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Qantas Airways
File:Qantas.svg
IATA ICAO Call sign
QF QFA QANTAS
Founded1920
HubsKingsford Smith Int'l Airport
Melbourne Airport
Singapore Changi Airport
Frequent-flyer programFrequent Flyer
Allianceoneworld
Fleet size131 (+74 orders)
Destinations180
Parent companyQantas Airways Limited
HeadquartersSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Key peopleGeoff Dixon (CEO)
Margaret Jackson (Chairman)
Websitehttp://www.qantas.com.au

Qantas (pronounced [kwɒntəs]) is the name and callsign of the world's second oldest continuously running independent airline behind Avianca. It is the 10th largest airline in the world. The name was originally "QANTAS", an acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service." The company is now based in Sydney, New South Wales and it is Australia's largest airline. It is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange as ASX: QAN. On 14 December 2006, the airline's board agreed to recommend a takeover by the Macquarie Bank-led consortium, Airline Partners Australia. If successful, the takeover will see the company become unlisted after 13 years as a publicly-listed company.[1]

History

Origins

Qantas was founded in Winton, Queensland on 16 November 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territorial Aerial Service Limited.[2] Its first aircraft was Avro 504K G-AUBG[3], purchased for £1425, with a cruising speed of 105 kilometres per hour (65 mph) and carrying 1 pilot and 2 passengers.[4] It operated air mail services subsidised by the Australian government, linking railheads in western Queensland. In the 1920s it built a number of aircraft (De Havilland DH50s and a single DH9) under licence in its Longreach hangar.[5] In 1928 a chartered Qantas aircraft conducted the inaugural flight of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, departing from Cloncurry.[6]

1934 to 1945

In 1934, QANTAS Limited and Britain's Imperial Airways (the forerunner of British Airways) formed a new company, Qantas Empire Airways Limited. Each partner held 49%, with two per cent in the hands of an independent arbitrator.[7]

Qantas Empire Airways commenced services between Brisbane and Singapore using de Havilland DH-86 Commonwealth Airliners. Imperial Airways operated the rest of the service through to London. In 1938, this operation was replaced by a flying boat service using Shorts S.23 Empire Flying Boats. The Sydney to Southampton service took nine days, with passengers staying in hotels overnight.[8] Most of the QEA fleet was taken over by the Australian government for war service between 1939 and 1945, and most of these aircraft were lost in action.[9] QEA operated a non-stop flying boat service between Perth and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1943-44. The flights operated in complete radio silence and took more than twenty-four hours.[10]

The Post-War Years - 1945 to 1958

After World War II, Qantas Limited was in dire financial straits and was taken over by the Australian Labor government led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley. The government also purchased the BOAC (formerly Imperial Airways) share of Qantas Limited and incorporated both into Qantas Empire Airways Limited. QEA Limited remained an unlisted public company with the government holding 100% of the shares. In 1967, the name was changed to Qantas Airways Limited. Subsequent governments maintained this arrangement.[11]

Immediately after World War II, Qantas began operating Avro Lancastrian aircraft between Sydney and London in cooperation with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). In 1948, the airline took delivery of Lockheed L.049 Constellations. The network was expanded across the Pacific in 1954 when it took over the operations of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA).[11] In 1958, Qantas became an around-the-world airline, operating round-the-world services from Australia to London via Asia and the Middle East (Kangaroo Route) and via the USA and Mexico (Fiesta Route) with Super Constellations.[12] It took delivery of new turboprop Lockheed Electra aircraft in 1959.

The Jet Age - 1959 to 1979

Ex-Qantas Boeing 707-138B "V-jet" still in original 1960's livery, now owned by John Travolta

In 1956, Qantas became the first non US airline to order the Boeing 707 jet airliner. Boeing created a special version for Qantas, designated the Boeing 707-138. This aircraft was shortened from the usual version, reducing payload to provide more range for the sectors Qantas had in mind. The first jet aircraft on the Australian register (and the 29th 707 built) was delivered to Qantas on 2 July 1959 and named VH-EBA City of Canberra. It was recently purchased by the Qantas Foundation Memorial for display in the Qantas Founders Outback Museum at Longreach, Queensland.[13] On 5 September 1959, Qantas became the third airline to fly jets across the Atlantic - after BOAC and Pan Am. It operated between London and New York as part of the service from Sydney.[14] All of the turbojet aircraft were converted to upgraded turbofan engines in 1961 and were rebranded as V jets from the latin vannus meaning fan.[15][16]

Air travel grew substantially in the early 1960s, leading Qantas to order the larger Boeing 707-338C series of aircraft. In 1966, the airline diversified its business by opening the 450 room Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. The same year, Qantas placed early options on the new Concorde airliner. At the time supersonic flight was thought of as the way of the future, but along with most airlines in the world the orders were eventually cancelled.

