Christchurch earthquake shows charity doesn't begin at Qantas

[Slats7]

What a joke no news is! No mention of the large amounts of money that Qantas donates to charity every year.

Pathetic journalism once again.





THE Federal Government will be asked to foot a $120,000 bill Qantas charged for a charter flight to send 120 New South Wales police to New Zealand to help with the earthquake recovery.


The NSW officers were flown to Christchurch yesterday morning on a 737 plane, essentially costing $1000 a person.
A police spokesman said the force footed the bill but would ask the Federal Government to reimburse it.


"The NSW Police Force's main focus was being able to get to the disaster zone as quickly as possible and we are grateful that Qantas was able to provide an unscheduled flight," the spokesman said.
"We are applying to the Federal Government to get the money refunded."
A Qantas spokesman said the $120,000 bill was significantly less than normal charter flights.


Victorian Police also chartered a Qantas plane to send their officers.

"We are not able to disclose the details of the charter arrangements we have with the NSW and Victorian police services," he said.
"Their requirements were logistically complex and included significant freight uplift.
"The rates we have charged for those charters are significantly less than our normal commercial charter rates."



The flights arrived in Christchurch yesterday afternoon to cheers from the crowds at the airport and went straight to work, to help ease the pressure on local New Zealand officers. The first of the Australian police were immediately sworn in to help deal with policing the city.
The NSW contingent included 10 disaster victim identification experts and general duties officers who will assist in patrols, traffic duties and local police duties.

Read more: Christchurch earthquake shows charity doesn't begin at Qantas | News.com.au
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[Mal]

Absolutely pathetic. Shame on NoNews, and a pox on the Online Editor for that headline. "Alice Coote" - you are a pathetic non-journalist posing as one.

 

[Danger]

What a joke no news is! No mention of the large amounts of money that Qantas donates to charity every year.

Pathetic journalism once again.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[anat0l]

What I don't get is that I'm expecting somewhere in the article that there would be something negative said about QF.

But there isn't anything directly quoted from anyone or any department which is critical of QF's decision.

So help me out here in how did the headline get put together when there is not really anyone who implicates QF in this way (except for perhaps the journalist and/or the editor).

And how did this all get leaked anyway (i.e. that QF were intending to pass this bill of $120k to the Police force who were passing it onto the Government)?

 

[odysseus]

Simplest solution is to never even bother reading news limited. They're incapable of printing almost anything objectively, usually adding their own bias.

The other thing is there's frequently any actual 'news' in there; it's usually just soft and consumer opinion pieces that don't have much real significance.

For example, had the above not been reported, would anyone have been affected? I'm sure that QF, the police and the government are able to sort out their finances adequately...

 

[markis10]

I saw the story earlier in the day and was considering posting something about it, then the "if you have nothing good to say, dont say anything" thing kicked in .

 

[Sprucegoose]

The cost included plenty of gear. It is a commercial arrangement that would be reviewed at a Gov Level not in the newspapers.....dear oh dear pathetic journalism.

 

[Smackbum]

I think large corporations bring criticism on themselves in these situations. We are getting used to public demonstrations of largess by well-known national and multi-national organisations, which are done in the name of corporate image. So when an opportunity for charity is not taken up, we feel that they are being mean.

In the end, we the public pay for these sort of things one way or another, so it's just not worth worrying about.

 

[mannej]

Who footed the bill for the QF 747 that made it to Christchurch after their last earthquake ~6 months ago?


Sent from my iPhone using AFF Mobile

 

[milehighclub]

While we can complain and moan till the cows come home about how much we may dislike Qantas at times, they certainly are there for people when they need to be in times of disaster.

And I can assure you it's not just a PR stunt. During the Brisbane floods, and again for Christchurch you have no idea of some of the things Qantas does. And they don't need to publicize it because they do it as a caring company for it's employees and citizens of those cities involved.

Even as an employee, like you, I have my moments where I dislike certain decisions, but I know that Qantas is there for me, my family and everyone else for when the brown stuff hits the fan.

I know that you all know that this article is a load of rubbish, but still felt the need to share with you how much Qantas really does shine in times of need.

 

[oz_mark]

And how did this all get leaked anyway (i.e. that QF were intending to pass this bill of $120k to the Police force who were passing it onto the Government)?

My understanding is that there are some sort of arrangements between Qantas and the government for these situations. The newspaper would have known this, and probably actively sought out the information. Probably not a leak, but just someone answering the questions they were asked.

 

[jaybeedee]

Air NZ responded superbly

I got out of CHC to AKL on the day after the earthquake on one of the int'l 747s that AirNZ added.

I've got to say that AirNZ were incredibly responsive in terms of deploying planes and staff and making $NZ50 tickets available (and JQ did pretty well - no problem getting a refund for my non-transferrable ticket for the next day - I had better check it shows up in my credit card!).

What amazed me is that I had thought the crews (air crew and cabin staff) had just volunteered to come off leave, but I am told that they were actually working on that day without pay.

My son got out a few days later when his university deferred the start of term for two weeks and we were able to get him the $50 fare. the website didn't necessarily cope with volumes but the seats were made available. I don't know how the economics of filling a plane with $NZ50 seats works but they've certainly built some loyalty.

 

[medhead]

I just wonder if this is the journalism integrity forum or AFF.

We all know that journalist spin stuff no need to keep bringing it up. I also like the way news is rubbish with aviation stories but is a respected source on other topics.

On the article itself there doesn't appear to be anything negative, which probably reflects news ltd realising that the charity is being provided by the government not qantas. So overall a lot of angst about a headline designed to draw people in, looks like it worked pretty well based on this thread.

One suggestion, if your really worried about journalistic standards ignore the story - don't give him the site hit and the associate advertising money.