DeltaB717 wrote:Does anyone know why the only 'Tigerair' B737 that has flown since Sunday night is VUD which flew 3x MEL-ADL vv. rotations yesterday? VOY & VUB haven't flown since Sunday, and VOR hasn't flown since Friday.
getluv wrote:QF have upgraded SYD-DPS to daily from March 27.
Reduces to 4x weekly again in May before returning to daily from May 29.
Very quick turnaround.
DeltaB717 wrote:Does anyone know why the only 'Tigerair' B737 that has flown since Sunday night is VUD which flew 3x MEL-ADL vv. rotations yesterday? VOY & VUB haven't flown since Sunday, and VOR hasn't flown since Friday.
Flyingsottsman wrote:The SYD and MEL flights to DPS, are they operated by 738's?
CanadaFair wrote:Is it just the Perth route or the market itself?
jupiter2 wrote:Because it's a ridiculous, unnecessary route, that would've been a waste of an airframe. VA don't need it, any pax they do/did have can be accommodated on the EY flights.
RyanairGuru wrote:With AUH it is not so much the market per se but with the relaunch of MEL-LAX and the proposed route to HKG Virgin don't have enough long haul aircraft to go around. That's a decent turnaround from a couple of years back when they seemingly didn't have a clue what to do with their 777s (NAN anyone?) and operating them to AUH on behalf of EY made some sense as it was a relatively low risk route that allowed Etihad to increase SYD to double daily. The route was never about VA and all about EY. Ditto the A330s which were no longer required on East-West flying. Thankfully VA have belatedly decided to put their metal to better use.
qfvhoqa wrote:jupiter2 wrote:Because it's a ridiculous, unnecessary route, that would've been a waste of an airframe. VA don't need it, any pax they do/did have can be accommodated on the EY flights.
It wasn't unnecessary when EY was short of aircraft, as they could fill the plane for VA (remember when VA wet leased a 77W 1x weekly for EY's AUH-KUL). As RyanairGuru noted, it made a lot more sense than sending a 77W to NAN/HKT.
jupiter2 wrote:Have they actually announced the ending of the SYD/AUH flight ?
but as luftaom says keeping all the A320s while there's nothing other than domestic they can do with the B737s seems just another poor decision. Surely they can find some more domestic flying...
getluv wrote:VA International is such a mess.
The HKG route already sounds like a disaster as well.
getluv wrote:VA International is such a mess.
Realistically VA management should have decided between SQ or EY to codeshare with only one of them to Europe. I don't think choice has worked out for all 3 parties involved.
The ending of daily services of BNE-LAX to include MEL-LAX won't be healthy in the long run either. It really should have been one or the other.
The HKG route already sounds like a disaster as well.
aerokiwi wrote:getluv wrote:VA International is such a mess.
The HKG route already sounds like a disaster as well.
How so? Sure they're still weighing up Melbourne and Sydney, but what's the "disaster"? It hasn't actually started yet.
aerokiwi wrote:I think the reintroduction from Melbourne is a positive and I imagine that once the 330/777 replacement is selected, they'll grow to daily again on each.
aerokiwi wrote:I'd say the real mess is the transition to Tiger for DPS - that was a balls-up.
They announced HKG (and a China service with HNA) last May and announced it again a few weeks ago like it was some surprise to the Australian media. They still even haven't even announced where and when it's going to start. They're obviously having difficulty finding a viable slot in/out of HKG, which is a common problem for all airlines at the moment.
With what aircraft? They'd have to reduce BNE or SYD to make it happen. J customers, which I'm sure they are targeting, like reliable and consistent schedules.
[/quote]VA Domestic, you could argue, is also a mess. They've spent all that money trying to match QF and they've got very little to show that they've matched QF apart from some nice J seats on their A330s. VA really should have been a JetBlue or an AS type airline.
getluv wrote:Realistically VA management should have decided between SQ or EY to codeshare with only one of them to Europe. I don't think choice has worked out for all 3 parties involved.
aerokiwi wrote:A bit of PR guff, sure, but I wouldn't classify that as a "disaster".
