VEX pulls the plug again

[Nightrider]

After years of announcing new bases and expansions...another one bites the dust.
Bloomberg announced this morning that Virgin Express started shredding all the new plans for the Paris-Orly project.
What a waste of time and money, and a real disappointment for those who applied for the offered positions.:yuk: :ouch: :mad:

[babydoc]

Correct

From Sky News

VIRGIN DROPS PARIS PLANS

Virgin Express has dropped plans to set up an extra hub in Paris.

The budget airline says it was not given get enough slots to make it profitable.


"Paris will not happen," Yves Panneels, spokesman for the Brussels-based airline, said.

Virgin, nearly 60%-owned by British entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin empire, had received 5,840 slots at Orly airport, enough for three routes.

Unprofitable

Two of those routes - Toulon and Bordeaux - would not be profitable, Virgin said. The third route was to Rome.

"The usage of the fleet would have been too low if you look at the whole picture," Panneels said.

Virgin Express had requested 15,000 slots from Cohor, the slot coordinator in charge of distributing slots previously held by defunct French airline Air Lib.

Increasing competition

British rival EasyJet got 7,300 slots.

In September, Virgin dropped plans to set up a second hub at German Cologne-Bonn airport, shying away from an expected price war with German rivals.

Competition among European airlines has become fierce as discount airlines undercut major carriers.

[MarkD]

so who will get VEX's slots?

[Wing Commander Fowler]

Oh "Quel Surprise Racquel...."

See my last on the previuous posting.

By the way:

Two of those routes - Toulon and Bordeaux - would not be profitable, Virgin said. The third route was to Rome

Great planning guys - wouldn't you have thought they might have done a little more homework (I know the word "more" is redundant) before they set about wrecking peoples lives? Oh yes I forgot - they ARE past masters at THAT!!

:p

[carbootking]

if those 2 routes wernt going to make a profit they should do paris to stansted as stansted no longer has a paris route so there would be no compertion from rynair and easy jet cant loose on that