Godfrey: No Deal with Tesna
Nunc est bibendum
Boeing Belly et al, my percieved naieve post was made in response to Okie saying that he was chock o block to/from Melbourne. Everone has heard of lies, damn lies and full aeroplanes who don't provide a decent return. You just have to look at Qantas pulling out of Mumbai to see that one!. .Mine was just another example.
I am nervous about the next six months to five years. The difference between me and you guys is that I'm not silly enough to delude myself by quoting traffic figures as the 'evidence' of profitability.
As for the wind up. He shoots......he misses. I'm the son of a school teacher. My dad is very proud of me- not because i'm a pilot but because of WHO I am. I never even contemplated being a doctor and my marks weren't good enough for the RAAF thank goodness- I'd still have two years of a ROSO to go. (Instead I've got a (fairly) secure job in a great airline with a great CEO.)
Yes I'm an ex cadet but I paid for it myself after having spent the first $15K before that on my PPL. OK, so my cadetship only cost $15K (instead of the latter cadets $60-100K) but the only difference between me and most other guys who got their CPL in the early 90's is that after applying for a QF cadetship, I got it and others didn't- I'm still trying to work out why. (Thats where being a Christian helps with the answers.)
Incidentally, despite blokes like you telling us that we think we are better than everyone else, all cadets (and for that matter Qantas pilots) know the ONLY thing we have in greater quantities than any other applicant is luck! <img src="wink.gif" border="0">
Have a nice day. (And here was me almost thinking we were getting along after our little light hearted exchange on another thread or was that Buster?
)
[ 24 February 2002: Message edited by: Keg ]</p>
I am nervous about the next six months to five years. The difference between me and you guys is that I'm not silly enough to delude myself by quoting traffic figures as the 'evidence' of profitability.
As for the wind up. He shoots......he misses. I'm the son of a school teacher. My dad is very proud of me- not because i'm a pilot but because of WHO I am. I never even contemplated being a doctor and my marks weren't good enough for the RAAF thank goodness- I'd still have two years of a ROSO to go. (Instead I've got a (fairly) secure job in a great airline with a great CEO.)
Yes I'm an ex cadet but I paid for it myself after having spent the first $15K before that on my PPL. OK, so my cadetship only cost $15K (instead of the latter cadets $60-100K) but the only difference between me and most other guys who got their CPL in the early 90's is that after applying for a QF cadetship, I got it and others didn't- I'm still trying to work out why. (Thats where being a Christian helps with the answers.)
Incidentally, despite blokes like you telling us that we think we are better than everyone else, all cadets (and for that matter Qantas pilots) know the ONLY thing we have in greater quantities than any other applicant is luck! <img src="wink.gif" border="0">
Have a nice day. (And here was me almost thinking we were getting along after our little light hearted exchange on another thread or was that Buster?
)[ 24 February 2002: Message edited by: Keg ]</p>
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Mon "Sydney Morning Herald"
Revealed: Ansett's secret plan to axe 1500 jobs
By Darren Goodsir, Transport Writer
Ansett's prospective owners bargained to cut 1500 workers to whom they had promised jobs to try to win a majority stake in Virgin Blue - before the merger talks collapsed.
Virgin Blue's chief executive, Brett Godfrey, said yesterday the proposed mix of 1500 Ansett workers with his own 1300 staff would have been disastrous.
"We would have had a culture melt. We didn't share their vision and no doubt Tesna would have had some concerns as well."
With Ansett's sale to the Tesna syndicate expected to be approved in the Federal Court today, the market is geared for a three-way fight for passengers from Friday.
Echoing comments by Qantas's chief executive, Geoff Dixon, who predicts a "bloodbath" in which only two airlines can survive, Mr Godfrey said he did not expect a return to $33 one-way fares, the highlight of the four-way duel that ended in the death of Impulse. He agreed, however, that aggressive fare-setting would still be prevalent.
Ansett, whose bid for the budget carrier exceeded the $250 million Air New Zealand offered in September, would be under pressure to steal passengers from Qantas, rather than Virgin Blue, in a war for the lucrative corporate accounts flying between the major cities, he said.
Virgin Blue was on track to make $30 million to the year ending March, he added.
"I don't envisage losing any money at all," he said of the looming battle. "I mean, let's not forget here Virgin made money last year when it had Ansett operating nearly 100 aeroplanes.
"So they are going to have to take some of the pie ... they are not going to be growing the pie."
With merger prospects scuttled, Tesna's principals, Solomon Lew and Lindsay Fox, appear undaunted in reviving Ansett - using 29 aircraft on 11 routes in a return to full-service in-flight operations. The pair were in talks with the administrators yesterday, haggling over fine details. But Mr Godfrey was adamant the Virgin-Tesna tie-up would not have worked.
"From the outset, we weren't looking at a merger situation. Tesna were bringing some sizeable and significant assets to the table. We were bringing what we felt was an airline with a substantive and a very profitable base to grow from, so I think both parties perhaps had fairly high opinions of themselves.
"But at the end of the day we weren't prepared to cede control and I gather the same from Tesna ... The parties both can't have 51 per cent."
Ansett's ownership transfer is expected to start on Friday, with Tesna exhausting every day of the deadline period set by the administrators. The airline has been experiencing losses of more than $1 million a day.
Qantas is fine-tuning an advertising blitz in preparation for Ansett's resurrection.
Mr Dixon refuted suggestions the airline would start cutting fares - but insisted there would be no retreat from matching prices.
"Qantas is not going to go out there and start a bloodbath ... although we will protect our position where we think our position should be
"If they get up and they are flying again, we will be very, very competitive against them."
Revealed: Ansett's secret plan to axe 1500 jobs
By Darren Goodsir, Transport Writer
Ansett's prospective owners bargained to cut 1500 workers to whom they had promised jobs to try to win a majority stake in Virgin Blue - before the merger talks collapsed.
Virgin Blue's chief executive, Brett Godfrey, said yesterday the proposed mix of 1500 Ansett workers with his own 1300 staff would have been disastrous.
"We would have had a culture melt. We didn't share their vision and no doubt Tesna would have had some concerns as well."
With Ansett's sale to the Tesna syndicate expected to be approved in the Federal Court today, the market is geared for a three-way fight for passengers from Friday.
Echoing comments by Qantas's chief executive, Geoff Dixon, who predicts a "bloodbath" in which only two airlines can survive, Mr Godfrey said he did not expect a return to $33 one-way fares, the highlight of the four-way duel that ended in the death of Impulse. He agreed, however, that aggressive fare-setting would still be prevalent.
Ansett, whose bid for the budget carrier exceeded the $250 million Air New Zealand offered in September, would be under pressure to steal passengers from Qantas, rather than Virgin Blue, in a war for the lucrative corporate accounts flying between the major cities, he said.
Virgin Blue was on track to make $30 million to the year ending March, he added.
"I don't envisage losing any money at all," he said of the looming battle. "I mean, let's not forget here Virgin made money last year when it had Ansett operating nearly 100 aeroplanes.
"So they are going to have to take some of the pie ... they are not going to be growing the pie."
With merger prospects scuttled, Tesna's principals, Solomon Lew and Lindsay Fox, appear undaunted in reviving Ansett - using 29 aircraft on 11 routes in a return to full-service in-flight operations. The pair were in talks with the administrators yesterday, haggling over fine details. But Mr Godfrey was adamant the Virgin-Tesna tie-up would not have worked.
"From the outset, we weren't looking at a merger situation. Tesna were bringing some sizeable and significant assets to the table. We were bringing what we felt was an airline with a substantive and a very profitable base to grow from, so I think both parties perhaps had fairly high opinions of themselves.
"But at the end of the day we weren't prepared to cede control and I gather the same from Tesna ... The parties both can't have 51 per cent."
Ansett's ownership transfer is expected to start on Friday, with Tesna exhausting every day of the deadline period set by the administrators. The airline has been experiencing losses of more than $1 million a day.
Qantas is fine-tuning an advertising blitz in preparation for Ansett's resurrection.
Mr Dixon refuted suggestions the airline would start cutting fares - but insisted there would be no retreat from matching prices.
"Qantas is not going to go out there and start a bloodbath ... although we will protect our position where we think our position should be
"If they get up and they are flying again, we will be very, very competitive against them."
for those putting so much emphasis on 'on time' performance, consider Qantas 'on time' is +/- 3 minutes for departure and zero for arrival. Not hard to blow 3 minutes at Sydney waiting for the aircraft behind to clear before you can push. Also note when B747 put on a domestic sector, turn time is around 60 minutes on a planned 45 minute scheduled turnaround.
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Mon "Australian Financial Review"
Branson's decision to fly solo puts Tesna in limbo. .Feb 25. .Jane Boyle
Last Friday Sir Richard Branson knocked back a merger proposal that involved a hefty cash payment to his Virgin Group and that would have left him with 50 per cent of an expanded airline that would have flown out of Ansett terminals under the Virgin banner.
It is understood the deals discussed put a valuation of more than $500 million on Virgin Blue, double the $250 million offer from Air New Zealand that Sir Richard knocked back last year.
It is believed the parties discussed a range of options, including flying under the Virgin brand on shorter domestic routes, and using the Ansett brand on longer routes between Perth and the east coast, and potentially to fly to international destinations such as New Zealand and Bali.
Despite their pledge to take on Qantas in the full-service market, it appears Tesna's principals, Mr Lindsay Fox and Mr Solomon Lew, were prepared to consider adopting Virgin Blue's no-frills model and brand - at least on some routes - and to ditch half the Ansett staff they have pledged to employ.
What they weren't prepared to give up was control. But neither was Sir Richard. After all, Virgin Blue is his most profitable airline, a net creditor to the Virgin Group that has proved itself in a four-way battle against a bigger Ansett, Impulse and Qantas.
What must really worry Mr Fox and Mr Lew is that Sir Richard's refusal of a profitable merger deal backs up assertions by Virgin Blue's management that the airline has the financial wherewithal to withstand another savage discounting war.
Tesna sources have repeatedly referred to Sir Richard's need for cash. But the commitment by Sir Richard's 51 per cent-owned Virgin Atlantic last week to a $1.9 billion order as launch customer for the Airbus A340-600 jets, and the rejection of a merger with Tesna, suggest that some of the cash pressures he faced after September 11 last year have abated.
His financial pressures have been eased by a pledge of £300 million compensation from the British Government for its failure to provide adequate infrastructure for one of Sir Richard's railway investments.
In light of Virgin Blue's rejection of a merger, Tesna's US investors, Mr David Bonderman and Mr Bill Franke, may also have second thoughts about backing Tesna.
Mr Bonderman and Mr Franke considered an investment in Virgin Blue before committing to Tesna late last year and Mr Bonderman is close to Sir Richard.
In the past, Sir Richard has even attended corporate retreats held by Mr Bonderman's Texas Pacific Group, a mark of the strength of the relationship, since the Virgin chief normally avoids such events.
If Mr Bonderman and Mr Franke pull out, Tesna will lose a lot of credibility and airline experience.
Ansett has lost key personnel such as its former head of operations, Captain Trevor Jensen, who was snared by Qantas's chief executive, Mr Geoff Dixon, in a coup that further undermined morale at Ansett.
With the departure of people such as Captain Jensen, Ansett has lost vital knowledge about the airline's operations and planning expertise.
In recent months, while Tesna's principals have dashed between meetings with lawyers, they have left operational planning for many parts of Ansett, such as ground handling, to union delegates.
Mr Fox and Mr Lew have stated repeatedly that they will proceed with the acquisition regardless of the Virgin Blue talks. As Tesna sources insist, the pair, worth more than $1 billion, have the cash to launch Ansett. Whether they want to lose it is another matter.
Branson's decision to fly solo puts Tesna in limbo. .Feb 25. .Jane Boyle
Last Friday Sir Richard Branson knocked back a merger proposal that involved a hefty cash payment to his Virgin Group and that would have left him with 50 per cent of an expanded airline that would have flown out of Ansett terminals under the Virgin banner.
It is understood the deals discussed put a valuation of more than $500 million on Virgin Blue, double the $250 million offer from Air New Zealand that Sir Richard knocked back last year.
It is believed the parties discussed a range of options, including flying under the Virgin brand on shorter domestic routes, and using the Ansett brand on longer routes between Perth and the east coast, and potentially to fly to international destinations such as New Zealand and Bali.
Despite their pledge to take on Qantas in the full-service market, it appears Tesna's principals, Mr Lindsay Fox and Mr Solomon Lew, were prepared to consider adopting Virgin Blue's no-frills model and brand - at least on some routes - and to ditch half the Ansett staff they have pledged to employ.
What they weren't prepared to give up was control. But neither was Sir Richard. After all, Virgin Blue is his most profitable airline, a net creditor to the Virgin Group that has proved itself in a four-way battle against a bigger Ansett, Impulse and Qantas.
What must really worry Mr Fox and Mr Lew is that Sir Richard's refusal of a profitable merger deal backs up assertions by Virgin Blue's management that the airline has the financial wherewithal to withstand another savage discounting war.
Tesna sources have repeatedly referred to Sir Richard's need for cash. But the commitment by Sir Richard's 51 per cent-owned Virgin Atlantic last week to a $1.9 billion order as launch customer for the Airbus A340-600 jets, and the rejection of a merger with Tesna, suggest that some of the cash pressures he faced after September 11 last year have abated.
His financial pressures have been eased by a pledge of £300 million compensation from the British Government for its failure to provide adequate infrastructure for one of Sir Richard's railway investments.
In light of Virgin Blue's rejection of a merger, Tesna's US investors, Mr David Bonderman and Mr Bill Franke, may also have second thoughts about backing Tesna.
Mr Bonderman and Mr Franke considered an investment in Virgin Blue before committing to Tesna late last year and Mr Bonderman is close to Sir Richard.
In the past, Sir Richard has even attended corporate retreats held by Mr Bonderman's Texas Pacific Group, a mark of the strength of the relationship, since the Virgin chief normally avoids such events.
If Mr Bonderman and Mr Franke pull out, Tesna will lose a lot of credibility and airline experience.
Ansett has lost key personnel such as its former head of operations, Captain Trevor Jensen, who was snared by Qantas's chief executive, Mr Geoff Dixon, in a coup that further undermined morale at Ansett.
With the departure of people such as Captain Jensen, Ansett has lost vital knowledge about the airline's operations and planning expertise.
In recent months, while Tesna's principals have dashed between meetings with lawyers, they have left operational planning for many parts of Ansett, such as ground handling, to union delegates.
Mr Fox and Mr Lew have stated repeatedly that they will proceed with the acquisition regardless of the Virgin Blue talks. As Tesna sources insist, the pair, worth more than $1 billion, have the cash to launch Ansett. Whether they want to lose it is another matter.
