind coursed through the cabin and oxygen masks fell from the ceiling of the Boeing 747-400. "There was a terrific boom, and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into first (class) and the oxygen masks dropped down," Melbourne...

A GAPING hole which ripped through the belly of a jumbo jet mid-flight may have been caused by an explosive device or a damaged fuselage, aviation experts say. The packed Quantas Boeing 747 was forced to make an emergency landing in the Philippines today after the hole ripped through the plane’s belly. Some passengers were so terrified they vomited when oxygen masks has to be used as the Melbourne-bound flight touched down. Air expert David Learmount said: “It’s possible there was some kind of explosive device in the suitcases. There’s a hole where there shouldn’t be.” But Mr Learmount, who...

A PASSENGER told tonight how a Qantas flight attendant ignored serious stab wounds to his head to repeatedly tackle a 'would-be hijacker' until he could be subdued. Derek Findlay described today's dramatic hijack bid by a man in a suit and armed with wooden stakes, who attacked two flight attendants and tried to crash a Melbourne to Launceston domestic flight. Mr Findlay, 30, was among passengers who wrestled the attacker to the cabin floor after he ran towards the cockpit, lunging at the male purser and female flight attendant. As well as sticks, the man was also brandishing an aerosol...

MANILA, Philippines — A Qantas flight en route to Australia from London made an emergency stop in Manila on Friday after a loud bang punched a hole in the Boeing 747-400's fuselage, officials and passengers said.

A MELBOURNE-BOUND Qantas jumbo jet plunged 20,000 feet today after a 1.5m hole in the fuselage caused a rapid decompression. Witnesses said there was a bang and a rush of wind before oxygen masks fell and the plane began an emergency descent. The plane was about 320km out of The Philippines capital Manila en route from Hong Kong when warning lights alerted pilots to the decompression in the cargo hold. “The aircraft had a rapid decompression and at the same time there's been some damage to the fuselage,” an Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman said. “As a result of the...

A MAN who allegedly tried to smuggle a gun on to a domestic flight at Melbourne airport has been charged by police. He was arrested as he tried to hail a taxi outside the domestic terminal after screening equipment allegedly detected a pistol in his carry-on luggage. Sources told the Herald Sun the man was trying to board a plane with the loaded gun.

Australia's national airline, Qantas Airways Ltd., is offering $86,500 six-month contracts to engineers from Air New Zealand (ANZ) and its former engineers to have substitutes for 1,700 engineering staff who plan to go on strike on Jan. 9. But New Zealand's Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, which includes ANZ engineers, advised members to reject the offer, which is almost double the pay of the 400 engineers Qantas laid off from its heavy maintenance base in Sydney last year. The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA), believes the former engineers will not take the lucrative offer. Talks on pay and working...

Airlines all over the world are being warned to check to make sure there’s actually oxygen in their aircraft oxygen systems after an embarrassing mix-up by Qantas Airlines at Melbourne International Airport. .................... When they said they were topping up the oxygen, he said, 'No you're not, that's a nitrogen cart,'" an unnamed source told The Age.

Calculating the Risks in Pakistan A small group of U.S. military experts and intelligence officials convened in Washington for a classified war game last year, exploring strategies for securing Pakistan's nuclear arsenal if the country's political institutions and military safeguards began to fall apart. The secret exercise — conducted without official sponsorship from any government agency, apparently due to the sensitivity of its subject — was one of several such games the U.S. government has conducted in recent years examining various options and scenarios for Pakistan's nuclear weapons: How many troops might be required for a military intervention in...

Qantas stewardess tells how she fell for Hollywood star in Seat 2K...and how after a mad, passionate fling he abandoned her to face the sack... The attraction had been immediate and overwhelming from the moment they first made eye contact. But as Qantas stewardess Lisa Robertson leaned over towards Hollywood star Ralph Fiennes to offer him a drink, she could not have imagined how the evening would unfold - or that she would end up in a passionate tryst with him in the aircraft lavatory. When rumours first emerged that Ralph Fiennes joined the Five Mile High Club in the...

