John Borghetti, in an airline management sense, mostly was

I'm pretty sure the non-compete clauses are legally unenforceable anyway.

Correct on both comments.

JB played his cards very well indeed. He has been joking with AJ and the Boston Kid over the past few weeks about the whole thing while remaining very 'aloof'. Even as late as Friday night AJ was saying that there was no way JB would be interested in the DJ gig and JB was playing along right til the stroke of midnight.

Also there is nothing 'untoward' about Colin's sudden departure. It is for genuine reasons under extenuating circumstances.

And so the cycle of aviation continues.........

Branson must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Fact
 

RB started laughing the day Ansett fell over. His 'take' to date from the day DJ launched is 960 mil....

Who said you can't make money out of aviation?

You know, atlast we seem to have a good story about someone who acts with integrity and has found his true level. It is a bonus that he wasnt deemed worthy of those in ivory towers.

We dont need any more of what we have seen recently when boards decide individuals are bigger than the organisation itself.

JB doesnt need to always be popular but PLEASE do something to make us see that times have changed. Even us mere slf want to see something of which we want to be part other than a truly trashed brand that seems to be merely following its own self fulfilling prophesy.

Believe it or not, I was once a true follower but no more after the long and hard lessons.

Brilliant move by RB, BG and all, so give us something to do with our loyalty other than contempt and my guess is they will be there in droves.

stationair8:
Q: Who said you can't make money out of aviation?
A: Certainly not my ex-wife!

............seriously JB is a good operator and from the few meetings I've had with him I would only wish him the best. He has demonstrated integrity and does back his people.

Look fwd to seeing his stamp on DJ - Definately a loss for us at QF

AT

PS: JB don't be afraid to wear a tie!

Hope the same thing that happened at QF when AJ got the top job, happens at VB, the Village gets its floors swept of the inept and childish parasites. I bet there are some very sombre and S%^T scared people hiding under the colourful and ergonomic office furniture using the company paper to update their CV's for their old job at Macca's and the Coffee Club.

I am not an overly optimistic person by nature, and the pilot at VB will not see many benefits from this new management except maybe greater job security!

Why would JB want to change any agreement he has with a group of pilots that give him a team that has an EBA which provides great flexibility at mid range salaries if not poor conditions like VA. He would have laughed and rubbed his hands when he discovered that an entire combined yearly salary of a flight deck to LA is paid the equivalent of a single QF Jumbo Skipper!!!!!

Probably the only thing we may see change is a better IT system, and after he has tried to use the VB staff travel system, an updated, truly online based and user friendly website may be implemented. After having used QF's staff travel system, JB will spin out!!!!!!

VB will most likely benefit form the Business market as his knowledge and contacts with the Mahogany set will surely be used.

On the surface QF did not seem to kick up a real fight to keep JB, is this a Trojan Horse that has just been wheeled into the Village compound? Time will tell! A few of the boy's have seen GD paxing on few flights with VB in recent times, is this all too coincidental?

But then again, the mail boy come good has been kicked out of home and "Hell hath no fury, like a executive scorned."

Funny you say that DD as Rod Wilcock resigned yesterday from GM of Ground Operations.

Wouldn't you out of sheer self preservation? Given the warm & fuzzy feelings he engendered between staff & management at his former employer.

JB is a loss to QF & and a big gain to VB. He seemed like one of the few decent blokes on mahogany row.

Must Have's
 

dirty deeds,
Gold medal award for this statement.You couldn't sum up the place better than that !
And yes,we are all waiting eagerly to see if our prayers are answered and all the 'inept and childish parasites' are frog marched out the door. My guess is that rather than update their CV's (as they wouln't have the 'must haves' to make it elsewhere) they will be exercising their tongue muscles in preparation for begging to keep their jobs!It is always fun to see somebody lose their 'umbrella's of protection':D

But on the flipside,things are already like a breath of fresh area around Ergonomic Central,and I can tell you that there is partying in the corridores,people are eager to bury the dead and get on with business. There is a lot of energy that has been suppressed in recent years that is bubbling to the surface once more,all JB has to do is harness it:ok:

A word of caution to VB pilots.

Under JB and Qantas record profits in 2007 was born the Qantas Short haul agreement that has a B scale for new Captains.

Jetconnect was another cancer that was born when JB was manager of QF tech crew.

As a result it is a 12-15 year wait to a 737 command in QF now.

Do not be surprised to see the rise in Pac Blue flying.

