V Australia applies for access to FIJI

[Dunnza]

Interesting? V Australia applies for access to FIJI taking over Pacific Blue's capacity.

From what I have heard Pacific Blue needed more capacity on the route, hence the 777

Good or bad move?

http://www.iasc.gov.au/applications/files/4458.pdf

[Skybus_319]

I presume they will be taking advantage of aircraft sitting idle instead of chopping a route. I see one of their 777's sitting over at yssy international bays most days now.

[forgetabowdit]

Yeah me too... Everyone must be going broke, because most days I see it next to an SQ380, an VA340, BA777 and sometimes TWO UA744's..!

On a more serious note... I was a bit surprised at their targeted market in Fiji (not that I know too much about it), but it always struck me as a more leisure route (to coyne the now common Qantas Group phrase).

I would have expected Narita or the like to be the first medium haul port to be honest - especially after Bransen's impromptue announcement that V would be flying to Japan! :)

Will be good to get the airframe utilisation up though, so maybe thats why - Japan too far to fit into the time that the aircraft is on the ground between the VA2 and VA1 and NZ too saturated...

[27/09]

Aren't PacBlue taking capacity out of the pacific area to do the Hamilton to Sydney/Brisbane operation. Perhaps this is to replace that capacity in some way

[windytown]

Seems to make good business sense even if the revenue is for leisure priced tickets. Besides Fiji will probably give better yields than sending them to Auckland

Comments on forums suggest the route has good traffic and the political situation in Fiji is not making the news as much.

This will fills in idle time for the 773 while freeing up half a 738 (which once the current domestic/Tasman/NZ over capacity is corrected will be useful).

The economy is likely to be picking up by the time the 773 is deployed to Fiji.

The 773 has a good on board ambience which will position the group well

Lets people see V Aust as having a bit more of a network rather than being a one route carrier.

[Wod]

Makes sense to me.

They're a group, and can deploy group assets to best (group) advantage.

The Trippler to Fiji will be too many Business Class seats, but the boost in Economy will work.

Especially if it maintains 777 hours and allows a 738 lease to expire without replacement. (No knowledge - just idle speculation):)

[Buster Hyman]

It's probably just range issues with the 777...I knew it was overated...

[SeldomFixit]

Yeah Buster - fuel critical when sending the 777 to EF ONE JAY ONE using the APU ONLY :ok:

[knowall]

They can fit in a Nandi return in between LA trips. Probably pays for it's self by not paying MacBank parking fees

[Work-4-It]

I think VB, V Australia and PacBlue will be broke in 6 to 12 months

[Al E. Vator]

Do you - fascinating.

And your astounding business acumen for such a blatant statement would be.................?

[VBPCGUY]

You been reading the QF intranet work-4-it???

[pylet]

Seem to recall the same thing being said 6 - 12 months ago!


Careful guys.....can see a wind-up!

[Mr. Hat]

Any chance or word they will use the 777 domestically within Australia or is that not allowed?

[Art Vanderlay]

Using the 777 on domestic ops is allowed, it's just not cost efficient or sensible. The cost per seat/kilometre is WAY higher than a 738 and the facilities with regard to aerobridges and gate lounges is sorely lacking at most domestic ports in Australia. The Nadi flying is great for utilisization of the aircraft that otherwise sits on the ground between VA2 and VA1, but the big question remains where is the 4th aircraft gonna go? My bet is on Phuket and MEL-LAX. HND and JNB to come online with aircraft 5 (actually aircraft 7) in Q3 of 2010:ok:

[Politically_Blonde]

----------------------------------------

[Sunstar320]

What about SYD-HNL? I think they would do quite well here, might make QF put that old 767 off the route.

[ANstar]

I think VB, V Australia and PacBlue will be broke in 6 to 12 months


We have heard os much about DJ over the last 12 months...

- They are paying cash for fuel
- They have 2 more weeks of operating
- Dead in 6 months...


we here we are a year later and they are still here..... time to move on!

[captaintunedog777]

Needabiggerhammer

Oversubcribed. Yes but at 20c a share plenty of speculators out there. I put in a few grand hoping to double my money in a year or so. It was a gamble and I do think they will faulter. Oh well. You can't help bad luck. The 250 million they raised barley covers a new 777. For the sake of my 5 grand and all the employees I hope they don't.

[airtags]

2,527 seats a week ex YSSY is a big ask and it could not be on a high yield - esp with PacWings and others wanting to give the route a run.

Would have thought that a more strategic move would have been to leave the current approval with PacBlue Australia and add the trippler as a second approval. - Rationale is the 777 covers the 'peak days' which coincide with the roll over of the 7 day/6 night accom pkgs that are dominant in Fiji - and the 737 for those days when the pax/freight load is smaller.

