Virgin Blue plans for Pacific route

[NM]

Its good to see the schedule of the east-bound flight differentiates them from the QF flights.

 

[ANstar]

3 class

$1899 regular Y fares with 32" seat pitch. $999 return lead in fares.

Schedule as originally posted. Next destination in a few weeks.

Sydney is the base for V Australia

Will have flat beds in J, and 40 Premium Economy seats with 20" width and minimum 38" pitch.

Inflight SMS etc all offered.

http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/2008033...chjf1vnsmr.pdf

 

[dot]

The V Australia web site has just come to life - V Australia > Home bookings, timetables, info, etc A big change from the 4 page informational site that was there less than 20 mins ago.

Timetable page says that they will commence flying on the 15th of December 2008

 

[stuartfaz]

Well it all looks, to borrow a phrase, V Impressive...

The specs for the J seats looks pretty similar to the VS/NZ variety. Also good to see that they're working on lounge access for the international ops.

Any thoughts on the next destination? SFO and a VX codeshare, perhaps?

 

[Evan]

3 class
$1899 regular Y fares with 32" seat pitch. $999 return lead in fares.

Looks like "V deal" prices inc taxes.
"V Saver" inc taxes is going to be more like $2400 but the flexi fares look well priced.

Premium whY around $3500
Business is priced around $5000

So J prices look really cheap compared to QF, whY prices do not differ that much, around $200-300 difference.

Promo = 0.25 points/mile
deal and saver = 0.5 points/mile
flex = 1.0 points/mile

E

 

[futaris]

Virgin Blue Velocity Points can be earnt / spent on V Australia.

See their web page for more info.

Interestingly points are earnt per km, 0.25/km for lowest V Promo fares.

96,000 - 128,000 for SYD-LAX redemption (oneway I think).

 

[Evan]

Well it all looks, to borrow a phrase, V Impressive...

The specs for the J seats looks pretty similar to the VS/NZ variety. Also good to see that they're working on lounge access for the international ops.

At the prices i just found above, J will sell out and be very popular i am sure ! but whY will not be such an easy sell, i think some people will still see that $200 extra for QF will be an easy choice.

E

 

[oz_mark]

Virgin Blue Velocity Points can be earnt / spent on V Australia.

See their web page for more info.

Interestingly points are earnt per km, 0.25/km for lowest V Promo fares.

96,000 - 128,000 for SYD-LAX redemption (oneway I think).

They are earnt per mile (1.609 km)

 

[kamchatsky]

I wonder when will Qantas and United enter the price war as well. That's what I want to see. The flight times is good as well since it is at night time ..... can go to airport after work

Have to say that the promo fare is really cheap. Hope it will bring the price down on that route permanently.

 

[Evan]

I wonder when will Qantas and United enter the price war as well. That's what I want to see. The flight times is good as well since it is at night time ..... can go to airport after work

Have to say that the promo fare is really cheap. Hope it will bring the price down on that route permanently.

I would say your hopes are much higher than mine, deal and saver fares are not much different from QF & UA fares... the promo fares looked to be limited to only 1000 people ! thats a small number, you may see a few more sales on these routes now but don't i think expect much change to now for whY.

J fares is what looks interesting, if V keep those $5k return fares then its compared to QF a bargin !

E

 

[dot]

J fares is what looks interesting, if V keep those $5k return fares then its compared to QF a bargain !

And if QF decide to match these VA J prices, that could see the end of DONE4's for me! The only reason I get to do them is because they are cheaper(with my company's discounts) than flying across the Pacific and back (with a few internal flights in the LOTFAP)

 

[Mal]

J fares is what looks interesting, if V keep those $5k return fares then its compared to QF a bargin !

I can only find ~$10000 return (~$5000 e/w), or about $13000 for a Business Flexi.

 

[Mal]

Would have been nice for V Australia to revolutionise the Pacific market by introducing one-way tickets at a similar price to 1/2 of a return. That didn't happen of course.

 

[futaris]

First of the QANTAS sale(s):

Some of the best cities in North America are on sale now with these great Qantas deals on flights to Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver.

On sale now until midnight (AEST) 17 April 2008, this deal is available for travel:

- to Honolulu between 1 November and 30 November 2008
- to San Francisco^ between 2 May and 31 May 2008
- to Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver between 1 April and 16 June 2008

Hurry! Seats are limited.

BNE-HNL $1458
BNE-SFO $2119
BNE-LAX $2138
BNE-JFK $2343
BNE-YVR $2497

 

[stuartfaz]

First of the QANTAS sale(s):

Some of the best cities in North America are on sale now with these great Qantas deals on flights to Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver.

On sale now until midnight (AEST) 17 April 2008, this deal is available for travel:

- to Honolulu between 1 November and 30 November 2008
- to San Francisco^ between 2 May and 31 May 2008
- to Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver between 1 April and 16 June 2008

Hurry! Seats are limited.

BNE-HNL $1458
BNE-SFO $2119
BNE-LAX $2138
BNE-JFK $2343
BNE-YVR $2497

I think it's a bit of an odd response, but they have targeted a few cities where they think VA may fly to, like SFO and YVR.

For some reason I don't see HNL happening as far as VA goes, nor JFK seeing as the ASX release said they were working out a codeshare with NW. SFO is a good chance, as is YVR and possibly SEA.

 

[ANstar]

The $5k figure for J is a one way price - NOT return. There return price is around $9999

 

[stuartfaz]

The $5k figure for J is a one way price - NOT return. There return price is around $9999

It's still a lazy $3000 less than QF...

 

[oz_mark]

Interesting trying to figure out the silver and gold status bonus works on some of the fares. Its not consistently the stated percentage (20%,40%), or the stated extra miles.

Promotional Economy (V Promo)                  0.25     1,877    3,379   4,954 
Discount Economy (V Deal, V Saver)             0.50     3,755    4,881   5,277 
Economy (V Flexi)                              1.00     7,509    9,011  10,513 
Premium Economy (Premium Saver, Premium Flex)  1.25     9,386   11,263  13,140 
Business Class (Business Saver, Business Flex) 2.00    15,018   18,112  21,025

 

[DJ737]

Hi there

Noticed that fares ex LAX are not bookable yet, so expect some more specials tomorrow when V Australia is launched in the US.

Also the NW tie up is interesting, maybe Virgin are considering Skyteam membership

Cheers
DJ737

 

[Mal]

Looks like BNE-LAX should be announced soon:

Virgin Blue direct flights create 100 new Brisbane jobs | The Courier-Mail

"Virgin Blue's CEO Brett Godfrey assures me that we'll all be able to do that direct from Brisbane to LA in the very near future," she said.