I'm nominating this one for post of the year. S&P have said that the balance sheet can handle it, even with around A$1.1bn in debt due over the 2020 fiscal year. Yes, VA are paying a pretty penny to bring Velocity completely back in-house, but loyalty programs are more lucrative than the airlines attached to the side of them, so the board will see this as a big win. Selling points to banks raises cash and is highly profitable, especially when you control the redemption conditions. This will help add to their cash flow and gives them a lot more flexibility to run the program how they see fit in the future.

And that certain WA operator...yeah they screwed themselves for years and years with that one after they got hoodwinked into paying exorbitant leases on the ATRs that are sitting in storage in Nelson. Mind you, they seem to have done their best to gut what was left of the operator in the meantime, so much so it became better to cosy up with Alliance. But hey, hindsight is 20/20, right?

Yet all the inane comments you make come from the years of you inhaling fumes as a refueller and the fact Virgin rejected your application mattyj

Meanwhile, Affinity are hearing the words of a departed Australian businessman... "You only get one VA in your lifetime" (I was going to write virgin but that might have sent a different message, unintended).

Agreed, great post. Some of the arm chair expert comments on here are unbelievable. Why do pilots think they understand how to run or manage a mulit-million dollar business any more than they think executives known how to fly a multi-million dollar aircraft? Most pilots can barely make basic investments without losing money yet for some reason we see comments on these forums over and over and over like there is an intrinsic understanding of the complexities of business. Reading a lot of these comments is as laughable as watching a bunch of 4 year olds discuss how to they're going to manage a 4 hour simulator session. Stick to what you know, admit when things are beyond your understanding and if you can't do that, read up on the Dunning-Kruger effect!

If bringing it back in house is such a great idea because they are so profitable, why did the business geniuses sell it in the first place?

Seems to me Dragun that these experts don't have a clue as much as the four year olds you mention.

Or to put that another way (a phrase another non-professional pilot is fond of using) if you don't like what professional pilots talk about don't read their posts on what is mainly a forum for professional pilots to talk about what professional pilots talk about. Its not always flying stuff. If this was an executives and middle management BB you would have a valid complaint. As its not, you don't.

On that point, would you say that the guy that ran it for 7 years without making any money had an understanding of the complexities of business?

I don't see any issue in anyone stating their opinion, and it's up to the person reading the post whether or not they deem the post factual or just an opinion. In my opinion...

Of course he understands it. Does that mean he got every decision right? Probably not. Does it mean he got it all wrong? Probably not. In any case, my point doesn't relate to whether or not he or any other exec or CEO does or did a good job or not, it relates to people giving opinions on things they fundamentally don't understand in the same way someone who's never flown an aircraft would give an opinion on a pilot's performance by observing a simulator session. They might think they can assess what's happening based on whether or not the landing was smooth, but the reality is they neither have the knowledge or ability to assess the performance of the crew in pretty much any capacity. As professional flight crew we find would find that laughable so why are we generally so arrogant to think the same doesn't apply in reverse?

I'm amazed how many pilots I hear passing judgement on Virgin's or Qantas' business performance yet don't understand the difference between a statutory loss (profit) and and underlying loss (profit), just as a very basic example. Or how a given company continually losing money can still continue to increase in value over time. I'm not saying we shouldn't have opinions or that people aren't entitled to one, but the next time you listen to someone rant in a bar over the performance of any company (or for anyone reading this and has done it themselves), genuinely ask yourself, do they really understand how to interpret financial results, read a balance sheet, assess investments, understand bonds or long term business strategy? How much experience do they genuinely have to make that assessment? Or are they just doing what we, as pilots, tend to do very well...think that because we're professionals at flying mulit-million dollar aircraft around the sky it also makes us knowledgeable and professional in everything else? A few basic probing questions usually and very quickly highlight this in my experience.

All it takes sometimes is a bit of humility and accepting that we don't have to understand everything all the time.

...but that's just my opinion :ok:

As a non-management professional pilot flying for a major Australian airline, I'd say I'm well able and entitled to be here. I'm simply providing an objective view point without the normal group think we all learn about in CRM/NTS and that often dominates threads like these.

What makes you think I'm any more qualified to provide that assessment than you? I wouldn't have a clue! And as I've said all along, that is my point!