... flying for Qantas is the bees knees, the cat's pyjamas and the mutt's nuts. (I used to know a Qantas pilot.) That question probably should've been "what if it had happened to another airline?" Besides, off-duty crew (and their families) fly on Qantas flights all the time for cheap. Most airlines do that.

I'm not merely standing up for my country's national carrier, but pointing out that Qantas has an enviably good safety record for this very reason. It was reported a few weeks ago that Qantas ran engineering checks against their first delivered A380s that no-one else did. Partly for that reason, Rolls Royce put them at the front of the line for engine replacements and are just about bending over backwards to help. I bet Airbus is not impressed.

Wade.