Qantas Boeing 747-400

In 1967, the airline placed orders for the new Boeing 747. The aircraft could seat up to 350 passengers, a major improvement over the Boeing 707. Orders were placed for four aircraft with deliveries commencing in 1971. The later delivery date allowed Qantas to take advantage of the -200B version, which better suited its requirements.[17]

When Cyclone Tracy devastated the city of Darwin at Christmas 1974, Qantas established a world record by flying the most people on an aeroplane - 673 people in a Boeing 747.[17] They also established a record for the amount of people embarked in a Boeing 707 - 327 people on VH-EAH.[18] Later in the decade, Qantas placed options on two McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft for flights to Wellington, New Zealand. These were not taken up, and two Boeing 747SP were ordered instead. In March 1979, Qantas operated its final Boeing 707 flight from Auckland to Sydney, and became the only airline in the world to operate Boeing 747s exclusively, until it started operating 767s in 1985.[19]

1980 to 1999

The Boeing 767-200 was introduced in 1985,[19] for New Zealand, Asia and Pacific routes. The same year, the Boeing 747-300 was introduced, featuring a stretched upper deck. The Boeing 747 fleet was upgraded from 1989 with the arrival of the new Boeing 747-400 series. The delivery flight of the first aircraft was a world record, flying the 18,001km from London to Sydney non-stop.

In 1990, Qantas established Australia Asia Airlines to operate services to Taiwan. Several Boeing 747SP and Boeing 767 aircraft were transferred from Qantas service. The airline ceased operations in 1996.[20] The Australian Government sold the domestic carrier Australian Airlines to Qantas in August 1992, giving it access to the national domestic market for the first time in its history. The purchase saw the introduction of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A300 to the fleet - though the A300s were soon retired.[20]

A Qantas Boeing 747-438 flies low over the roofs of Myrtle Avenue near London Heathrow Airport.

Qantas was privatised in 1993, with British Airways taking a 25% stake in the airline for A$665m. By law, Qantas must be at least 51% Australian-owned, and the level of foreign ownership is constantly monitored.

In 1998, Qantas co-founded the oneworld alliance with American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, and Cathay Pacific. The alliance commenced operation in February 1999, with Iberia and Finnair joining later that year. Oneworld markets itself at the premium travel market, offering passengers a larger network than the airlines could on their own. The airlines also work together to provide operational synergies to keep costs down.

2000 to the present

The main domestic competitor to Qantas, Ansett Australia, collapsed on 12 September 2001. Market share for Qantas immediately neared 90%, with the relatively new budget airline Virgin Blue holding the remainder. In order to capitalise on this event, Qantas ordered Boeing 737-800 aircraft - obtaining them a mere three months later. This unusually short time between order and delivery was possible due to the terrorist attacks in New York City on 11 September - the subsequent downturn in the US aviation market meant American Airlines no longer needed the aircraft they ordered. The delivery positions were reassigned to Qantas on condition the aircraft remained in American Airlines configuration for later possible lease purposes.

At the same time, Virgin Blue announced a major expansion in October 2001,[21] which was successful in eventually pushing the Qantas domestic market share back to 60%. To prevent any more competitors entering the market and further de-stabilising the industry, Qantas responded by creating a new cut-price subsidiary airline Jetstar. This has been successful in keeping the status quo at around 65% for Qantas group and 30% for Virgin Blue with other regional airlines accounting for the rest of the market. On 13 December 2004, the first flight of Jetstar Asia Airways took off from its Singapore hub to Hong Kong, marking Qantas' entry into the Asian cut-price market. Qantas owns 44.5% of the carrier.

Qantas has also expanded into the New Zealand domestic air travel market, firstly with a shareholding in Air New Zealand and then with a franchise takeover of Ansett New Zealand. In 2003, Qantas attempted and failed to obtain regulatory approval to purchase a larger (but still minority) stake in Air New Zealand. Subsequently Qantas stepped up competition on the trans-Tasman routes, recently introducing Jetstar to New Zealand.

