Joyce on board for A380 take-off

Come fly with me, come fly away.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce will put Frank Sinatra's lyrics into action as he boards the
first A380 flight since the fleet's safety crisis erupted.
But there'll be no VIP guests, fanfare or celebration as the sold-out QF31 flight
takes off from Sydney on Saturday on its way to London via Singapore.
Instead, Qantas' chief executive will be hoping that his presence on the 5.30pm
flight will send out the message his superjumbos are safe to fly again.
Asked if he would be on board by journalists on Tuesday, Mr Joyce's response was
firm: "Of course I will."
He also revealed the flight will not have the same captain who helped avoid
catastrophe over the Indonesian island of Batam.
It's been a costly three weeks for Qantas since the carrier's double decker A380s
were grounded on November 4 after the QF32 - bound for Sydney from Singapore - was
forced to turn back when one of its Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines exploded mid-air.
A spokesman for the carrier said the entire company had been focused on getting the
fleet back in the air.
"That is why the London flight will be of minimal fuss," the spokesman told AAP on
Friday.
There has been some sign of celebrity endorsement, however, with soccer star David
Beckham posing for pictures on an A380 on Thursday alongside his LA Galaxy
teammates.
The A380s will return to service in stages, initially avoiding long-range routes
that often use full engine thrust.
Mr Joyce insists he's completely comfortable with the safety of the A380, despite
the decision to reduce engine thrust on routes to Los Angeles.
But as they all return to the air, his focus is likely to switch to thrashing out a
potential compensation package with Rolls-Royce.
As part of the checks, three engines have been replaced and an additional 13 could
eventually be swapped.
Initially, Qantas plans to operate a single A380 on routes between Australia and the
United Kingdom.
By Christmas, it should have in the air four of the planes, which can carry 500
passengers.
The aircraft for the Sydney to London service on Saturday was transported over to
Australia on a ferry flight from Los Angeles.
A second aircraft is expected to leave Los Angeles for Sydney later this week,
Qantas said.
The aircraft involved in the mid-air scare over Indonesia remains in Singapore being
investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.



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