So when are they going to rebrand the company Ansett?


They've pretty much acquired the same fleet!

It was tongue in cheek....747's and VA dont go together, neither does A330's and HK....that would be common sense

Yes Baron, because the 146 has been such a flop for NJS/Cobham for 25+ years ;)

I suspect the difference is that NJS/Cobham have a handle on how to maintain those airframes, which bits break regularly, have the process for changing an engine down pat (albeit without using QC engines), it will very much depend on who maintains these things, but they aren't a 737, don't have the issues a 737 has and isn't as reliable as a 737, so it will require a mindset change.

The saving grace will be, I assume, that these things will sit around during the day and not fly, so the engineers will have plenty of time to work on them, assuming that they actually employ engineers during the day and not rely on the MEL and good luck to get by.

I would expect the 146 to be operated under VARA who have a little experience in operating old unreliable aircraft.
As a side, the few VA engineers I know all worked on 146's back before Virgin existed so they know what they are like (even if the mangement don't).

FYI these will be ops and maintained by a 3rd party, but flown with a Virgin tail.

Operated by VARA

What he said.

The Fokker 100s ? Most are older than the Cobham RJ fleet.

Interesting that with a little research and digging around I found that NJS/Cobham using these "unreliable aircraft" have a better OTP than Qantas, Virgin, Jetstar and Tiger. Funny that.

So you are saying that they are reliable and don't require a lot of care or experience in maintaining them? Of the 146 drivers I've spoken to they've all said the opposite.

As for OTP are you comparing Cobham 146's to 737/320's operating on 35 minute turns up and down the east cost nearly 24/7?

Find it really interesting that on this forum, the addition of 2 BAE-146 aircraft to a small air-freight subsidiary business has attracted more attention then the withdrawal of 18 E-jets. :ugh::ugh::ugh:

Will the E-jet withdrawal signal a longer wait for off the street recruitment?

My two cents...

What fleet are you talking about? External recruitment sounds like it will be on to the ATR, 777 or VANZ. External recruitment on to mainline jets looks unlikely given the number of VARA, VANZ and 777 pilots already on the seniority list, plus the E-Jet guys that now will need to find places on the 737. The only thing that might stimulate external recruitment onto VAA jets is if there was a sudden pilot shortage and significant growth, and the existing pilots were bonded and therefore couldn't move. Plus there is a cap on the number of VARA pilots that can go across to VAA so they don't cripple the regional fleets.

Given Virgin's woes and the dying economy there will be no significant growth for the foreseeable future.

Primarily interested in VANZ fleet.
Thanks for the info.

Speaking of Ejets...
 

There are no guarantees that all the E-jet FO's will get a seat on the 737….with Tiger gnawing away at Virgin 737 flying now and more into the future, and not all E-jet routes being taken up by the 737 anyway, some may be forced onto the 777, ATR or VANZ. Company can always claim credit for not making them redundant! :8

So wouldn't be holding my breath about external recruitment.

No, I am saying that they are NOT unreliable as stated by WipperSnapper in his/her first ever post.
ALL aircraft require the care and experience of engineers. VB had issues with the E Jet until there was some level of experience. The NJS/Cobham engineers are across any issues. Their clients seem happy enough.
Do we as "drivers" (a horrible expression) really know what goes on with maintenance?

I didn't actually say that, I was talking more of the fokkers. Unreliable was probably the wrong word, less reliable than a 737 or maintenance intensive are probably more appropriate. I haven't worked on the 146 but going on the previous posts in this thread and friends who do, or have previously maintained them they are not much fun as an engineer. Similar things are thrown around about the fokker 100, so you would expect vara to have a little idea about how to manage them. I am not holding much hope though.

Is it just me, or am I the only one who saw that VAA have 10.5 million in operating cash....

Selling th E100 Sounds like a capital free-up to me, in case credit becomes tight. A small loss on routes where B737 replaces E190 and let the "cheaper" capital assets fill the void on a small inefficiency until there is more money in the bank.

I haven't looked at the debt yield ratio's. Anyone?

Someone has.....Look at where the share price closed on Friday. Although considered not an actively traded stock its performance does seem particularly woeful even with the Friday afternoon closing price shenanigans.