Originally Posted by
RexBanner
Best of luck to the guys and girls at Virgin, some of my earliest childhood aviation memories are of visiting the flightdeck on the old classic 747s on our way to the USA in the 80s and early 90s. I only have to hear Donald Fagen’s What a Beautiful World and I’m taken back to those times. Some of my ex colleagues and friends are there and deserve all the fortune that Lady Luck can smile on them. Despite what WW may think we at BA need Virgin to keep us honest. Hopefully there is a way, any way to keep what is a great British Airline afloat, God knows we’ve seen too many failures recently. Chin up chaps from one BA employee on the other side of the fence but very much in solidarity at this difficult time (we’re not immune from this either, despite what ideas people may have).
Rex- What a nice post-great to see such solidarity after what has not been a great day for the Virgin family.
If SRB/VAA management & Delta can negotiate a deal through the banks then there is hope that the airline will survive. But not in the format we see today! The airline has to become leaner and management will have to prove that they will take what ever action is necessary to get them on side. A few weeks ago the company retired the last of the A340-600's and have dropped operations at LGW and MAN, leaving LHR as the main base. So what else can they do to reduce costs! the obvious one is to retire the 744's & here lies a dilemma! make all the 400 pilots redundant or comply with the seniority list ? Further reductions in fleet size might also be needed so the A330-200 (4) is looking venerable. The plus side is Virgin operates a very modern fleet of 17 B787-9 and at present 4 A350-1000'S with 7 more expected in 2021 as well as up to 11 A330-Neo's on order (although these may well be in the balance). Will this swing things to preserve UK jobs at airbus is anyones guess.
These are unprecedented times, it is my hope that UK will see through all the bad press that "Richard" has received and recognise that the bloke is an innovator, fighter and most importantly a motivator. With out his vision 1000's of people around the globe would not have been able to provide for their families.
Stay safe.