Virgin Blue achieves record 93.8% on time performance in Oct.

[Mal]

Virgin Blue > News - December 2006 - Cheap Fares and Service You Can Count On

Virgin Blue achieves record On-Time Performance of 93.8%

Monday 18 December 2006: Virgin Blue's reputation as Australia's most on-time airline received a boost today when the Department of Transport and Regional Economics figures revealed the airline had clocked up an all-time record on time departure figure of 93.8%, following the release of all airline data for October, 2006.

The statistic is the highest monthly OTP figure achieved by any major airline since the start of official records by the Department of Transport & Regional Services in November 2003. It means that 93.8% of all Virgin Blue flights in October 2006 departed on time*.

Virgin Blue lobbied for the on-time performance of all airlines to be officially registered to encourage transparency for air travellers.

For the past two years, Virgin Blue has consistently outperformed Qantas and Jetstar's on-time performance. Virgin Blue has now had better on-time performance than Qantas for 23 months straight^, giving it a competitive edge, particularly with the time-precious business market.

Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, "October's 93.8% record is a fantastic achievement for the Virgin Blue team and the result of the focus and determination by each and every one of our people."

He continued, "We are well aware that being on time and reliable are important factors for all Guests, particularly those travelling on business and this is why we focus so heavily on safe and timely flight departures and other time savers such as Web-Check and Blue-Check kiosks.

"Combine these with 30 minute aircraft turnarounds and a modern, reliable fleet and we can offer a valuable point of difference from other airlines."

For the past two years, Virgin Blue has consistently maintained its lead in the OTP statistics compared with other airlines.

For more information on OTP data, click here

* Under the definition applied by DOTARS to all airlines, a flight departure is deemed to be "on-time" if it departed from the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time shown in the carriers' schedule. Neither diverted nor cancelled flights count as on-time. Similarly, a flight arrival is counted as "on-time" if it arrives at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time shown in the carriers' schedule.

^ Based on total on-time departures from December 2004 to October 2006 (inclusive). "Qantas" means Qantas Airways Limited and excludes all subsidiaries.

Of course the usual (untrue) "DJ fudges their figures" type comments will come from some people, but I think this is good news, and the DJ team should be proud.

 

[clifford]

Virgin Blue > News - December 2006 - Cheap Fares and Service You Can Count On

Of course the usual (untrue) "DJ fudges their figures" type comments will come from some people, but I think this is good news, and the DJ team should be proud.

Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather have a "proper" airline, and a member of an alliance, such as Star, eg the old Ansett Australia.

Pity Air New Zealand decided to give us Virgin Blue. You can still hear those Kiwis laughing their heads off over that one.

 

[NM]

93.8%, no matter how it is measured, is an excellent result. Congratulations Virgin Blue in setting a new benchmark for on-time performance.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

QF would be doing very well to get even close. No stats published for QF domestic in NZ, but my own record lately would be about 50% on time (within 15 minutes of scheduled departure)

 

[crazydave98]

Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather have a "proper" airline, and a member of an alliance, such as Star, eg the old Ansett Australia.

Pity Air New Zealand decided to give us Virgin Blue. You can still hear those Kiwis laughing their heads off over that one.

So Clifford, is your definition of a "proper" airline one that flys around in ancient B767-200s with cracks in their engine pylons or would you prefer collapsing nose wheel on a B747?

How do you figure that AirNZ are laughing their heads off when they missed out on buying one of the most profitable airlines in the world and have changed their domestic product to a similar one-class buy-your-drink model (oh, except without liveTV or new aircraft)?

Thank you to Mal & NM for the congratulations.

 

[bammac]

So Clifford, is your definition of a "proper" airline one that flys around in ancient B767-200s with cracks in their engine pylons or would you prefer collapsing nose wheel on a B747?

How do you figure that AirNZ are laughing their heads off when they missed out on buying one of the most profitable airlines in the world and have changed their domestic product to a similar one-class buy-your-drink model (oh, except without liveTV or new aircraft)?

Thank you to Mal & NM for the congratulations.

