BMI

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

OK Spicejetter -

So you don't like me much. Well that's fine; I can live with that. But with the personal criticism taken on board, let's look at the facts.

My posting was made in response to your suggestion that Virgin should axe all its Manchester operations and instead force its customers to change flights in London. I note that your latest posting at 17:20 does not in any way address the counter argument I made against your original suggestion. Instead, you introduce a red herring - Newcastle departures - and make a case for folks in that area flying via London. You are addressing an issue which has not been raised. NCL does not have daily services to Orlando, and possibly not even a year-round service. It is not "clueless" to select the only existing option, is it? So the market dynamics are not comparable.

So let's return to the original point upon which I did disagree with you. Why should Virgin abandon it's market-leading position to Florida ex-MAN in the hope that affected customers will book via London instead? Criticize me personally all you like, but please argue the original issue whilst you are at it. It was you suggested that Virgin should abandon MAN (not me), so please be prepared to justify your position on that specific topic.

I will address two statements which you included in your 17:20 posting. You have no confidence in "back from the dead" Travelcitydirect. Well, this company was part of XL Group, but it was purchased from the liquidators by Virgin. So it is as financially secure as any other part of Virgin Atlantic's operation. And you wouldn't book with them. Well fine! That's exactly the point ... Travelcitydirect is a budget brand (unattractive to some) and Virgin Holidays is a more upmarket brand (appealing to a different market segment). But both brands help to fill the same flight ...

And you mention COST. Well ... we've just said it ... Travelcitydirect is the budget brand which provides a solution for the most price-sensitive customers. And remember that the "big two" tour operators are also active in the Manchester-Florida market which helps to keep prices competitive. If travellers opt to change planes in London instead of using these direct options, they *may* find a price saving (although not necessarily). But then you also need to place a valuation on the extra hassle and stress incurred, the risk of missed connections and the additional time expended. It would need to be a fantastic fare to make sense over the budget options already offered direct from MAN.

So, I don't mind what you do with your neck. But I do ask you to address the actual topic under discussion in any response and not start trying to justify an entirely unrelated point. And finally, I take note of your newly revealed 'Northern' credentials but politely point out that your posting profile lists your location as ... LONDON.

Cheers, SHED.

PS. Apologies to BMI readers that this discussion point is rather more Virgin Atlantic orientated than BMI. But this is the thread on which I have been challenged, so this is where I must respond. If the mods wish to relocate both Spicejetter's postings and my own to the Virgin thread that would make sense to me.