Australia's Finest: Captain Gordon Phillips

What a great LIFE / story!!! Congratulations Captain Gordon Phillips.

Small piece of Australian aviation history ends with retirement of Captain Gordon Phillips

HENRY BUDD 
The Daily Telegraph
June 29 2013

WHEN Captain Gordon Phillips stepped out of his Qantas A380 cockpit in Sydney on Wednesday morning, a small piece of Australian aviation history came to end.

The moment marked the end of an incredible 45-year career for Capt Phillips who, until that moment, was the longest-serving Qantas pilot still in the job.

Capt Phillips, 64, was given a rousing cheer by his passengers as he completed his final flight, ending a remarkable journey that began as a teenager on a farm in Swan Hill, Victoria.

With a childhood dream to fly, the then 16-year-old applied for both the air force and Qantas, which had just begun its cadet program. He was accepted into both, but chose the civilian route.

The following year he relocated to Sydney to begin training at Mascot and less than two years later was presented with his wings by the then Governor-General Lord Richard Casey at a ceremony inside a Qantas hangar at Sydney airport.

 But instead of flying Qantas passenger planes, the 20 graduates first had to get some experience, with Capt Phillips picking up work for a company in the Solomon Islands, flying in and out of jungle airstrips, many cut during WWII.

For a young man from rural Victoria who had never left Australia it was the experience of a lifetime - flying small aircraft into remote airstrips and soaking up the island life.

"That time is still a very precious part of my career," he said yesterday.

After 14 months, Capt Phillips returned to Australia and began training to fly Qantas' flagship Boeing 707, a four-engine jet aircraft larger and more powerful than anything he had flown before.

"It was pretty exciting and a bit scary for guys who had been flying around in light aircraft," he said. 

His first commercial flight for Qantas was to London as a second officer in training. That was in May, 1970, an era when pilots were globetrotters.

"I don't think my colleagues believe. A typical London trip was nine or 10 days, 16 legs," he said.

"We would do something like Sydney-Bali-Singapore. Overnight (in Singapore) then do Singapore-Kuala Lumpur-Colombo-Bahrain. Then maybe Bahrain-Istanbul-Rome and London." 

Out of the scores of places he has flown to, Capt Phillips listed Bermuda at the top.

"We didn't have long there, but we would jump on our pedalos (pedal-start motorbikes) and race around the island. It was a different atmosphere out there. You could almost feel the pirate ships in the coves," he said.

Over the following 33 years, Capt Phillips flew Boeing 747s, 767s and 747-400s before making the switch to the giant Airbus A380 five years ago - a plane with technology that was unimaginable when he began flying. 

In his 45 years as an aviator, Capt Philips has flown the equivalent of 400 laps of the globe and carried just under a million passengers.



With such a long record, he was bound to have had a few hair-raising mid-air moments.

He said he had experienced his fair share of "lost" engines - an event he describes as an "inconvenience".

"I've been on flights where we've had to shut engines down or they have failed. It's what we train for," he said.

With his 65th birthday looming in February - the age at which international pilots must retire - Capt Phillips made the decision to give up the life of a pilot.

He made his final trip to London and back this month with his wife, Ruth, joining him for the entire journey.
Before he left Dubai to fly into Sydney he was surprised by his son Alexander, who flies for Shenzhen Airlines in China and will soon follow in his dad's footsteps and become a Qantas pilot.

FACT FILE:

WHO: Retired captain Gordon Phillips

Entered service: 30 March 1968
Retired: 26 June 2013 

Miles flown: 10million, the equivalent 400 times around the world.
Hours flown: 26,000
Lost engines: 4
Best airport: Singapore
Worst airport: Harere, Zimbabwe.

Planes flown:
Cessna 172
Victa Airtourer
Mooney M20
Piper Aztec
Beechcraft Baron
de Havilland Dove
Cessna 182
Britten-Norman Islander
Hawker Siddeley 125
Boeing 707
Boeing 747
Boeing 767
Boeing 747-400
Airbus A380

QANTAS has brushed aside negative and "RACIST" comments over its decision to take pork off the menu.. What Race is Islam again?

Name Change for Qantas?

Australian Labor Party's Head Office Moves on QANTAS

Latest from a Qantas cabin crew member is that you can pre order a Pork meal BEFORE your flight just like a vegetarian meal or Kosher meal and they MUST provide it.
So better for everyone to keep flying Qantas and make sure they all order a Pork meal.
A better way to protest I believe.

Qantas pork ban after Emirates deal sparks boycott vow on Facebook

Ben Pike, Grant Jones 
Daily Telegraph

April 06, 2013 12:00am

Pork lovers vow to boycott Qantas 
Qantas says new menu shows off multiculturalism 
Qantas bans ham after Emirates deal 

QANTAS has brushed aside negative and racist comments over its decision to take pork off the menu for flights that stopover in Dubai on the way to and from Europe.

