Borghetti Swoops
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From Plane Talking Ben Sandilands.
Interesting bit at the end..
The changing shape of Virgin Blue Plane Talking
August 26, 2010 10:52 am, by Ben Sandilands
Some big changes began rolling out at Virgin Blue today.
The decision to equip and expand the domestic and international routes with A330-200s will come with the yet unannounced cabin product changes that bring the airline Virgin America style seating in a very upmarket and exclusive business class across its entire fleet which also gets significantly improved economy class appointments.
The dropping of Johannesburg is not a reflection on the operational performance of the Boeing 777-300ER but about it being inappropriate for a long remote ocean route where the big twin engine jet is restricted, for very very good reasons, to ETOPS 180 minutes rules.
V Australia had to fly the jet for as much as three hours longer than a four engined jet (red line) to avoid the no-go zones shown in the Great Circle Mapper image below.
That put it at the end of its tether for full payload flights, and penalised it with the costs of the much longer flight paths.
The A330 is unbeatable for operational economics in its size and range category for the foreseeable time, as airlines drum their fingers waiting for Boeing and Airbus to sort out and deliver credible performances from their delayed 787 Dreamliners and A350s.
Prediction: The A330 choice will set the longer term future of Virgin Blue, or whatever it is called from some time soon to that of an operator that acquires advanced model A380s, simply because it will grow into them, and unit size becomes critical for airports such as Sydney, Los Angeles and London.
In the interim, also expect more fleet review changes concerning the withdrawal of the Embraer 170s, the use of more Embraer 190s, and according to some rumours, a medium sized turbo-prop for key short haul regional routes
August 26, 2010 10:52 am, by Ben Sandilands
Some big changes began rolling out at Virgin Blue today.
The decision to equip and expand the domestic and international routes with A330-200s will come with the yet unannounced cabin product changes that bring the airline Virgin America style seating in a very upmarket and exclusive business class across its entire fleet which also gets significantly improved economy class appointments.
The dropping of Johannesburg is not a reflection on the operational performance of the Boeing 777-300ER but about it being inappropriate for a long remote ocean route where the big twin engine jet is restricted, for very very good reasons, to ETOPS 180 minutes rules.
V Australia had to fly the jet for as much as three hours longer than a four engined jet (red line) to avoid the no-go zones shown in the Great Circle Mapper image below.
That put it at the end of its tether for full payload flights, and penalised it with the costs of the much longer flight paths.
The A330 is unbeatable for operational economics in its size and range category for the foreseeable time, as airlines drum their fingers waiting for Boeing and Airbus to sort out and deliver credible performances from their delayed 787 Dreamliners and A350s.
Prediction: The A330 choice will set the longer term future of Virgin Blue, or whatever it is called from some time soon to that of an operator that acquires advanced model A380s, simply because it will grow into them, and unit size becomes critical for airports such as Sydney, Los Angeles and London.
In the interim, also expect more fleet review changes concerning the withdrawal of the Embraer 170s, the use of more Embraer 190s, and according to some rumours, a medium sized turbo-prop for key short haul regional routes
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Speaking of incompetence....anyone know who's gotten the axe in the IT dept?
off for little reward at the end of the day.The parties are no more. Considering how much it cost to stage one of these events, I'm not surprised it was one of the first things for Massimo to axe, albeit we at least expected one last hurrah with the 10th birthday. Not to be, and it soured the mood around HQ since the email earlier this week. This year's birthday present was a Passport Holder and a Cupcake ... and an offer to volunteer as a food server at a private party in Melbourne - if Massimo's aim was to piss off every staff member in HQ, mission accomplished.
Morale is in a murky place at the moment ....
