Originally Posted by
davidjohnson6
Prior to Virgin (or Laker) turning up on long haul routes, BA acted as a monopoly and charged very high fares. Virgin to a significant extent have kept BA honest and simply by existing have done far more than a Govt regulator could ever do to prevent BA abusing the market
Those who work for BA may of course see things differently...
its 40 years since Laker went bust. Virgin have been flying now for approx 35 years. A lot has changed in the aviation industry since then. Competition is everywhere you look keeping prices competitive. 30 years ago non of the big ME3 were born. TK was a small mainly inter European/Asia carrier. Transatlantic traffic is now more competitive than ever PA and TW have gone by the wayside replaced by 3 giants DL AA and UA.
The industry will continue to change and consolidate, which will mean that the financially weak or poorly managed companies will fail. Companies with stronger balance sheets will prevail and grow. If this means that the likes of VS and Norwegian fail so be it. Capacity will eventually be backfilled with financially stronger carriers.
As the stronger leaner carriers grow they will require extra workforce hopefully taking the displaced workers from the bust carriers.
Yes we we are in unprecedented times at the moment with Covid 19 and the closure of nearly all the worlds air routes. However this was not the cause of the airlines struggling to keep afloat, it may well be the trigger though. VS has not made money for a number of years even in the good times of growth and plenty of disposable income. Norwegian on the other hand has been poorly managed, grew far too quickly and is now unable to service its debt. It is only a matter of time in my opinion before the rug is pulled from underneath.