The Qantas stewardess who claimed she rejected an amorous Ralph Fiennes on a flight to India has admitted having sex with him in an aircraft lavatory. Lisa Robertson told friends she was a big fan of the British actor and found herself luring him to the cubicle. But they apparently shared more than a 15-minute fling at 35,000ft. Miss Robertson claims they went on to share a passionate night in a Mumbai hotel - at the star's invitation. The Australian stewardess has told friends she recognised Fiennes, 44, as he soon as he settled into his business class seat, 2K,...

A LOS Angeles-bound Qantas airliner which had flames jetting out of one engine has landed safely at Sydney airport. The Boeing 747 Flight QF149 with 274 people on board was forced to turn back after taking off at 11.58am (AEDT) today, Qantas said. It landed at 1.20pm (AEDT) after dumping fuel and circling the city's northern beaches, a Qantas spokesman Lloyd Quartermaine said. He said flames had been seen coming out of one of the engines, but there was no explosion and passengers were not at risk. "The engine didn't explode," Mr Quartermaine said. "At this stage we believe it...

Man kicked off flight for Bush-bashing T-shirt Mon Jan 22, 7:33 AM ET CANBERRA, Jan 22 (Reuters Life!) - An airline passenger barred from a flight for wearing a T-shirt labeling President Bush a terrorist has threatened legal action against Australia's flag carrier Qantas. Allen Jasson, 55, an Australian IT expert who lives in Britain, was stopped from boarding a London-bound Qantas flight at Melbourne Airport last Friday for wearing what the airline said was an offensive T-shirt. Airline staff said the T-shirt of Bush with the tagline "World's number 1 terrorist" could have upset other passengers and demanded it...

Flight ban for anti-Bush T-shirt The T-shirt featuring President Bush could offend, Qantas says A passenger barred from a Qantas airlines flight for wearing a T-shirt depicting US President George Bush as a terrorist has threatened legal action. Allen Jasson said he was sticking up for the principle of free speech by challenging the decision by the Australian flag carrier. Mr Jasson was stopped as he was about to board the flight from Melbourne to London last Friday. Qantas said the T-shirt had potential to offend other passengers. The T-shift features an image of President George W Bush, along with...

A MAN has threatened legal action against Qantas for barring him from an international flight because he was wearing a T-shirt depicting US President George W. Bush as a terrorist. Allen Jasson said today he was defending freedom of speech through his insistence on wearing the T-shirt. Mr Jasson, 55, an Australian IT specialist who lives in London, is staying with his daughter in Melbourne after he was refused entry to the flight to London at Melbourne Airport on Friday. Airline staff argued that the T-shirt, which bears an image of the US president with the slogan `World's number 1...

News sources in Australia are reporting that the Qantas Airways board has reversed its initial rejection of a take-over bid after the consortium leading the raid improved the non-cash part of the offer. Qantas received the much anticipated take-over offer today, but today publicly rejected it. Both quality daily newspapers in Sydney, The Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald are reporting the airline to be on the verge of publicly reversing this opposition. The consortium making the bid, Airline Partners Australia, which is led by Allco Finance Group and Australia’s Macquarie Bank , is understood to have sweetened the bid...

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian flag-carrier Qantas Airways has announced that it had placed firm orders for eight more Airbus A380 superjumbos despite repeated delivery delays. The vote of confidence in the world's largest passenger aircraft comes after Airbus announced a series of setbacks putting the arrival of the first of the airline's original order of 12 aircraft about two years behind schedule. "Our decision to increase our order has been made after an extensive review of the recent problems at Airbus," Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said in a statement on Sunday. "We are convinced that these problems relate to...

Qantas is issuing an advisory to all passengers on its flights on the safe use of Dell notebooks following the recall of 4.1 million batteries announced by the PC manufacturer last week. The airline said that although passengers would be allowed to carry their Dells either as checked or cabin baggage, they could only use them on battery power or through the aircraft power supply available in some first and business class cabins once they have first removed the batteries from the unit. Qantas said cabin crew would be advising passengers of the measures which apply to any computer affected...

