Even though a hole blew open on the fuselage of one plane and the list of heavy landings and in-flight incidents grows, the boss of Qantas says the airline is getting safer.
"It's the press interest and the press scrutiny," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told a parliamentary inquiry in Canberra on Friday.
Somewhere in the world a Qantas group plane is taking off every second.
He went on to say there is a "technical problem" on a plane, not necessarily a Qantas one, somewhere in the world every four minutes.
"Safety is never compromised. We're always going to invest."
The airline would never put costs above safety, Mr Joyce told a Senate inquiry hearing into pilot training and airline safety. "We have a commitment to safety leadership," he said, arguing his appearance before an upper house committee showed Qantas was transparent on safety.
"We are very proud of our senior pilots. We regret that scaremongering ... has been put about."
"Transparency is an essential component of safe aviation."
The inquiry continues and later on Friday will hear from Virgin Blue.
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