In the game of cricket, when a batsman reaches a score anywhere from 90 to 95, and-as often happens-starts cautiously inching his way toward a coveted century, or 'ton', he is said to be in the 'nervous nineties'. That is how Qantas Airways would have felt when the Australian flag carrier marked its 90th anniversary in November last year. At a time that should been one of unfettered, joyous celebration, Qantas was battling to weather one of the most worrying periods in its history, in the immediate wake of a series of embarrassing in-flight engine shutdowns and turn-backs, at least one of which had the potential to become a major disaster.
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