News comes that Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia will code share on each other services and passengers will enjoy reciprocal FF arrangements and lounge access. Virgin Australia also have a relationship with Delta (Skyteam) and Malaysia (about to join One World).

Is this a step toward Virgin Australia becoming a Star Alliance partner in Australia? We continue to move back to the days when we had two full service airlines Qantas and Ansett in the One World and Star Alliance networks. I blogged about this in May.

The impressive changes at Virgin Australia (albeit not yet with a profit) are accompanied by the brilliant incompetence of Qantas management in the way they are handling both staff and passengers. There is a stinging rebuke on the Business traveller forum pages today: But Joyce has to be also singled out for his stupidity in the way he has managed Qantas and in particular his perceived obsession with trying to Jetstarize Qantas. He has been in the job for 3 years and one can only wonder how long he can last.


I received an e-mail from QF FF this morning about a new food and wine venture I would rather hear about some real management changes on service and route development…. I have to ask myself why am I, like many, losing confidence in the Qantas brand. 


I am with the writer on this. A few of my posts have expressed my concerns re Qantas:

• Dear Nut Please go away 
• My rating of airlines for  2010 lamented the slide of Qantas to 8th position on my list (when I used to rate Qantas as the third best airline you could fly)
• When Enhancements alienate a customer referring to the poor way Qantas sold changes to their Frequent Flyer Program

To me the people who do not seem to be listening are Qantas themselves.

For me it was a double grief:

My much loved airline (Qantas) and my all time favourite plane: the Super Jumbo A380 – both tainted. Worse my favourite engine type, the Rolls Royce is in disgrace. Up to now,  I had always felt safer flying with the best of British engineering. A Qantas flight powered by Rolls Royce? Mythically in my mind this meant creme de la creme!  On November 4, this all changed.

In a  highly publicised incident, on that day, aircraft VH-OQA called Nancy Bird Walton, (which was in fact  the first of Qantas’ A380 s) took off from Singapore flying Qantas Flight 32 to Sydney, Australia.

Four minutes into flight, at 10:01 am Singapore Time the plane’s Number 2 engine had an “uncontained failure”  with a turbine disk being released in the engine. The debris punched holes in part of the wing, damaged the fuel system disabled a hydraulic system, knocked out the anti-lock brakes, damaged landing flaps and wiped out the controls for the neighbouring engine )outer left No.1).

Here is a video filmed on board after the incident:

Part of the engine cowling fell onto the island of Batam (Indonesian island very close to Singapore) which led to media reports that the plane had crashed on Batam.

The Airbus circled for over an hour attempting to dump fuel while the very experienced crew dealt with multiple checklists and reportedly 54 alarms (as luck would have it, there were five pilots in the cockpit with Captain, First Officer  and Second Officer, plus  two check captains. The first  was performing an annual  check on the Captain -hope he passed! The second check captain was evaluating the first check captain).

The crew found that the fuel couldn’t be dumped. They also could not pump it between tanks. As it leaked out, the plane started to become harder to control as it grew tail-heavy.  In the end the decision was made to land with more than 80 tonnes of highly volatile jet kerosene still in the 11 tanks — two of which were leaking.

The landing was back at Singapore’s Changi Airport where the plane had started from.Without the full hydraulics, the spoilers - the flaps which slow the plane down – could not be deployed fully so the  crew also had to rely on gravity for the undercarriage to lock into place. With only one engine able to deploy reverse thrust and no anti skid brakes, the landing took most of the  4km Changi runway. Four tyres were blown in the process. Even after landing the Number one engine would not shut down and it had to be doused by the fire crew until it flamed out.

No one on board was injured but two people at a school were injured by parts of the falling debris. The chance of everyone on board dying however was very high. If the explosion had punctured the fuel tank and sparked a fire, the A380 would have quickly turned into a fireball. If the crew had been less experienced, they may not have been able to control or land the plane. If the explosion had occurred in the middle of the Pacific on the Los Angeles -Sydney route, there may not have been time to get to a usable airport. If Changi did not have a 4km runway. There was a combination of good luck and good experience that day for QF 32

After the landing, both Qantas and Singapore Airlines  grounded their A380s. Singapore resumed their flights the next day after tests. Qantas however found two engines on their other A380s that they had concerns with. Qantas kept their planes grounded stating they had found oil leaks that were ”beyond normal tolerances”.

Singapore Airlines, announced that they planned to replace three engines on three separate planes, grounding the aircraft in question until the issues were resolved and Lufthansa announced the precautionary replacement of an engine on its A380. Emirates and Air France kept flying as their  A380 engines are not made by Rolls Royce but  by Engine Alliance (consortium between GE and Pratt & Whitney).

