NEWSPAPERS ATTACK QANTAS EARLY A380 ORDER

Australian newspapers have criticised Qantas strategy to become one of the first airlines to operate the A380, saying its plan has “backfired”. Reports state that the airline purchase of 20 A380 for $332 million each went against its conservative buying practices. However the reports fail to take into account the significant discounts airlines receive from ordering new aircraft early. The explosion of a Roll-Royce Trent 900 engine on one of Qantas’ A380s has sparked a wave of criticism of Qantas procurement strategy, as well as the Airbus A380 and Roll-Royce.