Question for V Drivers - will the crew do Nadi as a return or slip?
Could be a nice hop if there's a decent slip

[rescue 1]

Currently - Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue, Polynesian Blue and V Australia.

Is this the start of a 2 brand strategy?

I can see the men at the Village thinking about re-branding Pacific Blue as V Australia? :hmm:

Makes it easier for the sales team...

[coaldemon]

As the 777 sits around during the day it would have to be a day trip. 4 hours out and 4 back with a single crew.

[On Guard]

You've doubled it already!

[farrari]

For the Syd aircraft, a Nandi return is very tight for the 8pm dept to LAX, this leaves no room for a delay. There is however, room at the LAX end to either absorb a delay or re-time dept out of LAX to an earlier time.

[windytown]

Having looked over flight times for the 747 on the Syd-Fiji route the proposal seemed workable to me if they kept the turnaround times tight, particulary in Fiji.

Given the 773 is geared up for trans Pacific where they serve two meals, would it be possible to load the catering for both Fiji legs in Sydney and hence have a max 1 hr turnouround in Fiji. If they do buy on board the catering and hence turnaround should be a lot quicker than they currently do for the 773 when its going to LAX.

Also if they don't handle cargo to Fiji they will be able to keep turnaround fast.

[farrari]

Windytown all ok given no delays. Can any PB guys tell us what the loads have been like?

[windytown]

Farrari

Thanks for the reply. I had a second look at the times and as you say it should all be fine without major delays.

I guess items like the reduced catering needs (vs long haul) should help ensure they have some slack to recovery should any delays occur.

Now I wonder where the Pac BLue 738 will go instead. Plenty of gaps in the frequency between Sydney and some NZ ports which could be filled in if demand improves (eg Wgn, ZQN).

Cheers

[Red Jet]

It is easy to trim the schedule between VA2 - VA1 to fit in a Fiji return, as the aircraft currently spends more than 6 hours on the ground at LAX.
Depart VA1 out of SYD at 21:00 (rather than 20:00) and time departure of VA2 from LAX to SYD to 23:00 local LA time to be on the ground in SYD 6:30.
That leaves a window of 13.5 hours to do SYD-NAN-SYD.
A block time of just over 4 Hours each way - piece of cake!
I hear that Pac Bro's load factor have been very good on this run and yield satisfactory, so why the heck not?

[windytown]

Just had a look at BTRE website. For May 09 Pac Blue did 67 return flights between OZ ports and Fiji. Average load was 65.6% in and 67.6% out but they don't list the split by city and I don't know how weight limited they would be. In March 09 loads were around 73% which is good.

Outbound to Indonesia was an impressive 82% and in 76.5% in May so I wonder if that hints at where some more capacity may be heading. Loads trans Tasman were mid 50s in May and around 71% in March and so I wouldn't expect inceased frequency on established trans tasman routes.

[Dunnza]

Good God!

Not another load of 'white trash' heading to Bali... 'sigh'

[VBPCGUY]

New routes from DEC

BNE-Phuket x2 week
MEL-Phuket x1 week
MEL-LAX x2 week
MEL-JNB from 13th march 10

[somewhereat1l]

So have they got ETOPS approval for MEL-JNB or will it be via PER?

[neville_nobody]

Long way on two donks with not many options just quietly

[Ken Borough]

Could be very quiet Nev!

[topend3]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------V AUSTRALIA SECOND PHASE EXPANSION - TUK TUK OFF TO THAILAND OR SAFARI IN SOUTH AFRICA!

LAUNCH FARES ON SALE 2.00PM TODAY

BRAND NEW INTERNATIONAL ROUTES AND DESTINATIONS FOR V AUSTRALIA
THAILAND, SOUTH AFRICA, LOS ANGELES
$399* ONE WAY “TUK TUK TO THAILAND” FARES* EX BRISBANE AND MELBOURNE
$1899 “FAR OUT SAFARI ” RETURN FARES* EX MELBOURNE
Monday 17 August 2009: Australia’s new international airline V Australia today announced Phuket and Johannesburg as its next two destinations along with a strengthened focus on Melbourne just six months after launch. Four new V Australia routes to commence from December onwards^ include:

Brisbane to Phuket, Thailand direct twice weekly from 22 November 2009.
Melbourne to Phuket, Thailand direct flights 1 a week from 3 December 2009.
Melbourne to Los Angeles, USA direct flights twice weekly from 1 December 2009.
Melbourne to Johannesburg, South Africa direct flights from 13 March 2010.
The airline has also lodged an application with the International Air Services Commission for permission and slots to operate flights between Australia and Fiji.

To celebrate the extra destinations of Phuket and Johannesburg, special launch fares go on sale from 2.00pm today on the airline’s website starting from $399* one way to Phuket and $1899* return to Johannesburg from Melbourne. Special launch fares for International Business Class are also available from $1499 one way to Phuket and $5999 return to Johannesburg. International Premium Economy fares are available from $899 one way to Phuket and $2999 return to Johannesburg. All fares are fully inclusive of taxes and surcharges.