Qantas had also developed a full-service all economy international carrier focused on the holiday and leisure market, which had taken on the formerly used Australian Airlines name. This airline ceased operating its own liveried aircraft in July 2006, the assets being absorbed back into the parent company. However, Australian Airlines continues to exist as a "wet lease" company, operating and crewing Qantas aircraft on Qantas routes.

On 28 September 2006 at 3am, Qantas codeshare flight QF302 operated by British Airways was the last flight to depart from Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, about 10 minutes after the Kuwait Airways flight that had originally been scheduled to be last.

Qantas today

Qantas continues to be one of the world's leading large airlines. Its main international hubs are Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport, Melbourne Airport and Brisbane Airport. However, Qantas operates a significant amount of international flights into and out of Perth Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, London Heathrow Airport and Singapore Changi Airport. Its domestic hubs are Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports, but the company also has a strong presence in Perth, Adelaide, Cairns and Canberra airports. It serves a range of international and domestic destinations.

Qantas wholly owns Jetstar Airways, and JetConnect (which operates New Zealand domestic services) and QantasLink (including, Airlink, Sunstate and Eastern Australia Airlines).[22] It also has a minor stock holding in Air New Zealand. It also owns 49% of the Fiji-based international carrier Air Pacific. It owns 50% of both Australian Air Express and Star Track Express (a trucking company)[23], with the other 50% of both companies owned by Australia Post.

Since its privatisation in 1993, Qantas has been one of the most profitable airline in the world (and most profitable in 2002[citation needed]). It was recently voted 2nd best airline in the world in the 2006 World Airline Awards (with surveys conducted by Skytrax) behind British Airways[24]

Qantas has stepped up the expansion of Jetstar, with the launch of international services (in addition to existing trans tasman and Jetstar Asia flights) to leisure destinations such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and Hawaii from November 2006. On some routes Jetstar will supplement existing Qantas operations but many routes are new to the network. The lower cost base of Jetstar makes these routes feasible.

In recent years it has announced substantial new aircraft orders. Qantas ordered twelve Airbus A380-800, with options for four more. It will be the second airline (after launch customer Singapore Airlines) to receive an A380 and is now expected to receive four aircraft by the end of 2008 and seven by mid-2009, after Airbus reported further delays in the delivery. It increased its orders for A380s to twenty on October 29 2006. All aircraft are due to be delivered between 2008 to 2015. An additional four A330-200 aircraft were ordered to address capacity concerns due to the A380s service entry delay.[25][26]

File:Qantas787-8.jpg
Qantas will receive 45 Boeing 787-8s beginning in 2009.

On 14 December 2005 Qantas announced an order for 115 Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft (45 firm orders, 20 options and 50 purchase rights).[27] The aircraft will allow Qantas to replace their current 767-300 fleet, increase capacity and establish new routes. Jetstar will also operate 10 of the new aircraft on international routes.[28]

This announcement came after a long battle between Boeing and Airbus to meet the airline's needs for fleet renewal and future routes. The first of the 787s are scheduled to be delivered to Jetstar in August 2008, with the 787-9s coming in 2011.

Although Qantas did not choose the Boeing 777-200LR, it is rumoured that Qantas is still looking into buying planes capable of flying London-Sydney non-stop.

Takeover bid

On 22 November 2006, newspapers reported a possible takeover of Qantas. The deal would give 25% of the airline to Macquarie Bank, 25% to other Australian interests, 1% to senior management, and the other 49% to Texas Pacific Group and other foreign investors.[29] Share analysts speculated that $5.50 per share would have been offered. This was increased to an estimate of $6.00 per share after Qantas predicted a 25-30% profit increase for the financial year 2006-2007. Qantas stated that the approach is "confidential and incomplete" but was being investigated.

On 13 December 2006, Qantas announced that it had received a takeover bid from a consortium similar to that in the rumours, offering $5.50 per share. Qantas rejected the bid as being too highly conditional. Following the decision, Qantas shares closed down 14 cents (AU) at $5.09 that day.[30]

On 14 December 2006, Qantas announced that it had accepted a revised takeover offer of $5.60 per share from the Macquarie Bank-led private consortium, Airline Partners Australia, following further discussions. This was an increase of 10c over the previous offer.[31][32][1][33] Shareholders are expected to support the recommended takeover in a January 2007 vote, pending approval from the ACCC and Federal Government.

