A Qantas Question

[eastendme]

Hello. While searching I came across this site and thought it might be good to ask a question.

I am originally from Bethnal Green in London and have never been back in 40 odd years. I would like to go back so in comes my daughter who wants to fly me to London with Qantas. Sounds nice and she does a lot of flying.

But its a long flight and I dont fly anywhere. So I looked at the map and saw that Qantas go to the Middle East, but its all over water which makes me a bit nervous. I think its something like 14 hous over the sea. The daughter teels me its fine but I noticed British Airlines and Virgin (patriotic pom) dont do this long trip over open ocean. So I dont know if I have the stomach to fly Qantas but it has to be only Qantas according to the daughter.

So I know its a bit silly but if they have a problem in the air is there somewhere to land I couldnt really see anywhere, thats the thing that makes me jittery.

 

[opusman]

Yes it is over water for quite a distance (although not 14 hours - maybe more like 8 or 9) but you are never more than a couple of hours from land. Great Circle Mapper

BA, CX and Virgin go via SE Asia and so the bulk of the trip is over Asia/Europe rather than the Indian Ocean.

 

[harvyk]

The thing that you need to remember is that been over land is no safer than being over water (some could even argue being over water is safer). If they need to land the plane they still need to find an appropriate airport to land at, which is why rules for maximum distances a plane can be away from airports has nothing about being over land. (technically only twin jets are affected by such rules)

The best thing to do is simply relax (my sister had the same fear of being over water, but she got over it by simply doing OS trips), and remember that the odds of been caught up in an incident is so low regardless of which way you take.

 

[Mattg]

In this day and age, flying is very, very safe and you have no need to worry. Qantas has a great safety record and as others have mentioned, you are never too far from land anyway.

I would personally choose Qantas because of the excellent service and comfort. For such a long flight, I'd much rather fly on an airline where I know I'll be comfortable and looked after.

 

[JohnPhelan]

Whichever way you, you will be flying over water for a reasonable proportion of the flight. Yes, if you go on Qantas via the Middle East, or British Airways via Singapore, you are flying over a long stretch of water (the Bay of Bengal at the top of the Indian Ocean). If you go via Qantas to Bangkok and connect to British Airways there, you will still fly over a lot of water (though a bit less than the previous option). If you go Qantas to Hong Kong and then BA to London, or go on Virgin Atlantic or Cathay Pacific on the same route, your journey from Hong Kong to London is almost entirely over land, BUT the trip from Australia to Hong Kong takes you over quite a bit of water (all around the Philippines/Malaysia and the South China Sea). You can't avoid flying over water, but the route via HKG would be the one that sees the shortest amount of time over the water. You might also be more relaxed flying on either a Boeing 747 or an Airbus A380, as these both have four engines. Other types of aircraft flying these routes only have two engines.

 

[eastendme]

Thank you very much for replying. I did look at Hong Kong and saw a lot of water but I suppose it was different because of the locations between Sydney and Hong Kong, should something be dodgy with the plane. Its a problem because I would dearly love to see home again but the thought of the trip over the ocean and recently seeing the show about the Air France incident does play on the mind.

 

[harvyk]

Thank you very much for replying. I did look at Hong Kong and saw a lot of water but I suppose it was different because of the locations between Sydney and Hong Kong, should something be dodgy with the plane. Its a problem because I would dearly love to see home again but the thought of the trip over the ocean and recently seeing the show about the Air France incident does play on the mind.

There the lesson is never fly Air France... That accident would have happened in pretty much the same way be it over water or over land...

If you have a spare few days, read over the Ask the Pilot thread. One of the overarching things you will learn is that pilots tend to put safety over all else. So provided you fly a reputable carrier the dodgy plane is highly unlikely to happen, and if in the highly unlikely event that something goes wrong, you can be sure that the pilots training will get you down safety, regardless of what your flying over.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Thank you very much for replying. I did look at Hong Kong and saw a lot of water but I suppose it was different because of the locations between Sydney and Hong Kong, should something be dodgy with the plane. Its a problem because I would dearly love to see home again but the thought of the trip over the ocean and recently seeing the show about the Air France incident does play on the mind.