The current performance rating system is a rort. All KPI's are predetermined in a way as to prevent bonuses being paid out, even if they exist or not. Hell, being hired on for way below asking/market rate was bad enough let alone being told at performance reviews that there are no bonuses or profit sharing to keep the place competitive. If the new management wants to see things such as OTP and the general mood improving, how about introducing a fair HR system
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Vorky are you and the minions at wally world finally getting a touch of reality. Do you clowns even realise the job at hand is about getting full a/c into the air, apparently not it's about parties bbq,s and blowing wind where the pineapples go for those out there actually making it happen. Grow up or shoot through if you are not up to it.
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I am surprised no mention in the post (no doubt covered elsewhere) of the full year results for year ending 30th June which was a profit after tax of some $21M. Putting this very modest profit into the context of total turnover it is any wonder why the airlines management are not focused on office parties and 10th birthday celebrations. I would say give JB a go in the interest of having a viable and sustainable airline (business) long into the future.
FY2010/11 will be another interesting one.
FY2010/11 will be another interesting one.
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In my opinion, and I dare say many of the front liners, a new sharper and more professional image, which is what the customers see, would make a welcome change.
The real truth to the matter is your overheads of tech/cabin/engineering and other operational crew are ones that are really required to serve the customer. Over indulged HO employees are not. They are there to support the front line. That includes all the folk in HR accounts etc that think they are the centre of the universe in most companies that eventually struggle.
If the front line folk focus on the customer, and the backline folk focus on supporting the front line, and you have a leader with some leadership......you will be on a winner!
I dare say as little idea of running an airline as I have.....it would only take 3 days to get a general idea where the trouble spots are, and it would be my guess its HO and the aforementioned areas. Improving that area would be a much bigger task.
Good Luck and best wishes for a brighter future!
The real truth to the matter is your overheads of tech/cabin/engineering and other operational crew are ones that are really required to serve the customer. Over indulged HO employees are not. They are there to support the front line. That includes all the folk in HR accounts etc that think they are the centre of the universe in most companies that eventually struggle.
If the front line folk focus on the customer, and the backline folk focus on supporting the front line, and you have a leader with some leadership......you will be on a winner!
I dare say as little idea of running an airline as I have.....it would only take 3 days to get a general idea where the trouble spots are, and it would be my guess its HO and the aforementioned areas. Improving that area would be a much bigger task.
Good Luck and best wishes for a brighter future!
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Plenty of people, and from an insider's perspective, it has turned an enjoyable work environment (4 years ago) into a nightmare.
The parties are no more. Considering how much it cost to stage one of these events, I'm not surprised it was one of the first things for Massimo to axe, albeit we at least expected one last hurrah with the 10th birthday.
Morale is in a murky place at the moment ....
The current performance rating system is a rort. All KPI's are predetermined in a way as to prevent bonuses being paid out, even if they exist or not.
The parties are no more. Considering how much it cost to stage one of these events, I'm not surprised it was one of the first things for Massimo to axe, albeit we at least expected one last hurrah with the 10th birthday.
Morale is in a murky place at the moment ....
The current performance rating system is a rort. All KPI's are predetermined in a way as to prevent bonuses being paid out, even if they exist or not.
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Vorky are you and the minions at wally world finally getting a touch of reality. Do you clowns even realise the job at hand is about getting full a/c into the air, apparently not it's about parties bbq,s and blowing wind where the pineapples go for those out there actually making it happen. Grow up or shoot through if you are not up to it.
Seriously the CFO and HR GM need to get a clue on what is happening to staff in HQ. There are government regulations keeping the frontline situation in check, you also have the opportunity to negotiate what you get paid and the conditions of work through the EBAs. We don't have any such opportunities in HQ ... what you say, a performance review ... its a charade. As previously mentioned, the KPIs are predetermined to a budget. We get the CPI increase each year, that's it. Want to get anywhere near a fair salary, change jobs internally. What, the jobs are not what your skill set involves ... well, we know we're that leads.
Time to grow up and move on, as its the only way I can further my career from the dead end called VB.
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Well frontline staff don't get parties or bonuses they don't even get xmas off. And they've been running on skeleton staff for quite some time. If you think life in the village is hard maybe you want to step into an airport where the real action happens...
I have also been in the basket of working Xmas and Party nights and the like ... for 2 freaking years I never had a proper Xmas with my family. I slept most of Xmas Day and worked that night. I have suffered my fair share of 16-19 hour shifts because my replacement never turned up, try that on the frontlines and I'm sure there would be issues.
In the current job I'm still expected to be available 24/7 when the you know what hits the fan ... so tell me, I may not interface with the guests, but where do HQ staff have it sweet?
I disgress though, most of that pain is now being outsourced because it save the company money .... and service goes down the drain for the frontline staff. Enjoy.
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The airline was set up to 'keep the air fair'. It was never about 'keeping the workplace fair', many have just realised this......
Vorky, is this your first stint working in Management ? Bonuses are always designed and structured to be an impossible target for mid and lower level management to achieve. Only the upper echelon will still get paid bonuses for basically acting incompetent, destroying morale and losing profit hand over fist, just look at your former executive (and some still lingering deadwood) management team !!
At least Le Village still get to sit on their ergonomic sofa's ,enjoy the funky colours and earn ludicous salries for not doing anything productive....
The current performance rating system is a rort. All KPI's are predetermined in a way as to prevent bonuses being paid out, even if they exist or not
At least Le Village still get to sit on their ergonomic sofa's ,enjoy the funky colours and earn ludicous salries for not doing anything productive....
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from my time at DJ, the parties were allocated $500 of the FBT that the company could give each staff and $1000 ($500 the first 5-6 years when FBT law stated total $1000) was for staff travel. So where is the $500 going to be sent???
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Is any company obliged to give their staff $1500 per year in benefits just because the laws accomodate it? You make it sound like it's an entitlement, part of your salary or something...
I dare say that $500 per employee will be going into company profitability, quite likely enabling another upgrade of the services they are able to offer guests. Don't know about you but I'd rather have a better onboard product than another round of snags on white bread
I dare say that $500 per employee will be going into company profitability, quite likely enabling another upgrade of the services they are able to offer guests. Don't know about you but I'd rather have a better onboard product than another round of snags on white bread
The Brekky Creek took some of BG's dough today....
Bit late to say that a reason that V/Aus 777 didn't work was because of ETOPS limitations. I thought that that would have almost the first thing looked at on that root...
Bit late to say that a reason that V/Aus 777 didn't work was because of ETOPS limitations. I thought that that would have almost the first thing looked at on that root...
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AirborneSoon: Legislation allows a company to spend $1500 on employees tax free. My comment was just highlighting previous use of the funds and asked what could be done with it.
As for the parties (nation wide) it allowed the staff to do something together, excluding those who had to work. It actually allowed the staff to work on doing something apart from the day in day out of work. Its no different with QF having their annual parties for christmas, each port love it for the reason they have something to look forward too.
If you dont have happy crew then all the mods and cons you put into online service would be fairly useless.
An over-haul over most things will need to be done to allow progression at DJ.
As for the parties (nation wide) it allowed the staff to do something together, excluding those who had to work. It actually allowed the staff to work on doing something apart from the day in day out of work. Its no different with QF having their annual parties for christmas, each port love it for the reason they have something to look forward too.
If you dont have happy crew then all the mods and cons you put into online service would be fairly useless.
An over-haul over most things will need to be done to allow progression at DJ.
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I am amazed that some posters hate it how staff had a few dollars spent on them by way of parties. If i was a shareholder I wouldnt approve of it either, fair enough. But little is mentioned of the amount of money bled from the place by certain individuals who loaded their pockets with all manner of bonus/salary structures for doing what ?? These people who made monumental strategic errors, payroll errors, aircraft type errors and hedging errors but yet stll rode the gravy train are the ones who have wasted many many many millions of dollars (excluding the dollar value of their undeserved salries) and should be held accountable.
Last edited by Cactusjack; 3rd Sep 2010 at 08:21.