Folks, this is all very interesting, particularly the negative replies on this post.
Not long ago I read an article on the results of a study in Europe regarding the low cost phenomenon and secondary airports. It showed that passengers were prepared to drive up to an EXTRA 90 minutes to a secondary airport if the airfares were lower than that at the primary airport. The interesting thing was that fares didn't need to be much lower - the extra cost of driving didn't seem to be a factor. Its about as logical as on time departures being more important than on time arrivals, but in the end people thought only about the airfare and not the extra time or cost in getting to and from the airport!
In Melbourne it takes about 25 minutes to Tulla from the CBD. Avalon takes about 50 - ie only 25 minutes extra. The extra cost of petrol is negligible and it is true there are savings on tolls (you still need to go through the domain tunnel to get to Avalon from the southeast, but there are more tolls to Tulla), but I don't think either of these is relevant. As per the European experience, if the price of the ticket is less the result will be similar. The fact that the demographic centre of Melbourne is to the southeast won't be relevant.
IMHO, Jetstar will kill em. Plenty of people will wear the extra 25 minutes travel and fly from Avalon in search of a cheaper fare. These are the same bread and butter price sensitive battler who is prepared to accept a lesser level of service, inflight entertainment and no catering on Virgin. The extra travel to Avalon will be just another inconvenience that translates into more savings. In Europe they will soon be without headrests, seat pockets, checked luggage and window shades! All this will strike a savage blow right at the they heart of Virgin Blue. They will be caught in no-mans land because if they try to go to Avalon to protect their traditional heartland they will leave themselves exposed at Tulla as any reduction in services could possibly alienate their growing business clientele. So who do they try and satisfy - the battler or the businessman? As Godfrey said during the attempted re-launch of Ansett, with low cost carriers the brand is price as they offer nothing else, so rarely can two carriers survive in this sector flying similar networks. They were his words, not mine, and they may come back to haunt him because if he's correct, then only one of Jetstar or Virgin can survive. As I said, his words, not mine....
PS...am not employed by either Virgin or Impulse, nor have I been rejected by either. No axe to grind, just calling it as I see it.
Last edited by Flying Tiger; 25th Feb 2004 at 08:44.