here comes Virgin Air

[RIDETHELIGHTING]

I for one would love to see this airline fail miserably. Does that make me a bad person?

Im with you, we dont need a another so called LCC running around. Plus his arrogance pisses me off.

 

[On Your Six]

That's all the Legacies need - more CHEAP seats in the system...

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

There's another post, I think in the Regional section, that talks about Virgin USA trying to buy the Indy certificate, with the Airbus trained pilots.

Interesting times, that's for sure.

Cliff
YIP

 

[General Lee]

All we know so far really si that their operational hub will be in SFO, and their corporate headquarters is in NYC. SFO is not the easiest airport to have a hub, with the wx delays and flow restrictions if OAK is landing a certain direction due to the winds. United will go full force, just like with INDY, to combat them. Southwest and Jetblue will lower fares at OAK. It really will be interesting to watch, and low pay rates will make living in or near SFO fun.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[RP 04]

Im with you, we dont need a another so called LCC running around.

You care to disclose how much you are getting paid at your current airline?

 

[COpilot]

Can you imagine trying to live in SFO, on whatever kind of wage they are going to pay those guys?

Or if they use FlyI guys who live on the East Coast, do a trans-con commute every week, "D'oh"

 

[koko nw]

You care to disclose how much you are getting paid at your current airline?

I'll take a stab at it, humor me for a bit will ya...it goes something like this.
1. Major Airline pilots are well compensated and have quality of life.
2. LCC comes in with "cheaper" labor" and lower over all overhead cost from not servicing the "entire" network and instead "cherry" picks the lucrative ones to attack the Major's with in the name of "consumer" right to have $89 transcons.
3.Majors are slow to react and counter along with 911, oil prices, inept management, Legacy MEC's strategic errors, SAR's....you get the point, we got schwacked.
4. Management go's after labor for DEEP concessions in order to "compete" with LCC's, there by destroying what was once a proud and honorable profession to that of a underpaid transportation agent.
5. Now LCC's pilots point to the fact that Legacy pilots are paid less then they are....with pride I might add, forgetting that they where in one way or another the catalyst for the decline of the profession. (SWA not included)

Do I blame the pilot's....NO, my angst is with our management and to a certain degree our past MEC's for not having the foresight to counter the LCC's.

Maybe I read you wrong, if so....my bad

 

[AceCrackshot]

koko nw said...

"5. Now LCC's pilots point to the fact that Legacy pilots are paid less then they are....with pride I might add, forgetting that they where in one way or another the catalyst for the decline of the profession. (SWA not included)"

No reason to exempt Southwest. 1-4 was their playbook for years.

 

[Capt. X]

Virgin America application could fly into some turbulence


Eric Young
As Virgin America Inc. seeks federal approval to start flying, rivals likely will try to keep the new airline grounded.
Virgin America, the Burlingame-based airline that raised $177.3 million in startup capital this month, aims to be a low-cost domestic carrier in the mold of Southwest Airlines Co. and Jetblue Airways Corp. Those airlines and others could seek to block Virgin America as an unwanted competitor. Meanwhile, labor unions, fearful that Virgin America will not be sympathetic to their cause, might protest as well.
"It's inevitable" that Virgin America's plans will stir opposition, said Daniel Petree, dean of the business college at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Virgin America's application on Dec. 8 to gain necessary approvals from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration started the clock on a 21-day period in which supporters or opponents could file comments.
Such comments rarely cause the government to turn down an application. But they can add costly delays, keeping a nascent airline grounded for months or even years.
Taking aim
The most likely target for Virgin America opponents is the airline's ownership, which rivals will contend allows illegal foreign control of a U.S. airline, said lawyers and academics who follow the industry. The United States limits foreign ownership of U.S. airlines, restricting voting interest to 25 percent.
To make the case that Virgin America is effectively controlled by foreigners, opponents could say that Virgin America was conceived by billionaire Briton Richard Branson; Branson's British holding company Virgin Group is investing nearly half of Virgin America's startup capital; and that two British citizens have been named to Virgin America's seven-member board of directors.
Virgin America Chairman Mark Lanigan declined to comment on possible opposition to the airline.
But in its application to the Department of Transportation, Virgin America said it meets U.S. ownership requirements. The airline said its principal investor, which controls 75 percent of voting rights, is U.S.-based VAI Partners LLC, an investment company formed by Black Canyon Capital LLC of Los Angeles and Cyrus Capital Partners LP of New York City, private equity firms that put up $88.9 million in startup cash. In addition, the airline said, the majority of its board members are U.S. citizens, as is its CEO and most other top executives.
Virgin America likely will find it easier to satisfy other Transportation Department criteria, which call for Virgin America to demonstrate strong financial backing and managerial experience. Virgin America's total startup capital tops $177 million, about one-third more than Jetblue when it launched five years ago. Virgin America's CEO, Fred Reid, is an airline industry veteran surrounded by an executive team that is also steeped in the airline business.
"I don't think anyone can fairly question the financial resources or managerial competence," said Kenneth Quinn, a former lawyer for the FAA who now has an aviation practice at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
Preparing for takeoff
Despite the likelihood of opposition, industry observers said they think Virgin America has a good chance to get federal approval.
"I know of less well-prepared and experienced start-ups who have been successful in getting licensed," said Petree.
On a few occasions the Department of Transportation has flexed its regulatory muscle to prevent an airline from starting service. The best-known case was in 1994 when the department rejected Frank Lorenzo's bid to begin operating a startup, ATX, citing past safety and regulatory problems at other airlines he operated.
But challenges can result in long delays before an airline can fly. Fedex Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. urged federal regulators to stop freight carrier DHL from operating in the United States, arguing that it was controlled by Germany's post office. Regulators ruled in DHL's favor last year -- after an expensive, two-year legal battle.
The FAA approval process focuses on an airline's safety procedures and training. The FAA likely won't issue a final ruling on Virgin America until after the Transportation Department has issued a tentative approval of the airline's plans.