Virgin America down to 22 million in unrestricted cash

[relief tube]

Virgin America is gaining cash and liquidity, not losing it.

Have you seen their pathetic wages? I sure hope they can make money when they pay their pilots jack.

 

[IAHERJ]

I heard a rumor that continental is going to merge with united and then fly 70 seaters out IAH???

That would be a fact. You have a need to make this personal? Don't get all wound up....just stating what I read...

 

[NEDude]

Have you seen their pathetic wages? I sure hope they can make money when they pay their pilots jack.

Have you actually done the math? VA pay rates are overall within 10% of industry average for the A320. Yes they are low, and we all recognize that. But they are not 50% of the industry average as many like to say. Look it up yourself.

And name a start-up that pays industry leading wages. Southwest did not start out as an industry leader. JetBlue did not start out paying wages even close to what they are now. Even UPS used to pay so poorly that people used it as a stepping stone to go to places like Air Wisconsin. It takes time to bring pay up to where it needs to be.

 

[NEDude]

Rumor has it Virgin Atlantic is being shopped around for a buyer. Singapore owns 49% but several players are lining up to make a play for VA. Don't know what this means for Virgin America but makes for interesting speculation...

Not a rumor, Singapore is looking to sell their 49% share -

http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...r-new-ceo-may-shed-virgin-atlantic-stake.html


One rumor is Delta may buy the 49% stake and bring Virgin Atlantic into Sky Team.

Branson is on record as saying if Virgin Atlantic cannot join an alliance than it cannot survive. He is also on record as saying if he cannot control Virgin Atlantic, he will no longer be involved in it. If that is the case, it may cease to be named Virgin. If Singapore sells its stake in VA, then the restrictions on the Virgin name would also go away and airlines like V-Australia could be re-branded as Virgin, and potentially (as in it is theoretically possible, not necessarily planned or even talked about) Virgin America could begin trans-Pacific flying as well.

 

[whatitdoing?]

Not a rumor, Singapore is looking to sell their 49% share -

http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...r-new-ceo-may-shed-virgin-atlantic-stake.html


One rumor is Delta may buy the 49% stake and bring Virgin Atlantic into Sky Team.

Branson is on record as saying if Virgin Atlantic cannot join an alliance than it cannot survive. He is also on record as saying if he cannot control Virgin Atlantic, he will no longer be involved in it. If that is the case, it may cease to be named Virgin. If Singapore sells its stake in VA, then the restrictions on the Virgin name would also go away and airlines like V-Australia could be re-branded as Virgin, and potentially (as in it is theoretically possible, not necessarily planned or even talked about) Virgin America could begin trans-Pacific flying as well.

That's what I've heard from several 'in the know' people over at Delta. From what I understand, Singapore is asking for a higher than market share based on some formula that Delta isn't interested in. So we'll see......

 

[Tomct]

Jesus H. Christ....Take a look at ANY SFO/LAX-DFW flight anytime over the next 6 weeks. Selling for $104 OW and have maybe 10 seats on each flight sold. Talk about over expansion.
At least they pay industry standard wages.

Well give us another 6 mos and we will be putting the hurt on AA. Our product is far superior to any out there....hence our high load factors. It won't be tough to take people from them....they have no product and the people of DFW are dying for a new carrier to compete against AA. The really funny part, we have business travelers telling us they could care less about their miles at AA/UA or whoever. They want the far superior service that we provide at VA. Granted our limited route structure is hurting us a bit, but over time that will be fixed.

If Singapore sells it's share in Virgin Atlantic, that will only accelerate our move to bigger planes. That will change how V Austrailia and Virgin America do business...bigger and better. ;-)

 

[OurMoney1]

Well give us another 6 mos and we will be putting the hurt on AA. Our product is far superior to any out there....hence our high load factors. It won't be tough to take people from them....they have no product and the people of DFW are dying for a new carrier to compete against AA. The really funny part, we have business travelers telling us they could care less about their miles at AA/UA or whoever. They want the far superior service that we provide at VA. Granted our limited route structure is hurting us a bit, but over time that will be fixed.

If Singapore sells it's share in Virgin Atlantic, that will only accelerate our move to bigger planes. That will change how V Austrailia and Virgin America do business...bigger and better. ;-)

Small business travellers maybe. But the Wall Street 100 has travel contracts with AA and VA wont be able to tap that no matter what their onboard experience is. I like your post but I think it is wishful thinking at best. AA is a sleeping giant I wouldnt want to wake when my cash position is shaky and my future in doubt.

 

[Ralph Cramden]

I agree with you ourmoney1, the big frequent flyer programs are designed to keep people loyal and are quite good at it.

Did DFW/SFO the other day. Guy came up to me at the gate asking about the lay of the land, best seats, ff program etc and saying he was an AA platinum but checking us out as he goes to LAX and SFO a lot. He came up to the flight deck at the end and said it was the best flight he'd been on in years. Was bummed he couldn't upgrade to first as it was full.

Now he is just one guy, but word of mouth from him is what we count on. We also are only a few flights a day as opposed to the 12 plus on AA. Are they going to discount all their flights in those city pairings to match our fares? If so, who is hurting who? BTW, we were close to full each way. Not saying we were making $$ on the flight, but close to full.

 

[Fubijaakr]

So how's that SNA service going?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

So how's that SNA service going?

Of course you know that this was almost a year ago now but I figured it would be considerate to post this for your edification. It would seem that it was decided to better manage revenue by redeploying assets to higher yield long haul markets.

Now you can stop posting your question. Unless you were just being a petulant troll...

Virgin America drops O.C. flights

March 18, 2010|By GARY A. WARNER
Virgin America airlines said Thursday that it is dropping Orange County service, less than a year after a splashy debut.
John Wayne Aiirport officials said they were told late Wednesday that the announcement would be made Thursday morning. The news was buried in a long press release issued by the airline that touted new service between Los Angeles International, Orlando and Toronto. The final JWA flight will be May 26.
"Despite our relatively strong performance at SNA, given our new fleet plan and network prospects, we've made the decision to focus on the immediate long-haul opportunities that the Orlando and Toronto markets provide. We thank the SNA airport leadership and community for supporting us – and our teammates for their dedication," said Virgin America President and CEO David Cush in a press release.