Virgin Blue Airlines Group Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, ‘We believe our new destinations offer very exciting opportunities.”

“Travellers outbound will experience Australian aviation at its best to the USA, Thailand and South Africa and we have high hopes for inbound tourism as we work with partners in our new markets to help develop traffic into Australia via Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.”

“V Australia will be the only airline to offer direct flights from Brisbane to Phuket and Melbourne to Phuket, as well as from Melbourne to South Africa. The March launch of Jo’burg flights will be just in time for fans travelling to South Africa to cheer on the Socceroos at the Soccer (FIFA) World Cup,” he added.

Connecting flights will be available from other key Australian ports to both Johannesburg and Phuket.

V Australia, a member of the Virgin Blue Airlines group launched in February on the Sydney-Los Angeles route and commenced operations between Brisbane-Los Angeles in April this year.

The airline is set to take delivery of its fourth Boeing 777-300ER aircraft configured in a three class configuration.

V Australia has been an instant hit with air travellers both here and in the USA due to its blend of Virgin service and a fresh take on fully inclusive, premium airline travel at consistently affordable fares.

Feedback surveys show the airline’s favourite features to be the three class airline’s sit down bar in Business Class, fully lie-flat beds, “Red” the user friendly individual in-flight entertainment system across all cabins, twilight sky on the cabin roof, piped music and elegant Aussie wallpaper in the bathrooms and the genuinely friendly service of a proud V Australia crew.

For full details on the schedules for the new routes, log on to V Australia is a full service airline of the Virgin Blue Airlines group. Find cheap flights and best airfare deals in the USA and Australia. (http://www.vaustralia.com.au)

^ Subject to Government and regulatory approval

* All fares are for flights booked on the internet or $50 more when booked by phone. Fares are inclusive of all taxes, fees and charges and subject to availability and may not be available on all flights or peak times. A credit card surcharge of an additional $15 per person per booking is applicable. The sale fares are on sale until 31 August 2009 or until sold out and for travel from 13 March 2010 to 31 May 2010 (Johannesburg) and 22 November to 17 December 2009 & 15 January to 31 May 2010 (Phuket) For V Australia bookings log on to V Australia is a full service airline of the Virgin Blue Airlines group. Find cheap flights and best airfare deals in the USA and Australia. (http://www.vaustralia.com.au) or phone our award winning Guest Contact Centre on 13 8287 or contact a travel agent. Note: For Guests booking via a travel agent or travel management company, these new routes will be visible in the GDS system within the next 7 days.
About V Australia and Virgin Blue: V Australia is a three class boutique style airline offering the acclaimed service for which the Virgin Blue Group is renowned and a unique Australian style. On board the airline’s brand new 361-seat 777-300ER aircraft, configuration includes Business Class cabin with 33 fully lie-flat beds, Premium Economy with 40 International Club seats and 288 International Economy seats. All cabins offer the Red, state-of-the-art personal seat back entertainment, seat to seat 'chat' or competition connectivity. The airline also has two in-flight bars, mood lighting including twilight and sunset, bathrooms with piped music including a "ladies only" bathroom and other touches of Australiana from salt and pepper shakers to hidden wallpaper murals

[windytown]

on to V Australia is a full service airline of the Virgin Blue Airlines group. (http://www.vaustralia.com.au/)

Interesting that they descibe V Aust as the "full service airline" when announcing these new routes. It hints at Fiji getting full service when they shift to VA from Pac Blue.

With recent media releases about Trans-Tasman shifting closer to domestic the need for a 'full service' product on the Tasman drops hence its probably better to put the 773 on a more 'international' route. Also if the do shift some Tasman flying to domestic terminals (and domestic service level expectations) it makes sense to use Pac Blue 738

[Mr. Hat]

an interesting read.. V Australia reminds Qantas how wrong it was about the 777 - Plane Talking (http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2009/08/17/v-australia-reminds-qantas-how-wrong-it-was-about-the-777/)

[PA 804]

"Brisbane to Phuket, Thailand direct ...... "
"Melbourne to Phuket, Thailand direct ......"
"Melbourne to Los Angeles, USA direct ......"
"Melbourne to Johannesburg, South Africa direct ......"

The word 'nonstop' is not used. :suspect:

PA 804

[piston broke again]

With this focus on Melb, any word on the street about a Melb V Aus base in the works for the new year?

[DTS]

I agree that it is VERY interesting that the word "Direct" is used with these "new" routes.

After being in contact with V Australia, and pushing for confirmation that the new routes will be "non-stop" they said that is still being worked out and the best thing to do would be to take out travel insurance in case the flights schedules are changed or you are re-routed.

