Virgin announce ISA/BNE/ISA
 

Not sure if this has been posted yet?

Virgin announced they will start operating ISA with an Embraer. They have also picked up a contract with Xstrata.
Nice work John, you caught your mate at QF asleep at the wheel once again!!

John's "mate" has been sending aeroplanes there for a long time now....

Qantas have recently increased the number of services into Isa too.

Qantas has also been increasing the prices too.:yuk:
Does anyone know how many services per day Virgin will be doing and is it 7 days a week?

Again ?..............

Good move :ok:

They putting 747's on there??

A little more
 

Jeez guys, you need to read into my post. I know the bloody Rat flies there, unless I have been dreaming that I have been flying peole into there?
My point is that a reliable insider has told me that Il Duece's 'mate' at QF had no prior intel or knowledge that this move was coming. That is the ridiculous part. AJ is asleep at the wheel...

And yes I had a chuckle that VA is coming back for a second swing at the title! Big difference this time though because the first time was when Ansett fell over. At the time of the collapse Ansett was making very good coin out of the ISA route, sometimes you had to wait weeks for a seat to Brizzy or to Cairns. The freight market was in kick ass shape too. Qantas may have flown there but was never the golden child, they were always option 2, always the ignorant bastard son!
VA had sniffed around ISA before the Ansett collapse but was to scared to make a try at it. Therefore after Ansett collapsed they quickly came in. However with little strategy, understanding or general brain they underestimated the people of ISA and merely assumed that VA could walk in and take over all of Ansetts cream! I think not. The smart folk of ISA said to
VA 'get stuffed', Qantas is still here and they can have the lions share. VA was averaging 8 to 14 pax on it's 737's, sometimes as low as 3 pax with
nil freight to top up the coffers. After a few months the Virgin pulled out, so to speak!

This time is different. QF is on the nose in every way possible. The mining industry is going gangbusters, the VA product now pisses over AJ's tinpot service, plus VA have signed a nice contract with Xstrata which means some guarantee seat sales each flight even if they aren't utilized (money for jam), plus VA has some brains now in the senior ranks, far different to the Godfrey/Sherrard era.

If the unique people of ISA are as sick of QF as everybody else is then VA will do well indeed.
I have no doubt Borghetti has some further vision for what he too can extract
from the mining boom. People underestimate ISA. It was only a few years ago that ISA had the highest amount of millionaires!!
Seems to me that the harvest is right for picking?

There will be lots of support for Virgin in Isa! Good on them for comming back after so long. Hopefully it works out for them!

you have to understand that every post on Pprune has to be related to QF by the minions. For the life of me I can't understand why people relate a picture of an Embraer in an article means that VA is sending that A/C.? Not the case at all. I think the only thing Mt Isa residents will like is the price war that will follow. Don't forget Virgin ditched them in 2001 and left QF to pick up the pieces.

Desertion
 

VA pulled out of ISA last time the day the state government finished its financial support for their service. The ISA residents won't forget that either.

Idiot
 

Empire4, interesting yet arrogant comment.
However this thread was started not based upon an Embraer photo in an article, but based upon VA's strategic announcement made at the Mt Isa mining and industry expo yesterday, in which they even brought out the VA flight attendants in uniform walking amongst the crowd to promote the news if their return. Plus the VA announcement included their commitment to using the Embraer on the route.

Empire4 pull your head in.

And yes I agree that VA's previous foray into Isa doing leave a good taste in the mouths of the locals. Time will tell.

Is it a case of being asleep at the wheel?

More likely a case of not giving a rats arse about what " il douche " is doing.

Qantas, like the CEO or not, is still a far superior product to virgin. And at the end of the day will always be the market leader domestically.

The Virgin venture exists because XSTRATA signed a contract.
Although the deal is being advertised in the Isa as a benefit for the locals.
Will be interesting at the terminal when all the flights land at one time, which is the case on Friday afternoons now. Rex, Skytrans, Alliance, Airnorth and Qlink all fly in.

Hey there Mince.

"superior product" You are kidding,right ?

Fly safe and play hard.

Regards hoss58

Hoss. I think he must be joking..

Last time I travelled QF I was served by a 60-something year old wrinkly woman wearing bright pink lipstick.

Last time I travelled virgin I was served by a beautiful young, leggy, sassy, busty and witty blonde :D

I know which I prefer - especially coming off 2 weeks of 12 hour night shifts! :p

And the girls aren't bad either.

Not working for either of the companies mentioned, I think I can be an unbiased judge.

Virgin may not have many older BUT they certainly have there share of the less attractive ones.

QF still have some oldies, but they seem to be employing more and more younger and their share of pretty ones.

All in all there is bugger all difference I suspect.

It appears to be a dick measuring competition.

Seems the Gold Coast Suns prefer flying with the oldies.

Saw them in the QF Brisbane Domestic terminal yesterday, wearing their team jackets with "Virgin Australia" emblazoned on the back. Thought the AFL signed a contract with Virgin last year?

:ok:

(apologies for the [further] thread drift!)

Maybe they were deliberately booked on QF as bit of infiltration and marketing to the QF punters? :E

Definitely a bit odd when VA is listed as a sponsor!

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