QANTAS Goes Halal - Who said Pigs can't fly?

The new menu's architect, Sydney chef Neil Perry, also said the menu change ''shows off the great multiculturalism that Australia has''.

The official Qantas fan page on Facebook yesterday received a number of complaints from people refusing to fly with the airline after it changed its in-flight menu in keeping with the Islamic religion.

Administrators of the site were also forced to remove at least five Facebook threads because of racial abuse. Each thread contained as many as 10 comments.

A Qantas spokesman refused to respond directly to the online criticism and said there has been only positive feedback.

''Our customers tell us that one of the things that sets Qantas apart from other airlines is our high quality in-flight meals,'' he said.

''Feedback from customers who have flown on Qantas to and from Dubai and experienced the in-flight meals has been excellent.

''Qantas flies to every continent around the world and our on board catering is tailored to meet the differing tastes and cultures to each city that we fly to.''

Chef and Rockpool group owner Neil Perry was behind the menu change and said it is a way of forging a ''deeper relationship''.

''It shows off the great multiculturalism that Australia has. It's easy for me to blend dishes from around the world that I have seen in the great restaurants of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane,'' he said.

''The local produce is awesome too. One of the things we really wanted to do was to make this a deeper relationship than just ground facilities and frequent flyer points and I think through food is the way to do it.''

Perry said the exclusion of pork products and alcohol, both considered against the teaching of Islam, did not have a big impact on his business as it was only one major flight a day from Sydney.

He has already created special dishes for Qantas customers flying in and out of Muslim-dominated destinations including Jakarta.

The changes were made as part of the airline's partnership with Middle Eastern Airline Emirates and affect six flights a day between Australia and Europe.

These flights now stopover at Dubai instead of Singapore. All other domestic and international flights are unchanged.

Perry's dishes are created by third-party caterers in Sydney and Dubai and include economy class meals of baby cos salad with tomato, cucumber and cheese, and chicken blanquette with spinach linguine and carrots.

In business class, customers can get seared sea bass with braised fennel and warm zucchini salad, or Arabian lamb with spiced almond rice, artichokes and capsicum. 

QANTAS Goes Halal - Who said Pigs can't fly?

Pigs can't fly - Qantas bans pork on in-flight menu to respect Islam

Alan Joyce is a self outed / confessed Homosexual, as are many of the men and women entertainers and assorted Political and Union Bludgers and Free loaders who were flown to Dubai to "celebrate" this latest Gay Corporate alliance with those who would hang them from light poles and mobile cranes at the first chance they get the moment they feel they have the ascendency,and as such would be subject to arrest immediately upon landing in Dubai.
There is a code of conduct for all Qantas crew to uphold so as to ensure their safety in their employers "new best friends" brave new world of Sharia Law.
How long before Qantas female cabin crew are bagged in the freedom sack like their sista's at Emirates so as to fall into line with their new masters?

Is it an Irish "Australia Hating" Gay Industry,Labor Union thing with their ongoing Love Affair with the UN's Rabid Pit Bull, Islam, or just a case of been so far to the left that anything or any ideology that helps to smear and obliterates Australia's national carriers identity is worth getting into bed with?

No matter what it is : FUCK YAS ALL.

Angela Saurine and Peter Holmes 
The Daily Telegraph
April 05, 2013 12:00AM

QANTAS has removed pork from its in-flight menu on flights to and from Europe as a result of its partnership with Middle Eastern airline Emirates.

No food containing pork or pork products will be served on those flights - which now has a stopover in Dubai - because it is strictly forbidden in Islam and is considered "unholy".

All meals offered on the route in first, business and economy classes will also be prepared without alcohol in keeping with the Islamic religion. A note on the Qantas menus on flights in and out of Dubai states that the meals do not contain pork products or alcohol. The airline has also introduced a mezze plate offering traditional Middle Eastern fare in its upper classes and has Arabic translations after in-flight announcements.

A Qantas spokesman said the decision to remove pork, ham and other related food items had had minimal impact on its menu and it was still offering the same meal choices.

"Qantas in-flight catering often reflects the cultural and regional influences of the international destinations we fly to," he said.

"On flights to and from Hong Kong and China, our menus include regionally inspired dishes such as stir fries and to Singapore we have noodle options."

Qantas also offers meals without pork and alcohol on flights to the Indonesian capital Jakarta, which also has a large Muslim population.

Several other airlines which fly from Australia to the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia do not serve pork either.

Virgin Australia does not serve pork on flights to and from Abu Dhabi and all meals that are prepared are halal accredited, with meat prepared in a way prescribed by Islamic law.

