Virgin Blue ditches NZ Domestic Services & VA Changes

[Ryan K]

From the ABC's website:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin

[Phillippe M]

Press Release from VB here.

http://www.virginblue.com.au/AboutUs...s/P_013219.htm

Also gone is the VAustralia flight to Fiji.

[Mario Facchini]

Johnny B is really looking to take VB places !

But if the NZ domestic arm was bleeding money, it would not have been a hard desicion to make.

[Arthur T]

The exit of Pacific Blue on NZ domestic market makes Air New Zealand and JetStar will be the 2 remaining major competitors in NZ's domestic market.
If this is the case, it seems it could be likely for Virgin Blue to further intregrate and co-operate with Air New Zealand that will enable both companies to eat up more shares on the trans-tasman and intra-NZ market.

Anyways, will Virgin Blue code-share with Air NZ for NZ domestic services? I hope we will see something like this very soon.

[Andrew M]

Slightly off-topic from the NZ ditching, but finally they have pulled the 777 from the Fiji flights.

Why they bothered with that I will never know. A 77W on that route is a big overkill.

Also the SYD-LAX flights finally leaving syd in the mornings/lunch instead of the silly evening departure.

No good getting into LAX at 7/8pm as you won't be getting another domestic flight out of there at that hour.

Sometimes I wonder who "thinks" of these great decisions in the first place.

[Brad Myer]

With DJ replacing the 77Ws with 737s on the SYD-NAN-SYD does this mean it frees up the allowed seats on the route to enable JQ to go daily A320s SYD-NAN-SYD?

[Andrew M]

I am sure you are aware, but having aircraft flying around doesn't mean they are making money. A budget destination such as Fiji doesn't need/warrant a 77W fitted out with a long-haul product.

With yet another schedule change on the SYD-LAX run they are going to annoy another batch of customers as well.

The constant schedule changes, which are now finally for the better, are not a way to keep business customers or even leisure customers happy.

I know personally of around 15 people who had rooms booked nearby LAX as they were expecting to arrive into LAX in the evening, now they are arriving in the morning.

[Sarah C]

The Fiji flights were not going to last. But having the aircraft on the ground in Sydney for over 12 hours made no sense. They were not making money having an aircraft on the ground and Sydney Airport were charging them too.

[Andrew M]

They should have followed Qantas and what every other airline does to the USA.

Let the plane/s sit at LAX for 12 hours

There is a reason Qantas, United, Air NZ & Delta all leave Australia in the morning.

[Andrew M]

Still have no idea why they thought a 77W on a leisure route was a good idea, I think the 77W was designed with more than 3 1/2 flight in mind Added to that I thought VA carried no cargo to/from NAN ? Making that decision even more of a failure in the first place.

Yes as I said there is a reason that all other airlines leave in the morning or early afternoon to arrive at LAX/SFO.

Big fail to VA for thinking/planning/actually putting flights that arrive late in the evening in the USA. Leaving no time to catch a connecting flight.

Yet again with more flight changes they are burning yet another chunk of customers.

They still haven't learnt that a consistent flight schedule is key to repeat business.