With interim ACCC approval for Virgin to co-operate with Alliance on routes including Canberra-Sydney, Canberra-Melbourne & Canberra-Adelaide, that doesn't leave many Canberra routes for Virgin-proper to operate (Canberra-Brisbane being the main one).
With Virgin also announcing this week that the Canberra Lounge is 'under review', I wonder if Virgin is planning to abandon those remaining routes and completely abandon Canberra?
Alliance is Brisbane-based, so BNE-CBR must be a possibility. SYD-CBR, MEL-CBR and ADL-CBR may all be better suited to Alliance smaller aircraft. My guess is that VA aircraft will not be seen in Canberra for quite a while, unless VA PER-CBR is on the cards somewhere.
They may end up doing what Qantas does from time to time and have one 737 morning and afternoon mainly for international connections. The rest are Qantas link 717s or dash 400s.
cheaper (as in have to sell less seats to make viable) & faster turnaround for an 80 seater jet than a B737 + most people prefer a jet over a turboprop.
cheaper (as in have to sell less seats to make viable) & faster turnaround for an 80 seater jet than a B737 + most people prefer a jet over a turboprop.
Business people favour frequency over aircraft type so in good times Qantas can have 20 flights a day to Sydney. Every 30 minutes peak time and every hour other times. For VA the smaller alliance jets may suit a high frequency strategy.
I would think Canberra - Melbourne might stay too with Virgin at once a day return perhaps, but with additional flights from Alliance as such. Just have to wait and see - but if its all Alliance out of Canberra, just another reason why my Velocity Gold sigh will become a thing of the past for sure.
It seems crazy for Virgin to abandon the key east coast pairings with Canberra and ditch the lounge unless they're planning on giving up on the corporate and government travel markets. Aren't too many execs who don't need to go there from time to time and it's obviously a heavy destination for government travel. If it is 20% of your annual flight mix, I don't know why you would tolerate the absence of a lounge. I'd be inclined to switch all of my business to Qantas.
I suspect the reason for the mooted lounge review is that Canberra airport is being unreasonable. They're notoriously bolshy on charges. Snow invested in an airport that far exceeds Canberra's needs in the hopes of becoming Sydney's second airport and is now seeking to recoup his investment in disproportionately high fees. I reckon the ACCC should take a serious look at declaring the major airports as monopoly infrastructure post-COVID as Alan Joyce has suggested.
You may well be spot on greg re: Canberra Airport. notorious for it - the Snow's have done some good things with that airport site, but pissed a lot of people off over time as well, so would not surprise me if this was just the latest in a long list of those things.
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sim86on
sim86on
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 08 May 2014
Total posts 48
With interim ACCC approval for Virgin to co-operate with Alliance on routes including Canberra-Sydney, Canberra-Melbourne & Canberra-Adelaide, that doesn't leave many Canberra routes for Virgin-proper to operate (Canberra-Brisbane being the main one).
With Virgin also announcing this week that the Canberra Lounge is 'under review', I wonder if Virgin is planning to abandon those remaining routes and completely abandon Canberra?
tommygun
tommygun
Delta Air Lines - SkyMiles
Member since 16 Oct 2017
Total posts 282
Alliance is Brisbane-based, so BNE-CBR must be a possibility. SYD-CBR, MEL-CBR and ADL-CBR may all be better suited to Alliance smaller aircraft. My guess is that VA aircraft will not be seen in Canberra for quite a while, unless VA PER-CBR is on the cards somewhere.
regular flyer
regular flyer
Member since 13 May 2020
Total posts 31
tommygun
no reason why 1 BNE crew, same aircraft couldn't do
BNE/CBR/SYD/CBR/BNE
& 2nd crew/aircraft do same at later time & so on.
Similarly BNE/CBR/MEL/CBR/BNE
&
BNE/CBR/ADL/CBR/BNE
patrickk
patrickk
Qantas
Member since 19 Apr 2012
Total posts 731
They may end up doing what Qantas does from time to time and have one 737 morning and afternoon mainly for international connections. The rest are Qantas link 717s or dash 400s.
regular flyer
regular flyer
Member since 13 May 2020
Total posts 31
cheaper (as in have to sell less seats to make viable) & faster turnaround for an 80 seater jet than a B737 + most people prefer a jet over a turboprop.
patrickk
patrickk
Qantas
Member since 19 Apr 2012
Total posts 731
Originally Posted by regular flyer
cheaper (as in have to sell less seats to make viable) & faster turnaround for an 80 seater jet than a B737 + most people prefer a jet over a turboprop.
dm12
dm12
Member since 08 Feb 2018
Total posts 200
Originally Posted by regular flyer
tommygun
no reason why 1 BNE crew, same aircraft couldn't do
BNE/CBR/SYD/CBR/BNE
& 2nd crew/aircraft do same at later time & so on.
Similarly BNE/CBR/MEL/CBR/BNE
&
BNE/CBR/ADL/CBR/BNE
mcs_095
mcs_095
Member since 06 Feb 2014
Total posts 9
I would think Canberra - Melbourne might stay too with Virgin at once a day return perhaps, but with additional flights from Alliance as such. Just have to wait and see - but if its all Alliance out of Canberra, just another reason why my Velocity Gold sigh will become a thing of the past for sure.
greg959
greg959
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 15 May 2019
Total posts 59
It seems crazy for Virgin to abandon the key east coast pairings with Canberra and ditch the lounge unless they're planning on giving up on the corporate and government travel markets. Aren't too many execs who don't need to go there from time to time and it's obviously a heavy destination for government travel. If it is 20% of your annual flight mix, I don't know why you would tolerate the absence of a lounge. I'd be inclined to switch all of my business to Qantas.
I suspect the reason for the mooted lounge review is that Canberra airport is being unreasonable. They're notoriously bolshy on charges. Snow invested in an airport that far exceeds Canberra's needs in the hopes of becoming Sydney's second airport and is now seeking to recoup his investment in disproportionately high fees. I reckon the ACCC should take a serious look at declaring the major airports as monopoly infrastructure post-COVID as Alan Joyce has suggested.
mcs_095
mcs_095
Member since 06 Feb 2014
Total posts 9
You may well be spot on greg re: Canberra Airport. notorious for it - the Snow's have done some good things with that airport site, but pissed a lot of people off over time as well, so would not surprise me if this was just the latest in a long list of those things.