After the incident, the fingers started pointing. Media, passengers and some Qantas staff blamed outsourced maintenance and cost cutting, Many worried that Qantas was losing its rain man status.(as detailed in an earlier blog post). Qantas suggested there was a design issue. Airbus pointed all questions to Rolls Royce. Rolls Royce has officially said nothing but they are  replacing all of the engines that are suffering from oil leaks.

Four days after the incident, EASA (The European Aviation Safety Agency) issued an Airworthiness Directive, ordering airlines using the Rolls Royce Trent 900 engine to conduct stringent tests frequently. The reversed some of those demands two weeks later. Rolls Royce had already had a highly publicised failure with its Trent 1000 engine designed for the 787.

Qantas has now partially returned its fleet of A380s to service with two starting back. The rest of the fleet will remain grounded until  16 of the massive engines are replaced. No A380s will be used on flights  between Los Angeles and Australia which require the highest amount of take off thrust. (I also wonder if the distance to an emergency airport may be too great on that sector).

My first A380 with Singapore Airlines

Qantas will need to do a lot of reassuring of its Airbus A380 passengers in the next few flights and I can imagine here will be a lot of nervous passengers if the planes encounter any turbulence! I was therefore impressed that Alan Joyce, CEO   took the first A380 flight since the incident as a sign of his belief that the planes are safe to fly. (Did he fly Economy? -LOL)

I had personally made a decision to wait two years before I flew in the A380 because I figured that the real world would provide the best tests of the safety of this plane. Seems I was almost right. Qantas launched the A380 with the tagline “World’s Most Experienced Airline”. On November 4, 2010, the crew showed the value and the reality of the statement. My next A380 flight? Singapore to Sydney with Singapore airlines (my second A380 with them). Wish me good luck with highly experienced crew.

(See my blog post about my wonderful Qantas 380 flight last year)

How many people really care what aeroplane they are in? I do care -cos I sit in a 100 planes a year! These planes are my favourites: 

• Boeing 767 (flown 102 times)
• Boeing 717 (flown 18 times)
• Boeing 747 (83 times for 660 000km)
• Boeing 777 (alas only 7 times)
• CRJ 700 (a mere 10 times)
• Airbus 340  (8 times)
• Airbus 380 (now 3 times)

The plane I am in love with is the A380, the world’s largest passenger plane. First flew it with Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Sydney last November. Then I travelled on the Qantas one in June from Los Angeles to Sydney (blog post here) This week’s adventure on the mega Jumbo was with Emirates, the airline of Dubai on their service from Auckland to Sydney. Today I compare the flying experience between these three airlines. Sadly only in Economy. Sponsorship is welcomed to try the First Class product with all of them!

Passenger Reactions

I was curious to see the reactions from my approximately 500 fellow as they  filed past the plane. Just five of us stopped and took photographs of the 569 tonne monster (pictured)

Forty or fifty gazed, pointed and chatted displaying an excitement about flying the 22 wheeled Double Decker aluminum “Super Jumbo” aeroplane.

Some were more nonchalant, glancing at the plane as they headed to the Boarding gate

A very large number were clearly caught up in the excitement of the journey – just happy to be travelling. The type of plane seemed irrelevant in this situation. We had two large groups -a large Kiwi young rugby player contingent and a Chinese tour group on board.

A few slipped nervously on board, obviously dreading the three hours inside the 73m (239ft) long metal tube. Can you believe the the Wright brothers first flight was only 37 metres (120 feet) long. In other words this plane is almost twice as long as humanity’s first ever powered flight. One would love to see their faces if they ever came face to face with this plane.

Emirates check in was astoundingly efficient considering there were three flights departing Auckland in a short time period -one to Brisbane, (B777), one to Melbourne (A340) and the A380 flight to Sydney. This means a potential check in number of a 1000 passengers. Plentiful desks and hired contractors directing passenger traffic made the experience easy . From queue to boarding pass was less than six minutes. This matched the Qantas check in and faster than the one at Singapore Airlines.


Check in:
Emirates (EQ) 10/10
Qantas   (QF) 9/10
Singapore (SQ) 8/10

Boarding
Boarding was also efficient -and fast. The welcome aboard by the on board crew was astounding. While the Qantas welcome on the A380 had been up to the usually Qantas friendliness,  I generally find the Singapore Airlines “welcome aboards” a little false and forced. With Emirates the ethnically diverse crew members greeted you in a way that seemed personal, unique and genuine.  It may not seem much but this contact reminds the passenger that they are special and are involved in the special experience of flying. I know many Airlines have reduced flight to that of a bus to the detriment of the flying experience I believe.


