IFALPA News has received so far ubsubstantiated reports that Virgin Group Chairman Sir Richard Branson will shortly announce the launch of Virgin Pacific. The Vancouver based airline will initially operate a fleet of 737-800s on Canadian domestic routes with 777s for trans Pacific operations expected to follow in the medium term.
Virgin's brand is based on a top quality product. They are not going to paint any old operator's planes red and call it Virgin. If they come here, it will be their own operation.
Lessee now....35 million people scattered across the 2nd biggest country; something like 80% of us living within 50 miles of the US border; 3 major domestic airlines already (soon to be 4) and a track record of bankrupt airlines....
What could possibly go wrong with starting a 5th airline?
North Shore wrote:Lessee now....35 million people scattered across the 2nd biggest country; something like 80% of us living within 50 miles of the US border; 3 major domestic airlines already (soon to be 4) and a track record of bankrupt airlines....
What could possibly go wrong with starting a 5th airline?
Thats the spirit! giver that old college try one more time.
However if anyone could pull it off it I think Branson would have a sporting chance.
ahramin wrote:Virgin's brand is based on a top quality product. They are not going to paint any old operator's planes red and call it Virgin. If they come here, it will be their own operation.
True but there are foreign ownership restrictions, I believe they upped it to 49% from 25% so how about buying a 49% stake in Enerjet, you get a 705 OC with the same type you want to operate and away you go. Enerjet has one Aircraft and a handful of employees its not like taking over a carrier with 1000 of employees and legacy costs.
Anyway they will probably just contract Jazz to operate their low cost carrier and transpacific flights with foreign pilots.
Exactly what we need, more competition.... Good way to ensure more people are stuck at an entry level contract is to keep popping up airlines when ever the competitor's average employee gets to around the 10 year mark. Easy to undercut and continue the cycle!
At first I thought this was terrible news, but then I realised that if I can get a job with them, perhaps I could get jumpseat passes on Virgin Galactic flights. Moon, here I come!
Meatservo wrote:At first I thought this was terrible news, but then I realised that if I can get a job with them, perhaps I could get jumpseat passes on Virgin Galactic flights. Moon, here I come!
From some of your recent posts, many of us think you're already there!
Lest you think I'm serious, check out the rather large red smiley face
. wrote:
True but there are foreign ownership restrictions, I believe they upped it to 49% from 25% so how about buying a 49% stake in Enerjet, you get a 705 OC with the same type you want to operate and away you go. Enerjet has one Aircraft and a handful of employees its not like taking over a carrier with 1000 of employees and legacy costs.
The way they dealt with similar foreign ownership restrictions in the USA according to Wikipedia:
Virgin America, though the brainchild of British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, is a U.S. airline. By law, no more than 25% of a U.S. airline may be owned by foreign interests and must be under the "actual control" of U.S. citizens;[5] VAI Partners owns 75% of the capital stock; the remaining 25% of the company is owned by Virgin Group,[6] which also licenses the Virgin brand to the airline.
Could this have something to do with Aero Bee (i.e. Russ Payson and Calin Rovinescu) and Air Canada's intent on partnering up with another company to operate a LCC out of YVR using 737-800's and 777's? Is this why Sky Regional is training pilots on the 737 despite not having any work for them supposedly?
Vancouver base, 737's, and later 777's all fit with intial reports about AC's LCC. It's been mentioned before how it takes forever to get an AOC from Transport. Has Virgin started the process?
I think you got it Chopsticks. Sky Regional is the new Jazz so they can shed the good salaries going to 10+ year Jazz-lifers plus the EMB pilots at AC. Virgin is the LCC to take on Westjet with new (non-crabby) CSA's and flight attendants and eventually cut the legacy costs of the large 777 salaries plus pensions. Diabolical.
Rudy wrote:Vancouver base, 737's, and later 777's all fit with intial reports about AC's LCC. It's been mentioned before how it takes forever to get an AOC from Transport. Has Virgin started the process?
I think you got it Chopsticks. Sky Regional is the new Jazz so they can shed the good salaries going to 10+ year Jazz-lifers plus the EMB pilots at AC. Virgin is the LCC to take on Westjet with new (non-crabby) CSA's and flight attendants and eventually cut the legacy costs of the large 777 salaries plus pensions. Diabolical.
I thought AC's LCC was 767's and the A319-320 family they were going to send over to lowcost....AC itself was to remain with 787 and 777.... anywho from what I thought... correct me if im wrong...
Rudy wrote:Vancouver base, 737's, and later 777's all fit with intial reports about AC's LCC. It's been mentioned before how it takes forever to get an AOC from Transport. Has Virgin started the process?
