DJ ml-hunter valley flights
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DJ ml-hunter valley flights
MEDIA RELEASE
VIRGIN BLUE TO LAUNCH CONVENIENT JET SERVICE TO THE HUNTER
DIRECT NEWCASTLE-MELBOURNE SERVICE – SPECIAL $69* LAUNCH FARE
Virgin Blue has today announced it will land its modern red jets at Newcastle (Williamtown) from November 1, bringing low fares, great service and true competition to the Hunter region and providing Novocastrians with a genuinely affordable flying alternative in time for their summer holiday plans.
Competitor fares between Newcastle and Melbourne start from $144 one-way on the net and require passengers to fly on a small turbo prop aircraft. Virgin Blue’s new faster jets will shave more than half hour off the flying time while reducing the price to a special launch fare offer of $69* one-way on the net for flights booked between September 16 and September 28 for travel between November 1 and November 30.
Virgin Blue’s Mid-Week Mini-Fares will start from $79* one-way on the net, with a Fully Flexible Virgin Blue fare of $249* one-way, 45% cheaper than the Qantas equivalent.
Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, “Newcastle will be Virgin Blue’s twentieth destination and we are excited to be in a position to cater to what is hoped to be significant demand for Virgin Blue flights in the Hunter region.
“Now, not only can you fly between Melbourne and Newcastle for less than the lowest available $81^ one way bus fare, which takes approximately 15 hours via Sydney, you’ll get there direct in one and a half hours with Virgin Blue.”
Over recent months, the airline has been closely monitoring its booking system, which details the postcodes of Guests.
Godfrey added, “We identified a large number of Hunter-based travellers who found that the only way they could get low fares was to drive to Sydney in order to take advantage of airline competition. This, along with strong lobbying from the Newcastle business community and the airport, were among the key reasons behind Virgin Blue’s decision to launch direct flights to and from Newcastle.”
The low fare carrier will cater to both leisure and business travellers, with the daily flight departing Melbourne at 10.55am, landing at Williamtown Airport at 12.20pm before turning around and departing Williamtown at 12.50pm, touching down in Melbourne at 2.30pm.
Brett Godfrey continued, “We are keen to get in to the Hunter and give the competition a serious run for its money. Our low fares will prove a boost to tourism by paving the way for Victorian based people to visit Newcastle to sample the delights of the region, from the award winning wineries and stunning beaches to the old world charm of Metford and beautiful marine life in Port Stephens.”
Novocastrians will also now be able to afford a weekend getaway to the Victorian capital for a shopping spree, theatre show or to catch up with family or friends. They will also get convenient connections to and from Adelaide and Hobart.
Virgin Blue is hopeful that business travellers will find its sleek, modern Boeing 737–700 jets with 144 seat capacity a comfortable and efficient alternative to the existing turbo prop aircraft currently operating on the Newcastle-Melbourne route.
“As with any new city, we will be watching to gauge the response and demand for our flights and if there is ongoing support, we will then look to increasing the number of daily flights and possibly introduce new routes out of Newcastle in the future”, Brett Godfrey finished.
Virgin Blue Guests heading to or from Newcastle that are already booked on services between Melbourne and Sydney will be able to transfer to the more convenient direct service at no extra charge between 16 and 28 September.
Furthermore, the arrival of Virgin Blue will also mean additional jobs both at the airport and of course to deal with the greater number of interstate tourists that low fares bring into the region.
MELBOURNE-NEWCASTLE – EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2, 2003
FLIGHT N0
DEP ARR MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
DJ 573 10.55am 12.20pm
Please note: On November 1, flight DJ 573 will depart Melbourne at 10.15am and arrive into Newcastle at 11.40am
NEWCASTLE- MELBOURNE – EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 2003
FLIGHT N0 DEP ARR MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
DJ 574 12.50pm 2.30pm
* All fares are for flights booked on the Internet. $10 more by phone. The $69 launch fare offer is on sale from today until 28 September and flights are for travel from 1 to 30 November 2003. Mid-Week Mini-Fares are for travel on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Fares are subject to availability and may not be available on all flights or peak days.
^ Fare as advertised on http://mccaffertys.com.au/booking/availability.asp as at 15/9/03 for travel Melbourne to Newcastle on 2 November 2003.
VIRGIN BLUE TO LAUNCH CONVENIENT JET SERVICE TO THE HUNTER
DIRECT NEWCASTLE-MELBOURNE SERVICE – SPECIAL $69* LAUNCH FARE
Virgin Blue has today announced it will land its modern red jets at Newcastle (Williamtown) from November 1, bringing low fares, great service and true competition to the Hunter region and providing Novocastrians with a genuinely affordable flying alternative in time for their summer holiday plans.
