Little Red and beyond?
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: uk
Posts: 1,578
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Virgin came a poor second in terms of seats and profitability. They're at a competitive disadvantage they were never going to beat.
I agree but if there was the demand that many say there is those flights would STILL be full despite the competition !
Curious how you can claim an unpublished report is ramming anything down your throat.
Clearly you havn't read the "interim reports", im suprised there has only been about 6 !
....what price Plymouth Roborough ? None mate, it's been closed......
Deary me, I know, do you not do irony ? The task force backing the plan to reopen however is none other than The National Connectivity Task Force an agency set up by LHR to perpetuate its own ends re a 3rd runway !
Bagso, once again you're misrepresenting how this market works or might work going forward. The only player who can make LHR-regions work is likely to be BA.
....and I doubt despite what HAL say they aint going to service Plymouth or any other domestic route for that matter !
Misreprenting the market ?
I simply said there was no appetite for the Virgin Red services !!!!!
There isn't !
If the demand is there BA will buy the routes and add more frequency, if it isn't they won't !
I agree but if there was the demand that many say there is those flights would STILL be full despite the competition !
Curious how you can claim an unpublished report is ramming anything down your throat.
Clearly you havn't read the "interim reports", im suprised there has only been about 6 !
....what price Plymouth Roborough ? None mate, it's been closed......
Deary me, I know, do you not do irony ? The task force backing the plan to reopen however is none other than The National Connectivity Task Force an agency set up by LHR to perpetuate its own ends re a 3rd runway !
Bagso, once again you're misrepresenting how this market works or might work going forward. The only player who can make LHR-regions work is likely to be BA.
....and I doubt despite what HAL say they aint going to service Plymouth or any other domestic route for that matter !
Misreprenting the market ?
I simply said there was no appetite for the Virgin Red services !!!!!
There isn't !
If the demand is there BA will buy the routes and add more frequency, if it isn't they won't !
Last edited by Bagso; 28th Apr 2015 at 13:34.
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: MAN
Posts: 309
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Quote: "They were not permitted to operate a two class service as what would have reduced the number of seats they were offering, and which were given up by BA/bmi."
Where did you get that from? There was no such restriction on classes of service, maximum/minimum number of seats etc. The only restriction was that the slots had to be used on specified city pairs. In fact I imagine the competition authorities would have been delighted had VS offered a differentiated product, as opposed to a clapped out Aer Lingus A320 with very tight seat pitch.
Maybe Branson has been telling porkies again? Such as his complaint that Little Red failed because he wasn't gifted enough slots, when Virgin didn't even apply for the full number of slots on offer.
Where did you get that from? There was no such restriction on classes of service, maximum/minimum number of seats etc. The only restriction was that the slots had to be used on specified city pairs. In fact I imagine the competition authorities would have been delighted had VS offered a differentiated product, as opposed to a clapped out Aer Lingus A320 with very tight seat pitch.
Maybe Branson has been telling porkies again? Such as his complaint that Little Red failed because he wasn't gifted enough slots, when Virgin didn't even apply for the full number of slots on offer.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Nr Aston Down, Cotswolds
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
delighted had VS offered a differentiated product, as opposed to a clapped out Aer Lingus A320 with very tight seat pitch.
Aer Lingus at one time used a movable class divider along with convertible seats. This enabled them to maximise the yield on a specific route.
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: MAN
Posts: 309
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OK, I agree that "clapped out" was rather harsh. My point is that Little Red's interiors hardly had the Wow factor of, say, Virgin America's A320s. One of the (many) complaints levelled against BA's domestic connections is their single class/tight seat pitch, irrespective of whether you might be connecting onto a First/Business class long haul flight. VS could have chosen to differentiate themselves from BA in their Little Red operation, but they chose not to. And it was entirely their choice.
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London (Babylon-on-Thames)
Age: 43
Posts: 6,168
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
They were unwilling to put in a more generous seat pitch than BA as if BA need to tighten up to drive a profit in current trading, then VS would have had to make the same call. It's not about being different, it's about making money. The interior was fine and in line with the VS branding, UK domestic trading is not the same as the US market, if it was, BA would be flying F to Edinburgh.
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: MAN
Posts: 309
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm sure you're right, Skip. The whole thing was clearly doomed from the start, and had all the hallmarks of a knee-jerk vanity response by SRB. I was just trying to think of ways in which it might have stood a better chance, as quite clearly a head-to-head against BA while offering a similar product was pointless.
Especially as the BMI competition ruling required BA to offer domestic leg fares at attractive rates to other carriers. That's a workable, if not ideal, solution, and certainly better than losing tens of millions of pounds on trying to compete with BA.
Especially as the BMI competition ruling required BA to offer domestic leg fares at attractive rates to other carriers. That's a workable, if not ideal, solution, and certainly better than losing tens of millions of pounds on trying to compete with BA.
