Virgin Australia International / VANZ demise

[blackteal]

Looks like the VANZ operation management anyway is about to be wrapped up and all essential services off shored back to Australian shores.
CHC base under threat of closure. Apparently all a push from Air New Zealand now they are on the VA board they want VA out of their territory all early departures Trans Tasman out of NZ will be ANZ and early Trans Tasman out of AUS will be VA Australian based pilots both doing returns. As it goes all VANZ services will be suspended and all VA 737 operations (International) will now come under the VAI brand.
Official word arrived today via internal email apparently.

[Capt Basil Brush]

Official word arrived today via internal email apparently.

Your full of sh1t!!

[1A_Please]

What exactly is the VAI brand?? As far as I know there is only one brand, VA, but there are 2 underlying companies.

[cnsnz]

The NZ operation has been under review for awhile, financially it makes good sense not to be duplicating the management on both sides of the Tasman.

[virginexcess]

VAI flights will still be crewed by NZ based pilots working on their current conditions.

there may also be a few Oz based pilots who came to VAI to fly the DPS flights. Problem will come when the Company wants to use Oz pilots to fly SouthPac sectors, or NZ pilots to fly DPS sectors.

I sense some unhappiness when/if that happens

[mattyj]

So let me get this straight. It's just a closure of the Christchurch management office right? The rumour I heard was a cancellation of the NZ AOC..a reduction in Tasman flying and no more ZK regos..is any of that true?

[Oakape]

Lets clear up a few things, shall we?

all essential services off shored back to Australian shores

The head office functions are actually being 'on-shored' in Australia, as the parent company is Australian.

CHC base under threat of closure

Incorrect. Nothing about base closures, except as speculation by some. Officially all pilots & flight attendants are to be retained.

Apparently all a push from Air New Zealand now they are on the VA board they want VA out of their territory all early departures Trans Tasman out of NZ will be ANZ and early Trans Tasman out of AUS will be VA Australian based pilots both doing returns

Incorrect. This process was started well before the latest board appointments. As for the rest, this the first time I've heard anything like that. Arguably ANZ need VA more than VA need ANZ, so they wouldn't be in a position to throw their weight around to that extent. Unless of course VA are interested in withdrawing from the Tasman & redeploying the resources elsewhere, but I have seen or heard nothing to indicate that that is the case.

As it goes all VANZ services will be suspended

Incorrect. No change at this stage to any VANZ services. The only change will be that the aircraft will be transferred to the Australian register & the operation will be under the VAI AOC (which will be amended).

all VA 737 operations (International) will now come under the VAI brand

Correct, although the term 'brand' is not accurate. There is no VAI brand, there is now only a Virgin Australia brand, supported by a number of operations under their own AOC's.

Official word arrived today via internal email apparently

Misleading. The affected staff were told in person by senior management. All other staff were advised by e-mail.

As far as I know there is only one brand, VA, but there are 2 underlying companies

Incorrect. There are more than two entities supporting the Virgin Australia brand.

Problem will come when the Company wants to use Oz pilots to fly SouthPac sectors

Oz pilots have already been used on occasions to fly these sectors with no problems (using a VH tail of course). Could be an issue in some situations, but not necessarily.

It's just a closure of the Christchurch management office right?

More or less. The AOC will most likely go as well, unless they decide to hold onto it but not operate under it for the time being.

The rumour I heard was a cancellation of the NZ AOC

Correct.

a reduction in Tasman flying

Incorrect.

no more ZK regos

Correct.



Hope that helps.

[blackteal]

Oakape ,
You are correct on most points,
However the real concern is that VANZ management are no longer in control of costs or more correctly cost cover ups !! Which is basically what NZ only has to offer when you break it down ( refer the current exchange rate )
If NZ can't keep costs low what's the point in having a NZ operation ?
I as well as others ( close friends )genuinely have real concerns about this latest turn of events.

[snakeslugger]

They have never been in control!

The directives are sent from BNE and the puppets do as they are told.

[Oakape]

They have never been in control!

The directives are sent from BNE and the puppets do as they are told.

To a greater or lesser extent, that has been true from day one.

If NZ can't keep costs low what's the point in having a NZ operation ?

This has been the line wheeled out by management ever since the employees started pushing for more money. While it is always wise to be aware of costs & how they impact the operation and therefore one's job, it is also wise not to buy into the 'spin' used by management in every industry, including ours, to control employees & keep downward pressure on cost in order to maximise profits.

There are many reasons to have a NZ operation other than simply lower cost. However, unless you are privy to the current CEO's vision for the airline & what he feels is worth spending money on & what is not, you will never fully understand why some decisions are made. There are two other operations that are similar to Virgin's NZ operation. One operates VH tails & has management in Oz & the other has ZK tails & a layer of management in NZ. Both pay NZ pay rates. And both are part of the one group - QF. JB will be quite familiar with these operations & my guess is that he intends to take what he thinks is the best of each operation and use that to take the Virgin NZ operation forward. Wages cost is obviously important to him, judging by his comment in one of the NZ meetings last year, so lower wages is one reason to keep the NZ operation going. It is also more effective to start the days flying in NZ, rather than in OZ.

Sure, there will be increased cost of using VH tails under the VAI AOC, but there will still be significant cost savings by using NZ based crew to operate them, as JetStar do. There will be also synergies from using VH registered aircraft rather than having a separate fleet of ZK ones.

While it is always wise to be aware of issues relating to job security, particularly in this business, I don't think it is time to start looking for another job just yet.

[waren9]

i think oakape has pretty much explained it

researching the competition regulators requirements around the air nz tie up and tasman services might also help the op