Pacific Blue did this back to me years ago with MEL-NAN when the loads were low and put me on via SYD. I caused a stink and got a credit note with them and flew Air Pacific instead.

As they have already postponed the MEL-LAX flights from September to Decemeber, I can see them just pushing people via SYD or BNE if the loads are not good enough.

Doesn't fill me with confidence to go ahead and fork out $$$ for the flights and then be pushed via SYD or BNE.

[MAX]

The big pink advert at the top of the V-Oz website (http://www.vaustralia.com.au/) says 'non stop'.

MAX:cool:

[neville_nobody]

Interesting Blog in regard to the 777. What makes it more absurd that QF didn't get 777 is that they were on the design team. All the other airlines on the design team bought the 777 except QF.

[inandout]

Captain 707- YES.

[boeingbender]

The jury is still out until 5th November, but it certainly looks like its shaping up for 6 weekly returns from Sydney to Nadi. Some selected quotes from the Commision's report included below, with links to the actual report at the bottom of the post.

Perhaps the God of Boeings, commanded that the girls rests on the 7th day :ok:


6.24
The Commission considers that competition benefits would be greatest if V Australia was to operate daily B777-300 services and Jetstar four A321-213 services per week.

6.26
The proposed allocation to V Australia of 907 seats is 360 seats less than the 1,267 seats per week it has sought. This allocation is sufficient on its own for V Australia to operate six services per week. To achieve the daily services V Australia wishes to operate, it would be necessary for the Virgin Blue Group to transfer additional capacity from Pacific Blue Australia to V Australia above the 1,260 seats per week currently proposed. The Commission notes that Pacific Blue Australia holds 360 seats per week unused on the Fiji route. The Virgin Blue Group says these seats will enable Pacific Blue Australia to add services to Melbourne and Adelaide in 2010. It would be a matter for the Virgin Group’s commercial judgement as to whether it wished to maintain those plans, or to transfer the capacity to V Australia. As noted, in the absence of the transfer, V Australia could operate six B777-300 services per week, compared with daily services if the capacity is transferred to it.6.30
The Commission considers that V Australia’s proposal offers considerably greater public benefits than the Qantas plan for Jetstar. This is because the B777-300ER
Determination [2009] IASC 131 and [2009] IASC 132 Page 17 of 21
has the ability to accommodate pallets and containers, offering exporters and importers an alternative to Air Pacific’s B747. The Commission understands that the volume of freight able to be carried on the V Australia aircraft is about 200 cubic metres, or over 20 tonnes by weight. V Australia’s entry with its large capacity and cost efficient aircraft could be expected to bring strong competition on rates as well as additional choice of time of day. As noted above, frequency can be an important factor in freight decisions especially where time sensitive freight, such as perishables, is concerned. Daily services would therefore offer the maximum level of benefits against this criterion.
6.31
By contrast, Jetstar’s A321 aircraft offers very limited freight capability with no container capability. According to Qantas, the aircraft can carry about half a tonne of freight, although this will vary depending upon passenger loads and season of operation.


Update 23 October 2009

On 20 October 2009 the Commission issued Draft Determinations [2009] IASC 131 [http://www.iasc.gov.au/images/dl_acrobat.gifPDF: 177 KB (http://www.iasc.gov.au/determinations_decisions/files/2009/2009iasc132d.pdf)] and [2009] IASC 132 [http://www.iasc.gov.au/images/dl_acrobat.gifPDF: 177 KB (http://www.iasc.gov.au/determinations_decisions/files/2009/2009iasc132d.pdf)] proposing to allocate 907 seats per week to V Australia and 852 seats per week to Qantas. Submissions about the draft determinations are invited. Submissions are due by COB 30 October 2009. The Commission is expected to meet on 5 November 2009 to settle final determinations.

[windytown]

I like how the draft decision forces Godfrey and team to make the business decision of going daily with VA but forgoing growth ex Melbourne or only doing 6 times a week with VA and possibly once with Pac Blue ex Sydney. If they go daily ex Sydney they could later try for expansion ex Avalon or OOL as AFAIK these airports are not covered by the capacity restrictions.

Any one want to bet how Godrey's team will allocate the last 180 seats. Sydney Bris, or Melbourne?

Where will the freed up Pac Blue capacity be allocated?

The Trans Tasman is rather crowded and from what I have heard loads are light ex Hamilton. Also last time I looked the Pac Blue Syd- Wgn flights were only offered until the end of June. Any insight

[farrari]

777 can actually carry max of around 76.5 T in all holds.

[nitpicker330]

Ferrari....the ER is a good machine ( I've flown it ) but on the Fiji Oz sector it would be LDG WT limited and as such with a full load of pax could only lift about 30 odd tonnes of Cargo as the commission state.
Cheers