Well Capt Kremlin the 700 leases were resigned between Cjristmas and new year...thus all the trumped up hype about
VB aircraft in NZ over that period. The 800's will be done in Feb and this will save a VERY significant amount of money for
VB over the term of leases. I have heard what that figure is but I don't know if I should say. E-mail me and I'll discuss it in private. As for some of our clients going to AN with the same ticket price and a few more perks, well that is probably true but then they are not the loyal customers that fly with us 'cause they want to and there are quite a lot that fit that bill. In the end it is unlikely that anyone on the scene at the moment can provide sustained airfares below
VB's and offer any appreciable amount of perks on top for a sustained period of time. Its not just the pilot/FA/pit crew wages we are talking about here.
VB's overall cost structure and infrastructure is signigficantly below the other players. I tend to disagree that any major capitalisation is needed to survive. I do agree that it is needed to grow beyond the projected 25 - 27 aircraft projection by years end. Don't forget the marketability of the Virgin name. Come time to float it will carry with it some momentum in the market place.
Personally I think all three could survive but whether they do or not really can't be determined at this stage. Consolodation is a normal process in a competetive environment and may very well occur here. As VMCA says lets hope we all survive and provide jobs for the up and coming pilots in Oz.
rescue 1 my point exactly. By reorganising the arrivals/departures at BNE/SYD/MEL, and we are only talking about a fifteen minute spread here in most cases, the existing congestion will ease greatly. Trust me they're on to it.