Virgin Blue signs major aircraft deal

[Tony G]

Nothing against airbus, however it is good to see that they stuck with the 737s. Just to keep up the variety of aircraft in Australia to choose from.

[Tony G]

Would be good if they followed the Braniff/Court idea as well, the current colour scheme has got me singing Split enz. If your under 30 I do not expect you to understand this post :-) .

[Will H]

Originally Posted by Steve Grayson

The -900 is still out there as dorment order.. On top of that I have found out that the only reason the T7 was not ordered for Dom Ops was the inability of SYD, BNE and MEL Dom Terminals to accept their large footprints. IATA says the T7 will take up 2.4 of their bays and they are not willing to change for us.
DJ is now looking at an infill of an 767/A330 size a/c to allow is to fly 250 ish pax on our trunk routes...
One last update from the Coffee Club is that we are ramping up to have about 140 a/c by 2015 ad onwards to 180 by 2017
It's gonna get busy.....

Had the 777 order eventuated, that would have raised a number of interesting questions: have a dedicated domestic fleet (in which case buy old -200As or -300As at good prices or buy new jets)? or interchange the a/c with V, in which case the a/c would be premium heavy for domestic routes.

The 767/330 need is a quandary. I don't see DJ going to Airbus, yet Boeing can't offer much with the 767 at the end of its life and the 787-3 all but nixed.

You can get 215 pax in a single-class config in the 739ER. Are 35 more seats worth introducing a new type of a/c?

[Jarden S]

Will they keep the E-jets or they get replaced with new 737s

[Andrew M]

Interesting that the A330 is mentioned, yet again!

Can't really see them going down that path, just get the 737-900ER

[Raymond Rowe]

They are probably looking a twin aisle much quicker loading and unloading

[lloyd fox]

The problem is Sydney parking gate availability and slots as they grow.2x A330 flights will replace 3x 737 flights etc.

[Will H]

Originally Posted by Andrew M

Interesting that the A330 is mentioned, yet again!

Can't really see them going down that path, just get the 737-900ER

[Godfrey] says there's even a business case for expanding into mid-haul aircraft such as Airbus A330s or Boeing 787s.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/busi...-1225835355948

Originally Posted by lloyd fox

The problem is Sydney parking gate availability and slots as they grow.2x A330 flights will replace 3x 737 flights etc.

Wouldn't that only be for parking, not slots?

[Nigel C]

What about if you removed Bravo-4 and extended the eastern T2 terminal finger southwards to enable 2 or 4 larger aircraft bays at the far southern end, depending on whether you kept Bays 39 and 40 for Code C aircraft or made them Code E capable?

[Arthur T]

Re Nigel:

Renewing Qantas' Boeing 737 Fleet does not mean getting new planes to replace them, but I mean they should have their interior refurnished to install AVOD and a more comfortable seating.

Furthermore, Qantas should stop waiting for those 7Late7s and consider other options including to order 20 B77E to replace B76W, where these B77Es can be deployed to more European or ex-NZ Transpacific service and to replace some early A333s in the future. I think if QF can order these B77Es they can come within a year or two, which they will be fitted with new product and should be able to beat Virgin Blue.