"tim...." wrote in message
...

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
tim.... writes:

Why should this require them to reduce ticket prices?

Because passengers pay in part for safety,

Do they?

Do they really?

Do passengers really pay more to fly with Qantas (who have never lost an
airliner) than with e.g United, who have?

Does the safety record really make a difference? I know that people don't
like to fly with airlines from developing countries, who just happen to
have poor safety records, but that is as much because of the service on
offer. Is the safety record of different (in this case US) airlines so
different?

Even vaunted Qantas has had its rough patches:

"Qantas loses public trust on safety record
* Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
* From: The Australian
* December 08, 2008 12:00AM

QANTAS is heading into negotiations with British Airways amid new evidence
that public faith in the airline's safety record has taken a hit and that
some Australians no longer view the airline as safe.

Two serious in-flight safety scares at the airline, increased media
attention on lesser incidents and a spate of delays and cancellations appear
to have left passengers worried that the airline's safety standards have
dropped.

A survey by Labor pollsters UMR Research shows two- thirds of Australians
still believe Qantas is a safe airline to fly, but 63 per cent say safety
standards have become worse over the past few years. The online survey of
1000 people conducted between August and late November shows women, younger
Australians and Victorians are more worried about Qantas safety.

Nine out of 10 Australians believe Qantas maintenance should be done in
Australia, rather than overseas. The survey also raises a worrying note for
the airline's new maintenance joint venture with Malaysia Airlines in Kuala
Lumpur, with almost three-quarters of respondents believing the quality of
work done in Malaysia is lower than in Australia.

Related Coverage

* Reader's Comments: Qantas appeals for Australians' support
NEWS.com.au,
* Readers' Comments: Faith lost in Qantas - poll - PerthNow Perth Now,
* Public losing faith in Qantas, poll NEWS.com.au, 8 Dec 2008
* Qantas just unlucky, say mechanics NEWS.com.au, 23 Oct 2008
* Qantas workers considering strike The Australian, 10 Oct 2008

The survey comes as Transport Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday called for
Qantas to remain an Australian-owned airline for security reasons. "There
are national security issues, particularly for an island continent located
on the globe where Australia is, for having a national airline," he said.

The recent unrest in Thailand, which saw the Bangkok international airport
shut down for a week, was a case in point, he said."When Australians were
having difficulty departing from Thailand, I was able to pick up the phone
to the chief executive of Qantas, Alan Joyce, and make the request that
extra flights be put on."

The UMR survey found 73 per cent of men believed Qantas was a safe airline
compared with just 63 per cent of women.And 16 per cent of women and 17 per
cent of people under 30 viewed the airline as unsafe.

Sixteen per cent of people in Victoria, which was the centre of a
maintenance union wage campaign which included claims of safety problems
with offshore maintenance earlier this year, thought Qantas unsafe but this
dropped to 7 per cent for people over 70. High-income earners were less
worried about Qantas safety, with 74 per cent of people earning more than
$80,000 a year considering it safe and just 10 per cent saying it wasn't.

The poll was taken in three tranches, with the first done in the month after
an exploding oxygen cylinder blew a hole in the side of a Qantas jumbo jet
and prompted an emergency descent near Manila and the others conducted in
September and November. The airline suffered a second accident in early
October when an Airbus A330 twice pitched nose-down off the coast of Western
Australia, seriously injuring 14 people. Investigations into both incidents
are continuing but have initially centred on possible manufacturing problems
beyond the airline's control.

Qantas has also vigorously defended its safety record and says the number of
aircraft forced to turn back because of maintenance problems had not risen
despite the media coverage. It said the Qantas Group's rate of 98 turnbacks
for 350,000 flights (including Jetstar) compared favourably with other
airlines.

Chairman Leigh Clifford told the recent annual meeting that safety remained
the airline's No1 priority."

It's also worth noting that Qantas's new Jetstar operation makes much noise
that it charges lower fares.