[Anonymous]

[MartynSinclair]

So Sir Richard finally appears to have caved in and is launching a new hard product in all classes, but as yet it is all top secret. Sir R, that is your perogative.

What is sad though is that the report on the front page of BT is that Virgin are updating their product becasue of lack of slots at Heathrow. The article states that the product launch will initially be for the leisure market, out of Gatwick. Does that mean that Orlando, one of Virgins busiest routes out of Gatwick, will finally have a decent Upper product.

Time will tell, but its about time Sir Dickie that the product was updated.

Any input needed, give us a call.

Sunny days are here again!!!!!

[VintageKrug]

“It’s” about time.

Though I wouldn’t hold your breath; these announcements often take considerable time to come to fruition.

I am looking forward to sampling the new seats; odd choice to target the leisure market first, though. I think we need to look more closely at that decision to understand the motivations for it, beyond the rather obvious slot talk.

European feeder traffic exLGW would be interesting…..perhaps a re-invention of the Hub without the hubbub?

[PaulJennings]

HInts at a possible use for bmi and drops in the subject of not having enough LHR slots…

[openfly]

VK RB tried European feeding some years ago with that Belgian crowd and I think it was an expensive mistake. With that hindsight I cannot imagine that he would go back to it

[MartynSinclair]

very suprised that there has been no VS comment – perhaps BT does not exist in Virgins world.

BT could you send a comp. issue of BT to Sir R, c/o Necker Island, Branson World!!!

[continentalclub]

I missed this thread, but have just commented on the news piece at

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/exclusive-new-onboard-product-next-year-for-vir

(give it a minute to be moderated and updated).

As you’ll see when it becomes visible, I think that this whole interview is a little bit odd.

[VintageKrug]

Yes, something’s up. Not sure what though?

Maybe VS joining Star Alliance longer term (as a Singapore offshoot that would make sense, but only AFTER it has won more LHR slots as an independent carrier).

[Tom Otley]

Afternoon,

I’ve commented on the bottom of the piece.

Sorry you think the interview is odd – perhaps it’s because I wrote it on the plane and wasn’t as clear as I might have been, but I’ve tried to answer your queries following on from your comment.

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/exclusive-new-onboard-product-next-year-for-vir

[continentalclub]

Great additional insight there, thank you.

As you were posting over in the ‘News’ section, I also happened to be reading the article in The Times:

http://bit.ly/da7xgI

– that you kindly simultaneously referenced.

That article does indeed give some additional background to the discussions that were taking place on board the inaugural Accra flight. However, if anything, I thought that their article was even odder!

The online iteration doesn’t include the rather strange graphic that the print version boldly displays; a curious visual that makes Virgin and flybe look much bigger than they really are compared to British Airways and easyJet, and which also includes a simplified bmi route map.

I suppose what I’m saying is ‘why is bmi such a hot topic?’, as I’ve not heard the Virgin/bmi questions for a long time.

Lufthansa has said that bmi is now not for sale. bmi’s slots at Heathrow are starting to be used by LH and LX wet-leases along with LH Italia. Like British Airways, bmi has cut back its UK domestic services into Heathrow, so assuming that any future divestiture of bmi by Lufthansa would not include the routes/services/slots currently operated by/on behalf of Lufthansa (and/or group companies), it really wouldn’t leave a whole lot to provide shorthaul feeder and connecting traffic to and from Virgin. It would also necessitate a terminal change by either passengers or airline(s).

What it would leave are the midhaul routes, however the lack of any meaningful Virgin presence (or opportunity to build it) in the extractive industry destinations of the US doesn’t immediately, at least to me, suggest a great opportunity in that market from a feeder point-of-view.

And then, when it comes to the potential for mergers and alliance-participation, I’m interested to know how this could happen given Singapore’s 49% holding. Is Sir Richard hinting that he’s about to buy them out?

Would an alliance with the currently non-aligned, say with Etihad or Emirates, compromise Singapore’s position within Star? Why has Virgin Atlantic not even signed a formal alliance within its own-branded companies in the form of Virgin America, Virgin Blue etc., etc? Partial aligning of FFPs doesn’t really compare to full code-shares, interline agreements and timed interconnectivity.

Are there any other examples of counter-alliances within airlines’ stakeholdings? If not, does that effectively mean that the only way that Virgin could go would be with Star? Is Sir Richard making an inferred approach to them?

And why haven’t Star courted Virgin, with its valuable Heathrow slots and transatlantic routes? There’s even hard product synergy with Star-member Air New Zealand. Is Sir Richard intimating that they have, but that their terms were unacceptable?

Some of these are really questions that have been floating around CC’s dusty recesses for some time, rather than being ones solely generated by the Business Traveller and The Times pieces today; it’s just that, if anything, both articles seem to compound my confusion about what Virgin is trying to suggest/achieve, in what must be a desperately difficult trading environment for them, just as it is for every other major Western carrier.

I’d be fascinated by others’ thoughts on where they see Virgin Atlantic, and Singapore Airlines and, perhaps, the Star Alliance with reference to VS and SQ, in five years’ time, and whether they think that bmi is even vaguely relevant to Virgin Atlantic’s future.

If it is, would it be for slots or feeder traffic? If it’s the latter, would VS not be better buying BE, flogging its own LHR slots and focusing on Gatwick – the hub without the hubbub?

Fascinating times!

[Author]

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