Factbox: Qantas, an airline that has never had fatal accident

Qantas, the national airline of Australia, has never had a fatal crash. Here are some brief facts:

* The name is an acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services".

* Nicknamed 'The Flying Kangaroo', the airline is based in Sydney. It is Australia's largest airline and the world's oldest continuously operating airline.

* Currently the airline is considered a "four-star" airline by research consultancy firm Skytrax. In 2010, Qantas was voted the seventh-best airline in the world by the firm, a drop from sixth from 2009.

* The airline has experienced several safety incidents but it has never had a fatal crash.

* In 2008, a Qantas Airbus A330-300 with 303 passengers and 10 crew members on board, experienced some type of sudden and unexpected altitude change en route from Singapore to Perth. About 110 passengers and nine crew were injured.