Company activities

Qantas Frequent Flyer program

File:Qantas Freq Flyer Logo.gif
File:CreditCard-AU-Qantas-Cobrands.jpg
Qantas Co-branded Credit Cards

The Qantas Frequent Flyer program is designed to reward customer loyalty. Points are accrued based on miles flown, with bonuses that vary by travel class, and can be earned on oneworld airlines as well as other partners. Points can be redeemed for flights or upgrades on flights operated by Qantas, oneworld airlines, and other partners. It is the most popular loyalty program in Australia[citation needed]. Co-branded credit cards are issued by both American Express and ANZ Bank, and a number of other credit cards earn points that can be transferred to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

The program has an estimated value of $1.2 billion and there has been speculation that Airline Partners Australia intends to spin off the program, following the examples of Air Canada and United Airlines. The consortium's director, Bob Mansfield said the "transaction will have no impact on the Qantas frequent flyer program" on 2006-12-28, but did not explicitly rule out a spin-off.[34]

Qantas Club

Further information: Qantas Club

Qantas Club is the official business-class airline lounge for Qantas with airport locations around Australia and the world.

The Qantas Club offers membership by paid subscription or by achievement of high tiers of frequent flyer status. Benefits of membership include lounge access but also extend to privileges such as priority luggage handling, increased luggage allowances and priority check-in.

Other promotional activities

Qantas used a small promotional animation on its website to officially announce it will offer inflight internet services on its fleet of A380s.[35] Qantas also announced that it would trial in-flight use of mobile phones on one of its Boeing 767 aircraft. This will allow customers to send emails and text messages on board, while also being able to make phone calls whilst in flight.[36] Qantas has also launched Online Check in (OLCI) for its domestic Australian flights. Customers are now able to log on to qantas.com 24 hours before their flight departs, select their seat and print a boarding pass, enabling them to bypass check-in at the terminal.[37] It recently re-introduced hot face towels for economy class on all long haul flights.

Qantas is responsible for some of the most successful marketing campaigns in Australian history, with many advertising campaigns featuring renditions by children's choirs of Peter Allen's "I Still Call Australia Home", set to footage of breathtaking scenery. A much earlier campaign aimed at American television audiences featured an Australian koala, who of all things detested Qantas for bringing tourists to destroy his quiet life (his key tagline: "I hate Qantas").

Qantas is the main and shirt sponsor of the "Qantas Wallabies", the Australian national Rugby Union team.

Fleet

The Qantas fleet consists of the following aircraft as of October 2006:

Qantas Fleet
Aircraft Number Passengers Routes Notes
Airbus A330-200 4
(4 Orders) 		301 (38/265)
Airbus A330-300 10 297 (30/267)
Airbus A380-800 (20 Orders) 501 Entry into service: 2008
Boeing 737-400 19 142 (16/126)
Boeing 737-800 33
(5 Orders) 		168 (12/156)
Boeing 747-300 6 450 (52/398) (only 5 in service)
Boeing 747-400 24 343 (14/64/265)
379 (14/50/315)
412 (56/356)
Boeing 747-400ER 6 343 (14/64/265)
Boeing 767-300ER 29 254 (30/224)
251 (30/221)
250 (30/220)
244 (30/244)
229 (25/204)
Boeing 787-8 (15 Orders) Entry into service: 2009
(2008 with Jetstar)
Boeing 787-9 (30 Orders)

The 767-336 and 767-336ER aircraft are leased from British Airways on a long term basis and entered service with Qantas in 2000 and 2001. The average age of Qantas fleet was 10 years in August 2006. The Qantas customer code for Boeing is "38".

Qantas has three planes painted in Australian Aboriginal art liveries: Wunala Dreaming (Boeing 747-438ER VH-OEJ[38]), Nalanji Dreaming (Boeing 747-338 VH-EBU[39], currently in long term storage) and Yananyi Dreaming (Boeing 737-838 VH-VXB[40]). All three carry striking, colourful liveries, designed by Australian Aborigines.[41]

