It isn't as if VB is claiming to be 100% Australian or "The Spirit Of Australia".
Nicely clarified, Sunfish.
I rang Virgin yesterday re a fare across the Tasman. Talked with a quite articulate and friendly young lass....who just happened to have a foreign accent......based in the Phillipines.
The scales dropped from my eyes.....
For my destination, Virgin was the cheapest when compared with Qantas/whatsitconnect, AirNZ and Jet*- certainly as regards 6am-9pm travel times. (I'm not that keen on a 1am CHC stop-over via Jet*.)
Perhaps Virgin passes on 'savings' made by using OS-based staff/contracts, and so gets the custom. No doubt part of the reasoning behind QF's intentions re maintenance, crewing, etc. Wonder how Virgin's balance sheet look if/when the new maintenance hangar in Sydney gets up? (staffed by up to 300- Senate Committee Inquiry into Pilot Training/Airline Safety- IAQONS_ALL_250211[1]).
Damn, I almost forgot, maintenance is not a cost....