Even if Air New Zealand were able to purchase Virgin Blue when they had the chance, it would be a big call to say that they could have generated the same level of performance that Virgin Blue has achieved thus far. That's not really a dig at the senior management of Air NZ at the time, but rather the general public's sentiment towards Air New Zealand itself.

At any rate, I think where any carrier sets a high standard in the market it will hopefully lead the others to follow. With Virgin developing it's other offerings including lounges, loyalty program and other rumored business offerings as well as Costello's comments regarding the market and Qantas in particular. It will be interesting to see how the service offerings for consumers develop over the next few years.

I guess as long as Virgin continue to head in the right direction, it's positive for all of us.

 

[bammac]

Even if Air New Zealand were able to purchase Virgin Blue when they had the chance, it would be a big call to say that they could have generated the same level of performance that Virgin Blue has achieved thus far.

And to clear up any confusion, I realise that no one actually said that Air NZ would have done a good job at running Virgin Blue, I was really commentating on the fact that if they had, it may not have gone as well.

So whilst Air NZ may regret not getting Virgin Blue, I think Virgin Blue are better off because of it.

 

[Standby]

An excellent result that the staff shud be proud of.
One small note though about the accusation of 'fudging the figures'
it is fact that QF's ontime performance is measured by ACARS ( electronically registers the time the brakes are realeased for pushback) whereas DJ aircraft are not fitted with any measuring device and rely on their crew manually recording the "ontime departure data" which is like letting a student mark their own exams. I'm not suggesting they would do such a thing
but when looking at the data you simply arent comparing apples with apples.
Again well done DJ ..anything over 90% is great result

 

[cssaus]

Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather have a "proper" airline, and a member of an alliance, such as Star, eg the old Ansett Australia.

Curious to know what your definition is of a "proper" airline.

 

[bammac]

Curious to know what your definition is of a "proper" airline.

Maybe "proper" means an airline that offers both business & economy on main domestic routes, which is a common request by many before they are prepared to switch thier custom from Qantas to Virgin Blue.

Though that would remove the following that I can think of from the definition of a "proper" airline in the domestic NZ & Aus markets:
Air New Zealand
JetStar
Virgin Blue
JetConnect

And of course OzJet had the opposite problem of being too "proper" by offering only business class.

Just taking a stab at what a "proper" airline could possibly mean.....now we only have to establish what a "proper" airport is. My guess is Auckland can't make the grade as they have defined a large garden shed as a domestic terminal.....

 

[crazydave98]

DJ aircraft are not fitted with any measuring device and rely on their crew manually recording the "ontime departure data" which is like letting a student mark their own exams. I'm not suggesting they would do such a thing but when looking at the data you simply arent comparing apples with apples.

Our pilots would stand to gain nothing individually by "fudging" the numbers - it's not linked to their performance evaluation or pay, so there is no incentive here. On the other hand, if they were found to be falsifying operational documents like log books by CASA, they would be out of a job. So spare us the inuendo - you are comparing like with like and Virgin Blue has now beaten the combined Qantas + Jetstar every month for 2 years.

Is it really so hard to believe that we have a better on time performance than Qantas? We operate only 1 (soon to be 2) aircraft types compared to Qantas operating half a dozen (plus the different Link types) so much easier to swap aircraft and crews around when things don't go to plan. We have a much younger fleet, which means fewer mechanical problems. And most importantly our staff try very hard.

 

[JohnK]

Curious to know what your definition is of a "proper" airline.

Ryanair and Tiger Airways!

 

[cssaus]

Our pilots would stand to gain nothing individually by "fudging" the numbers - it's not linked to their performance evaluation or pay, so there is no incentive here. On the other hand, if they were found to be falsifying operational documents like log books by CASA, they would be out of a job. So spare us the inuendo - you are comparing like with like and Virgin Blue has now beaten the combined Qantas + Jetstar every month for 2 years.

Is it really so hard to believe that we have a better on time performance than Qantas? We operate only 1 (soon to be 2) aircraft types compared to Qantas operating half a dozen (plus the different Link types) so much easier to swap aircraft and crews around when things don't go to plan. We have a much younger fleet, which means fewer mechanical problems. And most importantly our staff try very hard.

You guys have got my ticket any day even if you aren't a "proper" airline according to some.

