from the senate hearing, page-20

Cerhob,

A380 aircraft do not have oil warning lights like you might see in a car where, when the light comes on usually means your engine is kaput,

A380 has a sophisticated engine management system which displays on computer screens all important parameters.

As there are too many parameters to monitor at all times , pilots will get a warning message if any parameter is out of normal range together with check list procedure to address the problem.
Of course pilots can interrogate the engine management system at any time and check on any parameters they want, such as oil temperature, pressure or quantity, but under normal conditions pilots just leave it to the computers to to do the monitoring.

If the check list procedure required an engine to be shut down, the problem would be a bit more serious than just some meaningless light.

While A380 can fly perfectly well on 3 engines and indeed it did for 5 odd hours from Singapore to Dubai, it is not a normal procedure on account of possibility, however remote, that another engine may fail, causing then some difficulties with aircraft operations.

I do not know what makes better sense, dump fuel and return to Singapore, where is Qantas ground support administrative and technical and it is a Qantas hub in Asia, so delivering a replacement engine would be a very simple matter.

Or flying to Middle East where hotels cost $500 a night per room, there is no Qantas staff technical or otherwise and it will cost arm and a leg for parking and repair facilities. Most likely outcome will be that the passengers will be flow by other airlines to London and the aircraft will be flown empty on three engines to Frankfurt or somewhere in Europe where the problem can be addressed properly.

Frankfurt is a place where Qantas A380 aircraft is normally undergoing its major maintenance by German "cheap labor" earning more than Qantas tradesmen ever made.

I invite you to make your own judgment to as to what decision the captain should take.

Somehow the costs are the least of anyones worries.