QANTAS EYES BECOMING SMOOTH OPERATOR
IS IT time for Qantas to dispense with the aeroplane sick bag?
The Flying Kangaroo isn’t calling an end to passenger motion sickness just yet, but things are about to get a lot less shaky when turbulence does hit, the airline’s chief technical pilot says.
Alex Passerini, a pilot of 30 years, says new technology on planes soon to join the Qantas fleet has been shown to reduce turbulence significantly.
“We are not calling an end to it, but it certainly will be smoother,” he says.
Captain Passerini was on hand yesterday as the first Australian-made Boeing components for the Qantas 787 Dreamliner were shipped out of Melbourne, bound for Seattle, where the planes will be built.
The airline is due to take delivery of its first 787 in October.
He said the Dreamliner used technology that could detect and counteract turbulence far more effectively than anything on previous passenger flights.
Planes encounter turbulence when they fly through jet streams – fast moving air currents that can move at up to 300km/h.
“They are a natural phenomenon,” Captain Passerini said.
The Dreamliner was like “driving a bigger car with better suspension”, he said. “It is a superior experience.”
Captain Passerini is the fleet technical manager for the 787 Dreamliner project. Flights from Melbourne to LA start on December 15 ahead of the launch next March of the airline’s first non-stop commercial flights from Australia to London.
Boeing Aerostructures Australia has a 1000-strong workforce in Melbourne, where it makes components for the rear edge of the 787 wing including flaps, ailerons and a combination of both known as a flaperon.
“These are very important components for the latest generation wing – and there is nothing more integral than the wing structure,” Captain Passerini said.
The progress on the Dreamliner project comes a month after Moody’s moved its credit rating on Qantas a notch higher on the investment-grade scale, from Baa3 to Baa2.