Australia’s Qantas Airways is to receive more than A$100 million ($77 million) in damages from Airbus for delays in deliveries of its 12 firm-ordered A380-800s. It has meanwhile confirmed orders for four more Airbus A330 twinjets, two of which will be leased. The Oneworld alliance carrier says in its financial results announcement today that “delays in the delivery of 12 A380 aircraft has resulted in the recognition of A$104.4 million of liquidated damages from Airbus”. A spokesman says in an emailed reply to a query from Flight's 24h premium aviation news and data service Air Transport Intelligence that “the A$104...

The longer range and more fuel-efficient 747-8 may just be what airlines such as Qantas are looking for BOEING'S newest version of its 747 is turning heads at Qantas as the airline searches for solutions to reduce fuel costs while increasing the range capability of its fleet. Qantas had been examining the Boeing 777-200LR, which can fly from London to Sydney with a payload of 250 passengers, but the return journey requires a fuel stop in Singapore for at least half the year because of headwinds. According to Qantas sources, the 777 has been dropped from consideration. Also on...

Qantas Airways is very likely to exercise its option to buy another 50 Boeing 787s on top of an existing order of 65 planes, the company's chief financial officer said on Wednesday. The airline, the world's eighth-biggest passenger airline by market value, also hopes to decide in the coming months on new ultra long-range jets, Qantas Chief Financial Officer Peter Gregg said. In December, the Australian carrier announced it would buy 65 Boeing 787s for more than USD$10 billion, with the option to purchase another 50, also worth more than USD$10 billion. Officials met in San Francisco to sign the...

A SYDNEY man allegedly telephoned the suspected leader of al-Qa'ida in Spain – Abu Dahdah – seeking help to move a "brother" and his family throughout Europe. The allegation about former Qantas baggage handler Bilal Khazal – made in documents tendered in Mr Dahdah's terrorism trial – contradicts claims by him that he had never spoken to the alleged terror chief, or even knew who he was. As more details of a network of alleged terror supporters in Australia emerged yesterday, it has been claimed a second Australian named in the Spanish court documents, Melbourne cleric Sheikh Mohammed Omran, was...

NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) might be close to beating French rival Airbus for a deal, worth more than $10 billion, with Singapore Airlines, a newspaper reported on Friday.

Airbus’s chief salesman John Leahy may be having some quiet time to himself to ponder the loss of the Qantas deal on his way back from Sydney. For a senior colleague had joked prior to the announcement that, if Leahy did not return from Australia with the order, he should “come back by boat”. Although Airbus has had a great year sales-wise, with almost 700 orders so far across its range, it must be frustrated by the advantage that Boeing has gained in the widebody markets as the 777 and 787 rack up the orders at the expense of the...

QANTAS has vowed to slash air fares on flights to the United States — adding to political pressure on the Howard Government to keep Singapore Airlines locked out of the lucrative Pacific routes. The planned expansion of Qantas budget carrier Jetstar to US routes was revealed yesterday as the airline announced a massive $10 billion investment in 65 new-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft from 2008. The US move by Qantas is designed to deflect one of the main arguments for exposing it to more competition over the Pacific — that fares to Los Angeles and San Francisco have been excessive....

Well, it's in the link, but Qantas just announced 115 787's to be purchased from Boeing. Big freaking win right there.

Just follow the link as it is a PDF file and it won't let me copy & paste it here.

THE Qantas board will meet this morning to make firm decisions on its $20 billion fleet purchase program, one of the largest single investments in Australian corporate history. Not only will the outcome be watched closely by international competitors wondering about what sort of deals can be had from the big two manufacturers, it will also indicate how big a part the discount operations of Jetstar's domestic and international operations will play. Qantas plans to buy 100 planes over the next 10 years, and the potential shopping list includes the latest the industry has to offer in upgraded models and...

QANTAS will this week decide on A$20bn ($15bn) worth of orders for 90 aircraft, with the lion’s share tipped to go to manufacturer Boeing. Boeing’s 777 and 787 are pitted against Airbus’s A340 and A350 in the competition to equip the Australian airline with new planes. The Qantas board meets this Wednesday and an announcement is expected the same day. The Business can also reveal that Airbus is studying a revamp of the A340, its 777 equivalent, after a raft of wins by its American rival. Last week, Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s de facto flagcarrier, placed an order for a...