 

[N860CR]

I think people really need to move on from the "DJ is not a real airline" mindset. Sure, when DJ started operations, air travel in Australia was very different to what it is today. Better? In terms of physical product yes, in terms of price (and hence overall product) definatley not.

DJ has matured a lot in its short life and has obviously been doing the right things. Obviously, their growth was assisted by the sudden lack of capacity in the domestic market, but that aside their sucess really should be commended. They've grown from a 2 aircraft LCC to, in a very short space of time, becoming a 50+ aircraft domestic and international "new world" airline that is highly regarded around the world.

As members of the Australian travelling public we should be happy we have an airline like DJ here that is prepared to pressure the "legacy carrier" into making improvements. We're lucky NZ didn't get control back when they had the chance, because looking at the way they run their own business I have no doubt they'd have run DJ right into the ground.

This ontime performance figure is just another way of proving DJ really is, in many ways, a much bigger threat to QF that most people give it credit for.

 

[dajop]

danielribo, well said. DJ have finally (I guess thanks to Toll) taken the opportunities to fill the hole in the market left by Ansett's disappearance, and at the same time changed their model to differentiate themselves from Jetstar. Congratulations are in order, but as with any business can't rest on their laurels.

Now as for the "proper" airline discussion. How can anyone even suggest that DJ is a "proper" airline? Just do a comparison to all the "proper" airlines in the US, there is no way that DJ is in the same class as most of those (JetBlue, aside of course which is very much like DJ, and itself not a "proper" airline).

 

[bammac]

danielribo, well said. DJ have finally (I guess thanks to Toll) taken the opportunities to fill the hole in the market left by Ansett's disappearance, and at the same time changed their model to differentiate themselves from Jetstar. Congratulations are in order, but as with any business can't rest on their laurels.

Now as for the "proper" airline discussion. How can anyone even suggest that DJ is a "proper" airline? Just do a comparison to all the "proper" airlines in the US, there is no way that DJ is in the same class as most of those (JetBlue, aside of course which is very much like DJ, and itself not a "proper" airline).

Agreed, I think as they continue to improve in both performace, service as well as pricing, it will put the consumer in an increasingly better position on the services available. As well as keeping the bar high for it's competitors to match or better, regardless of who you fly with.

 

[vt01]

What a great result! Congratulations...I hope the staff do get some recognition from management for this.

 

[Yada Yada]

We operate only 1 (soon to be 2) aircraft types compared to Qantas operating half a dozen (plus the different Link types) so much easier to swap aircraft and crews around when things don't go to plan. We have a much younger fleet, which means fewer mechanical problems. And most importantly our staff try very hard.

My experience of flying Virgin Blue is always positive, and for domestic economy class travel, I maintain that it is suprerior to QF's tired old offering and crowded lounges. I put my money where my mouth is and this year (as in past years) most of my flying was on Virgin Blue (details here).

The staff do try very hard - my observations while I travel are that they are a very committed group of people.

Congratulations to everyone at Virgin Blue on this fantastic result, and thank God you're here!

 

[clifford]

Ryanair and Tiger Airways!

Have a nice day, John.

 

[JohnK]

It's very easy to be condescending when someone else is paying for your travel.

When you pay for your own travel, out of your own pocket (as I do), I'd like to know your opinion.

Let me have a little fun. I was just being polite. You say that DJ is not a "proper" airline yet you constantly promote RyanAir and Tiger Airways. Now DJ is a much better airline than both of those airlines combined.

Until then, please bear in mind that some people actually pay their own way (I guess when you get to be 30 years of age you may be thrown on the scrap heap too, so be a little bit mindful of that).

I think you have me confused for some Taksin apologist! I fund my own travel thank you very much. Anyway, I am closer to 50 than I am to 30!

You ought to be aware that I am a lifetime *Gold member (what are you?) and also a Mileage Plus Million Miler, who flies over 150,000 paid miles per annum on Star Alliance airlines.

I am a QF Gold soon to be QF Platinum. Big deal!

Sorry Clifford your travel patterns and status mean nothing to me. Just because someone travels more than most people does not make them a better person.

Didn't think respect had anything to do with travel.