Drunken Qantas hostess causes hotel evacuation

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

An intoxicated Qantas flight attendant has caused the evacuation of
200 hotel guests after reportedly smashing an alarm during a stopover
in Queenstown.

The incident, reported in New Zealand newspapers said a female hostess
smashed an interior alarm point at the Crowne Plaza Hotel which caused
a false alarm forcing the hotel to evacuate guests into the street in
the middle of the night.

It was also reported that a male colleague refused to take a breath
test after being ordered by the pilot, causing a delay of flight
AF2783 out of Queenstown until replacement crew could be flown from
Christchurch.

The Crowne Plaza General Manager, Brett Wilson has confirmed there was
an incident to New Zealand press, but refused to confirm if Qantas
employees were involved.

"Someone smashed one of the alarm call points after a big night out,"
he said. "We know exactly who it was and the guest has been charged
$1500 for the call-out fee and to fix the call point.

"It was a fairly big stuff-up by the guest and when she was asked why
she did it she said she had no idea and she was upset and disappointed
with herself. She left the next day."

In a statement, Qantas confirmed an investigation was being carried
out following an incident at the hotel that resulted in the dismissal
of two cabin crew members.
"Flight QF2783 operating from Queenstown to Christchurch on 31 July
was delayed due to a technical issue," the statement said.

"Crew were accommodated at a nearby hotel and scheduled to operate the
flight next morning. Following an incident at the hotel, two cabin
crew members were stood down. The incident is being investigated.
Replacement cabin crew subsequently operated this service."

Qantas pulls servicing 737s in Malaysia

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Qantas has chosen not to send two of its 737 jets to Malaysia for
heavy maintenance work, after one plane two months ago reportedly
returned with 95 defects.

Malaysia Airlines denies the incident, saying experts from Qantas
signed off on all repairs, but the carrier said both planes will now
be serviced in Australia.
According to a report on the ABC, Paul Cousins from the Australian
Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association said the decision to service
the planes in Australia was the right one.

"One of the critical factors of maintenance being performed is the
number of licensed engineers, and in Australia that ratio is
approximately one to one or two to one," he said.

"We find that the overseas facilities that ration could be as large as
one licensed engineer to 10 unlicensed engineers."

Malaysia Airlines Senior General Manager, Mohamed Roslan Ismail
defended its engineering safety adding that Qantas has 12 personnel
attached to its engineering and maintenance service in the country.

"All the highlights were rectified, to the satisfaction of the Qantas
team, before aircraft delivery to Australia," he said in a statement
as reported on NEWS.

"With regards to the 'string of faults' that were reported in the
media, (Malaysia Airlines) investigated and established that these
were unsubstantiated.

"This is based on the fact that all these aspects were originally
checked and found to be free from defect during the maintenance check
and test flight, with the concurrence from the Qantas team."

"We are fully committed to executing all aspects of aircraft
engineering maintenance with no compromise to safety and security, as
well as meeting the expectations of both our customers and the global
regulatory authorities that have recognised our competencies," he
said.