Originally Posted by
MelbourneFlyer
Interesting remark from Jayne Hrdlicka in this article, on the subject of international flying she said "whether we go back in with long-haul flying ourselves is an open question.”
So Virgin intends to do short-haul such as NZ, Bali and Fiji with its 737s but could skip establishing a new long-haul fleet for LAX and rely on partners like Delta. Makes sense if the recovery is going to be protracted and uncertain, why take the risk? Just focus on being a good domestic airline with a bit of short-haul too.
https://www.executivetraveller.com/n...rporate-flyers
I've always thought that the long term viability of VA relies on a solid niche in the Australian Domestic market, then when Bain are ready to step back, a cornerstone investment from Delta Air Lines. Delta would bring SO much to VA, an international feed that could have VA operating from Australia to HKG with a VA code but Delta livery or eventually brand the whole thing as 'Delta Australia'. They'd get a decent operational and departure control system via Deltamatic which, even though the bones of it are 20 years old, still outlcasses that bloated piece of giraffe crap that they are using at the moment (SABRE??)....... both operationally and otherwise....
Delta has everything that complements VA, a network that feeds directly into Australia, a North American base that then expands to the rest of the world and an extensive Asian network through the merger with NorthWest (originally, let's not forget, 'Northwest Orient').
Any move to re-establish with just one or two routes is a waste of time and resources. How many times does this need to occur (Ansett International, Air Australia...........) before we just accept that out of Australia, Qantas is embedded as the principal carrier and the way to compete is NOT to try and copy it but to approach the market from a different angle. No more of this SQ, EY, NZ, etc etc. rubbish with small interests but not enough to make a difference, get a cornerstone like DL and VA becomes a DL arm with serious clout and a credible alternative product. The VA 'niche' status might even offer a degree of competitive opportunity against Qantas' one-stop Project Sunrise which any other foreign carrier will find it impossible to compete against because they can't afford to configure part of their fleet to compete with QF ultra-long haul whereas QF ULA will be ALL that the fleet is doing.