As harvyk said read some of the Ask the Pilot thread (http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/your-questions/ask-the-pilot-30478.html)

It will assist you in understanding aviation and how a pilot's mind works, especially a very well trained, experienced Qantas pilot. You should have no worries about flying over water, it is no less safe.

 

[opusman]

The thing about the Air France thing is, it's a pretty rare occurrence.

Think about how many scheduled long-distance flights there are over water every day around the world.
Now try to remember the last time one of them crashed. Air France in 2009, 4 years ago (tomorrow, actually).
Can you remember the one before that? No?

It's incredibly rare. As is often cited, you're far more likely to be killed on your way to the airport than you are once you're in the air.

 

[eastendme]

Will speak to the kid again. Shes like her mum that one, if she says its Qantas then that's it. Forgot to say she is booking premium economy for us, if that's a good thing. Mind this is for November on a jumbo jet I think she said. Might have to go to the ask the pilot you said.

 

[Isochronous]

Will speak to the kid again. Shes like her mum that one, if she says its Qantas then that's it. Forgot to say she is booking premium economy for us, if that's a good thing. Mind this is for November on a jumbo jet I think she said. Might have to go to the ask the pilot you said.

Qantas has the best PE product in the world - Emirates don't have it, and BA and CX is lousy by comparison

 

[eastendme]

So by the name I assume better than economy. Well I don't fly so I'm not sure if this is good but looking on the internet they say all these things but I don't know if they mean much to me. Also a bit thingy about stopping in the Middle East. I hope Qantas would not go there if it wasn't good.

 

[eastendme]

No I need to correct what I said, I am sure they would not fly there if it was not safe. Its doing my head in because yeah I want to go back and see my old East London but its the getting there. I might drop in at the Flight Centre, but I think the daughter has some benefit things with Qantas that's why we have to go with them.

 

[Sprucegoose]

No I need to correct what I said, I am sure they would not fly there if it was not safe. Its doing my head in because yeah I want to go back and see my old East London but its the getting there. I might drop in at the Flight Centre, but I think the daughter has some benefit things with Qantas that's why we have to go with them.

Your daughter is a smart gal, do as you're told.....

 

[eastendme]

Well that's it these younger people they travel and they know all these things. So when they fly over all this ocean if the plane has some problem they wont turn back I suppose they go somewhere closer, just doesn't seem like there is any country between here and where they stop. And this is a regular flight I suppose they do it a few times a week so they know the path.

 

[AIRwin]

And this is a regular flight I suppose they do it a few times a week so they know the path.

In fact Qantas flies twice daily to London (from Sydney via Dubai and from Melbourne via Dubai) and the crew will also have to operate the return flight (again twice daily) thus clocking more hours of experience...

 

[blu]

The airbus A380 is huge, very quiet, very stable and very safe. All the auto systems really provide for a smooth flight.
Service in premium economy is great.
See your doc and carry a couple of Zanax if your anxiety gets too much. The only problems will be imaginary.

 

[Deleted member]

Or go by sea. .
Oops that's on water

 

[Must...Fly!]

So by the name I assume better than economy. Well I don't fly so I'm not sure if this is good but looking on the internet they say all these things but I don't know if they mean much to me. Also a bit thingy about stopping in the Middle East. I hope Qantas would not go there if it wasn't good.

Why are you worried about stopping in the Middle East? Dubai is about as far removed from a war zone as you could imagine.

Booking Premium Economy is a great suggestion. It is a happy medium in cost difference. Also regarding the A380 think of it, if you must, as the safer option regardless of what you fly over because it has 4 engines. Many people would not take the BA or CX options as they only have 2 engines...less redundancy, if you wish to view it that way.

 

[mannej]

I would have thought in this day and age the 2 engine v 4 engine argument is a moot point. They are both very unlikely to be involved in an accident due to the engines alone...