I think you misunderstood - I mean they'll likely return to daily once they've started receiving their 330/777 replacement. With Qantas removing the 380 in favour of the 789, there'll be some opportunity there to step in. And Brisbane probably doesn't warrant a daily service anyway without the connecting Melbourne traffic. It's not ideal, but hardly a "disaster".
Oh for sure, the domestic strategy has been disappointing and should have been rectified 2-3 years ago. But they do seem to be starting to turn things around with fleet and route rationalisation, leading to better capacity and cost management.
I think the hyperbole was warranted when it seemed like VA were wedded on to the Borghetti leadership team. But clearly he's being shuffled aside ever so delicately and there are now concrete steps to recovery. Long way to go, but glimmer of hope and all that. With internaitonal now being profitable, apparently, it would appear that side of things is not, in fact, a disaster.
SYDSpotter wrote:don't think VA had a choice,
QF are not removing the A380 from MEL-LAX. They're removing the 747 that flies 2x a week and adding a 787 on 6 days. So VA is operating on a route with two other competitors, one that flies daily the other that flies nearly double daily.
VA International was profitable - not by much though, less than $1m and for all that capital. At this rate the new 777 J seats will take ages to make a return. The TT DPS debacle hasn't even been factored in yet.
They might be okay in a few years, but they won't be as big as they are now in terms of fleet and they will not be able to offer what QF is offering which is why they spent all that money in the first place. I mean you could be forgiven for thinking VA was a low cost carrier still with how they operate out of T2 in Sydney.
aerokiwi wrote:
Yes I've heard (and experienced) some of their T2 ops problems. Is that a contracted-out ground handler though?
nuke wrote:DeltaB717 wrote:Does anyone know why the only 'Tigerair' B737 that has flown since Sunday night is VUD which flew 3x MEL-ADL vv. rotations yesterday? VOY & VUB haven't flown since Sunday, and VOR hasn't flown since Friday.
The Tiger 737s are temporarily stored until April.
eta unknown wrote:Some interesting QLD developments:
PX to start TSV-POM
And according to the Brisbane Airport website timetetable section:
AC quietly downgauging BNE-YVR from 789 to 788
OD BNE-DPS-KUL April start confirmed with 739.
But not to spoil the OD party, Air Asia X to start BNE-KUL 4x/week in June. Unsure whether these are extra QLD flights or OOL re-routes.
xiaotung wrote:getluv wrote:VA International is such a mess.
I am also less optimistic about the prospect of VA's HKG service. What makes them better positioned than VS who pulled out a few years ago? .
MillwallSean wrote:Add on the access to the FF of VA and well SQ can sit back happily. The FF agreement tend to favour those with Krisflyer. Its how it worked and well even though they changed it in 2016 I still think its tilted in SQ favour.
Feed from VA is just an added bonus but its not a main driver of this alliance for SQ.
log0008 wrote:With the right code shares and timings with Hanian, Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express (also part of the HNA group and mentioned in recent results) VA will have access to up to 20 cities in China, 3 in Korea (Melbourne largest underserved market) and 10 in Japan from Hong Kong the only other airline that can offer this is CX.
qf2048 wrote:Fly Pelican has partnered with Velocity Frequent Flyer.
http://www.flypelican.com.au/flying-wit ... ocity.html
CX BNE-HKG changes during peak season,
"Across the peak period from late October 2017 to March 2018, Cathay Pacific will replace its current four times weekly one-stop service to Brisbane via Cairns with direct flights to both cities."
https://www.ausbt.com.au/cathay-pacific ... ng-flights
log0008 wrote:With the right code shares and timings with Hanian, Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express (also part of the HNA group and mentioned in recent results) VA will have access to up to 20 cities in China, 3 in Korea (Melbourne largest underserved market) and 10 in Japan from Hong Kong the only other airline that can offer this is CX.