Originally Posted by
Sunfish
I add this comment as input to discussion of the future. If Virgin folds and there is no effective competition to jetstar, then I would expect the Qantas group to strangle the Australian tourist industry. Australia is borderline tourism competitive now(pre covid) there MUST be a competitive travel market or Qantas/Jetstar will just increase prices.
So far for our cancelled winter travel to Europe, we have recovered our airfares and cancelled our accommodation bookings with a loss to date of around $600. The yacht charter in Croatia was moved forward a year at no charge. The italian ferry company is supposedly bankrupt so no refund there.
The saddest part is that we had just perfected our holiday travel methods; A very small car, AirBnB in small towns, avoiding European air travel and substitute car ferry or train. Google and suchlike for restaurants and Waze on the iPad for navigation. If you are not time poor, such an approach is pretty economical compared to say staying in Australia and visiting Broome, Port Douglas or Hamilton Is.
When we look at it overall, two economy tickets with Vietnam Airlines and a couple of nights in Vietnam each way to break the jet lag plus the travel methods mentioned above are pretty good value compared to any Australian destinations. I remember the bad old days - when Qantas had virtual mono poly rights. I did the Melbourne sydney heathrow thing about seven times because I had a homesick British wife. The cost in those days was about $7000 for the three of us. I do not wish to see a return to that pricing (and never Heathrow) if Qantas once again dominated the market. As for domestic travel the charges were astronomical.
Yes Sunfish we get it. You hate Qantas. You would prefer to spend your money flying Wuhan Airlines on your overseas adventure, then spend a single $ at Qantas.
I'm sure Qantas doesn't miss you. You would be one of those passengers with a 'history' in the system. The cabin crew would know all about you, right down to when you whinged about being forced to sit next to a fat person, or how your economy meal wasn't up to standard.
Jetstar is here to stay. The cheap fares available 12 months in advance are here to stay. You know why? Because peoples plans change 12 months out, and Jetstar make a killing on no shows. If you think Jetstar prices will go up overnight you are a moron. As if Allan would give any foreign carrier a chance of setting up shop. Jetstar will remain where it is, as it still serves a purpose.
Originally Posted by
Sunfish
I may even have my yellow international health certificate book somewhere.
If you actually knew anything about aviation outside of Australia, you would know that foreign crew still carry it.