# The Quantas Koala **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2002, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903 "2002-05-26T11:12:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/1 "2002-05-26T11:12:55Z")
Anyone remember the early-70s ads for Quantas Airlines? Their spokesperson was a grouchy koala who despised Quantas because their superlative service brought too many people to Australia, thus disturbing the peace and quiet of his habitat. As a toddler, I adored him. I even had the print ads on the wall. Wait, now I’m remembering that the tag line was “Unbearable.” That’s what he always said before launching into his list of grievances. There was one ad with him surrounded by those tiny liquor bottles; my sister thought it was hilarious when I said, “There he is, with vodka and everything.” Anyone? (In case no one’s noticed, I love koalas!) ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/2 "2002-05-26T11:22:07Z")
I’m too young to recall the ads from the 70s, but there were Qantas ads last year that involved a talking koala. (From memory, I think he was extorting the virtues of leg room in Qantas business class.) BTW, Qantas is an acronym so we drop the ‘U’. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/3 "2002-05-26T11:27:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > \*\*Wait, now I’m remembering that the tag line was “Unbearable.” \*\* MPSIMS, From Nat Geo’s Really Wild Animals Down Under, which I have watched with China Bambina about 2 gazillion times, the Koala is a marsupial. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/4 "2002-05-26T12:11:59Z")
Well kudos for not calling it a Koala Bear anyway. That’s always been a pet peeve of mine. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/5 "2002-05-26T22:48:22Z")
D’oh. I knew koalas are marsupials, but I forgot the spelling of “Quantas”. Terribly sorry. Anyway, **they** were the ones who said “Unbearable”. **Narrad** : You don’t say! [sub]I really love koalas![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/6 "2002-05-26T23:47:30Z")
[koala moan]I HATE Qantas!![/koala moan] ---
**Author:** ![Iguana\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@Iguana\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iguana_Boy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/7 "2002-05-26T23:50:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Narrad \* > \*\*BTW, Qantas is an acronym so we drop the ‘U’. \*\* Queers And Nymphomaniacs Train As Stewards? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/8 "2002-05-27T00:45:18Z")
Nice try, **Iguana Boy** (mind if I call you Jub Jub?) - Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/9 "2002-05-27T01:23:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dinahmoe \* > \*\*[koala moan]I HATE Qantas!![/koala moan] \*\* It beats the HELL out of Air Canada!! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/10 "2002-05-27T03:38:25Z")
Ohh. Oh my god. This explains so much! There was an episode of “The Critic,” where Jay’s new girlfriend (Jeremy’s twin sis) describes Jay as a big cuddly koala, whereupon he grabs a eucyluptus leaf and chews, stating, “I hate Qantas.” So THAT’s what that meant. 🙂 Also, Qantas was the only airline Raymond would fly in “Rain Man” because it had never crashed. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/11 "2002-05-27T08:23:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoggie \* > \*\*Also, Qantas was the only airline Raymond would fly in “Rain Man” because it had never crashed. \*\* This is true. Though I’m sure there have been close calls. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/12 "2002-05-27T23:25:41Z")
[Not quite](http://www.planecrashinfo.com/By%20Airline/AL%20Q.htm). These look like wartime crashes, and the one in '27 was probably a prototype. But no commercial crashes, it appears. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/13 "2002-05-27T23:57:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > [Not quite](http://www.planecrashinfo.com/By%20Airline/AL%20Q.htm). These look like wartime crashes, and the one in '27 was probably a prototype. But no commercial crashes, it appears. Sorry. A QANTAS 747 did crash-land in Bankok in September 1999. QANTAS did everything it could to not get it labled a “crash.” They tried to push the theory that because it wasn’t a “hull loss” a crash never occurred (even though it caused some $150 million in damages to the aircraft). However, both the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) label the incident officially as a crash in their respective reports. ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-quantas-koala/110903/14 "2002-05-28T00:12:57Z")
QANTAS spin doctors did do some overtime on that one. But can you imagine being the pilot? When you aquaplane your car and miss a parking spot, it’s not too bad. In a 747, though…