Competitor fares between Newcastle and Melbourne start from $144 one-way on the net and require passengers to fly on a small turbo prop aircraft. Virgin Blue’s new faster jets will shave more than half hour off the flying time while reducing the price to a special launch fare offer of $69* one-way on the net for flights booked between September 16 and September 28 for travel between November 1 and November 30.
Virgin Blue’s Mid-Week Mini-Fares will start from $79* one-way on the net, with a Fully Flexible Virgin Blue fare of $249* one-way, 45% cheaper than the Qantas equivalent.
Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, “Newcastle will be Virgin Blue’s twentieth destination and we are excited to be in a position to cater to what is hoped to be significant demand for Virgin Blue flights in the Hunter region.
“Now, not only can you fly between Melbourne and Newcastle for less than the lowest available $81^ one way bus fare, which takes approximately 15 hours via Sydney, you’ll get there direct in one and a half hours with Virgin Blue.”
Over recent months, the airline has been closely monitoring its booking system, which details the postcodes of Guests.
Godfrey added, “We identified a large number of Hunter-based travellers who found that the only way they could get low fares was to drive to Sydney in order to take advantage of airline competition. This, along with strong lobbying from the Newcastle business community and the airport, were among the key reasons behind Virgin Blue’s decision to launch direct flights to and from Newcastle.”
The low fare carrier will cater to both leisure and business travellers, with the daily flight departing Melbourne at 10.55am, landing at Williamtown Airport at 12.20pm before turning around and departing Williamtown at 12.50pm, touching down in Melbourne at 2.30pm.
Brett Godfrey continued, “We are keen to get in to the Hunter and give the competition a serious run for its money. Our low fares will prove a boost to tourism by paving the way for Victorian based people to visit Newcastle to sample the delights of the region, from the award winning wineries and stunning beaches to the old world charm of Metford and beautiful marine life in Port Stephens.”
Novocastrians will also now be able to afford a weekend getaway to the Victorian capital for a shopping spree, theatre show or to catch up with family or friends. They will also get convenient connections to and from Adelaide and Hobart.
Virgin Blue is hopeful that business travellers will find its sleek, modern Boeing 737–700 jets with 144 seat capacity a comfortable and efficient alternative to the existing turbo prop aircraft currently operating on the Newcastle-Melbourne route.
“As with any new city, we will be watching to gauge the response and demand for our flights and if there is ongoing support, we will then look to increasing the number of daily flights and possibly introduce new routes out of Newcastle in the future”, Brett Godfrey finished.
Virgin Blue Guests heading to or from Newcastle that are already booked on services between Melbourne and Sydney will be able to transfer to the more convenient direct service at no extra charge between 16 and 28 September.
Furthermore, the arrival of Virgin Blue will also mean additional jobs both at the airport and of course to deal with the greater number of interstate tourists that low fares bring into the region.
MELBOURNE-NEWCASTLE – EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2, 2003
FLIGHT N0
DEP ARR MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
DJ 573 10.55am 12.20pm
Please note: On November 1, flight DJ 573 will depart Melbourne at 10.15am and arrive into Newcastle at 11.40am
NEWCASTLE- MELBOURNE – EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 2003
FLIGHT N0 DEP ARR MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
DJ 574 12.50pm 2.30pm
* All fares are for flights booked on the Internet. $10 more by phone. The $69 launch fare offer is on sale from today until 28 September and flights are for travel from 1 to 30 November 2003. Mid-Week Mini-Fares are for travel on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Fares are subject to availability and may not be available on all flights or peak days.
^ Fare as advertised on http://mccaffertys.com.au/booking/availability.asp as at 15/9/03 for travel Melbourne to Newcastle on 2 November 2003.
Join Date: May 2002
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Quite simple QF solution here. If DJ are going to promote the competition as 'small turbo-prop' aircraft, I don't think it will be long before we'll see scaled back Dash 8 op's (both EAA/SS), and a 717 put on it.
NTL is an engineering base for the 717, and can be crewed by Hobart/Melbourne based crews. Interesting.
NTL is an engineering base for the 717, and can be crewed by Hobart/Melbourne based crews. Interesting.
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Given that the route is currently served by 4 36 seaters each way per weekday (2x Eastern, 2x Sunnies) and these are not always full where do you get the requirement for 2 x 115 seaters each way.
Going on past performance the route is about 30,000 pax per year each way or about 550 each way per working week (flights don't all run Sat/Sun)
From November 1st this will be served with 1260 each way per working week (Mon-Fri).
Then someone suggested 2 x 717 which would end up as 1870 seats per working week each way for the 550pax market it is.
Can anyone spell 30% load factor?
Going on past performance the route is about 30,000 pax per year each way or about 550 each way per working week (flights don't all run Sat/Sun)
From November 1st this will be served with 1260 each way per working week (Mon-Fri).
Then someone suggested 2 x 717 which would end up as 1870 seats per working week each way for the 550pax market it is.
Can anyone spell 30% load factor?
Pimp, how much growth in the market would you anticipate with fares at that (Virgin's) level?
Virgin have been flying into Alice for a couple of months now, and I don't think I've ever seen the baggage guys ever have a light load either in or out. They have certainly opened the market up around here, and that has had many follow-on effects, such as car hire, accomodation, retail and food outlets etc all almost rubbing their hands together with glee.
The more people (Joe and his wife Josephine Public), who use the airlines to get around, the more opportunities will arise for people in the GA industry to move-up to something with a bit more 'go' in it. Is that all that bad?
Regards,
Ops.
Virgin have been flying into Alice for a couple of months now, and I don't think I've ever seen the baggage guys ever have a light load either in or out. They have certainly opened the market up around here, and that has had many follow-on effects, such as car hire, accomodation, retail and food outlets etc all almost rubbing their hands together with glee.
The more people (Joe and his wife Josephine Public), who use the airlines to get around, the more opportunities will arise for people in the GA industry to move-up to something with a bit more 'go' in it. Is that all that bad?
Regards,
Ops.
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The true capacity of Newcastle - Melbourne can not be judged on the current Dash 8 services.
I imagine that a number of people in the Newcastle catchment drive or train to Sydney. Also, as suggested, a jet service at a competitive fare will expand the route to it's potential.
I think the Dash 8 days on this route are numbered considering GD's 'line in the sand' statement on market share.
I imagine that a number of people in the Newcastle catchment drive or train to Sydney. Also, as suggested, a jet service at a competitive fare will expand the route to it's potential.
I think the Dash 8 days on this route are numbered considering GD's 'line in the sand' statement on market share.
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Gday all,
Blastoids theory is sound.
Especially when a clapped out 100 series Dash stuck in the weather and vibrating and banging away covered in ice with 60kts on the nose takes over 2.5hrs to get to ML!
Good luck DJ
Cheers,
I'm gone!
Blastoids theory is sound.
Especially when a clapped out 100 series Dash stuck in the weather and vibrating and banging away covered in ice with 60kts on the nose takes over 2.5hrs to get to ML!
Good luck DJ
Cheers,
I'm gone!
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Especially when a clapped out 100 series Dash stuck in the weather and vibrating and banging away covered in ice with 60kts on the nose takes over 2.5hrs to get to ML!
NTL-MEL is the kind of route regional jets were designed for. I hope Qantas buy some soon.
Virgin will pick up the feral traffic (or "visit friends and family" traffic as they quaintly call it) with a once daily lunchtime flight.
Business and military will prob stay on the 4 x daily Dash stuff so they can just spend a day or morning/arvo in MEL or NTL.
Did Kendall ever operate the CRJ NTL-MEL? Perfect route for it, upgrade from a turboprop.
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Yeah I gotta agree somewhat with blastoid. Even if onlt 100 odd novacastrians book a week soley on a 'well it cheap Charleine! I can go see Barbs at Deer Park.' basis then they are gunna nearly fill an aircraft on that alone.
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Qantas did the jet thing a while back with 146's (yeah ok so they're not a jet) to put Impulse out when they doing the ML-NTL thing in 1900's...Well I clearly remember seeing those 146's being full more times than not on flights both ways...NTL-ML / -BN. I've been saying for ages that QF could have had this market, had they switched a 717 on to it instead running 'em from SY.
VB have jumped on to something here and QF and missed the boat again, but no matter they will do what they do best...follow later on!!!!
When will QF ever learn if they want to stop VB from grabbing sooo much market share they have to be cluey and not followers...VB will do very nicely with this one at only $69-
VB have jumped on to something here and QF and missed the boat again, but no matter they will do what they do best...follow later on!!!!
When will QF ever learn if they want to stop VB from grabbing sooo much market share they have to be cluey and not followers...VB will do very nicely with this one at only $69-
If I remember correctly Impulse complained to the ACCC about QF dumping seats on the route when they stuck the 146 on it. QF naturally asserted that traffic levels warranted the capacity increase.
Amazing, isn't it, that once Impulse disappeared, so did the 146's on that route, to be replaced by the Dash.
Amazing, isn't it, that once Impulse disappeared, so did the 146's on that route, to be replaced by the Dash.
