Virgin/easy/BMI merge possibility
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Constant F
The group is going to be pulled together if anything, not merged sold(just yet) or anything else.
The synergies with other airlines will be from Lufthansa group and the star alliance.
The Germans won't let this tommie airline beat them!
D and F
The group is going to be pulled together if anything, not merged sold(just yet) or anything else.
The synergies with other airlines will be from Lufthansa group and the star alliance.
The Germans won't let this tommie airline beat them!
D and F
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Atmosphere
I agree. Adopting Virgin branding is not the same as completing an out and out merger. Maybe this will happen if the dispute with stelios over the easy brand gets ugly (although as he is the majority shareholder, it would be surprising if it came to this).
With regards to Virgin Atlantic, surely if they are forced to merge with another airline it would be a skyteam member given Singapore Airlines stake in the company.
I think it is also worth noting the similarities between the situations at virgin and easy. Virgin might be SRB's baby but it is not his airline, a reality being felt all too painfully by Stelios at the moment.
With regards to Virgin Atlantic, surely if they are forced to merge with another airline it would be a skyteam member given Singapore Airlines stake in the company.
I think it is also worth noting the similarities between the situations at virgin and easy. Virgin might be SRB's baby but it is not his airline, a reality being felt all too painfully by Stelios at the moment.
Scourge of Bad Airline Management!
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a skyteam member given Singapore Airlines stake
FWIW, I cannot for a single second see any business merit in combining easyJet and Virgin Atlantic. Other deals are much, much more likely and more sensible.
TA
Part of the rationale for this debate seems to be the possibility of easyJet losing the right to use 'easy' branding. Why would the airline company want to then sign up to a branding agreement paying royalty fees every year to another company and risk ending up in the same situation in 5 or 10 years time ?
easyJet is no longer a fledgling airline that may go bust any day, but is now a major company earning substantial profits and more than capable of standing on its own two feet.
easyJet is no longer a fledgling airline that may go bust any day, but is now a major company earning substantial profits and more than capable of standing on its own two feet.
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Think you mean Star Alliance...
As Davidjohnson06 points out, my opinions on this matter are based on the hypothetical scenario of easyjet losing the right to use the 'easy' brand. I don't believe the outright merger of Virgin, Easyjet and BMI is likely but I am intrigued by the possibility of easyjet rebranding as virgin.
This is not as far fetched as it seems. Virgin Blue in Australia is only 25% owned by the Virgin Group. Their biggest shareholder is Patrick Corporation, who have a 65% stake (according to wikipedia). An identical state of affairs exists in the USA, where Virgin America is only 25% owned by the Virgin Group, the rest being owned by BLack Canyon Capital. Neither airline offers connections to Virgin Atlantic and they all have their own seperate independent corporate structures.
I appreciate that most of what is being written is speculation, but it is informed speculation about something which could possibly happen. However, I'm reasonably certain that neither side in the easyjet dispute would let such a thing happen (though big ego's can often get in the way or reason!)
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Part of the rationale for this debate seems to be the possibility of easyJet losing the right to use 'easy' branding. Why would the airline company want to then sign up to a branding agreement paying royalty fees every year to another company and risk ending up in the same situation in 5 or 10 years time ?
easyJet is no longer a fledgling airline that may go bust any day, but is now a major company earning substantial profits and more than capable of standing on its own two feet.
easyJet is no longer a fledgling airline that may go bust any day, but is now a major company earning substantial profits and more than capable of standing on its own two feet.
I cannot see any form of deal between the three happening. Easyjet should stick to what it does well - low-cost short-haul point to point.
Some form of deal between bmi and Virgin has been mooted for years and nothing has come of it. LH holds all the cards and it should be remembered that its business model is based on feeding traffic into its own hubs at FRA etc. Why would LH want to use its ownership of bmi to enter into some kind of deal with Virgin to divert traffic into Virgin's own network where it doesn't get 100% of the benefit?
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When Virgin moves into expansion mode again, it will be easier and cheaper at Gatwick than Heathrow. Gatwick is leisure and Heathrow business. The likes of Tui and Thomas Cook are actively booking away from Virgin Holidays/Atlantic, so it makes sense for Virgin to look for a new source of traffic feed. Easy's routes into Gatwick from Eastern Europe could provide a nice source of holidaymakers, looking to try destinations such as Florida and the Caribbean. No need to merge though, but you have to work out how to make the connection work for Easy, i.e. no expensive/complicated interlining and think about what happens if its flight is late and the Virgin connection is missed.
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This presentation on bmi at the LH Investors' Day sets out their strategy for bmi:
http://investor-relations.lufthansa....10-06-28-e.pdf
No mention of any partnerships with other airlines, apart from fellow *A partners.
http://investor-relations.lufthansa....10-06-28-e.pdf
No mention of any partnerships with other airlines, apart from fellow *A partners.
