Virgin to long haul is really just what BD was to short haul. BD went up against BA offering a different (superior) service and managed to create some healthy competition (full A321 mostly business class at one point on domestic routes). Unfortunately for BD, low cost carriers prevented them from keeping the yields that were available on shorthaul and with the high cost base (in short) ended up chipping away at the network and starting dropping routes here and there and becoming obsessed with LHR / midhaul which although had a sound enough business plan didnt get the yields in from connecting passengers to really work.
Virgin are similar with long haul basically competing directly with BA offering a different service and again cherry picking and chipping away at routes till they get the balance of frequency and being able to fill planes / have yields to make money. The difference is Virgin dont have low cost carrier competition and have managed to ride out the storm and so far have kept their place.
The way I see them going forward is to revamp their product keep it innovative and fresh (no room for tatty interiors). They need to offer something different to BA more younger / trendier. They should also try and build up leisure from the regions where BA do not compete. This would give BA some healthy competition on major LHR routes which would in turn keep them investing in their own products but still give us a major national carrier that will allow our ecomnomy to grow. There is no sense in Virgin just doubling up more routes out of LHR to the same places already served by BA and they dont have the cash to subsidise the new routes in Asia that BA want to start up.
Virgin needs to build on what it is good at and make it a different experience to other carriers. I see them even joining Skyteam or possible Start or at least linking better with Virgin America /Australia to provide seamless onwards connections in the US/AUS with the same product style.
Last edited by midland02; 8th Nov 2011 at 09:28.