I think you got it Chopsticks. Sky Regional is the new Jazz so they can shed the good salaries going to 10+ year Jazz-lifers plus the EMB pilots at AC. Virgin is the LCC to take on Westjet with new (non-crabby) CSA's and flight attendants and eventually cut the legacy costs of the large 777 salaries plus pensions. Diabolical.
I thought AC's LCC was 767's and the A319-320 family they were going to send over to lowcost....AC itself was to remain with 787 and 777.... anywho from what I thought... correct me if im wrong...
AC's LCC was first a 767 and A319 operation with up to 50 airplanes to take on Air Transat across the Atlantic and all the tour operators down south. That seems to be going forward. However, there were recent reports that indicated AC wanted to have a LCC with aircraft based in YVR to compete across the Atlantic, and this would be in collaboration with another airline. On top of that, Sky Regional aka Aero Bee has two 737-800's with supposedly no work, but were brought here as a backup for Air Canada's LCC. Basically, lots of stuff is happening, but we don't know how it all is coming together yet.
chopsticks wrote:Could this have something to do with Aero Bee (i.e. Russ Payson and Calin Rovinescu) and Air Canada's intent on partnering up with another company to operate a LCC out of YVR using 737-800's and 777's? Is this why Sky Regional is training pilots on the 737 despite not having any work for them supposedly?
Sorry but I must have missed the post that showed Rovinescu's connection to Aero Bee. Everything I've seen has it 100 percent owned by Russ Payson. Do you have a link showing CR's involvement?
As for the AC LCC it will be A319's and 767's flown by ACPA pilots.
chopsticks wrote:Could this have something to do with Aero Bee (i.e. Russ Payson and Calin Rovinescu) and Air Canada's intent on partnering up with another company to operate a LCC out of YVR using 737-800's and 777's? Is this why Sky Regional is training pilots on the 737 despite not having any work for them supposedly?
Sorry but I must have missed the post that showed Rovinescu's connection to Aero Bee. Everything I've seen has it 100 percent owned by Russ Payson. Do you have a link showing CR's involvement?
As for the AC LCC it will be A319's and 767's flown by ACPA pilots.
I haven't seen anything to substantiate Rovinescu being involved with Aero Bee - that's just the rumour mill talking. However, with respect to Air Canada having an interest in starting a different LCC operation out of YVR with another airline partner, see the following article from a few months ago:
This is why, to some extent, there should be regulation in it industry especially when it comes to new airlines starting up. We DO NOT need another frikking airline. The ones we do have are hurting. What the frig is the government thinking.oh yeah, they don't think.
Curious to know what exactly you have in mind as far as "regulation" for start-ups, considering that there already is regulation in force to ensure that start-ups have sufficient funding and a viable business plan in force. Probably the greatest barrier should be the economical one as far as courting the financiers who are willing to risk their assets on such a fickle industry.
Might agree that, perhaps, it is too easy for an airline to be started by romantics, dreamers, others with big egos and big checkbooks, but how do you regulated/legislate this and in a free-market system who is to stop somebody from trying to make a better mousetrap as long as they jump throught the hoops (it is a little bit like argueing that the industry should set a quote for people to undertake professional flight training to prevent the undesireable economics of too many pilots, chasing too few jobs, driving down T's & C's, etc. etc. etc.). I remember my travel agent telling me that WestJet would be another here-today, gone-tomorrow airline and that the market was already saturated with Canadian Airlines and Air Canada at each others' throats.
chopsticks wrote:Could this have something to do with Aero Bee (i.e. Russ Payson and Calin Rovinescu) and Air Canada's intent on partnering up with another company to operate a LCC out of YVR using 737-800's and 777's? Is this why Sky Regional is training pilots on the 737 despite not having any work for them supposedly?
Sorry but I must have missed the post that showed Rovinescu's connection to Aero Bee. Everything I've seen has it 100 percent owned by Russ Payson. Do you have a link showing CR's involvement?
As for the AC LCC it will be A319's and 767's flown by ACPA pilots.
I haven't seen anything to substantiate Rovinescu being involved with Aero Bee - that's just the rumour mill talking. However, with respect to Air Canada having an interest in starting a different LCC operation out of YVR with another airline partner, see the following article from a few months ago:
That article was written before AC got their FOS chosen by the arbitrator. They got the pay rates and rules they wanted for the LCC. I didn't see any mention of any 737-800's and the reference to Virgin was thrown in by the author of the article not by any AC officials. Everything else you are throwing in is purely speculation based on nothing but rumours.