Aircraft fleet naming

Codeshare agreements

Qantas has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Qantas Codeshare Agreements
Airline Codeshare
Aircalin Sydney - Noumea, Brisbane - Noumea
Air France Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane - Singapore - Paris
Air Malta Sydney - Bangkok - London - Malta
Air Niugini Sydney - Port Moresby, Brisbane - Port Moresby, Cairns - Port Moresby
Air Pacific Sydney - Nadi, Sydney - Suva, Melbourne - Nadi, Brisbane - Nadi, Nadi - Los Angeles, Nadi - San Francisco, Auckland- Nadi
Air Tahiti Nui Sydney - Auckland, Sydney - Papetee - New York, Los Angeles
Air Vanuatu Sydney - Port Vila, Brisbane - Port Vila
Alaska Airlines San Francisco - Vancouver
American Airlines Sydney - Los Angeles - New York, Sydney - San Francisco, Sydney - Honolulu
Asiana Airlines Sydney - Seoul Incheon
British Airways Sydney - Bangkok - London, Sydney, Brisbane - Singapore - London, Melbourne - Hong Kong - London,
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong- Rome
China Eastern Melbourne - Sydney - Shanghai
EVA Air Brisbane - Taipei
Finnair Sydney - Bangkok - Helsinki, Brisbane - Singapore - Helsinki
Gulf Air Sydney - Singapore - Bahrain - Athens, Dubai, Beirut
LAN Airlines Sydney - Auckland - Santiago
Japan Airlines Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne - Tokyo, Sydney - Brisbane - Osaka
Jet Airways Singapore - Delhi, Mumbai
Swiss International Air Lines Sydney - Singapore, Sydney - Bangkok
South African Airways Sydney - Johannesburg, Perth - Johannesburg
US Airways (Originally Code Shared with America West Airlines) Various routes from San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles. (Code Share to End February 28 2007 [46])
Vietnam Airlines Sydney, Melbourne - Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi

However it can be noted these routes are only the major codeshares and codeshares such as within USA, with American Airlines, are not listed.

Accidents and incidents

Main article: Qantas fatal accidents

.

It is often claimed, most notably in the 1988 movie Rain Man, that Qantas has never had a fatal crash. Qantas is the only airline not to cut that scene from the movie before showing it to passengers. The company's official line is that it has never lost a "jet" aircraft. Prior to the jet era, Qantas had fatal crashes. One was on 16 July 1951, when De Havilland Drover VH-EBQdisaster[47] crashed in New Guinea after an engine failure, killing all seven passengers and crew. Other fatal accidents occurred in 1927, 1934, 1942, 1943 (×2), and 1944. However, the incidents in the 1940s were due to World War II, when the Qantas aircraft were requisitioned by the military.

Non-fatal accidents

On 24 August 1960, Qantas Super Constellation VH-EAC crashed on take off at Mauritius en route to the Cocos Islands. Take off was aborted before V1 after a power drop on the number 3 engine. The plane skidded off the runway and the undercarriage collapsed. None of the 38 passengers and 12 crew were injured.[48]

Qantas had a significant accident on 23 September 1999, when a Boeing 747-400, carrying 407 passengers and crew, overran the runway by 220 metres while landing in a severe rainstorm at Bangkok.[49] The aircraft ended up in a golf course, and there were no fatalities. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau criticised numerous inadequacies in Qantas' operational and training processes.[50] Repairs to the nine-year-old aircraft were undertaken in Bangkok and China. The aircraft had suffered extensive damage to the landing gear, engines and the front fuselage and it was reported that the cost of the repair was nearly $A100 million.[51] Some believed that this exceeded the value of the aircraft and that it should have been written-off. Qantas denied that pressure had been applied to insurers to avoid a hull-loss being recorded so that the airline's safety record would remain intact.

Other incidents

In 2000, a 747-300 VH-EBW[52] was damaged when its landing gear collapsed while taxiing at Rome. It returned to service after repairs.

On 21 August 2005, an incident occurred involving Qantas Airbus A330-300 VH-QPE[53] with 178 passengers and 13 crew aboard. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Kansai Airport in Osaka, Japan after an indication of smoke in the cargo hold. The Osaka Control Tower reported seeing smoke on landing, so an emergency evacuation was declared as a precaution and emergency slides were deployed. Nine passengers were injured and hospitalised. Subsequent investigation found no sign of smoke or fire, and it is believed that the cargo fire sensors were faulty. The aircraft was only 15 months old at the time of the incident.

On 2 February 2006, a Qantas Boeing 767-300ER VH-OGH[54], carrying 155 passengers and 11 crew, and a United Airlines 747-400, carrying 99 passengers and 14 crew, were involved in a collision while on the runway at Melbourne Airport. The Qantas aircraft sustained damage to a horizontal stabiliser while the United aircraft damaged a wingtip. The Qantas 767 was parked at the holding point awaiting a take-off clearance when the United 747 taxied into it, causing the damage. United released a statement saying its flight 840 from Melbourne to Los Angeles via Sydney "reported a wingtip touch with a Qantas aircraft as it taxied". No passengers were injured in the incident.[55]

On 29 May 2006, Qantas Boeing 747-438ER VH-OEE[56] was taxiing to the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport when it contacted a blast fence, damaging the starboard winglet. None of the 204 passengers was injured. The winglet had to be removed and replaced.[57][58] On 14 August 2006, Qantas Boeing 747-4H6 VH-OED[59] was taxiing at Los Angeles International Airport when it was hit by a baggage cart, damaging an engine. None of the 288 passengers and 16 crew was injured.[60] In October 2006 a Qantas de Havilland Canada Dash 8 en route from Melbourne Tullamarine to Wollongong had to make an emergency landing back at Melbourne Airport because there was smoke in the cabin.