This is the guy who got Qantas to sponsor the Scuderia Ferrari F3 team in Sydney so he could get his Ferrari fixed for free.

and a word of caution to VB cabin crew/ground staff
 

there has been changes under JB guard.:yuk:
B contracts for cabin crew
overseas bases for cabin crew
a very messy product domestic & international ( i think there are 7 different business class seats/products out there , old aeroplanes, )
numerous changes to ground crews contracts & conditions
loosing, or as many insiders think deliberatly disposing of many ground handling contracts
and so on..........

Sweet Revenge ?
 

I wonder what Qantas thought about John Borghetti succeeding Brett Godfrey at Virgin Blue?
Friday, 5 March 2010
Wouldn’t we all loved to have been a fly on the wall in both Alan Joyce’s office at Qantas’ HQ and when Geoff Dixon heard that his former first lieutenant John Borghetti had secured the top job at their nemesis, and thorn in the flesh, airline Virgin Blue.

I wonder if the words ”traitor”, “turncoat” or even “poacher turned gamekeeper”, passed anyone’s lips?

With Borghetti’s non-compete clause only expiring last November, and rumours that he was off to the Middle East, speculation about him being in the frame for the top DJ job was shrugged off as mere speculation by some. Especially within Qantas.

Others thought that John made the perfect candidate to take Virgin Blue into it next stage of “growing up”. Having said that I did doubt whether they would have the nerve to appoint him!

It is a great credit to Virgin Blue to see total transparency in a process like this, as it is rumoured that there was not a lot of love lost between Godfrey and Borghetti, but clearly the process has won, with best man getting the job.

Qantas has always been recognised as a leader in sales and marketing, with Borghetti having headed up that for a large part of his 36 year career with the flying kangaroo. Now those many years of skills and experience will be fully plugged into Qantas’ biggest competitor.

A great opportunity has presented itself to Borghetti. He will now able to apply some of the things he probably could not have done at Qantas, mainly because the culture was very different to Virgin Blue but also because he had a very dogmatic and strong CEO in Geoff Dixon.

I also think that Borghetti must be very excited at the prospect of running an organisation with an open, non-bureaucratic culture, a place where innovation and dynamism are the name of the game, potentially rather different to the apparent environment of his previous role. Another bonus must be moving to Queensland!

Brett Godfrey says that he looks forward to welcoming Borghetti and introducing him to the business adding, “John has a proven track record in the aviation sector... He comes with enormous knowledge and experience.”

“Importantly, I know he respects the Virgin Blue team and its culture... His understanding and participation in both the low cost and full service segments, has him uniquely placed to lead Virgin Blue in its next stage of development.”

This week must now be very a sweet one for Borghetti though, one might even call it “revenge”, with his taking over the helm of Virgin Blue also being announced just after the much smaller carrier reported a bigger profit than Qantas!

So Borghetti, sincerest congratulations to you and while Godfrey has left some very big shoes to fill, I have no doubt you are the man to fill them.

Industry Insider Commentary and Opinion by John Alwyn-Jones, e-Travel Blackboard correspondent




Source = e-Travel Blackboard: J.A.J

Yeah, like rolling out "I still call Australia home" again and again and again.

Absolute geniuses!

With a new leader and the 10th anniversary of the airline this year I think we will see some big changes at Virgin Blue.

There will be an increase in regional flying with a turboprop added to claw away at the dominance Qantaslink has in the market. Regional flying has always been big money for Qantas and JB knows this and he will want a share of it.

The E-jets will start new markets and perhaps return to some old ones (Alice Springs and the ISA). You may also find the E-jets operating the ½ hour flights on the golden triangle as at the moment Virgin only operate every hour and only a few flight on the ½ hour in some peaks.

A new uniform for all staff, 10 years with the same style uniform is way to long.

Proper business class added and changes to economy.

Just watched the Business program on the ABC and interested by JBs comment regarding a 3-year performance 'bet' with SIR RB...

VB will certainly be in for a shake-up - hopefully it's a positive one...

Smile and wave boys, :ok:

BR

Crew sourced and based overseas, aircraft maintained overseas, Irish CEO....

Yeah, about as Australian as the Doner Kebab mate.:ok:

The etiquette at VB is so ingrained it can't be changed. Just look at their adds.
New cabin crew start on 30k, premium experience straight out of Mcdowels.
Proper business class?No they announced a three class economy product instead.