SLT: According to a lot of our Aussie crew the problem has been in the perception of Virgin Atlantic against Virgin Blue by the Australian people. Apparently a lot of people didn't realise that VAA are a full-service carrier and they thought it was a low-cost outfit like Blue. Not suprisingly the travelling public don't fancy going all the way to Europe in a low cost cabin, so were sticking to known quantities like BA, CX and QF.
That's an interesting insight - it rather catches VS on the horns of a marketing dilemma, doesn't it? They can't really say "You must try VS, it's miles better than DJ".
SLT: Do bear in mind that a) the competition on that route is always fierce
No, this can't be true. Sir Richard Branson himself said that there's a BA/QF duopoly on the route to SYD, and that it was high time that there was some more competition! If he said it, it must be right ...