Qantas passengers heading to any European city now fly via Dubai instead of Singapore, as they did under the airline's previous longstanding partnership with British Airways. The Qantas pork ban comes as other airlines - in the wake of the Qantas-Emirates merger - jostle for market share by aggressively discounting fares from Australia to Europe.

British Airways enlisted Mick Jagger's daughter, model Georgia May Jagger, to promote its discounted fares of $1777 to the UK via Singapore.

Emirates competitor Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad has return fares to Manchester or London from $1727 including taxes. Virgin was also promoting discounted fares to London out of Sydney ($1845) and Brisbane ($1869) this week. Qantas fares to London were yesterday priced about $1900 out of most capital cities - still around $100 more than its new partner Emirates is advertising.

I was told at least ten years ago by a senior Qantas executive that Qantas was going to be put out of business,what better way to smear its reputation than partnering with these Savages and pandering to their Moon / Occult Worshipping superstitions.

How does any western airline compete with any airline that basically gets free fuel for its fleet? For all the Dumb Arsed Australians gloating how they managed to get a cheaper fare from one of these Muslim airlines when Qantas is gone or fully owned by them,what price do you think you will pay for a fare then?

To all my fellow Australians I urge you to support OUR Airline at every opportunity irrespective of the price difference but do not Fly through Dubai take the longer road through Singapore,it is far safer and you are not supporting those have sworn to destroy us at any and every opportunity available to them.

Australian Labor Party's Head Office Moves on QANTAS

Not a word from the Transport Workers Union (too busy pilfering passengers baggage and disabling security cameras,shifting drugs and contraband throughout Australia,Bali and other  international destinations) No demands for the beneficiaries of their members Union fees (The Australian Labor Party and the UN) to protect QANTAS from SCAB / Third World Labor rates and "Non Union"  Pay and Conditions no not a word, you see the Australian Council of Trade Unions and their Political Puppets the Australian Labor Party have received another call from Head Office... pants down bum up this time it's QANTAS... WHO'S NEXT?

But hey if you are a "Progressive" as opposed to been an Australian QANTAS is everything a "Progressive" is not.

The great haul of China as China Southern Airlines offers flights from Sydney to London

Phil Jacob 
The Daily Telegraph
March 14, 2013 12:00am

THE Kangaroo Route is about to become the Dragon Route.

And with yum cha, Chinese tea and bok choy on the menu, travelling to Europe will have a different taste after China's largest airline confirmed flights to the region up to 50 per cent cheaper than their locally owned rivals.

As national carrier Qantas seeks to shore up its Australasian routes through its recent tie-up with Emirates, China Southern Airlines has offered stand-alone flights from Sydney to London at a discount.

Once dubbed the "Kangaroo Route", the Chinese airline's cheapest economy-class return fare between Sydney and London, with a three-hour stopover in Guangzhou, for a two-week trip starting early May was $1442.

A Qantas spokesman last night confirmed a comparable return fare on Qantas to London started at $2207.

Henry He, China Southern's managing director for Australia, last night told The Daily Telegraph the region was "vitally important" going forward, particularly given the strong "visiting friends and relatives" factor.

"Our research has shown a strong Cantonese population in both Sydney and Melbourne dating back to the gold rush in the 1850s," Mr He said.

From April 1, the Guangzhou-based airline will also operate more flights to Europe than Qantas - in a bid to lure traffic from Singapore and Hong Kong.

The move is the first push in an ever-increasing aviation war, with China Southern recently signalling their intentions by recruiting more Australians as cabin crews and setting up a local school for "elite stewards".

The airline has leased one of Sydney Airport's most expensive billboards for three years.

China Southern has 42 weekly flights out of Australia, while Qantas will reduce its service to 28 a week as part of the Emirates alliance.

Chinese tourists, who spent $105 billion overseas in 2012, are forecast to make 94 million trips this year, almost double the level in 2009, statistics from the China Tourism Academy have shown.

Qantas last night acknowledged the increased competition on the route, but cited its "evolving service", which matched what its customers wanted.

"We've been flying Australians to London for more than 50 years and we've always evolved our services to match what customers have told us they want," a spokesman said.

"A comfortable seat, friendly and familiar service, plenty of in-flight entertainment options, good food and wine - these are important things that make a big difference when you're on an aircraft for 20 hours."

Aviation analyst Oliver Lamb last night said the rise of Chinese airlines would soon pose an "enormous challenge" for Virgin and Qantas.

"They're an enormous market and China Southern is the third-biggest airline in the world," Mr Lamb said.

"Their margins on transferring customers to London via Guangzhou will be lower than their rivals.

"So it's going to be very competitive going forward."