In-flight film "explains" mysteries of female pleasure

The in-flight entertainment on some planes run by Australian airline Qantas currently contains a somewhat unusual offering -- a movie that purports to elucidate the mysteries of female sexual pleasure.

The 50-minute French film "The Female Orgasm Explained," which includes naked scenes, is carried on long-haul "Video on Demand" aircraft in the airline's "The Edge" channel -- complete with a warning that it is for mature audiences only.

"In general programs are selected according to quality of content, box office/ratings, topicality and Qantas customer demographics," Qantas said in a statement, adding that programs were screened by their program team before licensing.

"With the Edge, we source programs that are out of the ordinary across all genres."

Airline crews are able to block content to the seats of minors and at the requests of their parents, it added.

The film will be run until November.

The choice of film may be a bit risky given the fact that airlines are usually quite careful about what they show, said Catriona Eider, an associate professor at the Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Sydney University.

"I think sociologically it's interesting they are showing something that has the potential in that quite confined space to have people say 'Oh, what are you watching?' or shows that might be understood as titillating as porn," she said.

But she added that changing social norms mean that off-limit topics have shifted.

"'In Sex and the City', the orgasm is something pretty much spoken in everyday levels. It's no longer the taboo subject it was."

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Qantas, American get approval to coordinate more

An Australian consumer bureau has granted interim approval for a closer relationship between Qantas and American Airlines.

The two airlines already code share flights to 54 destinations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Qantas says full approval from the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission would allow the partners to further coordinate schedules, fares and marketing on those routes. Thursday's interim decision allows cooperation on Qantas' new route to Dallas/Fort Worth in Texas.

The commission says the move protects the airlines from anti-competition claims for such cooperation.

The approval is temporary while the commission does a full review of the application. A draft of its final decision is expected in August or September.

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Rats found on Qantas plane just before takeoff

A flight crew checking the cabin of a Qantas plane before takeoff found rats in a compartment holding medical equipment, grounding the plane for more than a day, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

Crews did a visual check of the plane Tuesday afternoon and found no more rats or any damage. The rodents had been in a cabinet holding a defibrillator. The plane returned to service Thursday morning.

Passengers had not yet boarded the Sydney-to-Brisbane flight and were instead put on another plane.

A Qantas spokeswoman called the incident "very unusual." She declined to be named, citing policy.

But Scott Connolly of the Transportation Workers Union told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio on Thursday that members have had concerns about hygiene and sanitation on Qantas flights.

The spokeswoman denied that was the case. "This is a very irregular occurrence," she said.

Qantas, Australia's national carrier, has experienced a series of troubles in recent months, including an engine explosion and forced landings.

Earlier this week, a Qantas flight from Dallas, Texas, to Australia made an unscheduled stop on a Pacific island after pilots feared they might run out of fuel because of strong headwinds. The Qantas spokeswoman said the airline was committed to the route — which is new and one of the world's longest for Boeing 747 jets.

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