Extortion attempts

On 26 May 1971, Qantas received a call from a "Mr Brown" claiming that there was a bomb planted on a Hong Kong-bound jet and that he wanted $500,000 in unmarked $20 bills. He was treated seriously when he directed police to an airport locker where a functional bomb was found. Arrangements were made to pick up the money in front of the head office of the airline in the heart of the Sydney business district. After Qantas raced around to find two suitcases large enough to hold all the cash, they paid the money and it was safely collected, after which Mr Brown called again, advising the 'bomb on the plane' story was a hoax. The initial pursuit of the perpetrator was bungled by the New South Wales Police who, despite having been advised of the matter from the time of the first call, failed to establish adequate surveillance of the pick up of the money. Directed not to use their radios (for fear of being "overheard"), the police were unable to communicate adequately.[61] Tipped off by a still unidentified informer, the police eventually arrested an Englishman, Peter Macari[62], finding more than $138,000 hidden in an Annandale property. Convicted and sentenced to 15 years in jail, Macari served nine years before being deported to England. Over $224,000 has still not been found. The 1990 movie "Call Me Mr. Brown" directed by Scott Hicks relates to this incident.

On 4 July 1997, apparently an apparent copycat extortion attempt was thwarted early on thanks to the skills of police and Qantas security staff.[63]

References

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  28. ^ "Qantas Board Chooses Boeing" (Press release). Qantas. 14 December 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-16. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  30. ^ Trevor Chappell and Rhys Haynes (2006-12-13). "Qantas may consider new bid". News.com.au. Retrieved 2006-12-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  33. ^ "MacBank's Qantas bid takes off". News.com. 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
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  39. ^ "CASA Aircraft Register (VH-EBU)". Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
  40. ^ "CASA Aircraft Register (VH-VXB)". Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
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  42. ^ "Qantas to Name First A380 After Nancy Bird Walton" (Press release). Qantas. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-17. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  43. ^ "Constellation". The Lockheed File. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  44. ^ "A Carnation By Any Other Name". The Lockheed File. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  45. ^ "L-10 Electra". The Lockheed File. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  46. ^ "Airlines". Dividend Miles, Earn More Miles. US Airways. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
  47. ^ "CASA Aircraft Register (VH-EBQ)". Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
  48. ^ "VH-EAC "Southern Wave"". The Lockheed File. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  49. ^ "World: Asia-Pacific London-bound jet skids off runway". BBC News. 1999-09-23. Retrieved 2006-12-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  50. ^ "Aviation Safety Investigation Report - Final". Australian Transport Safety Bureau. April 2001. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  51. ^ "Qantas Safety Reputation Sinks Further". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. May 2000. Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  52. ^ "CASA Aircraft Register (VH-EBW)". Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
  53. ^ "CASA Aircraft Register (VH-QPE)". Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
  54. ^ "CASA Aircraft Register (VH-OGH)". Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
  55. ^ "Planes clip wings on runway". The Age. 2006-02-01. Retrieved 2006-12-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help))
  56. ^ "CASA Aircraft Register (VH-OEE)". Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
  57. ^ Debbie, Cuthbertson (2006-05-30). "Qantas jet hits airport blast fence". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2006-12-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  58. ^ "QANTAS accident at JFK". Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  59. ^ "CASA Aircraft Register (VH-OED)". Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
  60. ^ "Qantas plane in crash with luggage cart". The Australian.
  61. ^ Young, Barry. The Qantas Extortion Case. Sydney: Qantas Public Affairs Department.
  62. ^ A photograph of him was published in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2002, in an article on an apparently unrelated incident (see:Macey, Richard (May 25 2002). "'Mr Brown' and riddle of the man who just vanished". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2006-12-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help))
  63. ^ Muldoon. "Extortion Attempt Qantas Airways" (PDF). Australian Institute of Criminology. Retrieved 2006-12-17. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |First= ignored (|first= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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