The Qantas “nanny jet” syndrome struck again on its Cityflyers today as all references to the Air France disaster were censored from its Channel Nine news package.
When is it going to grow up?
Virgin Blue has 24 channels of live Foxtel including news in its seat back videos, which are more than enough to leave passengers brain damaged, or brain washed, but the searching, the grieving, the questioning about Air France flight AF447 were there on display in all the rawness that comes so often with the news of the moment.
Qantas was unable to provide guidance or commentary on this in time for the Crikey Daily Mail.
Or answer questions about whether it thinks regular travellers are likely to change their minds about flying Qantas because of something that happens to Air France.
Or happens to Qantas as was the case last year and this when it blocked images of a bikie murder aftermath in its Sydney terminal, reports of Jetstar passengers forced to sleep rough in its terminals and passenger video recordings of its own cabin attendants performing admirably well amid a small thicket of deployed oxygen masks as one of its jets made an emergency landing at Manila with a gaping hole in its side.
If Qantas really thinks TV reporting of an airline, including itself, having a bad if not tragically bad day, is bad for its travellers, why does it allow live morning TV or night time bulletins to appear in its club rooms and gate lounges?
Qantas needs a bit of backbone. It is about five years since a whole plane load of JetBlue passengers in a satellite TV equipped jet watched themselves circle a US airport burning off excess fuel before landing with a jammed nosewheel. People are used to life. The good bits and the ugly. No one is boarding a jet to enjoy some sort of magical carpet ride, at least not with today’s standards of service.
Another account of the Qantas sensitivities and some lively discussion can be found on Mumbrella.
I’m sorry but I have to side with Qantas for this one – the fact of the matter is, you’re locked in that metal box, and seeing vision of a similar metal box crashing or news that one has gone down is not hugely condusive to a relaxing flight. The article’s author is perhaps one of those people who only likes their flight when there’s a bit of turbulence to make it more interesting, but for those out there who are nervous flyers, and especially those with phobias, that sort of news is something that can wait until landing.