If VA what a curfew buster they would go with the Embraer E2 (the new E-jet). It had the PW geared fan, but it is also a common endorsement with the E-jet.

What do QF do with their 100 seater flying? They sub-contract it out. Maybe VA are looking to do the same. Why would you retire a fleet without announcing a replacement?

Spot on Falling Leaf. The question is, do they use VARA or Alliance F100s?

On another note, what was the comment earlier about 40 of something by 2017? It seems to have been removed.

Network want 50 extra pilots before the end of the year.

Alliance cleaned Austrian Airlines out of their F100 fleet not long ago...

Don't be surprised to see Network expanding.

I read an asx statement today saying just that regarding Alliance.

I think the aim here is to have one common narrow body type and also one wide body type in the group hence the new EBA proposals.
Strong rumours also that Tiger are considering a swap to an all 737 fleet.
Or maybe VA will just become a real virtual airline soon.
Time will tell I suppose.

Loads are already good on existing routes with the existing fleet. Why change them?

Did you not see that Tiger actually made a half year profit the other day?

morno

Game Changer?
 

From a couple of days ago:

Valentines day between Alliance and Virgin:

http://m.smh.com.au/business/aviatio...14-gmu24l.html

Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

Need a fair bit of cash to buy Alliance!

Alliance's Market Cap is only $60m.

About the same as a brand new B737. Pretty sure Virgin could afford to buy them if they wanted to!

Virgin has done a big freight deal with TNT.
VARA to operate ex-TNT Europe 146 freighters.

As far as curfew-busters go, remember that it's not just the aircraft's noise footprint to consider. Landing must be 34L and departure must be 16R.
There are plenty of occasions when the wind would preclude one or the other.
How does an airline schedule flights under those restictions?
Sydney's curfew restrictions should allow an operation to depart 34L or land 16R if the downwind to operate under curfew runway use requirements is prohibitive.
Only Medivac flights have that luxury currently.

Link? ................

I hope that was just a tongue in cheek piss take.

1/2 Empty 73 MAX is way to go
 

Just refueled a V aircraft & heard that Gary Pork was happier to fly around 1/2 empty 738 MAXs ( when they get here ) then have 87% load factored E-Jets flying around :bored:

Meanwhile, John Spaghetti & Co seem happy to loose over $220 000 a week on his A332 operation :confused:

We can only say: its the greater minds at work here chaps :\

Well V management, get those shovels & wheelbarrows out again this week & flush those good dollars down the toilet with pride :ugh:

They seem pretty narrow minded on keeping the A330 on Perth and Perth only. I mean, it does the odd Fiji run on weekends but that's because there's sitting around doing nothing, on a Saturday the whole Airbus fleet barely moves. They seem to spend a lot of time parked, expensive machine to have sitting around.

My prediction is that the E-Jet is going as part of a strategy to have VARA do all 'regional' flying, as their name suggests. That includes 100 seater aircraft. Using the 737 to fly 100 seater routes is just a stop gap while they set up Alliance F100's in the East Coast to do what the Skywest F100's are already doing on the West Coast; replace the E-Jet flying.

So by 2020+ maybe Virgin will look like this…

Wide-body: B787 (A330 and B777 gone)
Narrow-body: B737 NG & MAX
VARA: ATR and F100
Tiger: B737NG

The only caveat to this prediction is if they follow the QF playbook, the 787 and MAX's could go to Tiger first….after all, the LCC needs the most fuel efficient aircraft.

Not the case with the Tiger painted 737's, they are the old fuel guzzling, non acars machines, not the nice new SFP ones. Apparently they were chosen because they are the cheapest lease wise.

God helps us if the F100 is still around post 2020. It's an embarrassment that airlines in Australia are currently falling over themselves to get their hands on 20 year old airframes handed down from operators all over the world, including some 3rd world countries.

But they're.....CHEAP! :yuk: