Bain Capital takes Control of Virgin Australia

[henrus]

I think there were 6 free seats in Y and 2 in J. Not bad for a route that has three carriers and multiple flights a day.

The only people who are saying planes aren't full are those who aren't traveling and routes where borders aren't open.

I've flown between Brisbane and Cairns/Townsville/Proserpine/Darwin/Adelaide all of which were full flights with maybe a handful of seats free at most.

 

[pauleg]

Perhaps given the crew and unions view of her, not toooooo close

Exactly - social/physical distancing would be being strongly observed!!!

 

[auflier]

I can't believe that no one is outraged at the use of Fantastic for instant noodles when I would be expecting the top range Nissin if I were in J!! I love instant noodles but not Fantastic. The irony of calling Fantastic noodles that when it is clearly not. Drastic noodles maybe...

very unhealthy though.

 

[HS-TQE]

Y fares expected to be 'unbundled' - JH tipped to revert the Economy fare structure back to closely resembling first CEO's Brett Godfrey's 'New World Carrier' era.

Also some commentary from former Virgin senior executive John Thomas.

IMO, I'm tipping J to be positioned as "Premium Economy" or similar to Spirit Airlines' 'Big Front Seat' concept using the existing domestic J recliners with the 'complimentary Snack service' for Premium passengers.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Virgin Australia looks set to cut basic fares and start charging fees for items like checked baggage and food under new chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka, prompting a wider industry shake-up as the country’s airlines reawaken from the coronavirus crisis.

New Virgin Australia strategy spells end of business travel arms race

Virgin Australia looks set to cut basic fares and start charging fees for items like checked baggage and food under new chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka, prompting a wider industry shake-up as the country's airlines reawaken from the coronavirus crisis.

www.reuters.com

 

[henrus]

Y fares expected to be 'unbundled' - JH tipped to revert the Economy fare structure back to closely resembling first CEO's Brett Godfrey's 'New World Carrier' era.

The reuters article is interesting because it brings up a few interesting topics in terms of charging for the following extras but I struggle to see how many will help/change the airline.

checked baggage - domestically I haven't checked a bag in years, I also have no problem with charging extra for baggage if the fare is a cheap budget ticket. In many places around the world, this is already common.
seat selection - Air New Zealand does this really well domestically/trans tasman and Qantas internationally. At most a basic seat selection should be $5 on a triangle flight but only for cheap tickets. If you often look at VA seat maps about 72 hours prior to departure hardly anyone has selected a seat (partly because they don't care enough) and if people don't select seats when it's free then I can't imagine them paying.
Wi-Fi - I'd happily pay for wifi during business hours but other times it's more of a nice to have. The 1mbps free tier was good and perhaps something that could be introduced as a velocity benefit instead.
food - I was under the impression that you already had to pay for most things so how is this any different. Pre covid "snacks" were cough so as long as they continue to provide water then I think most will be happy.
in-flight entertainment - I believe jetstar trialled a BYO device platform for a fee with limited success. They charged $10 for a similar platform to Virgins and let's just leave it at the idea didn't take off.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Lets just wait and see what happens when they officially take the reins. Speculation does not achieve anything. Many here have no sense of humour so lets be serious. Some of you are getting your knickers in a knot about something you know nothing about. You don't know what the resultant airline will be, so don't stress. Flying will not be the same for a long time, if ever, you don't need a 3 course degustation on a 1 hr flight and no airline will give a rats if you go to the competition because chances are someone will go the other way to replace you. We have had it too good for too long and honestly this might bring things back to a realistic level. Who needs lie flats on a 4 hr transon? nice? of course, necessary? not at all. Of course the fares would be expected to fall, will wait and see if that happens (doubt it though, supply and demand etc)

Our own Diplomat!

 

[jakeseven7]

Y fares expected to be 'unbundled' - JH tipped to revert the Economy fare structure back to closely resembling first CEO's Brett Godfrey's 'New World Carrier' era.

Also some commentary from former Virgin senior executive John Thomas.

IMO, I'm tipping J to be positioned as "Premium Economy" or similar to Spirit Airlines' 'Big Front Seat' concept using the existing domestic J recliners with the 'complimentary Snack service' for Premium passengers.

New Virgin Australia strategy spells end of business travel arms race

Virgin Australia looks set to cut basic fares and start charging fees for items like checked baggage and food under new chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka, prompting a wider industry shake-up as the country's airlines reawaken from the coronavirus crisis.

www.reuters.com

They better be very careful with how they do this if this is true. Too much annoyance/fuss for business travellers and they will run straight back to Qantas, and with their much smaller fleet they are already at risk of doing this anyway...

 

[jase05]

They better be very careful with how they do this if this is true. Too much annoyance/fuss for business travellers and they will run straight back to Qantas, and with their much smaller fleet they are already at risk of doing this anyway...

My concern is how long before QF follow suit?

 

[jase05]

Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah to step down when Bain deal is complete

Might be out of the fire and into the frying pan for PS as talk around work is that he is a potential replacement for Christine Holgate at APG when she inevitably gets the boot.

 

[Mattg]

Very sad day!

I've flown Virgin Business a few times in the past few weeks but only because the points difference was 4600 extra which I'd say its worth it for a bigger seat on a couple of hour flight. Unpopular opinion, but anyone who gets on a plane expecting a Michelin star meal needs a reality check.

Now, who would set such high expectations of airline meals?

Oh wait...

Virgin Australia takes in-flight dining to new heights

Virgin Australia today unveiled new in-flight menus designed by the airline’s internationally acclaimed chef, Luke Mangan.

newsroom.virginaustralia.com

Not to mention articles like these...

Virgin Australia set to change the way you eat at 38,000ft

Forget paddock to plate...this year it's all about paddock to plane.

www.delicious.com.au

No.1 thing stolen from Virgin flights

If you’re lucky enough to fly Virgin business class here’s an insider word of advice — order the moussaka.

www.escape.com.au

 

[Stealthflyer]

Virgin’s cheeky post on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[jakeseven7]

Virgin’s cheeky post on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

View attachment 231126

Clearly they’ve fired their entire marketing and PR team because this is laaaammmmeeee at best and for those who care about getting value out of their VA J fares this will piss them off even more....

 

[Mattg]

Clearly they’ve fired their entire marketing and PR team because this is laaaammmmeeee at best and for those who care about getting value out of their VA J fares this will piss them off even more....

I know at least some of them have left this week. I wasn't impressed with that post either - serving two-minute noodles in J is an embarrassment, not something to embrace.

 

[TheInsider]

Clearly they’ve fired their entire marketing and PR team because this is laaaammmmeeee at best and for those who care about getting value out of their VA J fares this will piss them off even more....

I think that this IG post just goes to show their 'new' direction. Or their "re-imagined" direction. Quite pathetic really.
Yeah you'll get those small 'laid back' business types and CEO's but majority of clients won't go for it again IMO.

 

[BNEFlyer]

I think the post (which was on Insta, Facebook and Twitter) is just owning the backlash at their temporary offering. It's a bit of fun to promote a good thing (the credit extensions). I don't think it shows a new or re-imagined direction at all, it's just a bit of fun.

 

[bernardblack]

I think the post (which was on Insta, Facebook and Twitter) is just owning the backlash at their temporary offering. It's a bit of fun to promote a good thing (the credit extensions). I don't think it shows a new or re-imagined direction at all, it's just a bit of fun.

This also is my read.

I don't know whether the customers they need to win back are going to agree though.

Full disclosure: I used a bunch of Future Flight Credit and some Amex travel credits to book a couple of trips to take the kids to see my parents over summer. And although I'm not going out of my way to earn into Velocity right now, I still have some points, plus 2x Delta business award itineraries SYD-LAX and SFO-LAX-SYD in March, booked right before admin started. I'm expecting to have to reschedule those awards.

So I'm open to a new offering, if they still have lounges and status and decent international partners for earning and redemption. I am not troubled by unbundling food/drink, or even bags if need be, for short-haul economy.

 

[Happy Dude]

I think the post (which was on Insta, Facebook and Twitter) is just owning the backlash at their temporary offering. It's a bit of fun to promote a good thing (the credit extensions). I don't think it shows a new or re-imagined direction at all, it's just a bit of fun.

Ha! This had me thinking of this bloke trying to own his paper's stupidity:

 

[drron]

I think the future is obvious from the link provided up thread when the CEO in waiting had this to say.

"Hrdlicka, a former head of Qantas low-cost arm Jetstar, said in 2015 that Virgin had lost customers to Jetstar when it included baggage and food in its fares, because ticket prices rose.

“Virgin just became too expensive,” she said at an aviation summit."

New Virgin Australia strategy spells end of business travel arms race

Virgin Australia looks set to cut basic fares and start charging fees for items like checked baggage and food under new chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka, prompting a wider industry shake-up as the country's airlines reawaken from the coronavirus crisis.

www.reuters.com

But from the same article who really believes that this Qantas source really didn't have permission to talk.
"Virgin’s fleet reduction under Bain will widen Qantas’ advantage in network size and flight frequency, which can be even more important to corporate travellers than creature comforts, said a Qantas source who was not authorised to speak with media. Qantas declined to comment. "

 

[BNEFlyer]

This also is my read.

I don't know whether the customers they need to win back are going to agree though.

Full disclosure: I used a bunch of Future Flight Credit and some Amex travel credits to book a couple of trips to take the kids to see my parents over summer. And although I'm not going out of my way to earn into Velocity right now, I still have some points, plus 2x Delta business award itineraries SYD-LAX and SFO-LAX-SYD in March, booked right before admin started. I'm expecting to have to reschedule those awards.

So I'm open to a new offering, if they still have lounges and status and decent international partners for earning and redemption. I am not troubled by unbundling food/drink, or even bags if need be, for short-haul economy.

When the updated business offerings are announced, and hopefully remaining lounges reopen, that will win back some punters. Would I fly VA J now? No, it's not worth it. I flew VA Y last week which was perfectly acceptable compared to J. Will it be worth it in a few months, even by the end of 2020? Possibly.

 

[bernardblack]

This seems very reasonable to me. To be clear: I have been booking economy for short MEL-SYD vv flights. For a one-to-two-hour flight in economy, unbundling food is fine. And I'm not likely to pay the extra for business for a flight that short, on any airline, regardless of service (absent some specific status-run intent).

What I do want is:

• a lounge with some complimentary food and beverage, and seating and wifi/power, for domestic travel as a Gold member and/or with Amex Plat; the existing lounges were fine
• access to partners who can fly me long-haul in proper flat-bed business, either revenue (and earning points and status credits) or award redemption

If these things don't come back, then I would begin to look elsewhere.