The numbers have it!

[Alpha Charlie Bravo]

While having been a more than vocal critic (at times) of our erstwhile competition in the air...Virgin Blue and an even more strident critic of Bratt Godfrey and Dicky 'keeping the air fare for the poor downtrodden masses' Branson. Credit where credit is due.

It would seem, if the numbers are accurate and there's no reason to suggest they are not, that DJ, for the year to March '03 have surpassed AN in total number of pax hauled over an equivalent time frame in the latter's last year of op's.

Furthermore, they have correspondingly surpassed the latter in RPK's (revenue pax km's).....and the really amazing part? Done it with a third the workforce!!!

So, given that Dicko WILL extract his pound of flesh one way or another, I guess the question we at the big Q have left to ask is.....what's it gonna be? absolute pay or productivity ie keep our relatively cosy work practices or see our take home pay eroded.

Hard questions for a new, no longer level, playing field. Right, well, now that I've said my bit, time to bet back to the bunker.;)

[Wirraway]

Alpha Charlie Bravo

Guess the answer is whether Geoff Dixon will go ahead with
his new low cost airline (code named Skimpy), which as he
stated would involve 15-40 aircraft and be a real no-frills
deal.

If it is a go, will he transfer existing 737s or will they be additional
to the current QF mainline fleet, we will have to wait untill Nov
for the answers to these questions.

Wirraway

[Mr Seatback 2]

I think when you deconstruct the spin doctoring, the figures are somewhat askew.

VB contracts out and outsources a lot of it's work (engineering, etc). AN didn't.

VB has a single class fleet. AN didn't (meaning many different areas looking after different fleets).

VB does not own any regional airlines. AN owned KD and ZL, and in the later part, YC.

VB does not really have any long haul international operations, whereas, you guessed it, AN did.

Apples and oranges - certainly more profitable apples I grant you!

[Alpha Charlie Bravo]

Mr Seatback 2

Yep, you're right, it is an apples and oranges comparison. So does that mean the QF board should just roll over and go back to sleep?

Secondly, staff numbers I allude to were ex AN regionals and Intnl staff, just core mainline op's.

[Mr Seatback 2]

Whoa nelly!

First of all, I have nothing against VB. On the contrary, their antics have allowed many more people to fly that would have otherwise taken the train or bus due to their low fare operation. Kudos to them - not knocking them for one moment.

Even with core mainline ops, AN didn't contract anywhere near as many staff as VB does. Nothing wrong with that...certainly, it does provide for more efficiency. However, AN's approach was such that each area was it's own business unit (eg. Engineering, with contracted work for Vietnam Airlines, etc).

Something else we need to consider (thanks in part to the old Impulse, which started before VB), is that more people are flying because it's now more affordable to! When AN and QF existed, the duopoly was such that lower yield pax had to accommodate the airlines fares, not the other way around.

AN didn't grasp the efficiencies that VB did with internet fares (yes they had them, but their system was very clunky, unlike Impulses' and VB's, whose systems are very user friendly). That, combined with the fact that VB have a set of steady leaders at the helm, means good management the whole time.

AN had a set of lunatics running the ship for years before she ran aground. And that was AFTER at least...ooh...10 restructures?

Dr Phil - I think Southwest takes the crown for most successful airline in the world (after all, it is the model that spawned many a copy cat...easyjet, virgin express and virgin blue, ryanair, etc)...

Like I said, credit where it's due!

ACB - the Board need a good kick up the khyber! But what do you expect from an airline that is as bureaucratic as QF...one of the many advantages VB has over QF is it's lean management operation, none of this 'Deputy to the Assistant to the Secretary' nonsense. Open door policy? Which door kids??

I still maintain my apples and oranges stance. Yes they're both fruit, just so happens that one of these fruits is far more efficient, profitable and better looked after than the other ever was!