I'm wasting my time here, but hey, I have a little on my hands.
Originally Posted by
Rotate2
Close down the Sydney offices, Tigerairs Melbourne head office etc. Run the airline only from the Brisbane “village” with minimal staff, but not under-staffed.
Or, perhaps, just consolidate it all in Sydney? Interestingly, with Scurrah based in Brisbane I expect he will be seen at the Village more often, and more executive functions may drift north. Shutting down Tigerair's Melbourne HQ would mean integrating it into VA, which would be a waste and see Tiger lose (the very little) advantage it still has in the market. Keeping Tiger at arms' legth operationally but close strategically is the best way to have it, or it will just end up being subsumed by the parent carrier
Originally Posted by
Rotate2
Outsourcing is problematic in aviation. “In-source” all frontline staff; more expensive but ultimately provides stability, experience and loyalty (teamwork). This includes creating Virgins own catering and tarmac operations company. The staff are employed by VA but available to tender work to other airlines as well.
Imma stop you there - outsourcing is not a problem in aviation at all. Every carrier does it to some extent, and in most cases the customer can't tell the difference. VA's outsourcing at some ports has actually worked well in its favour. But tarmac and catering would have huge overhead costs to bring them in-house, when Gategroup has a lot more customers to spread those fixed costs over, so will always be cheaper than in-sourcing - even if VA Catering and Ground did third-party work.
Originally Posted by
Rotate2
Approach VA shareholders and look for the best synergies e.g. lobby the Chinese for much greater mainland access and run the A330 to these multiple destinations. Offer our politicians “sweeteners” to help here similar to Qantas.
'Sweeteners' are already offered by way of The Club. Also, you presume that the HNA Group can overturn bans that the CAAC has that stop the biggest airports from adding new routes. HNA's troubles at the moment are much bigger than trying to get a piddly little partner slots at Shanghai Pudong or Beijing Capital.
Originally Posted by
Rotate2
Tigerair should be a low cost domestic and international airline. Purchase REX Airlines (owned by Singapore/Temasek). REX feeds Tigerair and they feed Scoot or fly directly to Singapore. Purchasing REX would also alleviate some of the recent Qantas/ Alliance purchase pressure.
Rex isn't owned by Temasek at all - its largest shareholder is executive chairman Lim Kim Hai, who is Singaporean, so I can see the potential for confusion. But given VA's ability to stuff up the integration of VARA and Tigerair, let's just say that they should keep the chequebook closed for a while.
For all intents and purposes, VA is kinda right where it needs to be now and not a lot needs to change in the short-term, at least from the high-level perspective. The domestic mainline market is making money, international is starting to lose less money, and for once the whole enterprise is cashflow positive. New cabin innovations can come in with the Maxes arriving later this year, but there is no need to go all-out spending on bells and whistles.
But they need to sort out Tigerair because it is a mess financially, especially with the half-in, half-out fleet plan.