ENGLISH PATIENT - Still on theAustralian carrier, you may have heardthat one of the carrier's female flightattendants recently faced the sack afterbeing accused of having sex with Britishactor Ralph Fiennes - the star of TheEnglish Patient - in an aircraft toiletwhile flying from Australia to India. Of course, everyone knows the officialacronym for Qantas: “QueenslandAnd Northern Territory Aerial Service”or the less-official “Quite A Nice Takeoff,Any … [Read more...] about ENGLISH PATIENT

JOB CUTS - Qantas' strained relationshipswith Australia's labour unionssank to another low last month whenQantas CEO Geoff Dixon in a statementwarned that further restructuringand lowering of the Australian flag carrier'scost base would be necessary. The reason?? Middle East carrier Qatar Airwaysreceived government approval fordaily service between Doha and Melbourne. In a statement, Dixon said the airline“will have no option but to achievefurther cost savings if it is to … [Read more...] about JOB CUTS

LIQOUR THREAT - The US TransportationSecurity Administration(TSA) says it collected more than 9tonnes of oversized bottled items atMiami airport - mostly alcohol andperfume - from October throughJanuary. Hundreds of airline passengers eachweek returning from Caribbean vacationsare trying to go through Miami's security checkpoints carrying bottlesof alcohol only to be told their spiritsthreaten security. The problem stems from a TSApolicy that limits passengers to carryingonly small bottles … [Read more...] about LIQOUR THREAT

John Batten, currently managingdirector global network and air cargosales for TNT, is to become the latestair cargo professional to try his hand atrunning Qatar Airways Cargo. The airline has had a series of aircargo managers in recent years, someonly staying a few months. Batten insiststhat things will be different this time,though he was remaining tight-lippedabout why ahead of taking up his poston 1 April. … [Read more...] about Qatar Airways

Des Vertannes, head of cargo at GulfAir, has insisted that he will take no decisionabout moving to head up Etihad'scargo operation until a new CEO takesup his post at Gulf Air on 1 April. In October, former Gulf Air CEOJames Hogan, who appointed Vertannesto the cargo role, announced he wouldtake up the helm at Etihad, and reportshave said Vertannes was planning tofollow him. However, Vertannes said such reportswere "premature" and that he had takenno decision yet. "I have … [Read more...] about Etihad Airways