Boarding/Welcome aboard: EQ: 10/10, QF: 9/10,  SQ 7/10




On Board
My seat was 81K. This seat together with 81A and 68A and 68K  are the best seats on the Emirates plane. Located in the emergency exit, they have no seat in front of them. Thank you to my friend Brett for this tip. 
On this plane I had two very fun women sitting next to me in my row -thanks for a great flight! 
A gentleman seated a row in front of me was a different story. When I arrived at the seat, I found the very large luggage bin a disaster area with bags badly packed and a couple trying to shove lots of bags on top of the other bags in the bin. The couple were oblivious to contents or fragility. I suggested to them, we repack which they accepted. The repacking was a success! We got all the bags into the luggage bin including mine. I made sure that small bags were on top of big ones. As I did this, I asked who owned a blue bag that had been in danger of being squashed under an avalanche of duty free. I wanted to get the owners permission before I moved it. The owner, seated in 80J, who had been watching this activity  yelled at me threatening me if I damaged his bag in any way, he would be very angry. I pointed out to him, I was saving his bag and that a polite thank you would have been better. He looked at me and was suddenly chastened when he realised he was out of line. He didnt say much for the flight.Safety Brief

Pre -flight inspections by crew were through and efficient. Safety briefing is only done over the TV monitors with the crew standing by. I prefer the way Qantas engages their cabin staff in the safety brief. To me it lends an air of seriousness –that the airline really knows its safety stuff.

Safety Inspections and Briefing: EQ: 7/10, QF: 9/10,  SQ 8/10

The Cabin Experience
Takeoff on the A380 is incredible. Firstly it is so quiet! There seems to be no dramatic roar  as the plane moves down the runway. Then the plane seems to simply glide up. The 380 feels like it wants to fly and is simply going back into the atmosphere where it belongs.


It is 40 years since the original jumbo started flying. The advances in air technology since then have been amazing. The A380 is a massive improvement over the 747. For example the A380 produces 50% less cabin noise than the currently flying 747 models and has greater cabin air pressure which makes travel more pleasant. The windows are larger. The bins are larger. The cabin is wider and higher. And of course more people can be flown for less fuel.While Emirates has two versions of the A380: One with 516 seats and one with 489seats. However, Air France crams in 538 people into its A380 in three classes. Lufthansa reduces that to 526. Singapore has opted for 471 seats and Qantas has only 450. NB The overall capacity of the plane is 853 passengers. One airline has said it will aim of 840 seats when it gets its A380 (Air Austral). Ryanair would probably aim for 1000! The feel of all three A380s I have been on has been of incredible spaciousness.

The Lavatories on the Emirates are real class with wood panelling and nice moisturisers etc! Tip: use the ones in the front of the plane. Most people seem to congregate down the back of the plane.


Cabin atmosphere and feel: EQ: 10/10, QF: 9/10,  SQ 8/10

On Board Entertainment System:
I found the Emirates ICE entertainment to be clunky and slow to navigate compared to their counterparts on Qantas and Singapore.
One of the groovy features with Emirates, however, is the cameras they have built into the nose and tail of the pane which allow you to watch takeoff and landing from any direction -although the woman next to me and I decided : ”it would be not a nice sight to watch your plane crash“. 


Entertainment System:
Emirates ICE: 7/10 plus 1 for the camera 8/10
Qantas iQ: 9/10,  
Singapore Krisworld: 10/10

Meal

The Emirates meal was amazing. In a world where airline meals in Economy have declined or diappeared, Emirates seems to believe that giving a quality product may attract repeat business! Starting with a Prawn (shrimp) cocktail, this was followed by a main dish of lamb and pasta, a bread roll, cheese & crackers, a chocolate cake dessert and a small chocolate square filled the spot. Contrary to a popular mythology,  Emirates is not a dry airline on most sectors, so wine was available with dinner. (Flying into Iran and Saudi Arabia would be a very different matter).


 Meal: EQ: 10/10, QF: 7/10,  SQ 9/10

The Verdict
Our landing into Sydney was bumpy (we had been forewarned) with rain, wind and low clouds. We felt very secure in our seats as the plane bounced through the cloudbursts.

My seatmates and I decided that the Emirates Airbus A380 is worth going out of the way for. So my A380 Ratings out of a possible 60:
 #1 Emirates  92%
#2 Qantas      87%  (check out the blog post)
#3 Singapore  83%
(Although I suspect if I was in first class, then I think Singapore’s private suites might be the winner!) 
In July I complied my list of Top 21 Airlines I have flown. When I revise the list, guess who will be the new number one?!


Thanks to my fun seatmates, Emirates and the cabin crew for a great trip