Airlines ban men from sitting next to children 29 November 2005 Air New Zealand and Qantas have banned men from sitting next to unaccompanied children on flights, sparking accusations of discrimination. The airlines have come under fire for the policy that critics say is political correctness gone mad after a man revealed he was ordered to change seats during a Qantas flight because he was sitting next to a young boy travelling alone. Auckland man Mark Worsley says an air steward approached him after take-off on the Christchurch to Auckland flight and told him to change seats with a women...

SYDNEY, June 1 (Reuters) - Deliveries of the A380 double-decker by planemaker Airbus will be delayed by six months, Australian carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. said on Wednesday. All airlines with early A380 orders, such as Singapore Airlines and Emirates [EMAIR.UL] -- the biggest customer with an order for 43 of the planes -- would be affected, Qantas said in a statement. Qantas said "manufacturing issues" at Airbus meant it would now receive the first of its twelve A380s in April 2007. The airline plans to seek compensation from Airbus. "This is disappointing, given that we have met all of Airbus'...

Actual Entries from Qantas Maintenance Logs "Squawks" are problem listings that pilots generally leave for maintenance crews. From the "squawk sheets": Problem: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. Solution: Almost replaced left inside main tire. Problem: Number three engine missing. Solution: Engine found on right wing after brief search. Problem: Evidence of hydraulic leak on right main landing gear. Solution: Evidence removed. Problem #1: #2 Propeller seeping prop fluid. Solution #1: #2 Propeller seepage normal. Problem #2: #1, #3, and #4 propellers lack normal seepage. Problem: The autopilot doesn't. Signed off: IT DOES NOW. Problem: Something loose in cockpit....

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Qantas Airways Ltd. on Friday suspended a baggage handler who was caught on video opening a passenger's bag which contained a camel costume, donning the head and wandering around the airport tarmac. The costume's owner, David Cox, said he was waiting inside the terminal at Sydney Airport earlier this week when he glanced outside and saw the baggage handler wearing his camel head. "I obviously was flabbergasted, my jaw dropped to the ground," Cox told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio on Friday. He said he was shocked to realize that his luggage had been tampered with,...

ADELAIDE, Australia - Five people were hospitalized after being overcome by fumes on a Qantas flight, the airline said. A passenger and four cabin crew were hospitalized for a checkup after becoming nauseous Monday on a Qantas Airbus A330-300 flying from the southern city of Melbourne to the western city of Perth. The plane made an unscheduled stop in Adelaide after cabin staff noticed fumes coming from one of the plane's kitchen areas, a Qantas official said on condition of anonymity. The plane, which entered service last month, had 12 crew members and 274 passengers on board. Qantas engineers were...

CANBERRA, Australia, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- A former baggage handler for Qantas Airways has been identified by the CIA as an al-Qaida member. Government officials told The Australian newspaper they are aware of claims that Bilal Khazal of Sydney and Melbourne cleric Sheikh Mohammed Omran have been linked to an al-Qaida detainee known as Abu Dahdah. The allegations, made public this week by the Australian Broadcasting Corp., reportedly stem from telephone intercepts revealed recently in a Spanish court. The newspaper said the intercepts suggest repeated contact between the two Australians and the Spaniard. The Australian said, among other things, Abu...

On the night of Wednesday, August 27, two men dressed as computer technicians and carrying tool bags entered the cargo processing and intelligence centre at Sydney International Airport. The men, described as being of Pakistani-Indian-Arabic appearance, took a lift to the third floor of the Charles Ulm building in Link Road, next to the customs handling depot and the Qantas Jet Base. They presented themselves to the security desk as technicians sent by Electronic Data Systems, the outsourced customs computer services provider which regularly sends people to work on computers after normal office hours. After supplying false names and signatures,...

Qantas is resisting pressure to install new systems to defend its fleet against terrorist missile attacks, throwing the responsibility for protecting its aircraft back onto government. The airline's CEO, Geoff Dixon, rejected suggestions that it deploy expensive decoy systems against surface-to-air missiles, saying these would would cost nearly $700 million to protect the international fleet alone. Mr Dixon also questioned the effectiveness of the systems and said the best way to deal with the missile threat would be for governments in Australia and the region to identify potential launch sites near airports. His comments came after the Prime Minister, John...