Qantas operations continued to pick up pace over the holidays with the carrier announcing it would commence trials on its Q Streaming and Wi-Fi tech this year while also paying out thousands to customers who were injured during mid-air plunges in October 2008.

In a statement from the Australian flag carrier, the airline said it would run two trials commencing January this year to test out the sustainability of its new in-flight entertainment system, Q Streaming as well as trial its wireless connectivity options.

Q Streaming trials will take place on a nominated domestic aircraft B767 and will allow passengers to access on board entertainment via an Apple iPad.

Travellers will be given the option to loan an iPad during the trial however expects late testing to allow customers to set up the system on their own Wi-Fi capable devices including smartphones and laptops.

Also commencing February this year the carrier said it will run an eight week internet trial on board six nominated A380s flying between Sydney, Melbourne and LAX.

Customers flying on the selected services will be able to access the internet on their personal devices with first class passengers receiving Wi-Fi for free while travellers in other cabins will be offered a mix of paid and free charges.

Meanwhile late last year the carrier paid up to 144 passengers who were injured during a mid-air dip in October 2008, compensation of up to AU$400,000 each, Australian Associated Press reported.

The out-of-court settlement saw the majority of injured passengers on board the A330 accept the payout, while Xinhua news agency reported 16 passengers refused the money and was set on launching legal action against Airbus and Northrop Grumman. 

Carrying over 300 passengers, flight QF72 experienced a sharp plunge on its journey to Perth and up to 60 passengers and crew members not wearing seatbelts hit the ceiling.

An investigation carried out by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found that the drop was caused by a malfunction in the aircraft’s three air data units.  

While the carrier distributed compensation cash, its board also took the time to recognise the work put in by the airline’s chief executive Alan Joyce last year, awarding the head a AU$600,000 bonus in shares.

The bonus came only months after the chief executive grounded the carrier’s entire fleet for a weekend to handle disruptions caused by ongoing strikes held by three of its unions.

Mr Joyce received 375,014 shares which were priced at AU$1.58 each for achieving his performance targets for the year.

Unenthusiastic over the pay rise, the Australian and International Pilots Association vice president Richard Woodward told the Age that the move didn’t “hold up too well”.