Qantas has followed this morning’s last minute profit downgrade by Virgin Blue with news that it expects a profit before tax of between $300-$400 million. Ben Sandilands explains.
Virgin Blue
The end of “free” for frequent flyers
The airlines don’t want to give away flights for ‘free’ to frequent flyers anymore, they want to sell however many millions of points they care to mint out of thin air to third parties. What is left to look forward to? asks Ben Sandilands.
Was Max the Ansett axe? The Virgin party gets the scoop
The death of Ansett was the most emotionally charged corporate collapse in Australian history. Last night Max Moore-Wilton revealed what John Howard did when the Ansett bailout proposal arrived.
Virgin, Air NZ agreement a shaky truce on the shaky isles
Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand have come up with a proposed alliance that makes them friends across the Tasman and continued enemies inside New Zealand.
The iJet age begins
There will be four very different forms of ‘smart’ check-in procedures in domestic air travel by the end of this year, which should allow people who have checked in to board their flight right up to the moment the door is sealed. Ben Sandilands explains.
Emergency checks ordered on ‘suspect’ Qantas, Virgin Blue 737s
Emergency checks are being made worldwide for “suspect components” in the tail of the widely flown latest or NG models of the Boeing 737, but no rush to check the more than 100 Qantas and Virgin Blue jets.
The Borghetti succession
There is no doubting the tactical strength of Virgin Blue’s choice of John Borghetti to succeed its co-founder Brett Godfrey as the group’s second CEO in 10 years, writes Ben Sandilands.
Virgin Blue’s new CEO to find the middle against Qantas
Virgin Blue’s confirmed appointment of John Borghetti as the successor to its founding CEO Brett Godfrey this morning piles the pressure onto Qantas to radically change and improve its business.
Cheap overseas fares aren’t dead, just slightly less abundant
The headlines ‘screamed’ that cheap international air fares are over last week following the half yearly profit announcements by Qantas and Virgin Blue. Wrong!
Virgin Blue outperforms Qantas, for the very first time
Virgin Blue jolted the market this morning by making more money in the first half of its financial year than the three times larger Qantas Group, the first time any Aussie airline has beaten Qantas in profits.
A ‘far miss’ in NT skies
The holiday media excitement over a ‘near miss’ between a Cathay Pacific A330-300 and a Virgin Blue 737-800 south of Darwin last Tuesday was in fact a ‘far miss’, explains Ben Sandilands.
Why in 2010 we will see a change in the airlines
The luxury business air fare will not come back at nearly the same rate as the economy rebounds in 2010. And that’s just one change that frequent flyers have to look forward to.
AirAsia X: it may fly here but try to find its office
Notwithstanding Air Asia’s boasts, and its recent 85% “on-time” performance level, potential customers should be aware that AirAsia X has no Australian office.
Flying every Australian airline in one day
Angus Kidman flies all of Australia’s four domestic airlines — Jetstar, Qantas, Tiger and Virgin Blue — in one day. Which is the best? The worst? Who has the least disgusting in-flight meals?
Virgin Blue flies into black
Virgin Blue is making money this financial year, but is trying to keep a lid on major pending announcements about its brand and new cabin arrangements, says Ben Sandilands.
Virgin’s Velocity Gold blue
Personalising a free upgrade in writing and then rescinding it entirely is just a “douche-bag move”, writes a Crikey reader angered at Friday’s Virgin Blue stuff up.
Virgin’s wheel of fire at the hub of wider problems
Virgin Blue lawyers are crawling over the words of aircraft engineers union federal secretary Steve Purvinas like ants over road kill this morning, but what is really going on?
Four airlines, two cities, and a big cat fight
Qantas and Virgin Blue lose a significant amount of control over domestic fares and scheduling from today when Tiger lifts its frequency on the Sydney-Melbourne route to nine times daily each way. The fur will fly, says Ben Sandilands.
Virgin minds its Vs and Qs over its future
Virgin Blue revealed yesterday that the day is coming when all of its airlines — Blue, Pacific Blue and V Australia — will be united under one brand. But why let this “secret” out? Perhaps Virgin are hoping to send Qantas flying into a panic.
Virgin Blue plans for high-flying future
Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey has an “airline of the future” unit working on the company’s renewal and growth. And believes success lies in treading the middle path between Qantas and low-cost carriers, says Ben Sandilands.
Consumer win: my triumph over Virgin Blue’s incompetence
Crikey’s Adam Schwab documents his inspirational (if time-consuming) victory over Virgin Blue after a flight from Hobart to Melbourne was randomly cancelled.
Virgin Blue tweets $9 fares
Airlines will do anything to save a dollar, so Virgin Blue’s latest marketing move — tweeting $9 promo fares — could spell trouble for traditional advertisers, not to mention jetsetting luddites, says Ben Sandilands.
Virgin posts $160m loss
Virgin Blue this morning confirmed a loss of $160 million for the year to June 30 while the guessing game about its recent strong share price performance continues.
V Australia’s 777 buy-up will bite Qantas
Qantas made an incredibly inept decision by choosing to buy a large fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and not buying Boeing 777s. With the latter optimised for long-haul flights, V Australia’s new 777 fleet will allow it to offer a very attractive alternative to Qantas and Jetstar.
Sydney loses its stranglehold on international flights
Virgin Blue played the Melbourne-versus-Sydney card hard today, with the announcement that flights by its V Australia subsidiary will go directly from Johannesburg to Melbourne.
