Nothing wrong with Qantas aircraft yesterday however.....

[Jamie D]

This from News.com

Qantas hosties suspended for hotel high jinks
By Steve Creedy August 12, 2008 01:29am
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QANTAS has suspended two New Zealand cabin crew after a drunken night during which a female flight attendant set off a fire alarm and caused the evacuation of a five-star hotel in Queenstown.

Many of about 200 guests at the Crowne Plaza hotel were dragged from their beds and sent into the street and two fire engines rushed to the hotel after a fire-alarm access point was smashed on July 31.

The false alarm cost the flight attendant $1500 to cover damages and the cost of the call-out, The Australian reports.

Crowne Plaza boss Brett Wilson told New Zealand publication Mountain Scene: "Someone smashed one of the alarm call points after a big night out. We know exactly who it was and the guest has been charged $1500 for the call-out fee and to fix the call point.
"It was a fairly big stuff-up by the guest and when she was asked why she did it, she said she had no idea and she was upset and disappointed with herself. She left next day."

Mr Wilson said the matter had been dealt with by a senior colleague and the company had taken a dim view of the incident.

He said the other guests had been far from happy with the evacuation.

"We were about 75 per cent full, so that's about 200 people, and we aim to get everyone out in about three minutes," Mr Wilson said. "(The guests) were very disgruntled."

Qantas said yesterday it was still investigating two crew members involved in incidents in Queenstown.

[Justin L]

There actually was something with a Qantas aircraft which relates to this story. I read the article in the SMH yesterday and it stated that the only reason the crew were overnighting in Queenstown was due to technical problems with the aircraft forcing them to.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/drunk-qantas-hostie-causes-evacuation/2008/08/11/1218306736483.html

The flight crew had to take the one-night stopover due to technical problems with their aircraft.

Drunken Qantas hostie 'causes mass evacuation'

Andrea Rotondi
August 11, 2008 - 1:53PM

A drunken Qantas flight attendant reportedly caused 200 hotel guests to be evacuated after smashing an alarm during a recent stopover in Queenstown.

New Zealand newspapers have reported that a female flight attendant smashed an interior alarm point at the Crowne Plaza after a night out, causing a false alarm and forcing hotel guests into the street in the middle of the night.

A source told The New Zealand Herald that a male colleague reportedly refused a pilot's request to take a breath test, delaying their flight out of Queenstown. Flight QF2783 was allegedly stranded on the tarmac until replacement crew could be flown from Christchurch.

Crowne Plaza general manager Brett Wilson confirmed the incident to Queenstown's Mountain Scene newspaper but would not confirm whether those involved were Qantas employees.

"Someone smashed one of the alarm call points after a big night out," he said. "We know exactly who it was and the guest has been charged $1500 for the call-out fee and to fix the call point.

"It was a fairly big stuff-up by the guest and when she was asked why she did it she said she had no idea and she was upset and disappointed with herself. She left the next day."

The female attendant was fined $1500 to pay for the call-out fee of the two fire engines that responded to the alarm and damages to the call point.

The flight crew had to take the one-night stopover due to technical problems with their aircraft.

In a statement, Qantas said an investigation into the incident was being carried out, confirming that two cabin crew members were stood down after an "incident" at the hotel.

"Flight QF2783 operating from Queenstown to Christchurch on 31 July was delayed due to a technical issue," the statement said.

"Crew were accommodated at a nearby hotel and scheduled to operate the flight next morning. Following an incident at the hotel, two cabin crew members were stood down. The incident is being investigated. Replacement cabin crew subsequently operated this service."