Virgin Blue 'could fold over fuel costs'

[Clarke P]

Originally Posted by Adam P.

Clarke,

(my bolding).

They LEASE the rest....

My apologies, I should've read more carefully.

[Radi K]

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/...ticle_2475.asp

[Malcolm Parker]

VIRGIN Blue is considering charging passengers more to check in luggage in a bid to recoup costs as fuel prices continue to skyrocket.

The airline's CEO, Brett Godfrey, hinted yesterday a fee for check-in baggage was imminent.

"With checked bag screening and the amount of security and handling of a bag, a bag actually costs more to put through on to the aeroplane than it does a passenger," he said.

Mr Godfrey said up to three flight routes had been earmarked for reduced services should fuel prices continue to rise, but he maintained staff numbers would not be cut.

Fuel prices were now $43 a ticket, compared with $8 when the airline launched in 2000, Mr Godfrey said.

"People may have to accept that if they want to fly they're going to have to pay a bit more," he said.

In February, rival Jetstar introduced fares that allow customers to travel for $10 less domestically and $20 less internationally if they do not check in baggage.

Source: Herlad Sun 09Jun

I guess it seems like ther won't be any routes being exed but just a few reductions, nothing major. I guess we'll find out in the next couple of days. I'd say their right on the money about charging for luggage.

[Adrian C]

Originally Posted by Marty H

Thats the biggest pile of rubbish Ive ever read, do your homework Virgin Blue offerr all of that now

Do you know how many airlines Virgin Blue interline with? off the top of my head the following: United Airlines, Eithad, Virgin Atlantic, Thai, Malaysia, Air Maurtius and Hawaiian, connecting bags through any port anywhere is Australia, Ive seen bags connect from BME through to AKL via PER, MEL and BNE before.

Bzzzt! Wrong Marty!

I could fly between Burnie/Wynyard and Sydney on the Ansett network, visit one website to make a complete booking, AND if my MEL-SYD flight left 30 minutes after the Kendell BWT-MEL flight landed, no problemo! The bags were checked through and made the connection. Was I taking a dog or a cat? No problemo, they could be transferred too.

Nowadays I need to book one flight on Rex, then make sure the Virgin Blue flight leaves at least 60 minutes after the Rex flight arrives in Melbourne, otherwise no connection. As for the bags, minimum 45 minutes. Can pets transfer between Rex and Virgin Blue flights? Nope, can't be done.

Can I visit the DJ website and book a through flight all the way from Sydney to Burnie where it automatically calculates the best fare options and connection times? No, I can't.

Can I fly business class? No, I can't. Premium economy? Wowwwww. So I'm sitting in the third premium row from the front and some uncontrollable child in the regular economy seat behind me is kicking the seat back constantly. But it's a full flight! What can I do, Marty?

Don't get me wrong, I like Virgin and the product they offer. But are they a proper two-class airline with proper interlining? No, they're not. Qantas is, Ansett was - hence, right now, there's only one genuine two-class airline in the market.

And next time, don't give me this 'rolls eyes' crap either. I treat fellow posters with respect for their opinions. What you did was just a) rude and b) ignorant.

Adrian

[Marty H]

Well do you expect you can do all that when REX and Virgin Blue are two seperate airlines????? Ansett and Kendell were the same airline so hell I would be able to expect to book the whole lot in one go.

When you check in for your flight in SYD to get to MEL then to BWt they will see that and have your bag connected so whats the difference?

Cry me a river buddy

[Anthony T]

Grab your cat and go down the road to Launceston and get on a real airplane

Looks like SYD-OOL is going to slashed

Virgin Blue could be the next airline to cancel domestic routes in a bid to save money.
A spokeswoman for the airline says rising fuel costs have forced the company to review the amount of flights into places like the Gold Coast.
She says Virgin increased flight capacity to Coolangatta by 40 per cent in the last 12 months, which could now be unviable.
The airline is also considering charging a luggage tax.
The spokeswoman says heightened security screening means it now costs more to check in luggage than it does to check in people.
The Queensland Government announced a $4 million rescue package after Qantas said last week it will cut Jetstar flights to Japan and halve the number of Qantas flights to Tokyo.
Virgin will make an announcement on luggage charges by the end of the week.
ABC online

[Andrew M]

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/...014090,00.html

VIRGIN Blue is set to whack the beleaguered tourism industry with a double whammy, flagging a new luggage tax for passengers and cutting flights to Queensland's Gold Coast.

Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey yesterday said skyrocketing fuel prices and greater security-screening processes had combined to severely increase check-in costs.

The budget carrier has also put Coolangatta services on the chopping block only days after the State Government delivered a $4 million rescue package when Qantas and Jetstar revealed flights between Cairns and Japan would be slashed.

"A bag costs us more to put through an aeroplane than a passenger," Mr Godfrey told Channel Nine.

"There's markets such as Coolangatta that has seen a 40-odd per cent increase (in) capacity this year, so even though that has been a profitable route for us in the past, maybe we have too much in there."

His comments came as Queensland Premier Anna Bligh stepped up her calls for national help as she labelled the issue one of "national significance" given the visitors Queensland attracts who travel elsewhere around Australia.

The State Government has been criticised over the past week after the Tourism Queensland budget was cut by $3 million before the rescue package emerged.

Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson yesterday refused to comment on suggestions the Commonwealth was planning an assistance package for tourism operators.

But he said: "The problems facing the Queensland and Australian tourism sector are significant and require a serious, properly considered, strategic response rather than a knee-jerk reaction."

Ms Bligh insisted national help was needed given the "ripple effect" the state's tourism had across the nation.

"There has been discussions with the Federal Government (and) I expect we will hear something from Canberra in the not-too-distant future," Ms Bligh said.

"This is of national significance. This is not just an issue for Queensland."

Mr Ferguson said key stakeholders would meet with Tourism Australia and Queensland Tourism this week to work on a response.

Queensland Tourism Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said tourism was a shared responsibility between states and the Commonwealth.

[Nick W.]

Originally Posted by Lukas Mahoney

Looks like SYD-OOL is going to slashed

Not slashed, just reduced. I imagine not a huge call for such a route in the winter, and it will be these excess services which will be altered first.

[D Chan]

Originally Posted by Marty H

Do you know how many airlines Virgin Blue interline with? off the top of my head the following: United Airlines, Eithad, Virgin Atlantic, Thai, Malaysia, Air Maurtius and Hawaiian, connecting bags through any port anywhere is Australia

well I know for a fact that even though DJ has interline agreement with UA, they don't have baggage agreements. So passengers still have to collect their bags after their DJ domestic flights and drag them over to the international terminal and recheck them in the line. Meanwhile if you come off a Qantas flight domestically and fly on UA transpac the bags can be checked all the way through (meaning pax don't have to collect their bags after their QF domestic flight), they just have to collect their boarding pass.

btw with interline were you referring to codeshare?